Your 2013 fantasy football season was most likely filled with some successes and failures, and some players and teams really came a long way(or took a step back) from the previous year. Rachel Wold from Fantasy Football Chick graced us with her article on some of the big surprises from the 2013 fantasy season. You can see Rachel’s top ten fascinating facts on her website http://www.fantasyfootballchick.com/10-fascinating-fantasy-football-facts-2013-fantasy-football-chick/ , and you can follow her on twitter www.twitter.com/liveocgirl .

Five Fascinating Fantasy Football Facts from 2013 

1. The 27 interceptions single-handedly thrown by Eli Manning in 2013 equal the total number of interceptions made by Tony Romo (10), Andrew Luck (9) and Colin Kaepernick (8) combined?

Analysis: Eli Manning was not exactly a top-round draft pick in 2013, but anyone who drafted him, (hopefully as a backup quarterback), would never have imagined his performance to be so sub-par all year long. Manning joins the not-so-elite list of quarterbacks including Geno Smith, Joe Flacco, Chad Henne, Terrelle Pryor, Matt Schaub and Josh Freeman whose interceptions outnumber their touchdowns in 2013. Manning is definitely not the “A” list.

2. 27 Kickers each scored higher fantasy points for the 2013 season than Trent Richardson did with a horrendous 109.90 points.

Analysis: If you drafted Trent Richardson in round one or two in 2013, you got gypped. So much for his fancy trade to the Colts, as Richardson was a complete disaster for a fantasy running back, ranking 34th in his class last year. He only averaged 6.8 fantasy points per week for the season, so you would have been better off with Garrett Hartley as a second kicker on your roster than Richardson.

3. Nick Foles was the 11th ranked quarterback in fantasy points and he only played 12/16 games. He ranked higher than fellow quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Colin Kaepernick who played all 16 games.

Analysis: There was not a single person, I’d bet, who originally drafted Nick Foles in the 2013 drafts. Foles’ 11th quarterback ranking is pretty astonishing considering he didn’t participate in four of the regular season games. If you picked up Foles because you had Michael Vick, or owned another under-performing quarterback, you scored. And, likely if you chose Michael Vick originally, you took a quarterback in the later rounds of drafting, so ending up with Foles was like the gift of an earlier round quarterback pick.

4. C.J. Spiller ranked 27th for running backs compared to his 7th place ranking in 2012.

Analysis: Like Richardson above, people who drafted C.J. Spiller, in the first round got robbed. If you drafted the other Bills running back, Fred Jackson as a handcuff, or just to add depth to your running back roster, you were rewarded with the 10th ranked running back of the 2013 season. Spiller’s huge drop in ranking from 2012 and a healthy Fred Jackson in the picture, makes him an incredibly risky choice for the upcoming 2014 drafts.

5. The No. 1 ranked Chiefs defense who scored a huge 204.00 fantasy points this year, ranked dead last for defenses in 2012 with only 54.00 fantasy points.

Analysis: People were surely not scrambling to snag the Chiefs defense off the fantasy draft boards in 2013. So if you waited until the last few rounds and picked the Chiefs, you struck fantasy gold. Let’s just say, only three wide receivers (Josh Gordon, Demaryius Thomas and Calvin Johnson), scored higher fantasy points than the Kansas City Chiefs defense.

These facts just prove that fantasy football players are not always predictable, and it is likely we will all end up with some fantasy gems and fantasy disappointments once again in 2014. This, however, is what compels us year after year to compete in the challenge to build the ultimate fantasy football team.

Categories: Fantasy Football