The numbers by each name are targets for Weeks 6 through 12. And the target totals reflect the last seven weeks as well. I hope you enjoy!
All snap count data comes from our friends over at Pro Football Focus.
Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald: BYE-10-5-12-13-9-9 (58), Andre Roberts: BYE-5-3-7-7-9-5 (36), Early Doucet: BYE-5-6-6-4-10-1 (32), Jeff King: BYE-1-3-2-5-0-3 (14), Chester Taylor: BYE-dnp-1-1-3-3-2 (10), LaRod Stephens-Howling: BYE-3-1-1-2-0-1 (8), Jim Dray: BYE-dnp-0-3-2-0-0 (5)
This was the Beanie Wells show without a doubt. The Rams held Wells to 10 carries and 20 yards rushing the last time they met which is quite a difference from the 27 carries for 228 yards they allowed to him this time around. Oh that reminds me, start Frank Gore this week.
Larry Fitzgerald had a down game as Beanie led the way but he still got his targets. The poor quarterback play will continue to hurt him but of course you can’t sit him as long as he’s averaging 9 targets a game.
Atlanta Falcons
Roddy White: 5-10-BYE-9-7-14-13 (58), Tony Gonzalez: 3-8-BYE-6-10-6-9 (42), Harry Douglas: 4-7-BYE-0-14-4-5 (34), Michael Turner: 3-1-BYE-2-2-2-1 (11), Jacquizz Rodgers: 1-4-BYE-1-2-0-2 (10), Julio Jones: dnp-dnp-BYE-4-5-dnp-0 (9), Eric Weems: 0-0-BYE-0-5-3-0 (8), Michael Palmer: 1-1-BYE-2-0-1-3 (8), Jason Snelling: 1-1-BYE-0-2-2-1 (7)
Julio Jones played in this game, and was targeted on two plays that were called back on penalties, but unfortunately he put up a big fat turkey egg on the stat sheet. Roddy White on the other hand has come on with Jones hurting. Last week he topped 100 yards only for the second time this season and then he goes and does it again with his biggest fantasy game of the year. If you have White on your team keep that pin stuck in your Julio Jones voodoo doll’s hammy.
Don’t expect Jacquizz Rodgers to come on anytime soon. He was only on the field for 10 snaps against the Vikings. He’ll need an injury to Michael Turner or for the starters to be rested before he can have value this season.
Baltimore Ravens
Anquan Boldin: 9-12-12-10-9-2-9 (63), Ray Rice: 7-8-9-7-10-10-3 (54), Torrey Smith: 5-5-9-9-8-7-3 (46), Ed Dickson: 3-5-9-5-14-3-2 (41), Dennis Pitta: 5-3-8-8-7-0-2 (33), Ricky Williams: 1-0-2-1-3-2-2 (11), Vonta Leach: 2-1-1-1-1-2-1 (9), LaQuan Williams: 1-2-1-3-1-0-0 (8)
The Ravens and 49ers had a defensive battle on Turkey Day which shows in the targets and production. Anquan Boldin continues to be the main guy but could only grab four of his nine targets while Torrey Smith came off his huge game the week before to garner three targets. This offense is erratic at best and Ray Rice remains the only consistent play each week.
Buffalo Bills
Stevie Johnson: 10-BYE-9-6-5-8-13 (51), David Nelson: 6-BYE-5-7-5-4-8 (35), Fred Jackson: 6-BYE-4-7-4-5-dnp (26), Scott Chandler: 1-BYE-2-3-3-6-7 (22), C.J. Spiller: 5-BYE-3-0-0-4-3 (15), Donald Jones: dnp-BYE-dnp-4-10-1-dnp (15), Brad Smith: 0-BYE-3-0-0-4-7 (14)
We’ve heard plenty about Mr. Stevie Johnson’s drops/pantomime but as far as targets go he was the guy, oh, and as far as production goes as well. Our pals at Pro Football Focus give us this interesting tidbit: “Stevie Johnson has 11 of the 24 catches that Darrelle Revis has allowed all season.” That’s an insane number.
After Johnson’s 13 targets David Nelson had eight and once again found himself in the end zone scoring his third touchdown in 4 games. Maybe the most interesting news from this game was Brad Smith’s seven targets that led to four receptions, 77 yards and a touchdown. Smith has plenty of speed and talent so it will be interesting to see if they keep getting him the ball now that it looks like he’ll be starting opposite of Johnson.
C.J. Spiller had trouble against the Jets run defense rushing 19 times for only 55 yards. He caught all three of his targets but only got 15 yards out of them. Tashard Choice and Johnny White were only on the field for three plays combined. It seems like that number should go up for one or the other next game but we’ll have to wait and see.
