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Wide Receiver Trends Banner - NFL, Air Yards, Targets

Wide Receiver Sleepers, Risers, Fantasy Football Breakouts - Targets, Air Yards, Snaps Trends Analysis For Week 7

by Kevin Tompkins

Targets are paramount when it comes to evaluating pass-catchers for fantasy football. There are no air yards, receiving yards, receptions, or touchdowns without first earning a target. There’s a reason the biggest and most consistent target-earners are among the top fantasy point scorers: they can be relied on by not just their team’s offense to earn targets and produce on those targets.

We’ll take a weekly team-by-team look into these target earners and separate the wheat from the chaff. To properly lead into what we’ll be looking at this season, we’ll have to establish a baseline of the most important things we’re looking at with targets and other receiving metrics that paint the full picture for who we should be rostering, who we should be adding, and who we can drop.

Everything we’ll discuss in this season’s WR/TE/RB Targets, Air Yards, and Snaps trends analysis article will be some of the best statistics and metrics correlating with fantasy football production. Think of targets as a page in a coloring book, representing the outline yet to be colored. Coloring on that page adds context and flavor to that page. That’s what we’ll do with targets — adding more context than just some target totals and box score stats.

Note: Statistics from our player pages at RotoBaller were included during the compilation of data, while Pro Football Reference, PFF, Fantasy Points Data, NFELO, NFL NextGenStats, NFL Pro+, RotoViz, ESPN Stats and Info, SumerSports, and Nathan Jahnke's Immediate Fantasy Football Takeaways article for that particular week were also used as resources in the creation of this article.

 

Important Links

We're also providing a full table with statistics for each week HERE.

 

Largest Target Share % Increases from Week 5 To Week 6

Name Pos. Team WK 5 Target Share WK 6 Target Share Diff (+/-)
David Njoku TE CLE 3.8% 31.8% +28.0%
Bub Means WR NO 0.0% 22.9% +22.9%
Tank Dell WR HOU 11.4% 31.0% +19.6%
Emari Demercado RB ARI 3.6% 21.9% +18.3%
CeeDee Lamb WR DAL 17.9% 32.6% +14.6%
Calvin Austin III WR PIT 8.0% 21.7% +13.7%
Drake London WR ATL 24.1% 37.0% +13.0%
Greg Dortch WR ARI 3.6% 15.6% +12.1%
Jalin Hyatt WR NYG 0.0% 11.8% +11.8%
Harrison Bryant TE LV 0.0% 11.4% +11.4%
Jalen Brooks WR DAL 2.6% 14.0% +11.4%
Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB NYG 6.5% 17.6% +11.2%
Gabe Davis WR JAC 11.8% 22.9% +11.1%
Chris Godwin WR TB 26.1% 37.1% +11.1%
George Pickens WR PIT 24.0% 34.8% +10.8%

David Njoku's return week by week to a reasonable route share was the driver of getting him from a 3.8% target up above the 31% mark in Week 6. With the trade of Amari Cooper to the Bills, he could be the biggest beneficiary of those remaining on the Browns.

Bub Means also looks to gain a foothold in New Orleans with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed banged up, but tread lightly as it's a very unproven connection between Means and rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler, who faces a solid Broncos defense on Thursday Night Football.

Drake London's rise coincided with the regression of the other pass-catchers in the Falcons' offense to numbers much closer to their normal levels, while London remains a top-five receiver in fantasy.

 

Largest Target Share % Decreases from Week 5 To Week 6

Name Pos. Team WK 5 Target Share WK 6 Target Share Diff (+/-)
Brandon Aiyuk WR SF 35.5% 14.8% -20.7%
Van Jefferson WR PIT 20.0% 0.0% -20.0%
Dare Ogunbowale RB HOU 20.0% 0.0% -20.0%
Zach Ertz TE WAS 30.8% 12.1% -18.6%
George Kittle TE SF 38.7% 22.2% -16.5%
Darnell Mooney WR ATL 29.6% 14.8% -14.8%
Mack Hollins WR BUF 23.1% 8.7% -14.4%
Jalen Tolbert WR DAL 25.6% 11.6% -14.0%
Trey Sermon RB IND 13.6% 0.0% -13.6%
Garrett Wilson WR NYJ 44.7% 31.3% -13.4%
Rome Odunze WR CHI 21.4% 8.3% -13.1%
Eric Gray RB NYG 12.9% 0.0% -12.9%
Jonathan Mingo WR CAR 14.7% 2.8% -11.9%
Tucker Kraft TE GB 25.0% 13.3% -11.7%
Connor Heyward TE PIT 16.0% 4.3% -11.7%

The 49ers' offense is notorious for game-planning one weapon as the focal point and then going completely off of them based on the matchup, but that's exactly what happened with Aiyuk. Same with Kittle, though it's not like either really cratered or fell off to unusable levels.

Darnell Mooney's decrease was inevitable, as he had a monster Thursday Night Football performance against the Bucs, but a dose of reality had to come and knock him back down a bit.

Jonathan Mingo's decrease is the worst yet, as he was part of a role change where Jalen Coker was getting routes over him the past two weeks, but last week, Coker dusted him, and rightly so. Mingo has shown nothing to prove he should still be earning the 70%+ routes he had been seeing for the majority of last season into the first few games of this season.

 

Arizona Cardinals

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Marvin Harrison Jr. WR 2 0 0 0 9.8% 16.7% 13.8% 9.5 6.3% 10.0% 33.3% 0.00 0.0 WR102
Greg Dortch WR 5 3 36 0 9.1% 72.2% 62.1% 3.5 15.6% 10.0% 19.2% 1.38 4.6 WR75
Michael Wilson WR 4 2 21 1 25.9% 94.4% 94.8% 12.5 12.5% 20.0% 11.8% 0.62 10.1 WR37
Zach Pascal WR 11.1% 13.8% 0.0 WR102
Xavier Weaver WR 1 0 0 0 10.9% 75.0% 70.7% 21.0 3.1% 5.0% 3.7% 0.00 0.0 WR102
Trey McBride TE 8 8 96 0 33.1% 94.4% 93.1% 8.0 25.0% 35.0% 23.5% 2.82 17.6 TE4
Elijah Higgins TE 22.2% 31.0% 0.0 TE44
Tip Reiman TE 5.6% 20.7% 0.0 TE44
James Conner RB 5 4 22 0 -3.6% 22.2% 27.6% -1.4 15.6% 15.0% 62.5% 2.75 6.6 RB35
Trey Benson RB 11.1% 19.0% 2.6 RB49
Emari Demercado RB 7 5 39 0 14.9% 52.8% 53.4% 4.1 21.9% 5.0% 36.8% 2.05 11.4 RB24

Cardinals Notes From Week 6:

Marvin Harrison played all of eight snaps and was ruled out with a concussion, so the Cardinals were already playing behind the eight ball early. They couldn’t get much going through the air all game.

We were already writing the epitaph for Trey McBride when he earned his first target and catch with 3:05 left in the first half. McBride (eight targets, 8-96) ended up leading the team in targets, receptions, and yards, but Michael Wilson (four targets, 2-21-1) caught the lone touchdown late in the second quarter.

Leaving the game with an ankle injury was James Conner (7-24 rushing; five targets, 4-22 receiving, who had a miserable game with that injury and a third-quarter fumble to boot.

Trey Benson (5-26; 28% snaps) came in to get some work in, and Emari Demercado (4-25 rushing; seven targets, 5-39 receiving) did a lot of garbage time compiling as Conner had no reason to get back in with the game-script, a decision head coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed in the post-game press conference.

 

Atlanta Falcons

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Drake London WR 10 6 74 1 44.6% 100.0% 95.7% 8.8 37.0% 47.6% 33.3% 2.47 19.4 WR15
Darnell Mooney WR 4 3 38 0 13.8% 93.3% 95.7% 6.8 14.8% 19.0% 14.3% 1.36 6.8 WR54
Ray-Ray McCloud III WR 4 3 30 0 17.8% 96.7% 82.9% 8.8 14.8% 14.3% 13.8% 1.03 4.3 WR77
KhaDarel Hodge WR 10.0% 11.4% 0.0 WR102
Kyle Pitts TE 5 3 70 0 26.9% 80.0% 64.3% 10.6 18.5% 14.3% 20.8% 2.92 10.0 TE13
Charlie Woerner TE 3.3% 35.7% 0.0 TE44
Bijan Robinson RB 3 3 10 0 -4.1% 63.3% 55.7% -2.7 11.1% 4.8% 15.8% 0.53 25.5 RB3
Tyler Allgeier RB 1 1 3 0 1.0% 20.0% 41.4% 2.0 3.7% 0.0% 16.7% 0.50 19.8 RB11
Avery Williams RB 0.0% 4.3% 0.0 RB69

Falcons Notes From Week 6:

From last week’s massive volume to this week, there was a large shift in how volume was distributed, but Drake London (10 targets, 6-74-1) kept his massive role and produced as the clear top pass-catcher for the Falcons, as it should be.

While Mooney (five targets, 3-38) and Ray-Ray McCloud (four targets, 3-30 receiving; 1-3 rushing) certainly are solid players who are probably better in real life than in fantasy, we probably saw Mooney’s best fantasy output last week.

Kyle Pitts (five targets. 3-70) was also solid despite the heavy run lean (34 rushes, 30 dropbacks). In years past (see: Arthur Smith), the heavier run lean would cripple all pass-catchers. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore, which is great to see.

