Week 3 Target Watch – NFC

Minnesota Vikings

Percy Harvin: 8-13 (21), Kyle Rudolph: 7-5 (12), Michael Jenkins: 5-6 (11), Devin Aromashodu: 3-3 (6), Adrian Peterson: 1-3 (4), Toby Gerhart: 1-3 (4), Stephen Burton: 0-2 (2), Matt Asiata: 1-0 (1), John Carlson: 1-0 (1)

It’s very nice to see the Vikings’ two best receivers at the top of the target list.  This trend should continue and Harvin and Rudolph will be joined by Jerome Simpson in week four, which should open up the offense even more.

Adrian Peterson probably didn’t get the workload or fantasy points that you expected out of him against the Colts, but he did get three targets, which he caught all of. That’s good news for sure.

New Orleans Saints

Jimmy Graham: 10-13 (23), Darren Sproles: 8-14 (22), Marques Colston: 11-4 (15), Lance Moore: 10-5 (15), Pierre Thomas: 1-6 (7), Joseph Morgan: 2-3 (5), David Thomas: 2-1 (3), Jed Collins: 2-0 (2), Devery Henderson: 2-dnp (2), Courtney Roby: 0-1 (1), Mark Ingram: 1-0 (1)

Drew Brees already has 101 attempts through two games and amazingly, for him, has only completed 55 of those. So we have a lot of targets here! Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles are the obvious target leaders week in and week out, with both of them ranked second at their position.

After them, Marques Colston and Lance Moore are tied for third on the team. That’s good news for Moore owners and not as good news for Colston owners. But it is still too early to make too many assumptions here.  Both Moore and Colston had similar snap counts, but Moore actually topped him by two. Don’t lose sight of Moore in this crazy offense.

Pierre Thomas went off with very limited touches against the Panthers, but Mark Ingram got the goal line work and a touchdown. Thomas was on the field 32 snaps compared to Ingram with 21. Thomas will continue to see work when the Saints are in passing mode, which is most of the time.

New York Giants

Victor Cruz: 11-17 (28), Hakeem Nicks: 6-15 (21), Martellus Bennett: 6-10 (16), Domenik Hixon: 5-1 (6), Henry Hynoski: 1-1 (2), Andre Brown: 0-2 (2), Ramses Barden: 0-2 (2), David Wilson: 0-2 (2), Ahmad Bradshaw: 2-0 (2), Bear Pascoe: 1-0 (1)

Victor Cruz leads the world in targets and is tied with Hakeem Nicks with receiving yards. Those two are the clear cut passing threats for Giants without a doubt.

Tight end Martellus Bennett took another unicorn step forward with double digit targets and four red zone targets and a touchdown. Eli Manning loves throwing to tight ends.

Ahmad Bradshaw left the game and instead of rookie David Wilson taking over, Andre Brown became the lead back, and did very well.

Philadelphia Eagles

DeSean Jackson: 11-8 (19), Brent Celek: 8-11 (19), Jeremy Maclin: 14-1 (15), LeSean McCoy: 9-3 (12), Clay Harbor: 6-2 (8), Jason Avant: 5-2 (7), Damaris Johnson: 3-1 (4), Stanley Havili: 0-1 (1)

Jeremy Maclin’s injury helped boost Brent Celek to a nice 11 target eight reception, 157 yard day. And Desean Jackson continues to have a rejuvenated year after a horrid 2011. Both lead the Eagles in targets and if Maclin is still gimpy, they’ll continue to do so for a while.

If Maclin is out, I would have a hard time trying to recommend an Eagles wide receiver to replace him with. Jason Avant has seen the most work this season between him and Clay Harbor and would most likely be the guy.

San Francisco 49ers

Michael Crabtree: 9-7 (16), Vernon Davis: 5-7 (12), Mario Manningham: 4-4 (8), Randy Moss: 4-1 (5), Frank Gore: 1-4 (5), Delanie Walker: 2-2 (4), Kendall Hunter: 0-3 (3), Kyle Williams: 0-2 (2)

Michael Crabtree’s team high 16 targets and 13 receptions are nice, but much like last season, he is getting no love from Alex Smith near the goal line. Crabtree has had zero targets inside the red zone this season.