Carolina Panthers
Steve Smith: 7-9-9-BYE-8-10-7 (50), Greg Olsen: 10-3-7-BYE-11-9-3 (43), Legedu Naanee: 2-3-7-BYE-9-5-4 (30), Jonathan Stewart: 3-0-3-BYE-7-6-4 (23), Brandon LaFell: 1-3-2-BYE-2-5-6 (19), Jeremy Shockey: 7-4-3-BYE-1-dnp-3 (18), DeAngelo Williams: 3-0-2-BYE-1-1-0 (7)
After Steve Smith the Olsen/Shockey and LaFell/Naanee duos continue to cancel each other’s fantasy value. It looked like Legedu Naanee would sit this week but he ended up going and crushing all my hopes and dreams for a LaFell breakout.
DeAngelo Williams found himself in unfamiliar territory with two rushing touchdowns. His second and third touchdowns of the season came as a surprise to most fantasy prognosticators and the chances of him repeating are fairly slim as Jonathan Stewart was on the field for more plays and is getting all of the passing targets.
Chicago Bears
Matt Forte: 7-4-BYE-5-5-4-10 (35), Roy Williams: 4-5-BYE-6-2-8-5 (30), Johnny Knox: 4-6-BYE-1-2-5-10 (28), Earl Bennett: dnp-dnp-BYE-5-6-9-4 (24), Devin Hester: 7-9-BYE-5-0-0-0 (21), Kellen Davis: 3-2-BYE-3-2-1-2 (13)
This was an odd game to say the least. The Bears traveled to California with their young quarterback Caleb Hanie and then had him throw 36 times while Matt Forte ran the ball only 12 times and Marion Barber 10 times (on just 15 snaps). Oh, Hanie threw 3 interceptions of course. But I digress.
The target story in this one was Johnny Knox who had 10, a season high for him. He caught 4 of those for 145 yards and a touchdown. I can’t say that he’ll continue to get those targets since this offense is in flux with the transition to Hanie at QB but it’s a good sign for Knox nonetheless.
The numbers by each name are targets for Weeks 6 through 12. And the target totals reflect the last seven weeks as well. I hope you enjoy!
All snap count data comes from our friends over at Pro Football Focus.
Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald: BYE-10-5-12-13-9-9 (58), Andre Roberts: BYE-5-3-7-7-9-5 (36), Early Doucet: BYE-5-6-6-4-10-1 (32), Jeff King: BYE-1-3-2-5-0-3 (14), Chester Taylor: BYE-dnp-1-1-3-3-2 (10), LaRod Stephens-Howling: BYE-3-1-1-2-0-1 (8), Jim Dray: BYE-dnp-0-3-2-0-0 (5)
This was the Beanie Wells show without a doubt. The Rams held Wells to 10 carries and 20 yards rushing the last time they met which is quite a difference from the 27 carries for 228 yards they allowed to him this time around. Oh that reminds me, start Frank Gore this week.
Larry Fitzgerald had a down game as Beanie led the way but he still got his targets. The poor quarterback play will continue to hurt him but of course you can’t sit him as long as he’s averaging 9 targets a game.
Atlanta Falcons
Roddy White: 5-10-BYE-9-7-14-13 (58), Tony Gonzalez: 3-8-BYE-6-10-6-9 (42), Harry Douglas: 4-7-BYE-0-14-4-5 (34), Michael Turner: 3-1-BYE-2-2-2-1 (11), Jacquizz Rodgers: 1-4-BYE-1-2-0-2 (10), Julio Jones: dnp-dnp-BYE-4-5-dnp-0 (9), Eric Weems: 0-0-BYE-0-5-3-0 (8), Michael Palmer: 1-1-BYE-2-0-1-3 (8), Jason Snelling: 1-1-BYE-0-2-2-1 (7)
Julio Jones played in this game, and was targeted on two plays that were called back on penalties, but unfortunately he put up a big fat turkey egg on the stat sheet. Roddy White on the other hand has come on with Jones hurting. Last week he topped 100 yards only for the second time this season and then he goes and does it again with his biggest fantasy game of the year. If you have White on your team keep that pin stuck in your Julio Jones voodoo doll’s hammy.
Don’t expect Jacquizz Rodgers to come on anytime soon. He was only on the field for 10 snaps against the Vikings. He’ll need an injury to Michael Turner or for the starters to be rested before he can have value this season.
Baltimore Ravens
Anquan Boldin: 9-12-12-10-9-2-9 (63), Ray Rice: 7-8-9-7-10-10-3 (54), Torrey Smith: 5-5-9-9-8-7-3 (46), Ed Dickson: 3-5-9-5-14-3-2 (41), Dennis Pitta: 5-3-8-8-7-0-2 (33), Ricky Williams: 1-0-2-1-3-2-2 (11), Vonta Leach: 2-1-1-1-1-2-1 (9), LaQuan Williams: 1-2-1-3-1-0-0 (8)
The Ravens and 49ers had a defensive battle on Turkey Day which shows in the targets and production. Anquan Boldin continues to be the main guy but could only grab four of his nine targets while Torrey Smith came off his huge game the week before to garner three targets. This offense is erratic at best and Ray Rice remains the only consistent play each week.