The run game paced the Falcons against the Panthers with Bijan Robinson (15-95-2 rushing; three targets. 3-10 receiving) and Tyler Allgeier (18-105-1; one target. 1-3 receiving) combining for 213 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Robinson kept a three-down workload, but Allgeier led the team in carries on 41% of snaps.

Their game plan to suffocate the Panthers with the run clearly worked, so why not just pound them into submission with two running backs?

 

Baltimore Ravens

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Zay Flowers WR 9 9 132 0 17.8% 96.7% 72.1% 5.2 36.0% 36.4% 31.0% 4.55 22.4 WR6
Rashod Bateman WR 4 4 71 0 20.5% 93.3% 69.1% 13.5 16.0% 18.2% 14.3% 2.54 11.1 WR35
Nelson Agholor WR 3 1 25 0 18.3% 40.0% 47.1% 16.0 12.0% 13.6% 25.0% 2.08 3.5 WR82
Mark Andrews TE 4 3 66 1 23.3% 60.0% 50.0% 15.3 16.0% 18.2% 22.2% 3.67 15.6 TE6
Isaiah Likely TE 4 2 27 0 21.3% 60.0% 67.6% 14.0 16.0% 13.6% 22.2% 1.50 4.7 TE26
Charlie Kolar TE 6.7% 32.4% 0.0 TE44
Derrick Henry RB 36.7% 63.2% 25.2 RB4
Justice Hill RB 1 1 2 0 -1.1% 40.0% 38.2% -3.0 4.0% 0.0% 8.3% 0.17 1.4 RB56
Patrick Ricard FB 13.3% 51.5% 0.0 FB2

Ravens Notes From Week 6:

When you have Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson absolutely dominating the game at their respective positions, it makes it really easy for other players to do their jobs, and that was the case for Zay Flowers (nine targets, 9-132) as he dominated the first half of the game from a receiving standpoint.

He then went on a milk carton for the rest of the game, as he wasn’t even targeted after the 1:49 mark in the second quarter. Pretty inexplicable, but it’s not like they don’t have other weapons. It just feels like it was a game where Flowers was going to break the slate, but even with the first half he put up, he still left people wanting more.

No other Raven had more than four targets, but Rashod Bateman (4-71) was solidly involved on 93% of routes, and Mark Andrews (3-66-1) finally hit paydirt despite just 60% of routes, which was a four-week high.

Henry (24-132-2) dominated the Commanders’ lackluster run defense, while Justice Hill ran his usual complement of routes (40%) to little production.

 

Buffalo Bills

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Curtis Samuel WR 4 3 44 0 26.2% 40.0% 36.8% 13.0 17.4% 13.3% 33.3% 3.67 7.4 WR52
Khalil Shakir WR 2 2 19 0 5.0% 50.0% 36.8% 5.0 8.7% 6.7% 13.3% 1.27 3.9 WR79
Keon Coleman WR 4 3 26 0 17.1% 83.3% 63.2% 8.5 17.4% 26.7% 16.0% 1.04 5.6 WR66
Mack Hollins WR 2 1 8 1 13.1% 76.7% 66.2% 13.0 8.7% 13.3% 8.7% 0.35 7.8 WR50
Marquez Valdes-Scantling WR 23.3% 32.4% 0.0 WR102
Dalton Kincaid TE 7 6 51 0 12.0% 80.0% 79.4% 3.4 30.4% 33.3% 29.2% 2.13 11.1 TE10
Dawson Knox TE 1 1 12 1 6.5% 46.7% 60.3% 13.0 4.3% 0.0% 7.1% 0.86 8.2 TE16
Quintin Morris TE 3.3% 5.9% 0.0 TE44
Ray Davis RB 3 3 55 0 20.1% 46.7% 58.8% 13.3 13.0% 6.7% 21.4% 3.93 18.2 RB13
Ty Johnson RB 26.7% 35.3% 3.4 RB45

Bills Notes From Week 6:

Coming out of Monday night’s game, the talk was about Ray Davis (20-97 rushing; three targets, 3-55 receiving) looking every bit the part of a dominant rusher following an excellent performance with James Cook unable to play. Ty Johnson (4-34) worked in a few rushes in the first half but ceded all carries to Davis for the rest of the game as offensive coordinator Joe Brady rode the hot hand.

The hope is that Davis earned more of a standalone role next to Cook as a more dynamic and powerful option akin to last season’s Latavius Murray or Damien Harris. Clearly, Davis is much more capable in the receiving game than anybody thought.

For the receiving game, Dalton Kincaid led the Bills’ non-running backs with a 6-51 line on seven targets (all team-leading in Week 6), but things were very much spread throughout a half-dozen other options as Mack Hollins (two targets, 1-8-1) scored a touchdown, Dawson Knox (one target, 1-12-1) scored as well on a broken play, and the Bills looked very much in need of another passing game weapon.

Well, they very much got that weapon with a trade that brought in Amari Cooper. He’s definitely an improvement to the wide receiver room in Buffalo, but for a fantasy asset, It’s a bump, but maybe not the meaningful bump that people want it to be.

A lot of the metrics attributed to Cooper (especially ESPN’s Wide Receiver Tracking Metrics and Analytics) are slightly skewed to the quarterback for a lot of it, but some of that is on Cooper.

Cooper is going to be a solid WR3 for fantasy, but the way this offense operates, I find it very hard to see any kind of massive upside with Cooper going from even the terrible Deshaun Watson to Josh Allen, who has never been a very accurate passer in his career.

 

Carolina Panthers

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Diontae Johnson WR 10 6 78 1 37.1% 92.5% 89.4% 9.8 27.8% 39.1% 27.0% 2.11 19.8 WR12
Xavier Legette WR 4 3 23 1 25.4% 77.5% 77.3% 16.8 11.1% 17.4% 12.9% 0.74 11.3 WR33
Jonathan Mingo WR 1 1 1 0 0.0% 32.5% 45.5% 0.0 2.8% 0.0% 7.7% 0.08 1.1 WR99
David Moore WR 2 2 17 0 3.4% 10.0% 9.1% 4.5 5.6% 8.7% 50.0% 4.25 3.7 WR81
Jalen Coker WR 3 3 30 0 9.1% 75.0% 65.2% 8.0 8.3% 13.0% 10.0% 1.00 6.0 WR58
Ian Thomas TE 2 0 0 0 8.3% 15.0% 33.3% 11.0 5.6% 4.3% 33.3% 0.00 0.0 TE44
Ja'Tavion Sanders TE 7 5 49 0 15.9% 75.0% 72.7% 6.0 19.4% 17.4% 23.3% 1.63 9.9 TE14
Chuba Hubbard RB 6 5 11 0 -0.7% 70.0% 81.8% -0.3 16.7% 0.0% 21.4% 0.39 15.3 RB18
Miles Sanders RB 1 1 12 0 1.5% 20.0% 22.7% 4.0 2.8% 0.0% 12.5% 1.50 2.3 RB51

Panthers Notes From Week 6:

While Diontae Johnson (10 targets. 6-78-1) is easily the best fantasy option and Xavier Legette (four targets, 3-23-1) is the locked-in No. 2 option as he should continue to be, we must recognize that the coaching staff is getting some weapons, some extended playing time and dropping out some of the veteran mess.

Jalen Coker (three targets, 3-30) got up to 75% of routes, pushing out Jonathan Mingo (one target, 1-1), who ran just 33% of routes per dropback.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (seven targets, 5-49) Sanders ran routes on 75% of Andy Dalton’s dropbacks and put up a solid 1.63 YPRR plus a 23% TPRR on the week. The role is growing for Sanders, as he’s earned 12 targets in his last two games.

Jonathon Brooks saw his practice window opened up this week, so Chuba Hubbard (18-92 rushing; six targets, 5-11) managers need to keep tabs on that. Considering Hubbard has been one of the most efficient running backs in the league this season, Hubbard isn’t getting put back in the box for Brooks. If anything, Brooks may be worked into the fold a little slow and then vaporize any Miles Sanders touches.

 

Chicago Bears

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
DJ Moore WR 5 4 20 0 28.7% 97.1% 84.8% 7.8 20.8% 26.3% 15.2% 0.61 6.0 WR58
Keenan Allen WR 5 5 41 2 34.6% 94.1% 80.3% 9.4 20.8% 26.3% 15.6% 1.28 21.1 WR9
Rome Odunze WR 2 2 40 0 20.6% 79.4% 80.3% 14.0 8.3% 5.3% 7.4% 1.48 6.0 WR58
Cole Kmet TE 5 5 70 2 25.7% 79.4% 86.4% 7.0 20.8% 15.8% 18.5% 2.59 24.0 TE1
Gerald Everett TE 26.5% 27.3% 0.0 TE44
Marcedes Lewis TE 1 1 2 0 0.7% 2.9% 19.7% 1.0 4.2% 5.3% 100.0% 2.00 1.2 TE42
D'Andre Swift RB 4 4 28 0 -10.3% 58.8% 68.2% -3.5 16.7% 10.5% 20.0% 1.40 21.9 RB6
Roschon Johnson RB 2 2 25 0 0.0% 29.4% 27.3% 0.0 8.3% 10.5% 20.0% 2.50 5.3 RB37

Bears Notes From Week 6:

I’ve got to say: Caleb Williams looked the best in Week 6 than he has at any point this season. It took a few games to shake some of the rookie jitters and to get into an NFL rhythm, but now that he has, he looks pretty locked in.

Williams threw four touchdown passes in the morning (afternoon across the pond), with two going to Cole Kmet (five targets, 5-70-2) and the other two going to Keenan Allen (five targets, 5-41-2).

