Cincinnati Bengals
A.J. Green: 5-10-8-7-BYE-10-7 (65), Jerome Simpson: 4-3-7-9-BYE-2-10 (53), Andre Caldwell: 12-5-4-4-BYE-6-9 (45), Jermaine Gresham: 8-7-7-6-BYE-dnp-dnp (41), Brian Leonard: 1-2-3-2-BYE-3-2 (17)
It’s pretty much established that A.J. Green is an elite talent and can have good games based on that talent alone. Jerome Simpson has 2 touchdowns in the last 2 games but that is also without Jermaine Gresham who, before he was hurt, led the team in red zone targets. The Bengals are a balanced offense with a good defense and Green is the only sure target target us fake footballers can rely on.
Cleveland Browns
Greg Little: 5-8-BYE-12-7-11-8 (59), Ben Watson: 10-9-BYE-8-4-3-2 (47), Josh Cribbs: 6-8-BYE-5-6-3-5 (39), Mohamed Massaquoi: 6-9- BYE-7-2-dnp-1 (38), Evan Moore: 3-2-BYE-3-4-2-2 (23), Peyton Hillis: dnp-6-BYE-1-dnp-dnp-dnp (19), Montario Hardesty: 4-9-BYE-4-2-0- dnp (19), Alex Smith: 4-2-BYE-3-2-1-0 (17). Chris Ogbonnaya: dnp-0-BYE-dnp-5-8-1 (14)
In the last five games Greg Little is averaging 9.2 targets, 4.6 receptions, 44.2 yards and no touchdowns. Josh Cribbs has nearly the same amount of yards and two touchdowns on just 27 targets. It's starting to look like Mr. Cribbs should see a few more of those targets.
Dallas Cowboys
Jason Witten: 9-10-BYE-4-6-12-7 (71), Dez Bryant: 4-5-BYE-8-8-5-9 (47), Miles Austin: dnp-dnp-BYE-10-5-3-3 (45), Laurent Robinson: 5 -10-BYE-2-3-8-5 (33), Felix Jones: 3-7-BYE-4-dnp-dnp-dnp (20), Demarco Murray: 0-1-BYE-2-2-3-6 (16)
It's fairly clear who the playmakers are out of the Cowboys receivers and with Austin out a few weeks with a hamstring injury it narrows them down to Jason Witten and Dez Bryant. Witten will remain the most trusted as you can see with his 71 targets on the season. Bryant remains erratic, but his ability joined with an uptick in targets makes him a true fantasy commodity.
Laurent Robinson will take over for Austin and is the only Cowboys receiver with two 100 yard games. He'll be useful for your fake teams once again.
Denver Broncos
Eric Decker: 12-10-5-BYE-3-12-5 (61), Eddie Royal: dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE-4-13-5 (31), Daniel Fells: 4-3-4-BYE-4-1-1 (25), Matt Willis: 3-1 -3-BYE-2-3-0 (18), Willis McGahee: 5-2-1-BYE-0-dnp-0 (17), Knowshon Moreno: 0-1-3-BYE-2-2-4 (15), Demaryius Thomas: dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE- 10-3-2 (15)
The run first/pass little (and wobbly) game plan is going to hurt the Broncos receivers. Somehow Eric Decker continues to get his but on 5 targets it's going to be tough to continue his touchdown production.
Detroit Lions
Calvin Johnson: 11-13-6-9-11-7-BYE (74), Brandon Pettigrew: 13-9-5-14-6-4-BYE (60), Nate Burleson: 2-4-4-10-3-7-BYE (44), Jahvid Best: 7-8-4-8-dnp-dnp-BYE (40), Titus Young: 8-5-4-5-3-5-BYE (38), Maurice Morris: 2-0-1-1-4-3-BYE (13), Tony Scheffler: 1-1-1-dnp-3 -3-BYE (13)
The Lions had their way with the Broncos in Week 8 and once again Calvin Johnson did his usual damage. Brandon Pettigrew was out produced by Tony Scheffler which is a little worrisome, but Pettigrew was on the field 51 snaps to Scheffler's 18. This might be a good time to grab Pettigrew cheap. Titus Young had a wide open touchdown, but he and Nate Burleson will continue to hurt each other's overall numbers.
With Jahvid Best still out, Maurice Morris saw 42 snaps to Keiland Williams' 19. Morris is the back to own while Best is recovering.