Buffalo Bills
Stevie Johnson: 10-BYE-9-6-5-8-13 (51), David Nelson: 6-BYE-5-7-5-4-8 (35), Fred Jackson: 6-BYE-4-7-4-5-dnp (26), Scott Chandler: 1-BYE-2-3-3-6-7 (22), C.J. Spiller: 5-BYE-3-0-0-4-3 (15), Donald Jones: dnp-BYE-dnp-4-10-1-dnp (15), Brad Smith: 0-BYE-3-0-0-4-7 (14)
We’ve heard plenty about Mr. Stevie Johnson’s drops/pantomime but as far as targets go he was the guy, oh, and as far as production goes as well. Our pals at Pro Football Focus give us this interesting tidbit: “Stevie Johnson has 11 of the 24 catches that Darrelle Revis has allowed all season.” That’s an insane number.
After Johnson’s 13 targets David Nelson had eight and once again found himself in the end zone scoring his third touchdown in 4 games. Maybe the most interesting news from this game was Brad Smith’s seven targets that led to four receptions, 77 yards and a touchdown. Smith has plenty of speed and talent so it will be interesting to see if they keep getting him the ball now that it looks like he’ll be starting opposite of Johnson.
C.J. Spiller had trouble against the Jets run defense rushing 19 times for only 55 yards. He caught all three of his targets but only got 15 yards out of them. Tashard Choice and Johnny White were only on the field for three plays combined. It seems like that number should go up for one or the other next game but we’ll have to wait and see.
Carolina Panthers
Steve Smith: 7-9-9-BYE-8-10-7 (50), Greg Olsen: 10-3-7-BYE-11-9-3 (43), Legedu Naanee: 2-3-7-BYE-9-5-4 (30), Jonathan Stewart: 3-0-3-BYE-7-6-4 (23), Brandon LaFell: 1-3-2-BYE-2-5-6 (19), Jeremy Shockey: 7-4-3-BYE-1-dnp-3 (18), DeAngelo Williams: 3-0-2-BYE-1-1-0 (7)
After Steve Smith the Olsen/Shockey and LaFell/Naanee duos continue to cancel each other’s fantasy value. It looked like Legedu Naanee would sit this week but he ended up going and crushing all my hopes and dreams for a LaFell breakout.
DeAngelo Williams found himself in unfamiliar territory with two rushing touchdowns. His second and third touchdowns of the season came as a surprise to most fantasy prognosticators and the chances of him repeating are fairly slim as Jonathan Stewart was on the field for more plays and is getting all of the passing targets.
Chicago Bears
Matt Forte: 7-4-BYE-5-5-4-10 (35), Roy Williams: 4-5-BYE-6-2-8-5 (30), Johnny Knox: 4-6-BYE-1-2-5-10 (28), Earl Bennett: dnp-dnp-BYE-5-6-9-4 (24), Devin Hester: 7-9-BYE-5-0-0-0 (21), Kellen Davis: 3-2-BYE-3-2-1-2 (13)
This was an odd game to say the least. The Bears traveled to California with their young quarterback Caleb Hanie and then had him throw 36 times while Matt Forte ran the ball only 12 times and Marion Barber 10 times (on just 15 snaps). Oh, Hanie threw 3 interceptions of course. But I digress.
The target story in this one was Johnny Knox who had 10, a season high for him. He caught 4 of those for 145 yards and a touchdown. I can’t say that he’ll continue to get those targets since this offense is in flux with the transition to Hanie at QB but it’s a good sign for Knox nonetheless.
Cincinnati Bengals
Jerome Simpson: 9-BYE-2-10-4-13-5 (43), Andre Caldwell: 4-BYE-6-9-8-9-3 (39), A.J. Green: 7-BYE-10-7-2-dnp-4 (30), Jermaine Gresham: 6-BYE-dnp-dnp-5-6-9 (26), Andrew Hawkins: 1-BYE-0-0-6-8-3 (18), Cedric Benson: 1-BYE-dnp-0-1-1-5 (8), Bernard Scott: 1-BYE-3-1-0-1-2 (8)
A.J. Green doesn’t need that many targets to put up good numbers as we saw last week when he only had four, but caught three for 110 yards.
Jermaine Gresham saw nine targets which is his high for the season and caught his second touchdown in three games. He’s healthy and a big part of the offense right now.
Cleveland Browns
Greg Little: 12-7-11-8-6-8-13 (65), Josh Cribbs: 5-6-3-5-5-3-4 (31), Ben Watson: 8-4-3-2-5-4-4 (30), Chris Ogbonnaya: dnp-5-8-1-2-3-2 (21), Jordan Norwood: 0-0-6-1-3-2-5 (17), Mohamed Massaquoi: 7-2-dnp-1-dnp-2-3 (15), Evan Moore: 3-4-2-2-0-0-1 (12)
Greg Little finally caught a touchdown pass. That’s one TD in 86 targets. That’s not very good but he does have 50-plus yards in each of his last three games and 27 targets. As long as he keeps getting so many targets he’s worth owning.