Allen’s, in particular, were both high-level throws, with Williams’ first touchdown throw splitting two defenders and needing perfect placement and then the second being an end-zone fade where Williams had to drop that ball in a bucket with a trailing defender right on him. Both were effortless throws, which shows why he was the No. 1 overall pick.

D.J. Moore (five targets, 4-20) and Rome Odunze (two targets, 2-40) both took a backseat here; both are plenty involved as both run routes on 80% of dropbacks each week.

D’Andre Swift (17-91-1 rushing; four targets, 4-28 receiving) continues his tour de force over the last few weeks with another touchdown and solid production. While Roschon Johnson (5-8 rushing; two targets, 2-25 receiving) is involved, it’s not to any meaningful degree.

I’ve wanted to say Swift is a sell-high candidate in fantasy because of how inefficient and how flat-out bad he was, but I think now, with quarterback play improving and the Bears condensing the running back rotation to two backs, I would just ride Swift’s production out for the long run.

 

Cincinnati Bengals

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Ja'Marr Chase WR 6 5 72 0 38.4% 97.1% 92.5% 8.3 27.3% 25.0% 17.6% 2.12 12.2 WR29
Tee Higgins WR 7 7 77 0 32.9% 94.3% 84.9% 6.1 31.8% 50.0% 21.2% 2.33 14.7 WR26
Andrei Iosivas WR 3 2 36 0 36.3% 68.6% 66.0% 15.7 13.6% 0.0% 12.5% 1.50 5.6 WR66
Trenton Irwin WR 5.7% 9.4% 0.0 WR102
Mike Gesicki TE 40.0% 35.8% 0.0 TE44
Drew Sample TE 37.1% 49.1% 0.0 TE44
Erick All Jr. TE 2 2 10 0 2.3% 42.9% 43.4% 1.5 9.1% 8.3% 13.3% 0.67 3.0 TE33
Zack Moss RB 1 1 2 0 -3.1% 40.0% 45.3% -4.0 4.5% 8.3% 7.1% 0.14 0.5 RB65
Chase Brown RB 3 2 11 0 -6.9% 57.1% 62.3% -3.0 13.6% 8.3% 15.0% 0.55 14.4 RB20

Bengals Notes From Week 6:

Only 28 pass attempts here from Joe Burrow (and not a lot of plays either with 50 on offense) in this defensive battle, so naturally, it’s hard to get ceiling outcomes out of players unless everything is hyper-concentrated to one or sometimes two players.

We didn’t get that, but we got at least decent games out of Ja’Marr Chase (six targets, 5-72) and Tee Higgins (seven targets, 7-77) as the top targets. No other Bengal earned more than three targets or two receptions.

We’re seeing the upside case play out for Chase Brown, where it was in more of a muted way in lieu of monster production, but a Zack Moss (6-13 rushing; one target, 1-2 receiving) lost fumble probably led the way to more utilization of Brown. Brown had both the snap (62% to 45%) and routes edge (57% to 40%) on Moss for the first time this season, which is likely to keep.

Moss isn’t going away, as he’s going to be a solid part of the rushing attack, but probably more in a low-value touch way where Brown can play off of him as the explosive element in both the run and the passing game.

 

Cleveland Browns

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Amari Cooper WR 6 4 42 0 30.3% 76.7% 82.5% 6.5 27.3% 31.6% 26.1% 1.83 8.2 WR48
Jerry Jeudy WR 3 1 35 0 61.3% 86.7% 91.2% 26.3 13.6% 15.8% 11.5% 1.35 4.5 WR76
Elijah Moore WR 1 1 3 0 0.0% 56.7% 66.7% 0.0 4.5% 5.3% 5.9% 0.18 1.3 WR98
Cedric Tillman WR 46.7% 36.8% -0.5 WR134
Jaelon Darden WR 1 1 6 0 -1.6% 20.0% 12.3% -2.0 4.5% 5.3% 16.7% 1.00 1.6 WR93
David Njoku TE 7 5 31 0 13.1% 70.0% 73.7% 2.4 31.8% 31.6% 33.3% 1.48 8.1 TE17
Jordan Akins TE 13.3% 8.8% 0.0 TE44
Geoff Swaim TE 26.7% 33.3% 0.0 TE44
Jerome Ford RB 6.7% 7.0% 1.4 RB56
Pierre Strong Jr. RB 2 2 35 0 -7.0% 56.7% 52.6% -4.5 9.1% 10.5% 11.8% 2.06 9.8 RB29
D'Onta Foreman RB 2 2 16 0 3.9% 20.0% 35.1% 2.5 9.1% 0.0% 33.3% 2.67 6.7 RB34

Browns Notes From Week 6:

The Browns are putrid. And it will somehow get even more putrid from Week 7 and beyond as Cooper (six targets, 4-42) was shipped off to Buffalo, so the wide receivers move up a peg here.

Jerry Jeudy (three targets, 1-35) and Elijah Moore (one target, 1-3) both stay two of the main receivers, with Cedric Tillman (no targets, 47% routes) likely becoming the starting “X” receiver on the boundary. No matter how you slice it, if Deshaun Watson is quarterback, the offense will be one of the worst in recorded history.

Nick Chubb is expected to make his return in Week 7, so as long as he does, it should put some kind of normalcy into a running back room that has been anything but normal the last few weeks with running back rotation gone amok.

Pierre Strong (8-43 rushing; two targets 2-35 receiving) led the backs in routes (57%) and snaps (53%) while Jerome Ford continued his freefall into the land of being zeroed out with just two carries and a hamstring injury.

 

Dallas Cowboys

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
CeeDee Lamb WR 14 7 89 0 34.4% 75.5% 71.0% 8.3 32.6% 37.5% 37.8% 2.41 16.1 WR19
Jalen Tolbert WR 5 4 43 0 21.9% 98.0% 92.8% 14.8 11.6% 15.6% 10.4% 0.90 8.3 WR44
Jalen Brooks WR 6 1 15 0 16.9% 67.3% 71.0% 9.5 14.0% 15.6% 18.2% 0.45 2.5 WR87
Ryan Flournoy WR 1 1 12 0 2.7% 4.1% 2.9% 9.0 2.3% 3.1% 50.0% 6.00 0.2 WR101
KaVontae Turpin WR 7 4 24 0 14.7% 40.8% 46.4% 7.1 16.3% 9.4% 35.0% 1.20 5.0 WR71
Jake Ferguson TE 4 3 11 0 8.3% 73.5% 66.7% 7.0 9.3% 9.4% 11.1% 0.31 4.1 TE28
Luke Schoonmaker TE 18.4% 30.4% 0.0 TE44
Brevyn Spann-Ford TE 10.2% 18.8% 0.0 TE44
Ezekiel Elliott RB 28.6% 40.6% 1.7 RB55
Rico Dowdle RB 6 5 30 0 1.2% 22.4% 27.5% 0.7 14.0% 9.4% 54.5% 2.73 10.5 RB26
Hunter Luepke FB 28.6% 31.9% 0.0 FB2

Cowboys Notes From Week 6:

The Cowboys were borderline hopeless in this game as they were completely shell-shocked by the Lions. CeeDee Lamb (14 targets, 7-89 receiving; 1-2 rushing) saw some inefficient volume and led the Cowboys’ pass-catchers in everything.

Some volume was spread throughout some of the depth pieces thanks to the blowout nature of the game. Jalen Tolbert (five targets, 4-43) stayed on the field even while the Cowboys were down, getting reps with both Dak Prescott and backup Cooper Rush, who came in just after the start of the fourth quarter.

Ezekiel Elliott saw the most snaps for (likely) the blowout reason, but because of any skill-based reasoning. These touches are the lowest of low-value touches, so why not just toss them onto Elliott and live to see another day? Rico Dowdle (5-25 rushing; six targets, 5-30 receiving) had a moment or two but eventually ceded the backfield to Elliott.

 

Denver Broncos

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Courtland Sutton WR 6 4 53 1 26.4% 90.2% 85.7% 15.2 20.7% 35.3% 16.2% 1.43 15.3 WR23
Marvin Mims Jr. WR 3 0 0 0 31.0% 34.1% 30.4% 35.7 10.3% 17.6% 21.4% 0.00 0.0 WR102
Troy Franklin WR 3 2 31 1 13.9% 68.3% 66.1% 16.0 10.3% 11.8% 10.7% 1.11 11.6 WR32
Devaughn Vele WR 5 4 78 0 20.0% 70.7% 62.5% 13.8 17.2% 17.6% 17.2% 2.69 11.8 WR30
Lil'Jordan Humphrey WR 1 1 8 0 1.2% 22.0% 33.9% 4.0 3.4% 0.0% 11.1% 0.89 1.8 WR92
Adam Trautman TE 9.8% 30.4% 0.0 TE44
Lucas Krull TE 3 2 11 0 3.2% 73.2% 60.7% 3.7 10.3% 5.9% 10.0% 0.37 3.1 TE32
Nate Adkins TE 1 1 5 0 1.4% 14.6% 26.8% 5.0 3.4% 0.0% 16.7% 0.83 1.5 TE40
Javonte Williams RB 5 3 13 0 3.5% 63.4% 67.9% 2.4 17.2% 5.9% 19.2% 0.50 4.6 RB40
Jaleel McLaughlin RB 2 2 17 0 -0.6% 19.5% 25.0% -1.0 6.9% 5.9% 25.0% 2.13 4.5 RB41
Michael Burton FB 7.3% 7.1% 0.0 FB2

Broncos Notes From Week 6:

Like the Chargers, the Broncos have been unserious as a passing game, but they’re slowly turning the corner from unserious to ungood. That’s still an improvement with arguably the most unathletic pass-catching group in the NFL.

