New York Jets
Santonio Holmes: 8-11-14 (33), Jeff Cumberland: 4-5-6 (15), Stephen Hill: 6-2-7 (15), Jeremy Kerley: 4-4-3 (11), Bilal Powell: 1-2-5 (8), Chaz Schilens: 1-0-3 (4), Shonn Greene: 1-0-2 (3), Clyde Gates: dnp-1-1 (2), Dustin Keller: 1-dnp-dnp (1)
Santonio Holmes is finally getting the targets he deserves. He is easily the Jet’s best offensive player at the moment and to see them take advantage of him is a breath of fresh air. He’s being moved up my rest of the season ranks as we speak.
After him, well, there’s not much good to talk about. With Stephen Hill catching zero of his seven targets and getting hurt in the process, the only sign of hope was the amount of work Bilal Powell received. He was on the field around 40% of the time compared to Greene’s 60%. He also saw 10 carries to Greene’s 19 and five targets to his two. And Powell ended up with 69 yards to Greene’s 42. The changing of the guard could be soon.
Oakland Raiders
Darren McFadden: 18-7-2 (27), Darrius Heyward-Bey: 5-8-5 (18), Denarius Moore: dnp-8-10 (18), Rod Streater: 10-3-2 (15), Brandon Myers: 5-6-4 (15), Derek Hagan: 5-2-4 (11), Marcel Reece: 2-3-5 (10), David Ausberry: 1-3-1 (5), Richard Gordon: 0-4-1 (5), Mike Goodson: 0-3-0 (3)
Darren McFadden’s target numbers are just plain funny. How often will you see a player who isn’t hurt, go from 18 to seven to two targets? Guessing it isn’t all that prevalent. But of course this was McFadden’s best fantasy day so far.
Carson Palmer threw three touchdowns, but spread the ball around so well, there weren’t any huge fantasy days by receivers. Denarius Moore took the biggest step forward with his five receptions on 10 targets for 45 yards and a touchdown. If he can stay healthy, he’ll easily have the most upside out of the bunch.
One interesting note is that Brandon Myers has 15 targets and has caught all 15. Of course for his trouble, he got a concussion.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Antonio Brown: 8-10-11 (29), Mike Wallace: 6-5-11 (22), Heath Miller: 7-3-9 (19), Emmanuel Sanders: 8-4-4 (16), Jonathan Dwyer: 4-2-1 (7), Isaac Redman: 2-1-3 (6), Chris Rainey: 1-2-2 (5), Jerricho Cotchery: 1-2-1 (4), Will Johnson: dnp-1-1 (2), Baron Batch: 0-0-2 (2), Leonard Pope: 0-1-0 (1)
Ben Roethlisberger is a passing machine. He currently ranks sixth in attempts and second in completions. He had 49 attempts against the Raiders and with Brown, Wallace, Miller and Sanders as the best offensive weapons on the team, he may not slow down anytime soon.
Heath Miller leads all wide receivers and tight ends in red zone targets with eight and all four of his touchdowns have come from those targets. With the uptick in passing attempts, Miller’s value may be more consistent this season.
Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace continue to battle it out for receptions and targets, but Wallace is clearly in the lead for touchdowns. They are tied in red zone targets with four, so I’m going to hold out hope that Brown will start getting his touchdown celebration penalties soon.
San Diego Chargers
Malcom Floyd: 6-8-9 (23), Antonio Gates: 8-dnp-7 (15), Robert Meachem: 2-4-7 (13), Curtis Brinkley: 5-4-2 (11), Ronnie Brown: 5-4-dnp (9), Ryan Mathews: dnp-dnp-8 (8), Eddie Royal: 2-3-3 (8), Dante Rosario: 1-4-1 (6), Randy McMichael: 0-4-1 (5), LeRon McClain: 4-0-0 (4), Ladarius Green: dnp-1-dnp (1)
The Chargers didn’t really show up last week against the Falcons, but the good news is that Ryan Mathews looked good when he wasn’t fumbling and had eight targets. Once he gets back up to game speed, he should help this offense move the ball more efficiently.
