When Paying Attention in the Offseason Pays Off: QB Yards Per Attempt Average

The average fantasy football owner believes the offseason means they can finally take time off—but let the Bruno Boys tell you, the offseason is perhaps more important towards your chances for fantasy gold than your in-season management.

And, it's not just paying attention to the major moves that make headlines. Nope, it's digging deep and paying attention to the little things that really pay off big.

With that being the case, the Bruno Boys are here to show you when paying attention in the offseason pays off!

This segment we take a look at Quarterback Yards-Per-Attempt Average.

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Having referenced many quarterbacks' average yards-per-attempt, I felt the need to put something together that explains why it is of fantasy football relevance and an important stat.

It is a very good determining factor in deciding which quarterbacks are playing well versus the ones who aren’t without looking at touchdowns or interceptions.

First of all, this stat is important because it tells us how the quarterback operates. A higher average yards-per-attempt is better, and typically anything over 7.0 is good.

Players with high average yards-per-attempt tend to complete longer passes and are more accurate with the football. This means a greater tendency for touchdowns and a lower one for interceptions.

It also lets us know where the quarterback is throwing the ball.

A player with a low average yards-per-attempt typically is completing a low number of passes, and if that’s not the case, it means he is connecting on passes of five yards or less, such as quick outs, slants, screens, and swings, which are easy passes for any quarterback to make.

Eventually, that quarterback will have to throw down-field or the defense will start sitting on the short routes in order to create turnovers.

A good example of a player with a low average yards per attempt would be Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Cincinnati Bengals. Having watched the team, it was easy to see that throws for 10 yards or more were difficult for him to complete.

But even the games when he put up respectable fantasy numbers he still finished with a low average yards-per-attempt. Thus it is no coincidence that after his good games he came back down and played at the level that can be expected of him.

Similarly, this stat illustrates why Philip Rivers was such a good quarterback this season. He led the league with an 8.39 average yards-per-attempt. It is no coincidence that he also led the league in quarterback rating at 105.5—the only player to break 100.

Eli Manning of the New York Giants had his best season yet, but finished with an average yards-per-attempt of just 6.76.

Combined with his 60.3 completion percentage, there are strong indications he may not repeat his numbers from last season in 2009, unless, of course, he starts throwing the football down-field or his receivers break a tackle or two.

For more proof, let’s look at the top 32 quarterbacks as rated by their quarterback rating, for those who attempted enough passes to qualify.

Rivers was the highest at 105.5 and Derek Anderson of the Cleveland Browns was the lowest at 66.5. The top 12 quarterbacks all finished with an average yards-per-attempt of 7.0 or higher, and two of them, Rivers and Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans, eclipsed the 8.0 mark.

Of the next 20 only five finished above 7.0, and nine of them were below 6.5.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme finished with an impressive 7.94 while Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb checked in at 6.86.

Generally McNabb is considered the better fantasy quarterback, so what’s going on here?

These numbers are a direct result of the styles of offense the two players operate. The Panthers passing game is a vertical-stretch game, with many throws of 10 yards or more to Steve Smith.

Conversely, the Eagles feature a lot of short passing with screens and swings to get running back Brian Westbrook involved.

McNabb is a fine quarterback, but as long as he’s in Philadelphia, his average yards-per-attempt will suffer.

Likewise, Delhomme is a risky fantasy football quarterback who’s prone to turnovers. However, he completes enough of his passes so that his average yards-per-attempt will remain high.

Hopefully this has helped explain why average yards-per-attempt is an important statistic to pay attention to—especially when evaluating younger quarterbacks.

Quarterbacks who trend upwards with their average yards-per-attempt by season are likely becoming better fantasy options.

Other players who don’t grow enough in that area or are too erratic with their average yards per attempt, such as the Oakland Raiders JaMarcus Russell, are not likely to be much better than they already are.

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When Paying Attention in the Off-Season Pays Off: QB Yards Per Attempt Average