Courtland Sutton (4-53-1) is just fine in a high-floor/low-ceiling kind of way, but he’s one of the only Broncos you should be seriously rostering in fantasy right now.

Troy Franklin (2-31-1) saw his routes climb from a 34% high in Week 4 to a new high of 68% in Week 6. It’s worth noting that because he’s one of the better athletic talents on the team, and if Bo Nix can continue to develop as a passer, Franklin could certainly come along for the ride.

Considering the Broncos were down 23-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the Broncos only had 12 non-quarterback runs to 41 dropbacks. That obviously made Javonte Williams (6-23 rushing; three targets, 3-13 receiving) a non-factor. Williams is getting workhorse on-field rates (68% snaps, 63% routes). It’s just not fruitful in any way.

 

Detroit Lions

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Amon-Ra St. Brown WR 4 4 37 1 8.2% 78.1% 63.2% 5.0 15.4% 16.7% 16.0% 1.48 13.7 WR27
Jameson Williams WR 4 3 76 1 25.8% 75.0% 75.0% 15.8 15.4% 22.2% 16.7% 3.17 17.7 WR17
Kalif Raymond WR 6 4 73 0 19.6% 37.5% 35.3% 8.0 23.1% 22.2% 50.0% 6.08 11.3 WR33
Tim Patrick WR 3 3 68 0 24.1% 50.0% 44.1% 19.7 11.5% 5.6% 18.8% 4.25 9.8 WR39
Allen Robinson II WR 1 0 0 0 1.2% 6.3% 13.2% 3.0 3.8% 0.0% 50.0% 0.00 0.0 WR102
Sam LaPorta TE 1 1 52 1 7.7% 59.4% 61.8% 19.0 3.8% 5.6% 5.3% 2.74 12.2 TE9
Brock Wright TE 1 0 0 0 7.3% 28.1% 50.0% 18.0 3.8% 5.6% 11.1% 0.00 0.0 TE44
Parker Hesse TE 18.8% 33.8% 0.0 TE44
Jahmyr Gibbs RB 5 3 28 0 7.7% 59.4% 54.4% 3.8 19.2% 16.7% 26.3% 1.47 12.1 RB22
David Montgomery RB 1 1 0 0 -1.6% 18.8% 30.9% -4.0 3.8% 5.6% 16.7% 0.00 21.0 RB8
Craig Reynolds RB 9.4% 16.2% 2.1 RB53

Lions Notes From Week 6:

The Lions 100% did anything they wanted against the Cowboys, except get offensive linemen touchdowns, which they tried to do multiple times. Hilarious.

Because the Lions got so far ahead, the volume wasn’t there, but Amon-Ra St. Brown (four targets, 4-37-1), Jameson Williams (3-76-1 receiving; 1-11 rushing), and Sam LaPorta (one target, 1-52-1) all caught touchdowns.

Both Jahmyr Gibbs (12-63 rushing; five targets, 3-28 receiving) and David Montgomery (12-80-2 rushing; one target, 1-0) were solid, with Gibbs providing a little receiving floor than he’s shown recently, but Montgomery punching in two touchdowns as the consummate “Dan Campbell” guy.

It was just high comedy for the Lions coming into Dallas and being able to exploit everything they wanted to with the Cowboys.

 

Green Bay Packers

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Jayden Reed WR 6 6 28 1 -5.5% 66.7% 53.4% -1.8 20.0% 30.0% 25.0% 1.17 14.8 WR25
Romeo Doubs WR 4 3 49 2 27.0% 83.3% 74.0% 13.3 13.3% 15.0% 13.3% 1.63 19.9 WR11
Christian Watson WR 4 3 68 1 37.2% 72.2% 60.3% 18.3 13.3% 15.0% 15.4% 2.62 15.8 WR20
Dontayvion Wicks WR 3 1 9 0 23.3% 19.4% 13.7% 15.3 10.0% 10.0% 42.9% 1.29 1.9 WR91
Bo Melton WR 2 1 6 0 5.6% 19.4% 37.0% 5.5 6.7% 5.0% 28.6% 0.86 4.3 WR77
Malik Heath WR 11.1% 23.3% 0.0 WR102
Tucker Kraft TE 4 2 13 0 6.7% 83.3% 82.2% 3.3 13.3% 10.0% 13.3% 0.43 3.5 TE31
Ben Sims TE 2 2 38 0 10.7% 25.0% 38.4% 10.5 6.7% 0.0% 22.2% 4.22 5.8 TE24
Josh Jacobs RB 3 3 28 0 0.0% 61.1% 63.0% 0.0 10.0% 10.0% 13.6% 1.27 12.0 RB23
Emanuel Wilson RB 2 1 19 0 -5.1% 30.6% 31.5% -5.0 6.7% 5.0% 18.2% 1.73 8.3 RB31
Chris Brooks RB 2.8% 13.7% 2.1 RB53
Andrew Beck FB 5.6% 9.6% 0.0 FB2

Packers Notes From Week 6:

Dontayvion Wicks’ flop lag game after last week did not come to fruition as he left late in the first quarter with a shoulder injury after being tackled and landing on it. The Wicks (three targets, 1-9) injury did open up routes to be condensed by Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson on the outside.

Doubs (four targets, 3-49-2) was the squeaky wheel as he was suspending the previous game, and you knew the Packers were going to do everything in their power to get him going. Same with Watson (four targets, 3-68-1) as he caught a 44-yard touchdown that Ben Gretch made some excellent points about:

Jayden Reed (six targets, 6-28-1) caught the first touchdown on the day but stayed much shorter in aDOT than he typically does. With all the receivers returning, Tucker Kraft’s (four targets, 2-13) production scaled back a bit. You’ve got to start him each week now, but he’s more volatile now with a decent ceiling with a much lower floor.

Maybe there’s some Josh Jacobs (18-62 rushing; three targets, 3-28 receiving) regression on the way, but it’s hard to get excited about Jacobs as anything more than a back on a good offense with a solidly high floor but a lower ceiling.

 

Houston Texans

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Stefon Diggs WR 7 6 77 1 38.4% 82.9% 78.8% 14.6 24.1% 33.3% 24.1% 2.66 19.7 WR13
Tank Dell WR 9 7 57 1 27.4% 91.4% 74.2% 8.1 31.0% 42.9% 28.1% 1.78 18.7 WR16
Xavier Hutchinson WR 45.7% 50.0% 0.0 WR102
John Metchie WR 34.3% 37.9% 0.0 WR102
Steven Sims WR 2.9% 1.5% 0.0 WR102
Dalton Schultz TE 8 4 27 0 26.7% 85.7% 86.4% 8.9 27.6% 14.3% 26.7% 0.90 6.7 TE21
Cade Stover TE 1 0 0 0 2.3% 37.1% 51.5% 6.0 3.4% 0.0% 7.7% 0.00 0.0 TE44
Teagan Quitoriano TE 2.9% 13.6% 0.0 TE44
Joe Mixon RB 3 2 30 1 5.6% 40.0% 42.4% 5.0 10.3% 9.5% 21.4% 2.14 27.2 RB2
Dameon Pierce RB 1 1 1 0 -0.4% 25.7% 27.3% -1.0 3.4% 0.0% 11.1% 0.11 14.7 RB19
Dare Ogunbowale RB 20.0% 27.3% 0.8 RB62

Texans Notes From Week 6:

With the Texans down Nico Collins, the passing game target hierarchy condensed pretty heavily to the two remaining wide receivers and tight end Dalton Schultz (eight targets, 4-27).

Stefon Diggs (seven targets, 6-77-1) and Tank Dell (nine targets, 7-57-1) gobbled up every single wide receiver target and made them count as Dell FINALLY had a quality game, and all it took was Collins being out because of course.

The Texans got up quickly on the Patriots and stayed up, thanks to the return of Joe Mixon. Mixon (13-102-1 rushing; three targets, 2-30-1) got his production in and then ceded the floor to Dameon Pierce (8-76-1; one target, 1-1), who had a long touchdown run himself in the middle of the fourth quarter.

 

Indianapolis Colts

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Michael Pittman Jr. WR 5 3 35 1 19.3% 85.0% 80.0% 12.3 13.5% 11.1% 14.7% 1.03 12.5 WR28
Josh Downs WR 10 7 66 1 9.1% 80.0% 78.6% 2.9 27.0% 29.6% 31.3% 2.06 19.5 WR14
Adonai Mitchell WR 4 2 9 0 8.6% 27.5% 21.4% 6.8 10.8% 14.8% 36.4% 0.82 2.9 WR85
Alec Pierce WR 4 0 0 0 31.8% 82.5% 88.6% 25.3 10.8% 11.1% 12.1% 0.00 0.0 WR102
Ashton Dulin WR 1 0 0 0 12.3% 10.0% 15.7% 39.0 2.7% 3.7% 25.0% 0.00 0.0 WR102
Kylen Granson TE 1 0 0 0 7.5% 30.0% 24.3% 24.0 2.7% 0.0% 8.3% 0.00 0.0 TE44
Mo Alie-Cox TE 4 4 41 0 7.3% 32.5% 48.6% 5.8 10.8% 11.1% 30.8% 3.15 8.1 TE17
Drew Ogletree TE 2 2 24 0 3.5% 20.0% 30.0% 5.5 5.4% 7.4% 25.0% 3.00 4.4 TE27
Will Mallory TE 1 0 0 0 5.7% 17.5% 14.3% 18.0 2.7% 0.0% 14.3% 0.00 0.0 TE44
Trey Sermon RB 37.5% 60.0% 2.9 RB47
Tyler Goodson RB 5 4 14 0 -5.0% 37.5% 38.6% -3.2 13.5% 11.1% 33.3% 0.93 10.5 RB26

Colts Notes From Week 6:

The Colts are such an easy team to prognosticate because you can set your watch to how the offense operates based on the quarterback.