Peyton Hillis had two targets in his return from injury and 19 carries. He ran like a bull in a china shop as usual so he seems to be healthy again at least. Unfortunately he faces Pittsburgh and Baltimore twice before the season ends. Blame the lockout for that one.
Dallas Cowboys
Dez Bryant: 8-8-5-9-6-8-6 (50), Jason Witten: 4-6-12-7-7-3-5 (44), Laurent Robinson: 2-3-8-5-3-11-12 (44), Demarco Murray: 2-2-3-6-7-7-4 (31), Miles Austin: 10-5-3-3-dnp-dnp-dnp (21), Martellus Bennett: 3-0-1-0-1-3-2 (10)
Laurent Robinson has 7 touchdowns in the last five games and a whopping 23 targets in the last two. It will be interesting to see how the return of Miles Austin affects his playing time. On Thanksgiving, Kevin Ogletree was on the field for only 18 plays compared to Dez Bryant’s 53 and Robinson’s 55. Austin should get those 50-plus snaps back when he returns but they sure aren’t going to rush him back now that Robinson has gone all koo koo ka choo.
Denver Broncos
Eric Decker: BYE-3-12-5-3-5-6 (34), Eddie Royal: BYE-4-13-5-2-4-2 (30), Demaryius Thomas: BYE-10-3-2-0-6-1 (22), Matt Willis: BYE-2-3-0-1-0-3 (9), Daniel Fells: BYE-4-1-1-0-1-1 (8), Knowshon Moreno: BYE-2-2-4-0-dnp-dnp (8), Lance Ball: BYE-0-3-0-1-3-0 (7), Dante Rosario: BYE-1-1-1-1-1-1 (6), Jeremiah Johnson: BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-1-4-5 (5)
In the Broncos’ run first offense Eric Decker still remains fantasy relevant. He has caught four touchdowns in his last five games and as long as he can get his 5 targets it seems his chances of getting in the end zone are higher than most receivers who only get five targets. After Decker you can’t count on any other receiver. Jeremiah Johnson took time off from trapping and hunting grizzlies to get five targets but you never know when he’ll light back out for the Rockies.
Detroit Lions
Calvin Johnson: 9-11-7-BYE-20-8-8 (63), Brandon Pettigrew: 14-6-4-BYE-9-5-8 (46), Nate Burleson: 10-3-7-BYE-9-7-7 (43), Titus Young: 5-3-5-BYE-10-3-3 (29), Maurice Morris: 1-4-3-BYE-2-1-10 (21), Tony Scheffler: dnp-3-3-BYE-7-3-2 (18), Kevin Smith: dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE-2-4-3 (9), Will Heller: 1-2-0-BYE-3-3-0 (9), Keiland Williams: 0-0-1-BYE-0-0-4 (5)
Kevin Smith got hurt early in the game and Mo Maurice went PPR crazy with nine receptions on 10 targets for 81 yards. There was a lot of passing in this one with the Lions trailing but there wasn’t much of a change in the breakdown of targets with Calvin Johnsonn, Brandon Pettigrew and Nate Burleson leading the way. Burleson’s numbers have been fairly steady with 20 receptions in his last three games compared to 21 in his previous 7 games. That’s some PPR chewy goodness.
Green Bay Packers
Greg Jennings: 10-10-BYE-8-5-6-5 (44), Jordy Nelson: 3-4-BYE-6-5-7-5 (30), Jermichael Finley: 4-2-BYE-7-4-3-5 (25), Donald Driver: 5-1-BYE-2-4-5-2 (19), James Starks: 2-4-BYE-1-4-6-1 (18), James Jones: 1-4-BYE-1-1-3-4 (14), Randall Cobb: 0-2-BYE-0-3-1-4 (10), John Kuhn: 0-1-BYE-1-2-1-1 (6), Ryan Grant: 2-0-BYE-0-1-0-3 (6)
After James Jones went 3 games with only 2 receptions on 5 targets, he gets four targets catching three for 94 yards and a touchdown. How do you start a guy with two receptions in three games? I think James Jones may be the only receiver that you can semi-reasonably do that with and then kick yourself when he gets shut out.
Jones’ extra couple targets hurt his fellow receivers. There is very little margin for error here and one pass that goes to Randall Cobb or Donald Driver is actually going to hurt Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson or Jermichael Finley. So when you yell at your TV because Cobb caught the ball instead of your guy Jennings, well, there is actually some merit to your disappointment that is being diverted into anger.