Green Bay Packers
Greg Jennings: 10-7-5-10-10-BYE-8 (66), Jermichael Finley: 8-6-7-4-2-BYE-7 (44), Jordy Nelson: 5-6-7-3-4-BYE-6 (41), James Jones: 6- 3-7-1-4-BYE-1 (25), James Starks: 4-6-3-2-4-BYE-1 (25), Donald Driver: 2-4-2-5-1-BYE-2 (24)
If you get a target as a Packer receiver the chances that it will be in the best place possible to make the catch are pretty darn good. Aaron Rodgers is 16th in pass attempts, 1st in touchdowns and 4th in total yards and he has put three of his receivers in the top 6 of the fantasy points per target list. That's what we like to call efficiency. And even if your receiver isn't getting a ton of targets (see James Jones) he still has value.
So let's see James Jones; in the last five games he has 16 targets, 14 receptions, 307 yards and 4 touchdowns. That is the product of Rodgers' greatness and why, with his accuracy, big target numbers aren't needed.
Houston Texans
Owen Daniels: 9-7-11-3-5-6-4 (52), Arian Foster: dnp-5-7-11-5-4-7 (41), Jacoby Jones: 2-1-11-7-4-5-4 (41), Andre Johnson: 12-5-dnp- dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp (37), Kevin Walter: 3-1-6-8-4-9-1 (34), Derrick Mason: 10-3-1-4-1-2-0 (29), Joel Dreessen: 1-1-9-2-2-2-2 (22), James Casey: 7-1-2-dnp-dnp-0-1 (14)
The Andre Johnson-less Texans are spreading the ball around and running it a little too much for my liking. In a game where both of the Texan running backs ran over 100 yards, the tight end position saw seven targets and the wide receivers had five. And those were spread out between three tight ends and two wideouts. Of course there will be games where they need to throw more, but Owen Daniels is having his ceiling lowered by the week.
The numbers by each name are targets for Weeks' 3-9 followed by the total year to date targets in parenthesis. All snap count data comes from our friends over at Pro Football Focus.
Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald: 8-11-8-BYE-10-5-12 (70), Early Doucet: 6-6-16-BYE-5-6-6 (54), Andre Roberts: 6-0-6-BYE-5-3-7 (38), Todd Heap: 10-6 -dnp-BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp (20), Jeff King: 0-1-6-BYE-1-3-2 (18), Rob Housler: 0-1-8-BYE-6-2-dnp (17), Chris Wells: dnp-2-1-BYE-0-0-2 (11)
The addition of John Skelton didn't boost the receivers numbers much, but also didn't do much to hurt them. Neither Kolb or Skelton elevate their receivers' ceiling, but Larry Fitzgerald is still going to get enough targets to eek out startable fantasy points and it looks more and more evident that Early Doucet is out playing and out targeting starter Andre Roberts even though Roberts was on the field for 20 more snaps. Gotta follow the production and that's Doucet.
Atlanta Falcons
Roddy White: 17-11-9-5-10-BYE-9 (78), Tony Gonzalez: 8-9-8-3-8-BYE-6 (58), Julio Jones: 7-17-4-dnp-dnp-BYE-4 (45), Harry Douglas: 7- 0-5-4-7-BYE-0 (29), Jason Snelling: 2-dnp-2-1-1-BYE-0 (16), Jacquizz Rodgers: 3-1-1-1-4-BYE-1 (16), Michael Turner: 0-2-0-3-1-BYE-2 (13)
Julio Jones' 3 receptions and 2 huge touchdowns came on only 4 targets while Roddy White had 9 targets and 4 receptions for 76 yards. It's pretty clear that White is more of a possession receiver at this point and he'll continue to be a great points per reception player, but Jones is more explosive and has a higher fake points ceiling even on less targets as you can see from last week.
Baltimore Ravens
Anquan Boldin: 14-2-BYE-9-12-12-10 (73), Ray Rice: 7-5-BYE-7-8-9-7 (56), Ed Dickson: 9-12-BYE-3-5-9-5 (54), Torrey Smith: 8-6-BYE-5- 5-9-9 (43), Dennis Pitta: 1-1-BYE-5-3-8-8 (31), Vonta Leach: 4-3-BYE-2-1-1-1 (16), LaQuan Williams: 3-1-BYE-1-2-1-3 (11)
Anquan Boldin is on pace for 82 receptions midway through the season. Last year he totaled 64. His four games at 7 receptions or more already beats his two games from last season. He's not going to have huge games consistently but the threat of Torrey Smith is helping him.
Torrey Smith has had some trouble with drops but if he can see anywhere near 9 targets a game like he has in the last two weeks he will have value.