Hopefully Mathews’ presence will help Gates and Floyd have more productive targets going forward because right now they’re just not getting it done.
Tennessee Titans
Kendall Wright: 6-8-11 (25), Jared Cook: 6-6-4 (16), Damian Williams: 6-6-3 (15), Kenny Britt: dnp-2-11 (13), Nate Washington: 8-2-3 (13), Chris Johnson: 7-3-2 (12), Craig Stevens: 1-1-7 (9), Darius Reynaud: 4-0-0 (4), Lavelle Hawkins: 4-0-dnp (4), Quinn Johnson: 0-0-1 (1), Taylor Thompson: 0-1-0 (1), Jamie Harper: 1-dnp-0 (1)
In game three Jake Locker almost threw for the total yardage he accrued in the first two games of the season. His 378 yards passing was by far his best game as a pro and it was nice to see.
Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright split the target lead with 11, but Nate Washington was the most productive on his three targets, catching all three for 112 yards and a touchdown.
It looks like Washington will be used to clear out and stretch the field while Wright works underneath. Britt and Cook are both extremely skilled and their ceilings are sky high. All of this passing fire power is why so many were high on Locker. Now that Britt is back, we could see a few more games like this with the right matchups.
Snap count data comes from our friends at Pro Football Focus and red zone data from our other friends at The Football Guys.
Welcome to the AFC portion of the Target Show (I tackled the NFC teams on Wednesday). I hope you will find your seats and please adjust your cell phones to the off position. Thank you and enjoy.
Baltimore Ravens
Dennis Pitta: 9-15-7 (31), Ray Rice: 4-10-5 (19), Torrey Smith: 3-5-10 (18), Anquan Boldin: 5-4-7 (16), Ed Dickson: 3-4-2 (9), Jacoby Jones: 3-2-4 (9), Vonta Leach: 3-1-3 (7), Deonte Thompson: 2-0-0 (2), Tandon Doss: 0-1-0 (1), Bernard Pierce: 0-0-1 (1)
Dennis Pitta leads the team in targets, as well as red zone targets, where he is averaging two per game. This trend seems to have become a weekly ritual, so keep throwing him out there.
The Ravens had been underutilizing their best receiver, Torrey Smith. His targets have grown each week and I doubt we will see big dips going forward after a huge game now that they have started getting him more involved.
Ray Rice is doing remarkably well in fantasy even though he is averaging just 15 carries a game. His 14 receptions keep him right up at the top in PPR and standard leagues. In the long run, the fewer carries should keep him fresh over the season, and as long as he’s scoring fantasy points, I wouldn’t think too hard on it.
Buffalo Bills
Stevie Johnson: 10-5-11 (26), Donald Jones: 7-3-6 (16), Scott Chandler: 6-5-4 (15), C.J. Spiller: 3-3-2 (8), T.J. Graham: dnp-1-5 (6), Tashard Choice: 0-1-5 (6), Corey McIntyre: 0-0-2 (2), Lee Smith: 1-0-0 (1), Brad Smith: dnp-1-0 (1)
Stevie Johnson is still the only receiver you can remotely trust for the Bills at this moment. It looked like Scott Chandler was making a play for fantasy tight end relevancy, but he dropped down to four targets, and saw no red zone targets, while T.J. Graham had two and Brad Smith took away some of Chandler’s snaps.
With C.J. Spiller out for much of the game, Tashard Choice took over lead back duties and rushed 20 times for 91 yards and caught two balls out of five targets for nine yards. His time will most likely be short-lived with both Spiller and Fred Jackson vying to get on the field this weekend. Right now there are no definitive answers to who will be ready to go this week and how touches will breakdown going forward.