Houston Texans
Arian Foster: 11-5-4-7-4-BYE-9 (40), Owen Daniels: 3-5-6-4-3-BYE-7 (28), Jacoby Jones: 7-4-5-4-3-BYE-2 (25), Kevin Walter: 8-4-9-1-1-BYE-2 (25), Derrick Mason: 4-1-2-0-2-BYE-1 (10), Joel Dreessen: 2-2-2-2-1-BYE-1 (10)
My totally arbitrary cut off of 5 targets in the last 7 games left our man Andre Johnson out of the above list. I think the Texans must have left him out of their game plan as well because his 3 targets were an abomination!
Matt Leinart and then T.J. Yates weren’t about to air it out and put their defense in a poor position by getting picked off. Their mandate was not to get it on, but to hand it off and throw it short. Running backs and tight ends had 19 targets compared to seven for wide receivers. This will most likely be a trend with their strong running game and defense.
Indianapolis Colts
Pierre Garcon: 11-6-15-6-6-BYE-8 (52), Reggie Wayne: 6-4-14-6-6-BYE-7 (43), Austin Collie: 6-5-7-5-5-BYE-7 (35), Dallas Clark: 7-0-10-5-dnp-BYE-dnp (22), Jacob Tamme: 1-0-0-7-8-BYE-3 (19), Donald Brown: 2-0-1-3-4-BYE-1 (11)
In Week 1 Reggie Wayne had seven receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown which accounted for 16 fantasy points in standard leagues. He then didn’t top 7 fantasy points in the next nine games. So his five reception, 122 yard touchdown game last week came out of nowhere. He now gets a new quarterback in Dan Orlovsky so who knows what will happen. I tend to think things can’t get any worse.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Marcedes Lewis: 8-3-9-BYE-3-11-12 (46), Mike Thomas: 6-1-4-BYE-1-11-5 (28), Jason Hill: 3-8-5-BYE-1-7-4 (28), Maurice Jones-Drew: 3-3-4-BYE-3-6-6 (25), Jarett Dillard: 3-dnp-3-BYE-2-3-5 (16), Deji Karim: 1-0-1-BYE-3-0-3 (8), Chastin West: 0-dnp-dnp-BYE-5-3-0 (8), Cecil Shorts: 0-2-dnp-BYE-dnp-dnp-3 (5)
Marcedes Lewis has 23 targets in the last two games and 11 receptions for 111 yards and no touchdowns (he pulled a Jackie Smith on one pass in the end zone) in those two games. If he can keep up these targets it will be hard for him not to have some value but I don’t have much faith in him or whichever quarterback they roll out there to throw it to him.
Kansas City Chiefs
Dwayne Bowe: BYE-10-11-10-7-9-11 (58), Steve Breaston: BYE-9-4-11-6-8-8 (46), Jonathan Baldwin: BYE-5-8-5-5-6-2 (31), Dexter McCluster: BYE-2-3-4-8-2-2 (21), Leonard Pope: BYE-1-1-2-5-4-1 (14), Jake OConnell: BYE-1-0-3-0-6-dnp (10), LeRon McClain: BYE-2-2-1-2-0-0 (7)
Tyler Palko has been steering the ship the last two weeks and we should see Kyle Orton from here on out which makes it difficult to read too much into the target numbers, but it seems pretty clear that Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston are going to continue to see the most time on the field which should translate into targets and with Orton starting those targets will have a better shot at turning into receptions and those oh so coveted fantasy points.
The running back situation is not one to get too involved with.
Miami Dolphins
Brandon Marshall: 13-9-6-11-9-3-10 (61), Davone Bess: 3-12-5-3-6-3-4 (36), Reggie Bush: 2-2-5-3-5-5-4 (26), Brian Hartline: 6-2-2-0-3-2-5 (20), Anthony Fasano: 2-2-1-3-4-2-2 (16), Charles Clay: 2-1-1-3-2-4-2 (15), Daniel Thomas: 1-5-dnp-0-0-1-1 (8)
Matt Moore has been playing well(ish) of late which has helped Brandon Marshall but hasn’t been able to elevate any of the secondary receivers to fantasy startability. Just concentrate your target vibes to Marshall and then go about your business.
Reggie Bush was on the field for 55 snaps compared to Daniel Thomas’ 15. Just three games ago Thomas had 46 to Bush’s 28 and two games ago Thomas had 28 to Bush’s 33. So this has been a major shift. Even though Bush was producing with those fewer snaps we now can feel better about him getting consistent looks.
Minnesota Vikings
Percy Harvin: 9-3-5-BYE-8-8-8 (41), Michael Jenkins: 6-8-2-BYE-4-7-4 (31), Visanthe Shiancoe: 7-8-4-BYE-4-3-4 (30), Devin Aromashodu: 2-5-6-BYE-6-4-5 (28), Kyle Rudolph: 3-1-5-BYE-3-5-dnp (17), Greg Camarillo: 3-3-0-BYE-3-2-0 (11), Adrian Peterson: 1-1-5-BYE-1-0-dnp (8), Toby Gerhart: 2-0-0-BYE-0-1-3 (6)
Percy Harvin served as the backup running back to Toby Gerhart and had five rushing attempts. He also had his best fantasy day of the season even though he barely missed two touchdowns. With Adrian Peterson hurting and now Michael Jenkins out they might finally start using Harvin as God intended.