Buffalo Bills
Stevie Johnson: 10-6-5-10-BYE-9-6 (66), David Nelson: 8-3-2-6-BYE-5-7 (50), Fred Jackson: 6-8-6-6-BYE-4-7 (40), Donald Jones: 10-8-2 -dnp-BYE-dnp-4 (35), Scott Chandler: 3-2-1-1-BYE-2-3 (21), Naaman Roosevelt: 1-1-7-2-BYE-1-3 (15), C.J. Spiller: 1-1-2-5-BYE-3-0 (14)
Stevie Johnson just had the best game against Darrelle Revis this season. He can play; that's no doubt. David Nelson went back into the slot with Donald Jones returning and had his most targets since Week 3 and his first touchdown since Week 5 (which was his only reception that game). It seems the slot is the place for Nelson.
Carolina Panthers
Steve Smith: 7-10-7-7-9-9-BYE (73), Greg Olsen: 10-7-5-10-3-7-BYE (52), Legedu Naanee: 2-11-7-2-3-7-BYE (44), Jeremy Shockey: 7-5-7- 7-4-3-BYE (41), Jonathan Stewart: 3-4-1-3-0-3-BYE (25), Brandon LaFell: 0-6-2-1-3-2-BYE (24), DeAngelo Williams: 3-1-0-3-0-2-BYE (15)
Steve Smith should win the comeback player award once again, and coming back from the likes of Jimmy Clausen is adversity at its finest. After Smith, the numbers continue to be scattered with only Greg Olsen having any kind of consistent play, at least in relation to his teammates. I was worried about Olsen's turf toe, but he looked good on a seam route to score his touchdown and on the whole he is seeing a lot more targets than Shockey. But he's still more of a matchup play.
Brandon LaFell saw 42 snaps to Legedu Naanee's 61 in Week 8, but also only had two targets to Naanee's 7. I have to believe LaFell will continue to see more work going forward.
Chicago Bears
Matt Forte: 8-5-7-7-4-BYE-5 (56), Devin Hester: 5-2-7-7-9-BYE-5 (49), Johnny Knox: 9-4-2-4-6-BYE-1 (36), Dane Sanzenbacher: 7-2-10-3 -3-BYE-2 (35), Roy Williams: 4-1-1-4-5-BYE-6 (25), Kellen Davis: 2-1-3-3-2-BYE-3 (20), Sam Hurd: 1-2-5-0-0-BYE-0 (11), Earl Bennett: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE-5 (10)
In the target world and the real world as well this was Earl Bennett's game. Last week I mistakenly said good things about Roy Williams. It's a mistake I plan on never repeating as well as striking from the internets. It doesn't take much to be the most sure handed receiver on the Bears (I'm thinking I could vie for that title and I have bratwurst fingers) but with Earl Bennett back it's no contest. And he may also be the most sure handed receiver in the NFL! Last season he had a whopping zero drops. And against the Eagles he caught all 6 of his targets while Jay Cutler watched his other receivers not catch all of theirs.
Cincinnati Bengals
A.J. Green: 5-10-8-7-BYE-10-7 (65), Jerome Simpson: 4-3-7-9-BYE-2-10 (53), Andre Caldwell: 12-5-4-4-BYE-6-9 (45), Jermaine Gresham: 8-7-7-6-BYE-dnp-dnp (41), Brian Leonard: 1-2-3-2-BYE-3-2 (17)
It’s pretty much established that A.J. Green is an elite talent and can have good games based on that talent alone. Jerome Simpson has 2 touchdowns in the last 2 games but that is also without Jermaine Gresham who, before he was hurt, led the team in red zone targets. The Bengals are a balanced offense with a good defense and Green is the only sure target target us fake footballers can rely on.
Cleveland Browns
Greg Little: 5-8-BYE-12-7-11-8 (59), Ben Watson: 10-9-BYE-8-4-3-2 (47), Josh Cribbs: 6-8-BYE-5-6-3-5 (39), Mohamed Massaquoi: 6-9- BYE-7-2-dnp-1 (38), Evan Moore: 3-2-BYE-3-4-2-2 (23), Peyton Hillis: dnp-6-BYE-1-dnp-dnp-dnp (19), Montario Hardesty: 4-9-BYE-4-2-0- dnp (19), Alex Smith: 4-2-BYE-3-2-1-0 (17). Chris Ogbonnaya: dnp-0-BYE-dnp-5-8-1 (14)
In the last five games Greg Little is averaging 9.2 targets, 4.6 receptions, 44.2 yards and no touchdowns. Josh Cribbs has nearly the same amount of yards and two touchdowns on just 27 targets. It's starting to look like Mr. Cribbs should see a few more of those targets.