Joe Flacco:

  • Bumps up Josh Downs and Michael Pittman for passing volume
  • Increased passing volume and efficiency as a whole
  • Much more stable fantasy floor for top receiving options and makes Flacco a top streamer regardless of the matchup

Anthony Richardson

  • Hurts the floor but raises the ceiling in terms of big plays, probably helps Adonai Mitchell (four targets, 2-9, only 28% routes) and Alec Pierce (four targets, no stats,101 air yards) a bit more than Pittman/Downs, but the fantasy floor for all receivers is near zero.
  • Solid QB1 fantasy starter each week when Richardson is in action

Both Downs (10 targets, 7-66-1) and Pittman (five targets, 3-35-1) earned the most targets in the offense with Flacco, and each caught a touchdown. The targets in the offense were spread out to eight other pass-catchers, but the top two wide receivers benefitted greatly from Flacco’s presence at quarterback.

Downs continues to be a dominant target for the Colts, and I just wish that Richardson could get the ball to him early and often because he’s the most impactful player not named Jonathan Taylor that the Colts have.

The Colts continue to trudge along without Taylor, as Trey Sermon (18-29) “earned” 18 carries for less than 2.0 YPC. Tyler Goodson (8-51 rushing; five targets, 4-14 receiving) was pretty solid from a PPR standpoint, and he would be the back I’d rather have if I had to pick a Colts running back.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Christian Kirk WR 6 3 39 0 19.8% 79.1% 74.2% 10.8 17.1% 18.8% 17.6% 1.15 6.9 WR53
Gabe Davis WR 8 5 45 2 32.0% 79.1% 69.4% 13.1 22.9% 21.9% 23.5% 1.32 21.5 WR7
Brian Thomas Jr. WR 6 3 27 0 23.5% 81.4% 79.0% 12.8 17.1% 18.8% 17.1% 0.77 5.7 WR62
Parker Washington WR 27.9% 29.0% 0.0 WR102
Tim Jones WR 11.6% 16.1% 0.0 WR102
Evan Engram TE 10 10 102 0 17.7% 74.4% 61.3% 5.8 28.6% 28.1% 31.3% 3.19 18.2 TE3
Luke Farrell TE 11.6% 27.4% 0.0 TE44
Brenton Strange TE 2 1 11 0 7.3% 25.6% 37.1% 12.0 5.7% 6.3% 18.2% 1.00 2.1 TE37
Josiah Deguara TE 2.3% 4.8% 0.0 TE44
Travis Etienne RB 1 0 0 0 1.8% 16.3% 17.7% 6.0 2.9% 0.0% 14.3% 0.00 -0.1 RB72
Tank Bigsby RB 16.3% 27.4% 2.4 RB50
D'Ernest Johnson RB 2 2 16 0 -2.1% 58.1% 56.5% -3.5 5.7% 6.3% 8.0% 0.64 6.4 RB36

Jaguars Notes From Week 6:

The good thing when we decipher the Jaguars is that everything is pretty condensed to the usual suspects in that offense, but they also brought back Evan Engram. Engram (10 targets, 10-102, 74% routes, 61% snaps) continued his brand of low-aDOT target compiling in his first game since Week 1.

Between Engram, Brian Thomas (six targets, 3-27), and Christian Kirk (six targets, 3-39), the passing game should center around these three players in most weeks. The outlier here is Gabe Davis (eight targets, 5-45-2), who caught two touchdowns but has been bad otherwise this season, as he’s been clearly surpassed by Thomas and is pretty superfluous in this offense.

Travis Etienne went from 60 MPH to 0 MPH pretty quickly as he came into Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury (removed from the injury report on Friday) and left with a hamstring injury.

Etienne played only 11 total snaps before exiting as Tank Bigsby (7-24) and D’Ernest Johnson (6-28 rushing; two targets, 2-16 receiving) mixed in. Surprisingly, Johnson was the back to take advantage as he ran routes on 59% of dropback and 57% of snaps while earning more opportunities (eight) than Bigsby (seven).

We did see this towards the end of last season with Johnson mixing in when Bigsby was more or less phased out from meaningful touches, but this also could have something to do with the game script, as the Bears’ lead was never really challenged throughout.

Etienne got the dreaded “week-to-week” designation afterward, so this is going to be something to closely monitor. Both Bigsby and Johnson are playable in flex roles if Etienne remains out.

 

Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs Notes From Week 6:

ON BYE IN WEEK 6

 

Las Vegas Raiders

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Tre Tucker WR 1 0 0 0 10.7% 95.1% 95.2% 20.0 2.9% 8.0% 2.6% 0.00 0.0 WR102
DJ Turner WR 3 2 37 0 18.1% 65.9% 66.7% 11.3 8.6% 8.0% 11.1% 1.37 5.7 WR62
Alex Bachman WR 3 3 31 0 11.2% 46.3% 42.9% 7.0 8.6% 12.0% 15.8% 1.63 6.1 WR57
Kristian Wilkerson WR 3 2 18 1 7.5% 41.5% 42.9% 4.7 8.6% 8.0% 17.6% 1.06 9.8 WR39
Brock Bowers TE 11 9 71 0 52.9% 82.9% 79.4% 9.0 31.4% 36.0% 32.4% 2.09 16.1 TE5
Harrison Bryant TE 4 3 24 0 5.3% 53.7% 57.1% 2.5 11.4% 8.0% 18.2% 1.09 5.4 TE25
John Samuel Shenker TE 7.3% 12.7% 0.0 TE44
Alexander Mattison RB 5 5 32 0 -0.5% 61.0% 68.3% -0.2 14.3% 8.0% 20.0% 1.28 17.5 RB16
Ameer Abdullah RB 5 3 14 0 -5.3% 31.7% 30.2% -2.0 14.3% 12.0% 38.5% 1.08 4.8 RB38

Raiders Notes From Week 6:

While Davante Adams was destined to never play another down for the Raiders following a hamstring (air-quotes) injury, we got some finality with an Adams trade to the Jets for draft picks.

Obviously, this is massive for Brock Bowers (11 targets, 9-71), who is the top tight end in dynasty formats and is in the top-2 discussion for that status in redraft formats, too. Bowers has been everything he’s been advertised as and then some, so now we’ve just got to get him a quarterback.

No Jakobi Meyers here, so it felt like the fourth quarter of a preseason game with this wide receiver corps. Players like Tre Tucker (one target, no stats), DJ Turner (three targets, 2-37), Alex Bachman (three targets, 3-31), and Kristian Wilkerson (three targets, 2-18-1) were running routes, and I could not have been more disinterested in this lot.

Alexander Mattison (14-33-1 rushing; five targets, 5-32) is… fine. In that “break glass in case of emergency” flex kind of way, where he’s going to catch a few balls and score a touchdown because the Raiders have literally nobody else that threatens a defense besides Bowers and Meyers.

Ameer Abdullah (4-24 rushing; three targets, 3-14) was worked in as well, and in one play getting up to the goal line, he looked like the old Nebraska Cornhusker Abdullah, and then on the very next play, he lost a fumble and looked like Detroit Lions' Abdullah. It was a true “duality of man” moment.

 

Los Angeles Chargers

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Joshua Palmer WR 3 2 38 0 14.1% 57.9% 55.1% 12.5 10.0% 8.7% 13.6% 1.73 5.8 WR61
Ladd McConkey WR 7 4 43 0 35.2% 81.6% 62.8% 13.4 23.3% 30.4% 22.6% 1.39 8.3 WR44
Quentin Johnston WR 3 3 22 0 0.0% 47.4% 41.0% 0.0 10.0% 13.0% 16.7% 1.22 5.2 WR70
Simi Fehoko WR 4 2 44 0 27.8% 50.0% 51.3% 18.5 13.3% 13.0% 21.1% 2.32 6.4 WR56
Derius Davis WR 2 1 8 0 13.9% 15.8% 24.4% 18.5 6.7% 8.7% 33.3% 1.33 3.2 WR84
Hayden Hurst TE 15.8% 9.0% 0.0 TE44
Will Dissly TE 5 4 26 0 1.9% 57.9% 66.7% 1.0 16.7% 17.4% 22.7% 1.18 6.6 TE22
Stone Smartt TE 1 1 10 0 2.6% 13.2% 12.8% 7.0 3.3% 0.0% 20.0% 2.00 2.0 TE38
Eric Tomlinson TE 18.4% 35.9% 0.0 TE44
J.K. Dobbins RB 3 2 6 0 -2.3% 47.4% 73.1% -2.0 10.0% 0.0% 16.7% 0.33 18.2 RB13
Kimani Vidal RB 2 2 40 1 6.8% 26.3% 24.4% 9.0 6.7% 8.7% 20.0% 4.00 13.1 RB21

Chargers Notes From Week 6:

The Chargers in Week 6 were the last team in the NFL to go over 200 air yards as a team, and the fact that it took six weeks should tell you everything you need to know about the state of this passing game for fantasy football.