New England Patriots
Rob Gronkowski: 7-BYE-9-15-11-7-4 (53), Wes Welker: 10-BYE-8-10-8-3-12 (51), Aaron Hernandez: 14-BYE-4-5-5-7-7 (42), Deion Branch: 5-BYE-7-5-9-3-10 (39), Danny Woodhead: 3-BYE-0-6-3-4-0 (16)
Deion Branch is averaging 4 receptions and 59 yards but his inconsistency makes it difficult to use him every week unlike Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker whose consistency makes fake football players all giddy.
The running back situation is half crazy with the snaps breaking down like so: BenJarvus Green-Ellis 24, Shane Vereen 13, Stevan Ridley 10 and Danny Woodhead 10. Green-Ellis is the goal line back so he has the most value of course but this is a hard situation to decipher.
New Orleans Saints
Jimmy Graham: 11-7-8-8-12-BYE-8 (54), Marques Colston: 11-7-6-5-9-BYE-6 (44), Darren Sproles: 11-6-7-6-6-BYE-5 (41), Lance Moore: 3-4-9-3-3-BYE-7 (29), Pierre Thomas: 1-6-4-5-5-BYE-3 (24), Devery Henderson: 2-2-4-3-2-BYE-6 (19), Robert Meachem: 2-2-3-1-2-BYE-0 (10), Jed Collins: 2-0-3-1-1-BYE-0 (7), Mark Ingram: 1-1-dnp-dnp-1-BYE-3 (6)
Pretty much every offensive player got in on the fun as the Saints scored 49 points on Monday night. Lance Moore led the receivers in targets but was also on the field less than any of them. He also leads all Saints’ wide receivers in red zone targets for the season with 12 compared to Marques Colston’s 10. That alone makes him worth a gamble.
The running backs got plenty of yards but they were spread out evenly between the three. Mark Ingram, Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas were on the field for 24, 29 and 25 snaps respectively and Ingram led with 13 rushes but the splits in looks were almost exactly even. There’s no clear winner here right now except to say Sproles is the PPR guy and Ingram is once again looking like the non-PPR guy.
New York Giants
Victor Cruz: 4-BYE-9-11-11-10-12 (57), Hakeem Nicks: 7-BYE-10-dnp-4-7-12 (40), Mario Manningham: 8-BYE-9-7-10-2-dnp (36), Jake Ballard: 5-BYE-7-7-4-7-5 (35), Danny Ware: 0-BYE-2-2-6-3-9 (22), Brandon Jacobs: dnp-BYE-2-5-2-4-0 (13), Ramses Barden: dnp-BYE-dnp-5-0-1-4 (10), Bear Pascoe: 2-BYE-1-1-3-0-1 (8)
In garbage time, a futile try to get back into the game time, Eli Manning passed a whole bunch to Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. Cruz leads all fantasy wide receivers in standard scoring from Week 5 on. That is a little surprising but of course shouldn’t be. But sometimes it’s hard for us fake footballers to switch our thinking. We’ll see something similar when looking at Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown later.
New York Jets
Plaxico Burress: 4-8-BYE-5-8-9-7 (41), Dustin Keller: 5-8-BYE-7-4-8-8 (40), Santonio Holmes: 4-3-BYE-6-8-9-9 (39), Jeremy Kerley: 4-7-BYE-5-8-dnp-dnp (24), LaDainian Tomlinson: 4-4-BYE-3-5-dnp-dnp (16), Joe McKnight: 2-0-BYE-1-0-7-3 (13), Shonn Greene: 2-1-BYE-0-4-1-4 (12), Patrick Turner: 0-0-BYE-0-1-4-4 (9)
I blame Mark Sanchez for all the ills of the world, well, all of the ills of a Santonio Holmes fantasy owner. He’s been getting the targets but Sanchez is erratic and making it hard for him to be productive. Plaxico Burress has more fantasy points than Holmes. That makes me sad.
Oakland Raiders
Darrius Heyward-Bey: 9-11-BYE-1-0-5-10 (36), Denarius Moore: 4-5-BYE-12-7-2-dnp (30), Michael Bush: 1-3-BYE-3-4-2-4 (17), Jacoby Ford: 4-5-BYE-6-1-dnp-dnp (16), Marcel Reece: dnp-dnp-BYE-5-1-3-7 (16), Chaz Schilens: 0-dnp-BYE-2-0-2-8 (12), Kevin Boss: 0-1-BYE-0-2-6-3 (12), Louis Murphy: 1-4-BYE-1-1-0-4 (11), Brandon Myers: 1-1-BYE-1-3-3-1 (10), T.J. Houshmandzadeh: dnp-dnp-BYE-4-1-0-0 (5)
The constant injuries to the wide receivers makes trying to deduce what is going on with them nearly impossible. Maybe the most interesting development was Marcel Reece’s 7 targets. Even if the Raiders start getting healthier it seems that Reece will continue to get work because he’s just too good at football.
With Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore out Chaz Schillens picked up the target slack. But who gets the targets this Sunday depends on Ford and Moore’s health.
Philadelphia Eagles
Brent Celek: 9-BYE-9-9-7-6-6 (46), DeSean Jackson: 6-BYE-6-8-dnp-8-10 (38), Jason Avant: 4-BYE-5-3-1-2-14 (29), LeSean McCoy: 4-BYE-3-5-5-4-7 (28), Jeremy Maclin: 7-BYE-3-9-5-dnp-dnp (24), Riley Cooper: 0-BYE-0-1-2-12-5 (20), Steve Smith: 1-BYE-dnp-dnp-10-1-0 (12), Clay Harbor: 0-BYE-1-1-1-2-1 (6), Chad Hall: dnp-BYE-dnp-dnp-dnp-0-5 (5)
Even though DeSean Jackson was benched last week he still had 10 targets so it’s impossible to sit him unless we know that Reid is benching him for the whole game and I don’t see that happening. As long as Jeremy Maclin is out Riley Cooper and Jason Avant will have some value. Chad Hall also had 5 targets but only caught one of them.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Antonio Brown: 2-9-15-10-6-BYE-6 (48), Mike Wallace: 6-7-7-6-10-BYE-6 (42), Heath Miller: 6-4-9-5-5-BYE-2 (31), Emmanuel Sanders: 4-7-8-dnp-dnp-BYE-4 (23), Hines Ward: 4-4-dnp-1-1-BYE-4 (14), Rashard Mendenhall: 0-2-4-2-3-BYE-2 (13), Jerricho Cotchery: 0-1-1-6-4-BYE-1 (13), Isaac Redman: 1-2-2-1-1-BYE-2 (9), Mewelde Moore: dnp-0-2-2-0-BYE-3 (7), Weslye Saunders: 0-1-1-0-2-BYE-1 (5)
In the last 5 games Antonio Brown has 30 receptions on 46 targets for 445 yards and 1 touchdown and Mike Wallace has 22 receptions on 36 targets for 327 yards and two touchdowns. Wallace has a ton of ability and more upside but you have to look at Brown on the same level with him right now.
San Diego Chargers
Vincent Jackson: BYE-8-8-12-7-8-3 (46), Antonio Gates: BYE-7-7-11-6-4-10 (45), Vincent Brown: BYE-1-dnp-6-9-4-10 (30), Mike Tolbert: BYE-1-dnp-9-9-7-4 (30), Ryan Mathews: BYE-5-7-dnp-5-2-1 (20), Patrick Crayton: BYE-1-4-3-5-0-2 (15), Randy McMichael: BYE-3-3-1-1-3-2 (13), Malcom Floyd: BYE-4-7-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp (11), Jacob Hester: BYE-1-0-2-1-2-0 (6)
Philip Rivers isn’t doing his receivers much of a service with his lack of accuracy this season. Vincent Brown had 10 targets but only caught three of them which largely contributed to Rivers’ drop in completion percentage. His completion percentage the three previous years was 65.3, 65.2 and 66.0. So far this season it is 61.1. He has a career high 17 interceptions with five games remaining. This isn’t great news.
Seattle Seahawks
Sidney Rice: BYE-5-14-8-4-3-2 (36), Doug Baldwin: BYE-3-8-6-3-5-10 (35), Ben Obomanu: BYE-2-4-2-2-4-4 (18), Mike Williams: BYE-4-dnp-3-1-5-3 (16), Golden Tate: BYE-1-4-1-3-3-3 (15), Marshawn Lynch: BYE-dnp-0-2-7-2-3 (14), Zach Miller: BYE-dnp-5-0-4-1-2 (12), Anthony McCoy: BYE-4-1-2-2-0-1 (10), Cameron Morrah: BYE-3-5-dnp-dnp-0-dnp (8), Justin Forsett: BYE-1-1-3-0-1-1 (7), Leon Washington: BYE-4-2-0-0-0-0 (6), Michael Robinson: BYE-2-1-0-0-1-1 (5)
Marshawn Lynch is the whole Seahawks’ team right now. He has a touchdown in each of his last seven starts and well, that’s good. And keep starting him over guys with more exciting names and prettier faces.
Doug Baldwin may have some value since he saw an increase in targets with Sidney Rice out with a concussion and considering that will also keep him out of the Thursday night game this week.