Cincinnati Bengals
A.J. Green: 11-12-11 (34), Jermaine Gresham: 8-5-7 (20), Andrew Hawkins: 9-3-4 (16), Armon Binns: 5-5-3 (13), BenJarvus Green-Ellis: 2-3-1 (6), Brandon Tate: 2-3-0 (5), Brian Leonard: 0-0-1 (1), Orson Charles: 0-0-1 (1)
A.J. Green continues riding his stud status to double digit targets that allow for such things as yardage and touchdowns. You don’t need me to tell you he is firmly planted in your starting lineup.
The rest of the receiving crew has been putting up some numbers, but they’ve also had some pretty nice matchups. You can’t expect the law firm of Green, Gresham, Binns and Hawkins to each catch touchdowns in the same game ever again. If I had some spare jelly beans, I’d wager that will never, ever, happen again. So who do you want on your team? The answer is Green and then matchup plays for Gresham and Hawkins.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis dropped to one target last week, which is a little disheartening. He very much needs that extra dynamic to boost his fantasy value. He did once again get into the end zone, but had a paltry 17 carries for 38 yards. Don’t pin your hopes on him taking you to the title.
Cleveland Browns
Mohamed Massaquoi: 8-7-3 (18), Greg Little: 4-7-4 (15), Trent Richardson: 3-5-7 (15), Josh Gordon: 4-3-6 (13), Ben Watson: 2-1-8 (11), Travis Benjamin: 6-0-4 (10), Chris Ogbonnaya: dnp-6-3 (9), Jordan Cameron: 1-0-7 (8), Alex Smith: 1-4-dnp (5), Brandon Jackson: 4-dnp-dnp (4), Josh Cribbs: 0-2-1 (3), Owen Marecic: 2-1-0 (3)
Brandon Weeden threw the ball 42 times against the Bills and the most receiving yards went to rookie tight end Jordan Cameron with 45. That also came with a side of one touchdown and two interceptions. You just can’t expect Weeden to boost up his surrounding players, even when he has to throw the kit and the caboodle.
Thankfully Jordan Cameron is a nice prospect and even though he only was on the field 22 plays to Ben Watson’s 54, he caught five of seven for 45 yards compared to Watson’s four of eight for 15 yards. And Cameron also had a red zone target to Watson’s zilch.
Denver Broncos
Demaryius Thomas: 7-11-11 (29), Eric Decker: 7-8-11 (26), Jacob Tamme: 5-4-10 (19), Brandon Stokley: 3-6-6 (15), Joel Dreessen: 2-2-5 (9), Willis McGahee: 1-2-2 (5), Lance Ball: 0-2-3 (5), Matt Willis: 1-1-1 (3), Ronnie Hillman: dnp-dnp-1 (1), Chris Gronkowski: 0-0-1 (1), Knowshon Moreno: 0-1-dnp (1)
There’s little doubt that Thomas and Decker are the receivers to own in Denver. After them it gets a little murkier. Jacob Tamme’s target numbers shot up to double digits last week, but I’d like to see that number steady, especially with Joel Dreessen in the mix.
Brandon Stokley flashes PPR value, but unless there is an injury ahead of him in the pecking order, he’s not going to get enough consistent targets.
When Willis McGahee was injured against the Texans, it was Lance Ball that took over. Ronnie Hillman suited up for this game and saw some snaps, but he still has a ways to go and with McGahee practicing on Wednesday, it looks like he’ll remain third on the depth chart.
Houston Texans
Owen Daniels: 8-9-5 (22), Andre Johnson: 10-4-4 (18), Kevin Walter: 2-4-6 (12), Arian Foster: 3-7-1 (11), James Casey: 2-4-3 (9), Ben Tate: 3-4-0 (7), Keshawn Martin: 1-2-4 (7), Garrett Graham: 0-1-4 (5), Lestar Jean: 2-0-1 (3)
Matt Schaub spread the ball around well, completing passes to eight different receivers, four of which scored touchdowns. Of course last week in a similar scoring fest, Schaub threw zero touchdowns. As it is, the Texans run the ball 75% of the time inside the red zone, tops in the league. Schaub is going to be hard-pressed to throw four touchdowns in a game again this season. The last time he did it was in October of 2009.