Dallas Cowboys
Jason Witten: 9-10-BYE-4-6-12-7 (71), Dez Bryant: 4-5-BYE-8-8-5-9 (47), Miles Austin: dnp-dnp-BYE-10-5-3-3 (45), Laurent Robinson: 5 -10-BYE-2-3-8-5 (33), Felix Jones: 3-7-BYE-4-dnp-dnp-dnp (20), Demarco Murray: 0-1-BYE-2-2-3-6 (16)
It's fairly clear who the playmakers are out of the Cowboys receivers and with Austin out a few weeks with a hamstring injury it narrows them down to Jason Witten and Dez Bryant. Witten will remain the most trusted as you can see with his 71 targets on the season. Bryant remains erratic, but his ability joined with an uptick in targets makes him a true fantasy commodity.
Laurent Robinson will take over for Austin and is the only Cowboys receiver with two 100 yard games. He'll be useful for your fake teams once again.
Denver Broncos
Eric Decker: 12-10-5-BYE-3-12-5 (61), Eddie Royal: dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE-4-13-5 (31), Daniel Fells: 4-3-4-BYE-4-1-1 (25), Matt Willis: 3-1 -3-BYE-2-3-0 (18), Willis McGahee: 5-2-1-BYE-0-dnp-0 (17), Knowshon Moreno: 0-1-3-BYE-2-2-4 (15), Demaryius Thomas: dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE- 10-3-2 (15)
The run first/pass little (and wobbly) game plan is going to hurt the Broncos receivers. Somehow Eric Decker continues to get his but on 5 targets it's going to be tough to continue his touchdown production.
Detroit Lions
Calvin Johnson: 11-13-6-9-11-7-BYE (74), Brandon Pettigrew: 13-9-5-14-6-4-BYE (60), Nate Burleson: 2-4-4-10-3-7-BYE (44), Jahvid Best: 7-8-4-8-dnp-dnp-BYE (40), Titus Young: 8-5-4-5-3-5-BYE (38), Maurice Morris: 2-0-1-1-4-3-BYE (13), Tony Scheffler: 1-1-1-dnp-3 -3-BYE (13)
The Lions had their way with the Broncos in Week 8 and once again Calvin Johnson did his usual damage. Brandon Pettigrew was out produced by Tony Scheffler which is a little worrisome, but Pettigrew was on the field 51 snaps to Scheffler's 18. This might be a good time to grab Pettigrew cheap. Titus Young had a wide open touchdown, but he and Nate Burleson will continue to hurt each other's overall numbers.
With Jahvid Best still out, Maurice Morris saw 42 snaps to Keiland Williams' 19. Morris is the back to own while Best is recovering.
Green Bay Packers
Greg Jennings: 10-7-5-10-10-BYE-8 (66), Jermichael Finley: 8-6-7-4-2-BYE-7 (44), Jordy Nelson: 5-6-7-3-4-BYE-6 (41), James Jones: 6- 3-7-1-4-BYE-1 (25), James Starks: 4-6-3-2-4-BYE-1 (25), Donald Driver: 2-4-2-5-1-BYE-2 (24)
If you get a target as a Packer receiver the chances that it will be in the best place possible to make the catch are pretty darn good. Aaron Rodgers is 16th in pass attempts, 1st in touchdowns and 4th in total yards and he has put three of his receivers in the top 6 of the fantasy points per target list. That's what we like to call efficiency. And even if your receiver isn't getting a ton of targets (see James Jones) he still has value.
So let's see James Jones; in the last five games he has 16 targets, 14 receptions, 307 yards and 4 touchdowns. That is the product of Rodgers' greatness and why, with his accuracy, big target numbers aren't needed.
Houston Texans
Owen Daniels: 9-7-11-3-5-6-4 (52), Arian Foster: dnp-5-7-11-5-4-7 (41), Jacoby Jones: 2-1-11-7-4-5-4 (41), Andre Johnson: 12-5-dnp- dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp (37), Kevin Walter: 3-1-6-8-4-9-1 (34), Derrick Mason: 10-3-1-4-1-2-0 (29), Joel Dreessen: 1-1-9-2-2-2-2 (22), James Casey: 7-1-2-dnp-dnp-0-1 (14)
The Andre Johnson-less Texans are spreading the ball around and running it a little too much for my liking. In a game where both of the Texan running backs ran over 100 yards, the tight end position saw seven targets and the wide receivers had five. And those were spread out between three tight ends and two wideouts. Of course there will be games where they need to throw more, but Owen Daniels is having his ceiling lowered by the week.