It’s not an offense that pushes the ball downfield, but hopefully, we can get some PPR goodness. Ladd McConkey (seven targets, 4-43) is really the only option when it comes to that type of production, and even he has been a tad underwhelming.

It’s hard to blame him or even Justin Herbertfor that, But leave it to head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman to suck the life out of the right arm of Herbert. No other Chargers had more than four targets, but Simi Fehoko (four targets, 2-44) led the Chargers in receiving yards. That’s where we are, folks.

After four weeks of waiting, the Chargers finally unleashed Kimani Vidal (4-11 rushing; 2-40-1 receiving) on the world, and on his very first touch in the NFL, Vidal ran a wheel route down the near the sideline and caught a 38-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

While the stat line isn’t very encouraging, it’s telling that after the Chargers' bye and Gus Edwards’ disappointment and placement on injured reserve, head coach Jim Harbaugh wanted to add an immediate spark to his running back room with the rookie Vidal.

With only 26% of routes per dropback and 24% snaps, he’s not threatening J.K. Dobbins (25-96-1 rushing; three targets, 2-6 receiving) anytime soon, but he can be a usable piece in this offense that loves to run the ball. Vidal is the contingency if something happens to Dobbins, but at least we have one data point: Vidal is opportunistic and explosive.

Speaking of Dobbins, it’s very interesting to see him being trotted out for 25 carries, considering his extensive injury history, which only accentuates Vidal being such an easy contingency play to get behind.

 

Los Angeles Rams

Rams Notes From Week 6:

ON BYE IN WEEK 6

 

Miami Dolphins

Dolphins Notes From Week 6:

ON BYE IN WEEK 6

 

Minnesota Vikings

Vikings Notes From Week 6:

ON BYE IN WEEK 6

 

New England Patriots

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Demario Douglas WR 9 6 92 1 42.4% 66.7% 62.1% 8.2 30.0% 33.3% 32.1% 3.29 21.2 WR8
Ja'Lynn Polk WR 3 1 4 0 12.6% 69.0% 65.2% 7.3 10.0% 9.5% 10.3% 0.14 1.4 WR97
Kendrick Bourne WR 2 2 9 0 0.0% 52.4% 51.5% 0.0 6.7% 9.5% 9.1% 0.41 2.9 WR85
Kayshon Boutte WR 3 3 59 1 32.2% 76.2% 83.3% 18.7 10.0% 14.3% 9.4% 1.84 14.9 WR24
Hunter Henry TE 4 3 41 1 14.5% 71.4% 71.2% 6.3 13.3% 9.5% 13.3% 1.37 13.1 TE7
Austin Hooper TE 2 1 5 0 4.0% 47.6% 56.1% 3.5 6.7% 9.5% 10.0% 0.25 -0.5 TE86
Jaheim Bell TE 9.5% 9.1% 0.0 TE44
Antonio Gibson RB 4 3 24 0 -1.1% 38.1% 48.5% -0.5 13.3% 0.0% 25.0% 1.50 7.3 RB33
JaMycal Hasty RB 2 1 9 0 -1.1% 31.0% 31.8% -1.0 6.7% 9.5% 15.4% 0.69 3.1 RB46
Terrell Jennings RB 1 0 0 0 -3.4% 21.4% 21.2% -6.0 3.3% 4.8% 11.1% 0.00 1.3 RB58

Patriots Notes From Week 6:

The thesis for Drake Maye was evident in Week 6; he scrambled, threw a beautiful deep ball, and made mistakes, but he was FUN. Many are saying “fun” doesn’t get you fantasy points, and while that is the case (for now), the scrambling, the touchdowns, and everything else that comes with that does.

Maye threw three touchdown passes, rushed for 38 yards, and made the Patriots’ offense look clinically alive for the first time since the Carter administration. Maye’s 13% scramble rate (second among quarterbacks in Week 6) gives confirmation of clear rushing upside, and he needs to be added in all fantasy formats as he can provide passing upside combined with the obvious rushing floor.

The main weapons Maye brought along were DeMario Douglas (nine targets, 6-92-1), who put up that nice stat line on just 67% routes for an excellent 32% TPRR, and Hunter Henry (four targets, 3-41-1), who should get a little bump here from improved quarterback play.

Kayshon Boutte (three targets, 3-59-1) saw his routes jump from 60% last week to 76%, as Ja’Lynn Polk (three targets, 1-4) went from last week’s 100% route participation to just 69%. While we’re not counting out Polk quite yet, he’s had a dreadful start to his rookie campaign that is already getting him de-emphasized to an extent with a new quarterback.

Seeing Antonio Gibson (13-19 rushing; four targets. 3-24 receiving) produce a terribly inefficient game as the top running back on 49% snaps really makes you appreciate Rhamondre Stevenson a little bit more when he is in the lineup.

 

New Orleans Saints

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Chris Olave WR 1 1 5 0 1.7% 4.3% 2.9% 5.0 2.9% 3.8% 50.0% 2.50 -0.5 WR134
Rashid Shaheed WR 6 1 11 0 44.2% 89.1% 81.4% 21.2 17.1% 23.1% 14.6% 0.27 8.3 WR44
Cedrick Wilson Jr. WR 3 2 28 0 9.1% 60.9% 51.4% 8.7 8.6% 11.5% 10.7% 1.00 4.8 WR74
Bub Means WR 8 5 45 1 25.0% 73.9% 71.4% 9.0 22.9% 26.9% 23.5% 1.32 15.5 WR21
Mason Tipton WR 1 1 15 0 2.8% 47.8% 41.4% 8.0 2.9% 3.8% 4.5% 0.68 2.5 WR87
Juwan Johnson TE 3 3 48 0 11.2% 78.3% 77.1% 10.7 8.6% 11.5% 8.3% 1.33 7.8 TE19
Foster Moreau TE 2 2 54 0 10.8% 34.8% 48.6% 15.5 5.7% 7.7% 12.5% 3.38 7.4 TE20
Dallin Holker TE 4.3% 7.1% 0.0 TE44
Alvin Kamara RB 8 5 24 0 -4.4% 65.2% 74.3% -1.6 22.9% 3.8% 26.7% 0.80 17.4 RB17
Jordan Mims RB 3 2 13 0 -0.3% 21.7% 22.9% -0.3 8.6% 7.7% 30.0% 1.30 3.8 RB43
Adam Prentice FB 4.3% 17.1% 0.0 FB2

Saints Notes From Week 6:

It wasn’t great from the get-go as Chris Olave (one target, 1-5) played a grand total of two snaps before leaving the field and being ruled out with a concussion. That injury slotted Bub Means – a totally real player, I promise – in as the receiver who ran the most routes outside of Rashid Shaheed (six targets,1-11).

Means (team-leading eight targets, 5-45-1, 74% routes) also scored the only touchdown through the air for the Saints, who started Spencer Rattler in place of the injured Derek Carr.

Rattler opened the offense up a little bit, but nonetheless, he still looked the part of a fifth-round rookie quarterback with two interceptions and a fumble, but 40 pass attempts was a solid number to see there for him to get some reps in. He looked just promising enough to warrant a realistic discussion about whether he should continue playing even when Carr returns.

Alvin Kamara (13-40-1 rushing; eight targets, 5-24 receiving) only averaged 3.1 YPC but still got into the end zone as he tied for the team lead in targets plus maintained his workhorse role. The Saints activated running back Kendre Miller from injured reserve but healthy scratched him for Jamaal Williams (2-7) and Jordan Mims (1-5 rushing; three targets, 2-13 receiving).

 

New York Giants

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Wan'Dale Robinson WR 8 5 50 0 20.7% 86.7% 81.0% 6.6 23.5% 28.0% 20.5% 1.28 10.0 WR38
Darius Slayton WR 11 6 57 0 42.8% 93.3% 86.1% 9.9 32.4% 36.0% 26.2% 1.36 11.7 WR31
Jalin Hyatt WR 4 1 6 0 25.1% 86.7% 81.0% 16.0 11.8% 16.0% 10.3% 0.15 1.6 WR93
Isaiah Hodgins WR 1 1 5 0 2.0% 11.1% 19.0% 5.0 2.9% 4.0% 20.0% 1.00 1.5 WR95
Daniel Bellinger TE 4.4% 17.7% 0.0 TE44
Theo Johnson TE 4 3 30 0 11.0% 77.8% 88.6% 7.0 11.8% 8.0% 11.4% 0.86 6.0 TE23
Chris Manhertz TE 6.7% 24.1% 0.0 TE44
Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB 6 6 57 0 -1.7% 68.9% 83.5% -0.7 17.6% 8.0% 19.4% 1.84 22.7 RB5
Eric Gray RB 17.8% 17.7% 1.3 RB58

Giants Notes From Week 6:

This game was a weird defensive battle, but in terms of the receiving work, almost 75% of the volume was directed at Wan’Dale Robinson (eight targets, 5-50, 6.6-yard aDOT) for the low-aDOT/short-area work, Darius Slayton (11 targets. 6-57) for the traditional wide receiver looks, and Tyrone Tracy (17-50-1 rushing; six targets, 6-57 receiving) for behind the line of scrimmage and screen-game work.

Tracy is incredibly hard to get off the field now, as we’ve seen two weeks of eye-test passing (no, acing!), and I cannot imagine after watching Tracy for two weeks going back to such a milquetoast option like Devin Singletary.