Randy Moss is just not seeing enough time on the field to be a fantasy factor. Delanie Walker and Kyle Williams both have run more passing routes than he has.

Frank Gore continues to be the main back while Kendall Hunter remains the complementary back. It may not be until the second half that Hunter becomes useful in fantasy.

Seattle Seahawks

Sidney Rice: 9-5 (14), Braylon Edwards: 9-0 (9), Doug Baldwin: 6-1 (7), Anthony McCoy: 1-5 (6), Golden Tate: dnp-4 (4), Zach Miller: 3-1 (4), Robert Turbin: 1-2 (3), Marshawn Lynch: 2-0 (2), Leon Washington: 0-1 (1), Evan Moore: 0-1 (1), Ben Obomanu: 1-0 (1)

The Seahawks passing game is on the fourth rung, with the running game, defense and special teams all ahead. Russell Wilson looked much better in his second start, but didn’t have to do much with a lead and Marshawn Lynch.

Braylon Edwards went from nine targets to zero due to Golden Tate taking over the starting gig. Neither is fantasy relevant though.

The Seahawks had three tight ends see significant time on the field, but Anthony McCoy led the way this week in snaps and targets and a touchdown. If one of them could take over as the main guy, there’s a chance he could be relevant.

St. Louis Rams

Danny Amendola: 9-16 (25), Brandon Gibson: 5-4 (9), Steve Smith: 3-5 (8), Lance Kendricks: 2-2 (4), Steven Jackson: 4-0 (4), Chris Givens: 1-2 (3), Daryl Richardson: 0-3 (3), Matthew Mulligan: 0-2 (2), Brian Quick: dnp-1 (1), Mike McNeill: 1-0 (1)

The target hog award for week two goes to one Danny Amendola and with nobody taking a huge step up besides him in the passing game, it should stay that way for a while.  

Steven Jackson left the game under suspicious circumstances, but it seems that he had a groin strain, which would be suspicious if he hadn’t gotten it during the game, but I digress. Daryl Richardson came in for Jackson and had a very nice game.

Isaiah Pead was only on the field for two snaps, so he is not in the mix for playing time anytime soon.

Brandon Gibson is the #2 receiver and he has found the end zone in the first two games, but his lack of targets and yardage means he’ll need to keep that streak going if he wants to remain fantasy relevant, and I know that fantasy relevancy is the only thing NFL players care about.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Vincent Jackson: 10-10 (20), Mike Williams: 3-5 (8), Doug Martin: 4-3 (7), Dallas Clark: 1-5 (6), Preston Parker: 1-1 (2), Sammie Stroughter: 0-2 (2), D.J. Ware: 0-1 (1), LeGarrette Blount: 1-0 (1)

Vincent Jackson has the target numbers you want to see, especially in an offense that isn’t pass first. If those numbers can stay that consistent, he will be a must start every week.

Doug Martin has been just okay so far and that’s mainly due to his lack of receptions and yards after the receptions he has had. Last week he had three targets, but didn’t catch any of them. To be a top fantasy back he’ll need to become more efficient in the passing game.

Washington Redskins

Aldrick Robinson: 6-3 (9), Fred Davis: 4-5 (9), Santana Moss: 5-3 (8), Josh Morgan: 2-5 (7), Roy Helu: 3-1 (4), Pierre Garcon: 4-dnp (4), Niles Paul: 0-3 (3), Leonard Hankerson: 0-3 (3), Evan Royster: 0-3 (3), Logan Paulsen: 1-0 (1), Brandon Banks: 1-0 (1)

When you look at these numbers it’s hard to imagine the quarterback throwing these people the ball is the number one fantasy quarterback in the league through two games. But he is and it’s not only because of his running ability.  He’s averaging over 13 yards per completion and if Pierre Garcon can get healthy, he’ll keep making long connections.