Indianapolis Colts
Reggie Wayne: 13-8-7-6-4-14-6 (77), Pierre Garcon: 10-8-8-11-6-15-6 (75), Austin Collie: 7-7-2-6-5-7-5 (52), Dallas Clark: 6-4-5-7-0 -10-5 (50), Jacob Tamme: 0-0-0-1-0-0-7 (9)
In their last four games Pierre Garcon and Reggie Wayne are ranked 70th and 68th in average fantasy points for wide receivers. That's really all you need to know about the Colts' passing game.
After Delone Carter fumbled he saw the game from the sidelines while Donald Brown was out there for 46 snaps to Carter's 12.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Mike Thomas: 8-11-7-6-1-4-BYE (58), Jason Hill: 5-9-7-3-8-5-BYE (42), Marcedes Lewis: 2-7-4-8-3-9-BYE (36), Maurice Jones-Drew: 3-4- 0-3-3-4-BYE (21), Deji Karim: 2-1-4-1-0-1-BYE (13), Jarett Dillard: 0-3-1-3-dnp-3-BYE (12)
Blaine Gabbert threw for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns!! Oh, that was in his last 3 games? Whoops.
Kansas City Chiefs
Dwayne Bowe: 6-9-11-BYE-10-11-10 (73), Steve Breaston: 6-5-5-BYE-9-4-11 (44), Dexter McCluster: 6-4-2-BYE-2-3-4 (31), Leonard Pope: 3-1-3-BYE-1-1-2 (20), Jonathan Baldwin: dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE-5-8-5 (18), Keary Colbert: 1-4-2-BYE-0-1-1 (12), LeRon McClain: 0-4-0-BYE-2- 2-1 (11)
In desperation mode, Matt Cassel threw the ball at Steve Breaston and Dwayne Bowe a ton. Jonathan Baldwin remained in the mix and just missed a touchdown, but Breaston still remains a trusted guy for Cassel.
Since they were in passing mode most of the game Dexter McCluster was on the field for 55 plays to Jackie Battle's 28. But neither did anything of fantasy relevance, well, positive fantasy relevance.
Miami Dolphins
Brandon Marshall: 7-8-BYE-13-9-6-11 (78), Davone Bess: 9-5-BYE-3-12-5-3 (49), Brian Hartline: 4-5-BYE-6-2-2-0 (33), Reggie Bush: 1-2 -BYE-2-2-5-3 (26), Anthony Fasano: 2-4-BYE-2-2-1-3 (22), Daniel Thomas: 3-dnp-BYE-1-5-dnp-0 (10), Charles Clay: 1-2-BYE-2-1-1-3 (10)
Brandon Marshall had his best game of the season against the Chiefs catching 8 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. That was only his second touchdown of the year which is his only downfall in fantasy right now. He has yet to have a game under four receptions and is fifth in receptions per game with 5.75. He'll continue to be a PPR asset and if he can find the end zone a few more times could be extremely valuable.
Charles Clay is listed as a running back in some fantasy formats but is doing the James Casey FB/TE thing with the Dolphins. He only had 3 targets but caught all three for 50 yards. Keep an eye on this since the Dolphins are out of it and will be looking to evaluate talent and Clay has some.
Minnesota Vikings
Visanthe Shiancoe: 2-8-6-7-8-4-BYE (43), Percy Harvin: 5-7-2-9-3-5-BYE (43), Michael Jenkins: 10-1-6-6-8-2-BYE (39), Devin Aromashodu: 2-2-5-2-5-6-BYE (24), Bernard Berrian: 5-6-dnp-7-dnp-dnp-BYE (24), Kyle Rudolph: 3-4-0-3-1-5-BYE (18), Adrian Peterson: 5-1-0-1-1-5-BYE (18)
Percy Harvin seems to leave every game with an injury, but he's still leading the team in targets and is pretty darn good at football. He's the only Minnesota receiver I'd want on my fake team. Christian Ponder is also targeting his tight ends quite a bit, but Shiancoe and Rudolph are going to hurt each other's value going forward.
Adrian Peterson is better than anyone at football.