I think the worst-case scenario we have here is Tracy in an even split with Singletary, as Tracy gets the majority of the receiving work plus 40% of the rushing attempts. That’s still plenty good as a flex option, but obviously, the best-case scenario is not being able to put the genie back in the bottle with Tracy after we’ve seen it for two weeks straight.

 

New York Jets

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Garrett Wilson WR 10 8 107 1 31.5% 100.0% 96.8% 9.0 31.3% 33.3% 25.6% 2.74 24.7 WR2
Mike Williams WR 2 0 0 0 14.5% 59.0% 50.8% 20.7 6.3% 8.3% 8.7% 0.00 0.0 WR102
Xavier Gipson WR 25.6% 20.6% 0.0 WR102
Allen Lazard WR 7 6 114 1 42.4% 94.9% 93.7% 17.3 21.9% 29.2% 18.9% 3.08 23.4 WR4
Tyler Conklin TE 2 2 10 0 -1.0% 66.7% 73.0% -1.5 6.3% 0.0% 7.7% 0.38 3.0 TE33
Jeremy Ruckert TE 3 2 7 0 2.8% 30.8% 47.6% 2.7 9.4% 8.3% 25.0% 0.58 2.7 TE35
Anthony Firkser TE 2.6% 9.5% 0.0 TE44
Breece Hall RB 6 5 56 0 6.7% 76.9% 87.3% 3.2 18.8% 12.5% 20.0% 1.87 21.9 RB6
Braelon Allen RB 2 0 0 0 3.1% 10.3% 19.0% 4.5 6.3% 8.3% 50.0% 0.00 0.8 RB62

Jets Notes From Week 6:

In the shift in play-calling duties from the scorned Nathaniel Hackett to former Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing, Breece Hall looked like himself (18-113 rushing; six targets, 5-56 receiving) for the first time in a few weeks. Hall took a monster workload share and relegated Braelon Allen (3-8 rushing; two targets, no stats) to a true backup rather than a sort of standalone role he had for a little bit.

The Jets were led by the trio of Garrett Wilson (10 targets, 8-107-1), who led all pass-catchers in receptions and targets. Allen Lazard (seven targets, 6-114-1) continued to show off his connection with Aaron Rodgers by catching a Hail Mary touchdown to end the first half. Also, Hall, who put up a 5-56 receiving line, and that triumvirate combined for 72% of the Jets’ targets.

That may not hold up going forward, though, as the Jets made the least-shocking trade in NFL history, acquiring Davante Adams and adding a second massively talented receiver to the mix alongside Garrett Wilson.

Both should concentrate on some targets, with Hall, Lazard, and Tyler Conklin (two targets, 2-10) working in some, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Adams and Wilson combine for 45%+ of the targets the rest of the way.

I don’t see this knocking down Wilson’s fantasy value too much with Adams’ arrival, as the efficiency from Rodgers would be a huge driver in propping up Wilson from a target-earning perspective with an alpha there in Adams. While Adams is 32 years old and hasn’t played with Rodgers in a few seasons, it’ll likely be just like riding a bike for the longtime Packers’ teammates.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
A.J. Brown WR 9 6 116 1 62.9% 96.3% 91.9% 17.0 39.1% 44.4% 34.6% 4.46 23.6 WR3
DeVonta Smith WR 4 3 64 1 13.6% 100.0% 100.0% 8.3 17.4% 22.2% 14.8% 2.37 15.4 WR22
Jahan Dotson WR 3 1 10 0 18.5% 63.0% 35.5% 15.0 13.0% 0.0% 17.6% 0.59 3.3 WR83
Johnny Wilson WR 7.4% 6.5% 0.0 WR102
Dallas Goedert TE 7.4% 4.8% 0.0 TE44
Grant Calcaterra TE 4 4 67 0 10.4% 88.9% 91.9% 6.3 17.4% 16.7% 16.7% 2.79 10.7 TE12
Jack Stoll TE 37.0% 62.9% 0.0 TE44
Saquon Barkley RB 2 2 7 0 -2.9% 59.3% 79.0% -3.5 8.7% 11.1% 12.5% 0.44 7.4 RB32
Kenneth Gainwell RB 1 0 0 0 -2.5% 7.4% 21.0% -6.0 4.3% 5.6% 50.0% 0.00 2.3 RB51

Eagles Notes From Week 6:

The Eagles were incredibly easy this week with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith (four targets, 3-64-1) back into the lineup after their bye week. Brown (nine targets, 6-116-1) continues to be fantastic; Smith just keeps producing.

Even though Dallas Goedert (no targets, three snaps) left the game early on with a hamstring injury, Grant Calcaterra didn’t even skip a beat with a solid 4-67 line on four targets while running 89% of routes. With Goedert likely out for multiple weeks, Calcaterra enters streaming tight end territory for as long as Goedert is out of the lineup.

Saquon Barkley (18-47 rushing; two targets, 2-7 receiving) had a poor outing, and unlike Kenneth Walker III or Alvin Kamara to boost their points-scoring profile when the rushing part of the equation fails to get there, Barkley likely doesn’t have that consistently.

But he has a clear stranglehold on the workload despite head coach Nick Sirianni wanting to get Kenneth Gainwell (3-23 rushing; one target, no receiving stats) involved for some reason.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
George Pickens WR 8 3 53 0 55.6% 84.8% 67.2% 15.0 34.8% 46.2% 28.6% 1.89 8.3 WR44
Van Jefferson WR 78.8% 64.2% 0.0 WR102
Calvin Austin III WR 5 2 36 0 31.5% 54.5% 35.8% 13.6 21.7% 30.8% 27.8% 2.00 5.6 WR66
Roman Wilson WR 3.0% 7.5% 0.0 WR102
Scotty Miller WR 9.1% 20.9% 0.0 WR102
Pat Freiermuth TE 3 2 16 0 9.3% 78.8% 86.6% 6.7 13.0% 15.4% 11.5% 0.62 3.6 TE29
Darnell Washington TE 1 1 9 0 0.9% 45.5% 73.1% 2.0 4.3% 0.0% 6.7% 0.60 1.9 TE39
Connor Heyward TE 1 1 4 0 0.9% 15.2% 35.8% 2.0 4.3% 0.0% 20.0% 0.80 1.4 TE41
Najee Harris RB 2 2 16 0 2.8% 42.4% 46.3% 3.0 8.7% 0.0% 14.3% 1.14 20.2 RB10
Jaylen Warren RB 3 3 11 0 -1.0% 33.3% 37.3% -0.7 13.0% 7.7% 27.3% 1.00 4.8 RB38
Aaron Shampklin RB 6.1% 6.0% -0.2 RB74

Steelers Notes From Week 6:

The Steelers are likely to start Russell Wilson in Week 7, but Justin Fields’ Week 6 didn’t really help his cause. George Pickens (eight targets, 3-53) got some targets to placate his “snap management,” but he did run 85% of routes.

No other Steeler has received more than three receptions or 36 receiving yards, but perhaps Wilson, as the quarterback, will build a little more floor into the receivers. If offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is tossing out guys like Van Jefferson, it probably won’t matter.

Najee Harris (14-106-1 rushing; two targets. 2-16 receiving) helped pace the offense for the most part, but with the return of Jaylen Warren (6-7 rushing; three targets, 3-11), who didn’t look very good with 37% snaps, that may give more ammo for Smith to just expand Harris’ role even further.

 

San Francisco 49ers

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Deebo Samuel Sr. WR 5 3 102 1 23.8% 90.3% 81.8% 9.4 18.5% 29.4% 17.9% 3.64 20.7 WR10
Brandon Aiyuk WR 4 2 37 0 32.0% 100.0% 95.5% 15.8 14.8% 17.6% 12.9% 1.19 5.7 WR62
Jauan Jennings WR 5 3 27 0 12.7% 54.8% 53.0% 5.0 18.5% 17.6% 29.4% 1.59 5.7 WR62
Chris Conley WR 6.5% 9.1% 0.0 WR102
George Kittle TE 6 5 58 2 28.0% 83.9% 89.4% 9.2 22.2% 23.5% 23.1% 2.23 22.8 TE2
Eric Saubert TE 12.9% 28.8% 0.0 TE44
Jordan Mason RB 2 1 9 0 3.0% 19.4% 27.3% 3.0 7.4% 0.0% 33.3% 1.50 9.2 RB30
Isaac Guerendo RB 12.9% 25.8% 9.9 RB28
Patrick Taylor Jr. RB 1 1 12 0 1.5% 25.8% 24.2% 3.0 3.7% 0.0% 12.5% 1.50 3.8 RB43
Kyle Juszczyk FB 4 3 10 0 -1.0% 61.3% 63.6% -0.5 14.8% 11.8% 21.1% 0.53 10.6 FB1

49ers Notes From Week 6:

Even in a game where the 49ers look fantastic throughout, the big news from Week 6 going into Week 7 is that Jordan Mason (9-73 rushing, two targets, 1-9 receiving) left with a shoulder injury in the second quarter, which caused him to miss all but one snap after he left the game.

Deebo Samuel (3-102 receiving, 4-15 rushing) saw some carries, and Isaac Guerendo (10-99) was the main traditional running back. In contrast, Patrick Taylor saw some carries right up at the end before Guerendo put the game away with a 76-yard run to put him at 99 yards rushing on the night.

The snaps/routes were all over the place for the 49ers because of the Mason injury, with Guerendo seeing the most carries (10) and the most snaps (26%) on the night. If Mason is out in Week 7, Guerendo is likely the main beneficiary with Taylor and added Samuel carries.