The lack of Fred Davis is concerning to many who thought he would have a nice year with RGIII. He is actually tied for the lead in targets for the team, but unfortunately that’s just nine targets.  I’m not willing to throw him on the scrap heap yet because this passing offense hasn’t completely figured out what it’s all about, but I am benching him for the time being.

Snap count data comes from our friends at Pro Football Focus and red zone data from our other friends at The Football Guys.

Now that we have two games under our belt, I’ll be showing you the per-week targets and the total number of targets. So for Larry Fitzgerald you’ll see “Larry Fitzgerald: 11-5 (16).” That means he had eleven targets Week 1, five targets Week 2 for a total of 16 targets. Math!!

Before we get to the NFC team breakdowns for this week (AFC on Thursday), let’s take a quick look at the top targets overall for the NFL at each position.

The surprises on these lists are Hartline, Brinkley, Brown, Pitta, and to a lesser extent Bennett and Amendola. But really, for the most part, I would not have been surprised at all if someone would have given this to me before week one.

Arizona Cardinals

Larry Fitzgerald: 11-5 (16), Todd Heap: 4-9 (13), Andre Roberts: 9-1 (10), Early Doucet: 3-4 (7), Ryan Williams: 3-2 (5), La'Rod Stephens-Howling: 1-2 (3), Jeff King: 3-0 (3), Anthony Sherman: 1-1 (2),  Rob Housler: 0-1 (1), Michael Floyd: 1-0 (1), Beanie Wells: 0-1 (1)

So far the Cardinals are winning with defense, so they aren’t airing it out all that often. The quarterback situation is, as always, a painful one for those who have Larry Fitzgerald on their team. The good news is he’s too good to be held down for long.

Andre Roberts continues to be the #2 wide receiver with 30 pass routes to 20 for Early Doucet, but his one target is of course troubling, even though he got into the end zone.

Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams split time evenly, but Williams’ near game losing fumble will most likely cost him time on the field for a while.

Atlanta Falcons

Roddy White: 8-11 (19), Tony Gonzalez: 6-10 (16), Julio Jones: 9-7 (16), Harry Douglas: 4-3 (7), Jacquizz Rodgers: 2-1 (3), Michael Palmer: 1-0 (1), Jason Snelling: 0-1 (1), Michael Turner: 0-1 (1)

With Julio Jones having one of his worst games as a pro, Roddy White stepped up in a big way and led the team in targets, just like the olden days of last season. I wouldn’t worry much about Jones. Tracy Porter seems to have found the fountain of youth the first two games.

Once again Michael Turner looked like a fat pug trying to roll uphill, but he was still in on 43 plays compared to 26 for Jacquizz Rodgers. It seems like only a matter of time before that becomes more of an even split.

Carolina Panthers

Steve Smith: 11-4 (15), Brandon LaFell: 5-8 (13), Greg Olsen: 7-3 (10), Louis Murphy: 5-0 (5), Mike Tolbert: 3-2 (5), Kealoha Pilares: 1-1 (2), DeAngelo Williams: 1-0 (1), Jonathan Stewart: dnp-1 (1)

Steve Smith left the week two game against the Saints to have his knee checked on, which might have slowed him down some, while Brandon LaFell picked up the slack. LaFell’s usage is right on par with Smith’s and as long as the Panthers’ defense gives up points, LaFell will be needed.

The rushing game for the Panthers was on fire last week with all three running backs and Cam Newton getting into the end zone. But that also means we will continue to see the carries and targets split up thinly. Jonathan Stewart is the best back on the team, but he is still dealing with ankle trouble.