New England Patriots
Wes Welker: 20-14-8-10-BYE-8-10 (93), Rob Gronkowski: 9-5-4-7-BYE-9-15 (62), Deion Branch: 3-4-8-5-BYE-7-5 (51), Aaron Hernandez: dnp-dnp-9-14-BYE-4-5 (50), Chad Ochocinco: 4-2-3-1-BYE-1-5 (21), Danny Woodhead: 5-0-dnp-3-BYE-0-6 (17)
Tom Brady has lost some of his first month luster, but he's still putting up good fake football numbers and helping his friends do the same. Wes Welker is the target and reception czar of the universe, but Mr. Robert Gronkowski has surpassed Aaron Hernandez in targets and fake football goodness. Of course Bill Belichick might have Gronk block all next game, but his targets should keep him in the elite tight end race.
New Orleans Saints
Jimmy Graham: 8-14-12-11-7-8-8 (82), Darren Sproles: 9-7-7-11-6-7-6 (72), Marques Colston: dnp-3-6-11-7-6-5 (47), Lance Moore: 9-6-6 -3-4-9-3 (44), Robert Meachem: 8-6-5-2-2-3-1 (39), Pierre Thomas: 1-4-3-1-6-4-5 (33), Devery Henderson: 4-1-1-2-2-4-3 (29)
Jimmy Graham is one of three receivers with 7 or more targets in each game and the only tight end. If you own him don't hide that under a bushel basket or really any kind of basket or enclosed space.
Darren Sproles is still blowing away the running back competition when it comes to targets. He has 72 to Matt Forte's and Ray Rice's 56. Just think if he'd played on the Saints his whole career. Dude would have exactly infinity amount of receptions right about now. So far he has 56 and is on pace for 99.5. I'll be very interested to see how he gets half of a reception.
New York Giants
Hakeem Nicks: 5-14-7-7-BYE-10-dnp (61), Victor Cruz: 5-9-11-4-BYE-9-11 (53), Mario Manningham: dnp-5-9-8-BYE-9-7 (52), Jake Ballard: 1-3-4-5-BYE-7-7 (31), Ahmad Bradshaw: 5-5-5-2-BYE-5-dnp (29), Brandon Jacobs: 3-1-dnp-dnp-BYE-2-5 (13)
With Hakeem Nicks out ... Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham and Jake Ballard picked up the slack in targets and production. Even with Nicks in there they all seem to still have some value for fantasy but unfortunately having one of the receivers sit funnels the production enough to make those still standing safer.
New York Jets
Dustin Keller: 9-8-2-5-8-BYE-7 (53), Plaxico Burress: 6-8-8-4-8-BYE-5 (50), Santonio Holmes: 2-11-6-4-3-BYE-6 (46), LaDainian Tomlinson: 6-3-1-4-4-BYE-3 (30), Jeremy Kerley: 0-1-3-4-7-BYE-5 (20), Shonn Greene: 7-0-2-2-1-BYE-0 (15)
The last couple of games have seen a bit of a resurgence in targets for Dustin Keller which is nice, but with the commitment to the running game in full effect it is hard to find a safe play in the passing game week in and week out.
Oakland Raiders
Darrius Heyward-Bey: 3-7-12-9-11-BYE-1 (50), Denarius Moore: 6-5-6-4-5-BYE-12 (47), Jacoby Ford: dnp-2-7-4-5-BYE-6 (28), Darren McFadden: 3-6-3-1-1-BYE-dnp (23), Derek Hagan: 3-5-3-0-1-BYE-dnp (20), Michael Bush: 2-4-0-1-3-BYE-3 (14)
Do you really want to know what happened with Darrius Heyward-Bey last week? Yeah, me too. I'm going with the working theory that the coaches believe that Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford are better at football and now don't have to worry about that phone ringing from high above.
The target numbers favor Moore by a wide margin but the production went to Ford. Both have the ability to take consistent targets to the bank and/or end zone.
Philadelphia Eagles
Jeremy Maclin: 7-11-8-7-BYE-3-9 (63), DeSean Jackson: 6-9-7-6-BYE-6-8 (57), Brent Celek: 2-4-5-9-BYE-9-9 (48), Jason Avant: 5-8-10-4 -BYE-5-3 (46), LeSean McCoy: 3-9-7-4-BYE-3-5 (38)
Maclin has 15 more receptions, 100 more yards and 2 more touchdowns than DeSean Jackson, but only 6 more targets. It is becoming abundantly clear that Maclin is much more well rounded as a player and in turn for our fantasy needs.
