Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
There weren’t many believers in Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton when the 2013 fantasy football season began. He was coming off a supposed mediocre season last year and many had qualms with his ability to throw the ball downfield. Despite his plummeting average draft position this off-seaosn, though, Dalton ended up putting together a strong fantasy season.
Let’s take a look at Dalton’s fantasy numbers from his three professional seasons.
|
Year |
GP |
CMP% |
Yards |
TDs |
|
2011 |
16 |
58.1 |
3398 |
20 |
|
2012 |
16 |
62.3 |
3669 |
27 |
|
2013 |
16 |
61.9 |
4296 |
33 |
The quarterback has increased his numbers with each passing season and has quietly become a weekly fantasy option. He threw a career-high 33 touchdowns and he ended up outperforming some of the biggest names at the position. Dalton finished as the fifth-ranked quarterback (277 points) in standard ESPN formats and finished ahead of popular off-season quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford (267), Russell Wilson (256), Colin Kaepernick (253), Tony Romo (252), Tom Brady (241), and Matt Ryan (239).
Dalton, a quarterback that has notoriously been careful with the football, unfortunately threw 20 interceptions this past year. He was forcing too many balls to WR A.J. Green and at times the quarterback was simply careless with the football. However, his ability to throw touchdowns still helped him put up enough numbers to warrant a starting spot week after week.
Dalton may not be in the same category of Drew Brees or Peyton Manning just yet, but the Red Riffle certainly put up starter quality numbers in 2013. He will be worth grabbing as a starter after the first six rounds next summer, so plan your draft accordingly, because he won’t come nearly as cheap in 2014.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
