My annual perusal of the “leaders” pages on pro-football-reference.com revealed some big names to avoid starting in 2010 for fantasy football keeper leagues.
These pages are a great way to gauge how close a player is to peaking in production. If you’re starting a keeper league this year (QFL or not) or your free agent draft includes any of the players high-up on the passing attempt, rushing attempt or receiving yard leaderboards, you should avoid them no matter how tempted you might be to pick them up. The only exception being Peyton Manning, I could see him playing until he’s 40.
Otherwise, these leaderboards are a useful signal of imminent death from a keeper league viewpoint. This year’s notes:
- RB: Thomas Jones could have one more season, but it really looks over for him. Same for Portis and Ricky Williams, as if that wasn’t obvious already. Steven Jackson is a sell high candidate (2 years left).
- WR: Randy Moss is also a sell high candidate. He has one year (albeit a contract year) of fantasy football usefulness left before he keels over. He is 33, same for Tony Gonzalez and Hines Ward. Reggie Wayne and Ochocinco are on two years notice.
- QB: The only question at QB is Peyton, the rest of the leaderboard has at least 3 years of play left (Brees & Brady), barring injury. How long can Peyton play? He is 33. Favre is 40.
These are the leaderboards for active players as of last year for career carries (RB), career yards (WR)Â and career attempts (QB) from pro-football-reference.com.
RB
| Rank | Player | Rush Att |
| 6 | Edgerrin James (31) | 3,028 |
| 12 | LaDainian Tomlinson (30) | 2,880 |
| 20 | Jamal Lewis (30) | 2,542 |
| 21 | Fred Taylor (33) | 2,491 |
| 24 | Thomas Jones (31) | 2,280 |
| 28 | Clinton Portis (28) | 2,176 |
| 29 | Ricky Williams (32) | 2,164 |
| 32 | Ahman Green (32) | 2,056 |
| 61 | Steven Jackson (26) | 1,548 |
| 74 | Willis McGahee (28) | 1,441 |
| 78 | Larry Johnson (30) | 1,421 |
| 96 | Brian Westbrook (30) | 1,308 |
| 101 | Willie Parker (29) | 1,253 |
| 105 | Julius Jones (28) | 1,220 |
| 123 | Frank Gore (26) | 1,168 |
Source: pro-football-reference.com
WR
| Rank | Player | Rec Yds |
| 2 | Isaac Bruce (37) | 15,208 |
| 3 | Terrell Owens (36) | 14,951 |
| 6 | Randy Moss (32) | 14,465 |
| 10 | Torry Holt (33) | 13,382 |
| 19 | Tony Gonzalez (33) | 11,807 |
| 20 | Muhsin Muhammad (36) | 11,438 |
| 23 | Derrick Mason (35) | 11,089 |
| 24 | Hines Ward (33) | 10,947 |
| 26 | Joey Galloway (38) | 10,777 |
| 34 | Chad Ochocinco (31) | 9,952 |
| 37 | Reggie Wayne (31) | 9,393 |
| 44 | Donald Driver (34) | 9,050 |
| 59 | Laveranues Coles (32) | 8,609 |
| 64 | Steve Smith (30) | 8,330 |
| 80 | Andre Johnson (28) | 7,948 |
| 85 | Bobby Engram (36) | 7,751 |
| 91 | Anquan Boldin (29) | 7,520 |
| 92 | Santana Moss (30) | 7,443 |
| 93 | Chris Chambers (31) | 7,435 |
| 106 | Larry Fitzgerald (26) | 7,067 |
Source: pro-football-reference.com
QB
| Rank | Player | Pass Att |
| 1 | Brett Favre (40) | 9,811 |
| 7 | Peyton Manning (33) | 6,531 |
| 9 | Kerry Collins (37) | 5,885 |
| 19 | Donovan McNabb (33) | 4,746 |
| 23 | Mark Brunell (39) | 4,624 |
| 35 | Tom Brady (32) | 4,218 |
| 37 | Drew Brees (30) | 4,164 |
| 41 | Kurt Warner (38) | 4,070 |
| 47 | Matt Hasselbeck (34) | 3,835 |
| 55 | Jeff Garcia (39) | 3,676 |
| 70 | Daunte Culpepper (32) | 3,199 |
| 72 | Marc Bulger (32) | 3,171 |
| 84 | Aaron Brooks | 2,963 |
| 93 | Eli Manning (28) | 2,793 |
| 94 | Jake Delhomme (34) | 2,755 |
| 96 | Carson Palmer (30) | 2,631 |
Source: pro-football-reference.com
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