The decline of Jackson has brought about a Brent Celek renaissance. In the first five games he had 21 targets and in the last three he's had 27. The non-elite tight ends target numbers fluctuate quite a bit, but it really does look like Celek has won the favor of Michael Vick.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Antonio Brown: 8-10-4-2-9-15-10 (73), Mike Wallace: 7-4-7-6-7-7-6 (64), Heath Miller: 6-3-4-6-4-9-5 (45), Hines Ward: 4-4-8-4-4-dnp-1 (40), Emmanuel Sanders: 5-2-3-4-7-8-dnp (35), Rashard Mendenhall: 4-2-dnp-0-2-4-2 (17), Jerricho Cotchery: dnp-1-1-0-1-1-6 (10)
In the last three games Antonio Brown has 34 targets to Mike Wallace's 20. There will most likely be a correction here as we go forward, but Brown is benefitting from Wallace's hot start to the season and has plenty of room to find holes in defenses. But anyway you look at it Brown is a favorite of Ben Roethlisberger's. In the last three games Roethlisberger has averaged 42 passes and 352 yards.
Those of course are the ceiling but he's giving his receivers plenty to work with in fantasy and right now that's Brown, Wallace and yes, even Heath Miller.
San Diego Chargers
Vincent Jackson: 8-4-6-BYE-8-8-12 (64), Mike Tolbert: 5-8-3-BYE-1-dnp-9 (44), Antonio Gates: dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE-7-7-11 (39), Ryan Mathews: 4-5-1-BYE-5-7-dnp (36), Malcom Floyd: 5-3-7-BYE-4-7-dnp (36), Randy McMichael: 5-6-6-BYE-3-3-1 (28), Patrick Crayton: 7-1-2 -BYE-1-4-3 (18), Jacob Hester: 2-0-2-BYE-1-0-2 (11), Vincent Brown: 1-2-0-BYE-1-dnp-6 (10)
Against the Packers, San Diego had to throw the ball 46 times so there were plenty of targets and yards to go around. Vincent Jackson came out of his slump in a huge way with 7 receptions for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns and is getting enough looks to most likely keep him from any more three game skids like that. Antonio Gates is also getting plenty of targets since coming back and as long as he can stay upright will get his. After that it is a little foggier on the target horizon, but wait, what is this? A rookie receiver steps from the gloom and slowly begins to come into focus. He has a steely visage as he looks off into the distance preparing to go into battle. His name? Vincent Brown. He had a decent game with 6 targets, 4 receptions and 79 yards last week and was on the field for 63 plays taking over for Malcom Floyd while Patrick Crayton only saw 30. As long as Floyd is out Brown should get plenty of playing time.
Seattle Seahawks
Sidney Rice: 10-6-5-BYE-5-14-8 (48), Doug Baldwin: 4-6-9-BYE-3-8-6 (44), Ben Obomanu: 2-4-10-BYE-2-4-2 (36), Justin Forsett: 3-4-1- BYE-1-1-3 (21), Mike Williams: 1-5-dnp-BYE-4-dnp-3 (21), Zach Miller: 3-6-0-BYE-dnp-5-0 (20), Marshawn Lynch: 3-4-6-BYE-dnp-0-2 (19), Golden Tate: 3-0-3-BYE-1-4-1 (19)
This team is maddening to say the least and that is mainly because they don't have any consistency at quarterback. Tarvaris Jackson has flashed ability throughout his career but can't bring it every game. But unlike the Colts and Jaguars I do have a little more hope for their number one receiver Sidney Rice. In the four games where Jackson has played the majority of the snaps and Rice was starting, Sidney has averaged 9.5 targets, 5 receptions and 90 yards to go along with a touchdown. Hopefully that will continue.
San Francisco 49ers
Michael Crabtree: 6-9-5-15-BYE-9-5 (51), Vernon Davis: 9-6-3-2-BYE-3-7 (38), Frank Gore: 2-2-2-5-BYE-0-3 (21), Delanie Walker: 2-3-3 -3-BYE-0-2 (18), Braylon Edwards: dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE-7-3 (17), Ted Ginn: 0-1-0-5-BYE-1-1 (15)
Alex Smith is completing 17 passes per game which is 29th in the league, which is not all that many. Of course they keep winning because of defense and Frank Gore so that number isn't going to go up any time soon. Michael Crabtree has become a reliable receiver and is worth owning, but his upside is pretty low with Vernon Davis and Braylon Edwards taking away looks.
St. Louis Rams
Brandon Lloyd: 7-11-BYE-dnp-12-13-13 (71), Brandon Gibson: 7-1-BYE-10-dnp-6-5 (42), Danario Alexander: 8-8-BYE-10-6-dnp-dnp (39), Greg Salas: dnp-dnp-BYE-10-2-6-9 (38), Lance Kendricks: 3-9-BYE-6-1-3-1 (32), Steven Jackson: 1-8-BYE-5-5-5-2 (26), Cadillac Williams: 2-dnp-BYE-3-1-0-0 (21), Austin Pettis: 2-7-BYE-0-0-1-5 (15)
Brandon Lloyd is the story here in target land with 38 targets in the last three games which are also his first three games as a Ram. Antonio Brown is second in that span with 34. Lloyd has yet to have a breakout game but it's a coming, and hell's coming with it you hear!? Hell's coming with it! Oh, sorry, no hell, just fantasy points.