Owen Daniels had his least number of targets, but it was a low target game for everyone and he scored a touchdown. If I wasn’t so worried about them running the ball in the red zone, I’d be a little higher on Daniels. As it is, Andre Johnson is still the only sure shot receiver you can roll out there each week.
Arian Foster is on pace for 421 carries, which would be about one-hundred above his career high. He’s also on pace for a career low in receptions. Of course this is too early to put much credence into extrapolations, but expect him to continue sharing carries with Ben Tate.
Indianapolis Colts
Reggie Wayne: 18-7-15 (40), Donnie Avery: 8-10-9 (27), Coby Fleener: 10-4-2 (16), T.Y. Hilton: dnp-1-8 (9), Kris Adams: 4-3-1 (8), Dwayne Allen: 0-1-6 (7), Mewelde Moore: 1-2-1 (4), Donald Brown: 2-0-1 (3), Vick Ballard: 0-1-0 (1), Austin Collie: dnp-dnp-1 (1), LaVon Brazill: 1-dnp-0 (1)
Trying to figure out who the number two receiver for the Colts is has been a bit of a work in progress. Donnie Avery stepped up with Austin Collie out, but this week it was T.Y. Hilton. So let’s take a look at the snaps to see what we can see.
Avery was on the field for 79 plays, including 53 pass plays to Hilton’s 40 plays, including 34 pass plays. They both had a good chunk of targets, nine and eight respectively, but Hilton had the one big touchdown play.
With Austin out for the season, it pretty much comes down to Avery and Hilton. Hilton showed a lot in preseason, but Avery has proven himself as well this season. If the snaps stay the same, Avery should be the guy to own.
The tight end situation is getting cloudier by the day. Coby Fleener started the season with double digit targets, six receptions and 82 yards. It’s been all downhill from there. Last week it was Dwayne Allen’s turn for targets and snaps. Allen was on the field for 60 plays, 30 of them passing, to Fleener’s 43, 22 of them passing.
Coming into the season I thought we would see something like this from the get-go, but when we didn’t I had to assume Fleener was going to be the guy. I think I made an ass out of you and somebody else who owns Fleener. It may be a knee-jerk reaction, but I like Allen more this preseason and I’m ready to switch them out.
Donald Brown is still the main running back in Colt land, so Vick Ballard’s value remains pretty non-existent. But Brown is not going to give you consistent production in this pass first offense. In the red zone the Colts are nearly the exact opposite of the Texans, passing 70% of the time.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Laurent Robinson: 9-6-1 (16), Justin Blackmon: 6-4-5 (15), Cecil Shorts: 7-2-2 (11), Maurice Jones-Drew: 5-3-2 (10), Mike Thomas: 1-3-3 (7), Greg Jones: 2-1-3 (6), Marcedes Lewis: 5-0-1 (6), Kevin Elliott: dnp-dnp-4 (4), Montell Owens: 3-0-0 (3), Zach Potter: 0-2-0 (2), Rashad Jennings: 1-dnp-dnp (1)
Much like last season, the passing offense of the Jaguars is a fantasy black hole. Without Maurice Jones-Drew their offense would be similar or worse than Electric Football.
Kansas City Chiefs
Dwayne Bowe: 6-15-16 (37), Dexter McCluster: 10-5-4 (19), Tony Moeaki: 6-4-3 (13), Jamaal Charles: 0-4-8 (12), Jon Baldwin: 0-6-4 (10), Steve Breaston: 4-1-3 (8), Shaun Draughn: 2-2-3 (7), Peyton Hillis: 3-3-1 (7), Kevin Boss: 2-1-dnp (3)
Matt Cassel had 44 attempts, which is good for us target mavens who want to see the numbers in all their bloated glory. There of course wasn’t much of a question that Dwayne Bowe would lead the way, but after him, no other receiver stepped out as a target. Maybe that’s Cassel’s fault or the receivers, either way, if you can’t get more than four targets when your team is passing quite a bit, you aren’t going to be fantasy relevant too often.