Chicago Bears

Brandon Marshall: 15-5 (20), Matt Forte: 6-5 (11), Earl Bennett: 4-6 (10), Alshon Jeffery: 5-2 (7), Kellen Davis: 1-6 (7), Devin Hester: 2-1 (3), Matt Spaeth: 0-2 (2), Evan Rodriguez: 1-0 (1)

The Thursday night game was an ugly one for the Bears. Brandon Marshall dropped a touchdown pass and 10 targets from week one. Of course this was a rivalry game on the road against an elite Packers team that didn’t want to go 0-2.

The targets for Alshon Jeffery and Earl Bennett are going to need monitoring. If Jeffery isn’t the clear cut #2 receiver, it will be hard starting him consistently.

Kellen Davis saw a nice uptick in targets and found the end zone in the process. If he continues to see targets he could become a consistent red zone player.

Dallas Cowboys

Miles Austin: 4-10 (14), Jason Witten: 3-10 (13), Dez Bryant: 5-7 (12), Kevin Ogletree: 11-1 (12), Felix Jones: 2-5 (7), DeMarco Murray: 2-4 (6), John Phillips: 1-2 (3), James Hanna: 1-0 (1)

The best news to come out of week two for the Cowboys is Miles Austin playing injury free and seeing ten targets which he caught five of, one for a touchdown. He’s once again an every week start.

From the ‘we all saw this coming’ files, Kevin Ogletree had one target. He has value still as the #3 receiver in Dallas, but being low on the totem pole means he’ll have games like this, especially against good defenses.

Jason Witten still doesn’t look to be completely back, but his 10 targets are a good sign. He should round into form soon.

Felix Jones had a lot of targets, but Murray is still the main man and had four targets of his own. He’ll rebound against Tampa Bay.

Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson: 7-12 (19), Brandon Pettigrew: 10-4 (14), Tony Scheffler: 8-3 (11), Nate Burleson: 8-3 (11), Kevin Smith: 6-3 (9), Titus Young: 3-3 (6), Joique Bell: 0-3 (3), Will Heller: 2-1 (3), Keiland Williams: 1-0 (1), Stefan Logan: 1-0 (1)

The Lions passing game has come up against two good pass defenses in the Rams and 49ers and Matt Stafford’s 2 touchdowns to four interceptions ratio can attest to that. But there is no doubt this team is going to throw the ball and throw it a bunch.

Titus Young once again ran behind Nate Burleson as far as snaps are concerned, but he did have the same number of targets. That’s a good sign, but not definitive. Young is the better talent at this point though.

With Mikel Leshoure coming back it’s hard to know how the running back situation is going to shake down. Last week Smith was on the field for 36 plays and Bell for 20. Next week we will probably see Smith and LeShoure split work, with LeShoure getting early down work and goal line carries.

Green Bay Packers

Jordy Nelson: 7-9 (16), Jermichael Finley: 11-5 (16), James Jones: 6-5 (11), Randall Cobb: 9-2 (11), Greg Jennings: 9-dnp (9), Cedric Benson: 0-4 (4), John Kuhn: 0-3 (3), Donald Driver: 0-1 (1), D.J. Williams: 0-1 (1)

With Greg Jennings out, James Jones picked up most of his snaps. It didn’t translate into production as Jones had two receptions for negative-one yard, but there it is.

Jordy Nelson remains the stalwart in the passing game and is the guy to own. In more pass friendly games, the Packers receivers will have value besides at the top, so Jones and Cobb shouldn’t be judged by this game alone.

Cedric Benson looks to have sewn up the starting running back position with 20 carries and four targets.  Even with James Starks coming back soon, Benson is easily the guy to own.

Minnesota Vikings

Percy Harvin: 8-13 (21), Kyle Rudolph: 7-5 (12), Michael Jenkins: 5-6 (11), Devin Aromashodu: 3-3 (6), Adrian Peterson: 1-3 (4), Toby Gerhart: 1-3 (4), Stephen Burton: 0-2 (2), Matt Asiata: 1-0 (1), John Carlson: 1-0 (1)

It’s very nice to see the Vikings’ two best receivers at the top of the target list.  This trend should continue and Harvin and Rudolph will be joined by Jerome Simpson in week four, which should open up the offense even more.