Greg Salas had a nice 9 targets before breaking his fibula. Then Austin Pettis took over and had 5 targets. He's next in line for all those slot receiver receptions and/or a broken bone.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Williams: 9-8-9-13-11-BYE-8 (72), Kellen Winslow: 4-6-9-10-12-BYE-6 (63), Preston Parker: 1-7-3-5-6-BYE-4 (39), Arrelious Benn: 4-1-4-6-1-BYE-2 (27), Dezmon Briscoe: 0-0-2-2-10-BYE-2 (22), Kregg Lumpkin: 1-3-1-0-8-BYE-6 (20), Luke Stocker: 2-4-dnp-dnp-3-BYE-0 (11), LeGarrette Blount: 3-2-3-dnp-dnp-BYE-3 (11)
As you can see, the target distribution is pretty lopsided to Mike Williams and Kellen Winslow. Parker, Benn and Briscoe are extremely inconsistent in targets and production. Williams continues to under-produce but he's still getting his opportunities. Winslow is third in targets for tight ends and 17th in fantasy points. His two touchdowns are the main problem and we could see an uptick in those in the second half, but don’t rely on it.
Tennessee Titans
Nate Washington: 9-4-8-BYE-3-6-6 (54), Chris Johnson: 7-2-3-BYE-6-5-6 (41), Lavelle Hawkins: 5-4-8-BYE-7-5-6 (39), Damian Williams: 3-4-11-BYE-4-5-7 (36), Jared Cook: 2-6-9-BYE-2-2-8 (34), Javon Ringer: 2-0-6-BYE-1-6-2 (19)
In the last four games the Titan receivers' target numbers were Damian Williams 27, Lavelle Hawkins 26 and Nate Washington 23. And the yards and touchdowns are just about as evenly spread out. If I had to own one it would be Williams, but they are going to hurt each other.
Chris Johnson has 41 targets through eight games and last season through the first eight he only had 28 targets. So the Titans are at least trying to get him out in space. If he can start turning things around this should help him in the second half.
Washington Redskins
Fred Davis: 3-6-BYE-11-8-9-7 (57), Jabar Gaffney: 6-4-BYE-10-8-5-5 (53), Santana Moss: 8-10-BYE-6-2-dnp-dnp (43), Roy Helu: 2-0-BYE- 4-2-4-17 (33), Terrence Austin: 4-0-BYE-1-6-3-5 (19), Anthony Armstrong: 0-dnp-BYE-dnp-4-4-1 (19), Tim Hightower: 6-3-BYE-dnp-1-dnp- dnp (15), Chris Cooley: 5-2-BYE-1-dnp-dnp-dnp (13), Donte Stallworth: dnp-1-BYE-3-dnp-2-dnp (11), Leonard Hankerson: dnp-dnp-BYE- dnp-1-4-5 (10)
The biggest news out of Redskins camp is Roy Helu taking over as the lead back. And he truly did with 65 total snaps to Ryan Torain's 4. Oh and he had a plethora of targets and plethora equals 17 in this context.
The Redskins are going the youth route with Leonard Hankerson leading the snap count for receivers with Gaffney and Austin behind him. Anthony Armstrong is out of the loop with 8 snaps. But really the only receiver you can count on is Fred Davis. Even his name sounds boring, i.e reliable.
Here are the top 20 wide receivers in fantasy points per target. To qualify for this list they need at least 25 targets. 1. James Jones 2.3, 2. Jordy Nelson 2.1, 3. Calvin Johnson 1.9, 4. Mike Wallace 1.9, 5. Kenny Britt 1.8, 6. Greg Jennings 1.6, 7. Steve Smith 1.6, 8. Victor Cruz 1.56, 9. Vincent Jackson 1.5, 10. Devery Henderson 1.5, 11. Torrey Smith 1.5, 12. Laurent Robinson 1.47, 13. Dez Bryant 1.46, 14. Wes Welker 1.45, 15. Julio Jones 1.4, 16. Miles Austin 1.4, 17. Arrelious Benn 1.4, 18. Marques Colston 1.39, 19. A.J. Green 1.38, 20. Jeremy Maclin 1.3