Of course the huge news was the reemergence of Jamaal Charles, who touched the ball 39 times for 288 yards and a touchdown. Peyton Hillis on the other hand, twisted his ankle and Shaun Draughn took over backup duties. Any way you look at it, the job is Charles’ to lose.
Miami Dolphins
Brian Hartline: 8-12-9 (29), Davone Bess: 7-6-7 (20), Anthony Fasano: 5-3-10 (18), Reggie Bush: 6-4-1 (11), Anthony Armstrong: 3-dnp-6 (9), Daniel Thomas: 3-dnp-2 (5), Charles Clay: 1-3-0 (4), Legedu Naanee: 2-1-0 (3), Jorvorskie Lane: 1-0-1 (2)
The Dolphins lost Reggie Bush, their best offensive player, during the game and still almost beat the Jets with their backup ground attack. They pretty much had to the run the ball, because Tannehill couldn’t get anything going through the air.
With Bush out, Daniel Thomas saw the majority of the carries, but Lamar Miller also got into the action. The fact that Thomas had two targets and Miller had none is a crime against nature, but it is what it is. If Bush can’t play this week, we most likely will see a similar 2:1 ratio of work between these two.
New England Patriots
Brandon Lloyd: 8-13-12 (33), Wes Welker: 5-11-10 (26), Rob Gronkowski: 6-9-3 (18), Julian Edelman: 2-6-7 (15), Stevan Ridley: 3-4-1 (8), Aaron Hernandez: 7-1-dnp (8), Danny Woodhead: 0-1-2 (3), Deion Branch: dnp-dnp-3 (3), Kellen Winslow: dnp-dnp-2 (2), Michael Hoomanawanui: 0-0-1 (1)
If I were Bill Belichick I’d be embarrassed about the amount of work Stevan Ridley and Rob Gronkowski saw in week three. Of course I’m no offensive genius, but giving Scrappy Woodhead 52 snaps to Ridley’s 26 and Gronkowski three targets to Edelman’s seven, Branch’s three, Winslow’s two, etc… makes me wonder if he should have been upset with someone else rather than the refs after losing to the Ravens.
I bring this up because it’s pretty tough figuring out who he will showcase each week. I’m sure the cream will rise to the top and Ridley and Gronk will be right back to normal next week, but now there’s a little doubt as to whether Belichick is an evil genius or just evil.
New York Jets
Santonio Holmes: 8-11-14 (33), Jeff Cumberland: 4-5-6 (15), Stephen Hill: 6-2-7 (15), Jeremy Kerley: 4-4-3 (11), Bilal Powell: 1-2-5 (8), Chaz Schilens: 1-0-3 (4), Shonn Greene: 1-0-2 (3), Clyde Gates: dnp-1-1 (2), Dustin Keller: 1-dnp-dnp (1)
Santonio Holmes is finally getting the targets he deserves. He is easily the Jet’s best offensive player at the moment and to see them take advantage of him is a breath of fresh air. He’s being moved up my rest of the season ranks as we speak.
After him, well, there’s not much good to talk about. With Stephen Hill catching zero of his seven targets and getting hurt in the process, the only sign of hope was the amount of work Bilal Powell received. He was on the field around 40% of the time compared to Greene’s 60%. He also saw 10 carries to Greene’s 19 and five targets to his two. And Powell ended up with 69 yards to Greene’s 42. The changing of the guard could be soon.
Oakland Raiders
Darren McFadden: 18-7-2 (27), Darrius Heyward-Bey: 5-8-5 (18), Denarius Moore: dnp-8-10 (18), Rod Streater: 10-3-2 (15), Brandon Myers: 5-6-4 (15), Derek Hagan: 5-2-4 (11), Marcel Reece: 2-3-5 (10), David Ausberry: 1-3-1 (5), Richard Gordon: 0-4-1 (5), Mike Goodson: 0-3-0 (3)
Darren McFadden’s target numbers are just plain funny. How often will you see a player who isn’t hurt, go from 18 to seven to two targets? Guessing it isn’t all that prevalent. But of course this was McFadden’s best fantasy day so far.