Adrian Peterson probably didn’t get the workload or fantasy points that you expected out of him against the Colts, but he did get three targets, which he caught all of. That’s good news for sure.

New Orleans Saints

Jimmy Graham: 10-13 (23), Darren Sproles: 8-14 (22), Marques Colston: 11-4 (15), Lance Moore: 10-5 (15), Pierre Thomas: 1-6 (7), Joseph Morgan: 2-3 (5), David Thomas: 2-1 (3), Jed Collins: 2-0 (2), Devery Henderson: 2-dnp (2), Courtney Roby: 0-1 (1), Mark Ingram: 1-0 (1)

Drew Brees already has 101 attempts through two games and amazingly, for him, has only completed 55 of those. So we have a lot of targets here! Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles are the obvious target leaders week in and week out, with both of them ranked second at their position.

After them, Marques Colston and Lance Moore are tied for third on the team. That’s good news for Moore owners and not as good news for Colston owners. But it is still too early to make too many assumptions here.  Both Moore and Colston had similar snap counts, but Moore actually topped him by two. Don’t lose sight of Moore in this crazy offense.

Pierre Thomas went off with very limited touches against the Panthers, but Mark Ingram got the goal line work and a touchdown. Thomas was on the field 32 snaps compared to Ingram with 21. Thomas will continue to see work when the Saints are in passing mode, which is most of the time.

New York Giants

Victor Cruz: 11-17 (28), Hakeem Nicks: 6-15 (21), Martellus Bennett: 6-10 (16), Domenik Hixon: 5-1 (6), Henry Hynoski: 1-1 (2), Andre Brown: 0-2 (2), Ramses Barden: 0-2 (2), David Wilson: 0-2 (2), Ahmad Bradshaw: 2-0 (2), Bear Pascoe: 1-0 (1)

Victor Cruz leads the world in targets and is tied with Hakeem Nicks with receiving yards. Those two are the clear cut passing threats for Giants without a doubt.

Tight end Martellus Bennett took another unicorn step forward with double digit targets and four red zone targets and a touchdown. Eli Manning loves throwing to tight ends.

Ahmad Bradshaw left the game and instead of rookie David Wilson taking over, Andre Brown became the lead back, and did very well.

Philadelphia Eagles

DeSean Jackson: 11-8 (19), Brent Celek: 8-11 (19), Jeremy Maclin: 14-1 (15), LeSean McCoy: 9-3 (12), Clay Harbor: 6-2 (8), Jason Avant: 5-2 (7), Damaris Johnson: 3-1 (4), Stanley Havili: 0-1 (1)

Jeremy Maclin’s injury helped boost Brent Celek to a nice 11 target eight reception, 157 yard day. And Desean Jackson continues to have a rejuvenated year after a horrid 2011. Both lead the Eagles in targets and if Maclin is still gimpy, they’ll continue to do so for a while.

If Maclin is out, I would have a hard time trying to recommend an Eagles wide receiver to replace him with. Jason Avant has seen the most work this season between him and Clay Harbor and would most likely be the guy.

San Francisco 49ers

Michael Crabtree: 9-7 (16), Vernon Davis: 5-7 (12), Mario Manningham: 4-4 (8), Randy Moss: 4-1 (5), Frank Gore: 1-4 (5), Delanie Walker: 2-2 (4), Kendall Hunter: 0-3 (3), Kyle Williams: 0-2 (2)

Michael Crabtree’s team high 16 targets and 13 receptions are nice, but much like last season, he is getting no love from Alex Smith near the goal line. Crabtree has had zero targets inside the red zone this season.

Randy Moss is just not seeing enough time on the field to be a fantasy factor. Delanie Walker and Kyle Williams both have run more passing routes than he has.

Frank Gore continues to be the main back while Kendall Hunter remains the complementary back. It may not be until the second half that Hunter becomes useful in fantasy.

