#UKFL Facts and figures
By Ben Rolfe
What were the stand out numbers from the UK's biggest fantasy league?
240 fantasy football fans came together to create the biggest fantasy league seen here in the UK. The goal? Bring together the UK fantasy community and raise money for charity.
With 20 drafts now in the books and the season approaching fast let’s take a look at some of the fact and figures from the #UKFL.
You can find more of these facts and figures over at Kingfantasysports.com as well as the official #UKFL power rankings.
Headline grabbers
In total 303 players were selected across the 4,320 picks which were made. 158 players were selected in all 20 leagues with a further 32 players selected just once across the 20 leagues.
Of those players selected just once the highest selected player was Alex Erickson at pick 132, closely followed by Kenjon Barner at pick 138. While they look like reaches right now perhaps those fantasy owners know something about the upcoming season that we don’t!
Quarterback numbers
You can see the clear tiers from the graphic above, with Patrick Mahomes standing clear of the field, followed by four and seven person tiers respectively. Mahomes was the most varied selection of the position compared to his ADP, with a coefficient of variation of 44% (%CV). Part of the reason for that is his high ADP in the top-10. However, he was not the player with the highest %CV in drafts, but we will get to that in a bit.
In terms of actual range of picks that honour belong to Russell Wilson, who was picked as high as 40th in one league and as low as 180th in another. That range is understandable as Wilson has the ceiling to be the best in the league, as he has been before. However, in an offense which often leans towards the run, his role can be marginalised. Hence the hesitation in some leagues for him to be picked.
Overall 17 quarterbacks were taken in all 20 leagues, with nearly half the owners in each league on average choosing to take two quarterbacks.
Running back numbers
As you can see from the graph above a lot of running backs were picked, and that chart does not even include the ones selected in just one or two leagues.
Overall 92 running backs were taken in total, with their picks ranging from the first pick right through until the very final pick of drafts. The graph above shows you the clear tiers that existed at the position throughout the drafts, with their being some especially large gaps as things got a little more dicey late in the drafts.
In terms of the most variable picks. Well unsurprisingly given his situation Melvin Gordon had the highest %CV of any player taken, being taken as late as the 74th overall pick in one league, but retaining an ADP of 26.2 as many still believe he will be on the field when things get important.
In terms of the widest range of picks we have Matt Breida, Adrian Peterson, Gus Edwards and Mike Davis having over 100 picks between the highest and lowest selection. Much like with Wilson, this reflects the ceiling and the question marks surrounding these players.
Perhaps the most surprising pick belong to Sony Michel, who was taken eighth overall in one draft following his playoff exploits. In the Patriots offense he will be hard pressed to return that level of value this season.
Wide receiver numbers
Once again there were a lot of wide receivers taken in these drafts, with a total of 109 being taken, and falling into some very defined tiers as the chart above demonstrates.
The highest ADP and highest pick for a receiver belongs to DeAndre Hopkins at 6.1 and 4 respectively. Interestingly, because of that high ADP he also had the highest %CV of all wide receivers, with his selections coming between fourth and 10th.
Only two players had over 100 picks between their first and last selection, and they were Mohammed Sanu and John Brown.
Overall wide receiver was one of the more solid positions, with players falling comfortably into their defined tiers and 58 players being selected in all 20 leagues.
Tight end numbers
Tight end was an interesting position as the chart above shows. There are two clearly defined tiers and then things become a free-for-all at the position. This reflects the uncertainty of the position after the main three are off the board. There are handful of players people feel comfortable with and then it becomes about picking the player you think can contribute.
No player at any position had a wider pick range than Jack Doyle who had a whopping 157 picks between his first and last selection in the 17 leagues he was drafted in. In fact, six players at the position had over 100 picks between their first and last selection. Delanie Walker, Kyle Rudolph, Jimmy Graham, Jordan Reed and T.J. Hockenson joining Doyle with that dubious honour.
Much like the quarterback position 17 tight ends were selected in all 20 leagues, and there were 32 tight ends taken in total, including four selected just once.
Kickers and DST
We finish with the most variable and most divisive pair of positions. No discussion varies more than the kicker and DST positions in fantasy football and the #UKFL was no different. Just five kickers and four defenses were selected in all 20 leagues.
When we look at the top-20 players with the biggest range in selections, four were kickers and seven were defenses. As for the biggest range, well Greg Zuerlein and the Chicago Bears had those honours. The Bears were selected as high as 28th in one league, but most commonly found themselves going around the 10th to 11th round mark. Zuerlein was also the highest taken kicker, going as high as pick 50 in one league, with his ADP residing in the 160 region.