Carson Palmer threw three touchdowns, but spread the ball around so well, there weren’t any huge fantasy days by receivers. Denarius Moore took the biggest step forward with his five receptions on 10 targets for 45 yards and a touchdown. If he can stay healthy, he’ll easily have the most upside out of the bunch.
One interesting note is that Brandon Myers has 15 targets and has caught all 15. Of course for his trouble, he got a concussion.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Antonio Brown: 8-10-11 (29), Mike Wallace: 6-5-11 (22), Heath Miller: 7-3-9 (19), Emmanuel Sanders: 8-4-4 (16), Jonathan Dwyer: 4-2-1 (7), Isaac Redman: 2-1-3 (6), Chris Rainey: 1-2-2 (5), Jerricho Cotchery: 1-2-1 (4), Will Johnson: dnp-1-1 (2), Baron Batch: 0-0-2 (2), Leonard Pope: 0-1-0 (1)
Ben Roethlisberger is a passing machine. He currently ranks sixth in attempts and second in completions. He had 49 attempts against the Raiders and with Brown, Wallace, Miller and Sanders as the best offensive weapons on the team, he may not slow down anytime soon.
Heath Miller leads all wide receivers and tight ends in red zone targets with eight and all four of his touchdowns have come from those targets. With the uptick in passing attempts, Miller’s value may be more consistent this season.
Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace continue to battle it out for receptions and targets, but Wallace is clearly in the lead for touchdowns. They are tied in red zone targets with four, so I’m going to hold out hope that Brown will start getting his touchdown celebration penalties soon.
San Diego Chargers
Malcom Floyd: 6-8-9 (23), Antonio Gates: 8-dnp-7 (15), Robert Meachem: 2-4-7 (13), Curtis Brinkley: 5-4-2 (11), Ronnie Brown: 5-4-dnp (9), Ryan Mathews: dnp-dnp-8 (8), Eddie Royal: 2-3-3 (8), Dante Rosario: 1-4-1 (6), Randy McMichael: 0-4-1 (5), LeRon McClain: 4-0-0 (4), Ladarius Green: dnp-1-dnp (1)
The Chargers didn’t really show up last week against the Falcons, but the good news is that Ryan Mathews looked good when he wasn’t fumbling and had eight targets. Once he gets back up to game speed, he should help this offense move the ball more efficiently.
Hopefully Mathews’ presence will help Gates and Floyd have more productive targets going forward because right now they’re just not getting it done.
Tennessee Titans
Kendall Wright: 6-8-11 (25), Jared Cook: 6-6-4 (16), Damian Williams: 6-6-3 (15), Kenny Britt: dnp-2-11 (13), Nate Washington: 8-2-3 (13), Chris Johnson: 7-3-2 (12), Craig Stevens: 1-1-7 (9), Darius Reynaud: 4-0-0 (4), Lavelle Hawkins: 4-0-dnp (4), Quinn Johnson: 0-0-1 (1), Taylor Thompson: 0-1-0 (1), Jamie Harper: 1-dnp-0 (1)
In game three Jake Locker almost threw for the total yardage he accrued in the first two games of the season. His 378 yards passing was by far his best game as a pro and it was nice to see.
Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright split the target lead with 11, but Nate Washington was the most productive on his three targets, catching all three for 112 yards and a touchdown.
It looks like Washington will be used to clear out and stretch the field while Wright works underneath. Britt and Cook are both extremely skilled and their ceilings are sky high. All of this passing fire power is why so many were high on Locker. Now that Britt is back, we could see a few more games like this with the right matchups.
Snap count data comes from our friends at Pro Football Focus and red zone data from our other friends at The Football Guys.