San Francisco 49ers
Michael Crabtree: 15-BYE-9-5-4-10-9 (52), Vernon Davis: 2-BYE-3-7-4-10-5 (31), Braylon Edwards: dnp-BYE-7-3-6-4-3 (23), Delanie Walker: 3-BYE-0-2-7-5-0 (17), Ted Ginn: 5-BYE-1-1-4-0-3 (14), Frank Gore: 5-BYE-0-3-1-2-2 (13), Kyle Williams: 1-BYE-0-2-1-5-1 (10), Kendall Hunter: 0-BYE-0-0-1-1-5 (12)
The Ravens shut down the already limited passing game of the 49ers on Thanksgiving night but it was good to see Michael Crabtree once again get a big number of targets. He is Smith’s go to receiver now and with some easier matchups on the horizon he could have a good finish to the season. The rest of the receivers are more sporadic in their targets, and on a run first team it’s not worth the gamble.
St. Louis Rams
Brandon Lloyd: dnp-12-13-13-9-14-10 (71), Brandon Gibson: 10-dnp-6-5-3-7-7 (38), Steven Jackson: 5-5-5-2-3-5-3 (28), Austin Pettis: 0-0-1-5-4-5-4 (19), Lance Kendricks: 6-1-3-1-dnp-2-5 (18), Danario Alexander: 10-6-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp (16), Billy Bajema: 0-2-2-1-2-1-0 (8), Michael Hoomanawanui: 0-3-1-0-3-dnp-dnp (7)
In the last 6 games Brandon Lloyd has 71 targets and also has 4 touchdowns in the last 5. He hasn’t topped 100 yards with the Rams yet but he’s still the 6th overall fantasy wide receiver and 3rd in receptions over that span. After him the pickings get much slimmer in Fantasy Rams Land. Steven Jackson gets an extremely tough schedule to finish the fantasy season: @San Francisco, @Seattle, Cinninnati and @Pittsburgh. And there isn’t another receiver that is really edging out the pack with Brandon Gibson as the No. 2 guy by default.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Williams: 13-11-BYE-8-5-11-11 (59), Kellen Winslow: 10-12-BYE-6-6-11-7 (52), Arrelious Benn: 6-1-BYE-2-6-6-5 (26), Kregg Lumpkin: 0-8-BYE-6-7-1-3 (25), Preston Parker: 5-6-BYE-4-4-2-3 (24), Dezmon Briscoe: 2-10-BYE-2-2-3-0 (19), LeGarrette Blount: dnp-dnp-BYE-3-2-1-3 (9)
Mike Williams’ target numbers remained steady all season and they are finally paying off. In his last 2 games he has 13 receptions for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns. If you target them they will score (unless you’re Marcedes Lewis).
LeGarrette Blount actually did something in the passing game! He caught 3 passes for 56 yards which were both highs for his career. We’ll see if he finishes the season with an uptick in receptions. If he does his stock for next year gets a boost. Oh and don’t forget that he still faces the Panthers two times this year!
Tennessee Titans
Damian Williams: BYE-4-5-7-7-11-4 (38), Nate Washington: BYE-3-6-6-4-9-6 (34), Jared Cook: BYE-2-2-8-3-9-7 (31), Lavelle Hawkins: BYE-7-5-6-1-4-7 (30), Chris Johnson: BYE-6-5-6-7-3-2 (29), Javon Ringer: BYE-1-6-2-3-6-5 (23), Ahmard Hall: BYE-3-2-1-0-0-2 (8)
Chris Johnson ran the ball 23 times for 190 yards while Javon Ringer ran it 9 times for 12 yards. It’s amazing that the previous statement is a little shocking.
Damian Williams saw his lowest total of targets in five weeks but also got into the end zone for the third time in four weeks. Lavelle Hawkins is getting work but is too inconsistent to be of any use and Jared Cook once again had a decent target total but didn’t produce much. He hasn’t had a touchdown since Week 7 and has only topped 50 yards once in the last six weeks.
Washington Redskins
Fred Davis: 11-8-9-7-7-6-4 (52), Jabar Gaffney: 10-8-5-5-6-10-7 (51), Roy Helu: 4-2-4-17-3-2-7 (39), Leonard Hankerson: dnp-1-4-5-9-dnp-dnp (19), Terrence Austin: 1-6-3-5-1-0-1 (17), Santana Moss: 6-2-dnp-dnp-dnp-dnp-7 (15), Donte Stallworth: 3-dnp-2-dnp-dnp-6-2 (13), Anthony Armstrong: dnp-4-4-1-0-2-1 (12), Logan Paulsen: 0-2-0-2-1-2-2 (9), Darrel Young: 0-0-1-2-1-2-2 (8), Ryan Torain: 1-0-1-1-1-3-dnp (7)
Santana Moss returned from his hand injury and tied for the weekly lead in targets with Jabar Gaffney. Moss had a very slight lead over Gaffney in targets and receptions before his injury and I expect that to continue now that he is back.
Roy Helu was the real story this week with 30 total touches, 162 total yards and a touchdown. He was also on the field for 67 snaps compared to Evan Royster’s six. I’m never going to tell you that you won’t be fooled by Shanahan but I feel pretty good about Helu getting his shot to be the man the rest of the way.