Seattle Seahawks

Sidney Rice: 9-5 (14), Braylon Edwards: 9-0 (9), Doug Baldwin: 6-1 (7), Anthony McCoy: 1-5 (6), Golden Tate: dnp-4 (4), Zach Miller: 3-1 (4), Robert Turbin: 1-2 (3), Marshawn Lynch: 2-0 (2), Leon Washington: 0-1 (1), Evan Moore: 0-1 (1), Ben Obomanu: 1-0 (1)

The Seahawks passing game is on the fourth rung, with the running game, defense and special teams all ahead. Russell Wilson looked much better in his second start, but didn’t have to do much with a lead and Marshawn Lynch.

Braylon Edwards went from nine targets to zero due to Golden Tate taking over the starting gig. Neither is fantasy relevant though.

The Seahawks had three tight ends see significant time on the field, but Anthony McCoy led the way this week in snaps and targets and a touchdown. If one of them could take over as the main guy, there’s a chance he could be relevant.

St. Louis Rams

Danny Amendola: 9-16 (25), Brandon Gibson: 5-4 (9), Steve Smith: 3-5 (8), Lance Kendricks: 2-2 (4), Steven Jackson: 4-0 (4), Chris Givens: 1-2 (3), Daryl Richardson: 0-3 (3), Matthew Mulligan: 0-2 (2), Brian Quick: dnp-1 (1), Mike McNeill: 1-0 (1)

The target hog award for week two goes to one Danny Amendola and with nobody taking a huge step up besides him in the passing game, it should stay that way for a while.  

Steven Jackson left the game under suspicious circumstances, but it seems that he had a groin strain, which would be suspicious if he hadn’t gotten it during the game, but I digress. Daryl Richardson came in for Jackson and had a very nice game.

Isaiah Pead was only on the field for two snaps, so he is not in the mix for playing time anytime soon.

Brandon Gibson is the #2 receiver and he has found the end zone in the first two games, but his lack of targets and yardage means he’ll need to keep that streak going if he wants to remain fantasy relevant, and I know that fantasy relevancy is the only thing NFL players care about.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Vincent Jackson: 10-10 (20), Mike Williams: 3-5 (8), Doug Martin: 4-3 (7), Dallas Clark: 1-5 (6), Preston Parker: 1-1 (2), Sammie Stroughter: 0-2 (2), D.J. Ware: 0-1 (1), LeGarrette Blount: 1-0 (1)

Vincent Jackson has the target numbers you want to see, especially in an offense that isn’t pass first. If those numbers can stay that consistent, he will be a must start every week.

Doug Martin has been just okay so far and that’s mainly due to his lack of receptions and yards after the receptions he has had. Last week he had three targets, but didn’t catch any of them. To be a top fantasy back he’ll need to become more efficient in the passing game.

Washington Redskins

Aldrick Robinson: 6-3 (9), Fred Davis: 4-5 (9), Santana Moss: 5-3 (8), Josh Morgan: 2-5 (7), Roy Helu: 3-1 (4), Pierre Garcon: 4-dnp (4), Niles Paul: 0-3 (3), Leonard Hankerson: 0-3 (3), Evan Royster: 0-3 (3), Logan Paulsen: 1-0 (1), Brandon Banks: 1-0 (1)

When you look at these numbers it’s hard to imagine the quarterback throwing these people the ball is the number one fantasy quarterback in the league through two games. But he is and it’s not only because of his running ability.  He’s averaging over 13 yards per completion and if Pierre Garcon can get healthy, he’ll keep making long connections.

The lack of Fred Davis is concerning to many who thought he would have a nice year with RGIII. He is actually tied for the lead in targets for the team, but unfortunately that’s just nine targets.  I’m not willing to throw him on the scrap heap yet because this passing offense hasn’t completely figured out what it’s all about, but I am benching him for the time being.

Snap count data comes from our friends at Pro Football Focus and red zone data from our other friends at The Football Guys.