On the passing side, Brock Purdy tossed three touchdowns, one to Samuel and the other two to George Kittle (team-leading six targets, 5-58-2) in the second half. Kittle caught the first on a literal PERFECT throw from Purdy on the right sideline, which doesn't get the accolades that it should.

Purdy tosses a rope of a ball to Kittle, from the pocket to the front pilon, while Kittle breaks to the sideline and gets the ball to him with enough time for Kittle to keep his feet inbounds.

Samuel's first touchdown was a 76-yard catch and run that set the tone for the night in Seattle. With only many balls to go around, Brandon Aiyuk (four targets, 2-37) and Jauan Jennings (five targets, 3-27) had to settle for some scraps.

If you're still holding onto Jennings, his routes and snaps have decreased each week since Samuel and Kittle returned. He's now back to being a bit part of this offense, so while he's a deeper-league hold, you can drop him in most 12-team formats.

Jauan Jennings

 

Seattle Seahawks

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
DK Metcalf WR 12 3 48 0 46.2% 88.7% 89.7% 19.4 25.0% 20.6% 25.5% 1.02 7.8 WR50
Tyler Lockett WR 7 4 65 1 19.5% 81.1% 78.2% 14.0 14.6% 17.6% 16.3% 1.51 16.5 WR18
Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR 9 5 53 0 19.0% 96.2% 93.6% 10.6 18.8% 23.5% 17.6% 1.04 10.3 WR36
Jake Bobo WR 4 2 18 0 9.5% 22.6% 16.7% 12.0 8.3% 8.8% 33.3% 1.50 3.8 WR80
Laviska Shenault Jr. WR 5.7% 9.0% 5.0 WR71
Noah Fant TE 6 6 63 0 6.0% 81.1% 69.2% 5.0 12.5% 11.8% 14.0% 1.47 12.3 TE8
Pharaoh Brown TE 3.8% 12.8% 0.0 TE44
AJ Barner TE 1 1 13 0 2.0% 15.1% 29.5% 10.0 2.1% 2.9% 12.5% 1.63 2.3 TE36
Kenneth Walker III RB 8 8 37 0 -1.7% 56.6% 69.2% -1.1 16.7% 11.8% 26.7% 1.23 20.9 RB9
Zach Charbonnet RB 1 1 15 0 -0.4% 24.5% 30.8% -2.0 2.1% 2.9% 7.7% 1.15 4.5 RB41

Seahawks Notes From Week 6:

The Seahawks didn't completely abandon the run as they did in their loss to the New York Giants in Week 5, but they DID air the ball out to make the game after they were down 16-3 at halftime. They cut the 49ers lead to 23-17 and were right in it until Guerendo's 76-yard run.

Geno Smith had 52 pass attempts, and a whopping four players had eight or more targets, including the usual suspects at wide receiver plus Kenneth Walker III. Walker (14-32-1 rushing; eight targets, 8-37 receiving) has been excellent and providing a way higher receiving that is keeping him plenty relevant and prevents him from being game-scripted out of games.

Not that it happened in this game, but if Seattle gets down to an unmanageable deficit, Walker will be at least putting fantasy points together like in this game. He took 69% of snaps, with Zach Charbonnet (5-20 rushing; one target, 1-15 receiving) chipping in.

Of the wide receiver trio, only Tyler Lockett (eight targets, 4-65-1) scored, but the entire trio was pretty inefficient. DK Metcalf only caught three of his team-leading 11 targets for 48 yards, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (nine targets, 5-53) was a little better.

Noah Fant (six targets, 6-63) caught all of his targets on 81% of routes per dropback, but he's been pretty hit or miss this season, so he remains a low-end tight end streamer in the mold of a Cade Otton where he's running a bit less of routes than Otton, but the offense isn't afraid to go higher on the pass-volume when necessary.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Mike Evans WR 6 2 34 0 43.3% 68.3% 56.6% 15.0 17.1% 21.7% 21.4% 1.21 5.4 WR69
Chris Godwin WR 13 11 125 2 21.9% 97.6% 93.4% 3.5 37.1% 47.8% 32.5% 3.13 35.5 WR1
Jalen McMillan WR 1 0 0 0 2.4% 14.6% 18.4% 5.0 2.9% 4.3% 16.7% 0.00 0.0 WR102
Sterling Shepard WR 4 3 23 0 13.1% 82.9% 76.3% 6.8 11.4% 4.3% 11.8% 0.68 8.4 WR43
Ryan Miller WR 29.3% 42.1% 0.0 WR102
Cade Otton TE 6 2 15 1 20.2% 90.2% 80.3% 7.0 17.1% 13.0% 16.2% 0.41 9.5 TE15
Payne Durham TE 4.9% 30.3% 0.0 TE44
Bucky Irving RB 2 2 24 0 -3.9% 63.4% 64.5% -4.0 5.7% 8.7% 7.7% 0.92 18.5 RB12
Sean Tucker RB 3 3 56 1 2.9% 29.3% 36.8% 2.0 8.6% 0.0% 25.0% 4.67 34.2 RB1

Buccaneers Notes From Week 6:

The Buccaneers put up a 50-burger on the hapless New Orleans Saints, who are proving by the game, half, quarter, and play that their opening two games may have been a bit of a fluke. It was a pretty back-and-forth contest until the Bucs put up 20 points in the fourth quarter to seal it.

Chris Godwin (13 targets, 11-125-2 – all team-leading) led by a healthy margin on everything in the passing game as he caught two touchdowns, the second one in the third quarter being where he came across the formation in motion, took a pass in the flats, juked one defender, split another two, and then bounced off of a would-be tackler to bounce outside and outrun the defense.

Godwin has been a veritable league winner so far this season, and his return to form in the slot is a huge reason why the Bucs are so successful as an offensive unit.

Mike Evans (six targets, 2-34) was around and wasn’t too involved, but Jalen McMillan (one target, no stats. 15% routes) returned following a two-game absence only to see Sterling Shepard (four targets, 3-23) running 83% of Baker Mayfield’s dropbacks. Cade Otton (sic targets, 2-15-1) ran a ton of routes and got in the end zone, too.

It was supposed to be the Bucky Irving show with Rachaad White out of the lineup, and while that was the case as he took a workhorse’s share of route (63%) and snaps (65%), Sean Tucker was the talk of fantasy football this week as he was absolutely electric. I mean, 192 total yards and two touchdowns will do that to you.

Of course, that begs the question: what will this backfield look like with White returning? Conventional wisdom (and metrics) show that White should be behind Irving at the very least and splitting the rushing crumbs with Tucker while maintaining a solid hold on receiving work. But never underestimate a coach’s ability to keep doing the bad thing way too long.

There’s definitely a non-zero chance White will come back and lead the backfield again. THAT is not optimal, great, fun, or logical from a team perspective if you’re looking to get the most out of the guys you have.

The player with the most variance here is Tucker because he could go back in the box and be a zero in lineups or be ingrained into the running back rotation with White and Irving. It’s early to tell, but the Tucker boom game throws a wrench into “Bucky Irving szn.”

 

Tennessee Titans

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
DeAndre Hopkins WR 6 4 54 0 36.3% 70.0% 70.7% 13.5 24.0% 24.0% 28.6% 2.57 9.4 WR42
Calvin Ridley WR 6 0 0 0 53.2% 83.3% 82.8% 19.8 24.0% 32.0% 24.0% 0.00 0.9 WR100
Tyler Boyd WR 3 3 19 0 0.9% 70.0% 69.0% 0.7 12.0% 12.0% 14.3% 0.90 4.9 WR73
Treylon Burks WR 1 1 10 0 4.5% 20.0% 15.5% 10.0 4.0% 0.0% 16.7% 1.67 2.0 WR90
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine WR 2 1 9 1 11.2% 20.0% 22.4% 12.5 8.0% 8.0% 33.3% 1.50 7.9 WR49
Chigoziem Okonkwo TE 3 3 6 0 -1.2% 66.7% 56.9% -0.9 12.0% 12.0% 15.0% 0.30 3.6 TE29
Josh Whyle TE 1 1 2 0 0.4% 33.3% 39.7% 1.0 4.0% 0.0% 10.0% 0.20 1.2 TE42
Nick Vannett TE 23.3% 32.8% 0.0 TE44
Tony Pollard RB 3 3 -5 0 -5.4% 60.0% 74.1% -4.0 12.0% 12.0% 16.7% -0.28 17.8 RB15
Tyjae Spears RB 13.3% 20.7% 2.7 RB48
Julius Chestnut RB 6.7% 5.2% 0.2 RB68

Titans Notes From Week 6:

The Tennessee Titans are so abhorrently revolting to write about that it gives me a headache. But we trudge on as we wonder how Calvin Ridley (six targets, no stats; 1-9 rushing) cannot bring in ONE of the six targets he received, then complain about it in the locker room afterward?

DeAndre Hopkins (six targets, 4-54) is playing hurt and outproduced everybody here on 70% of routes, but it’s hopeless for the Titans’ passing game. No other Titan had over three targets or 19 receiving yards. It’s disgusting.

At least Tony Pollard (17-93-1 rushing; three targets, 3-(-5) receiving) has found his 2022 form with the Cowboys because he’s been about the only thing that works in the Titans’ offense. He’s going to have to be the only thing in the running game for a little bit, as Tyjae Spears (6-27) is “week-to-week” following a hamstring injury that caused him to exit early.

 

Washington Commanders

Name Pos Targets Rec. Rec. Yards TD Air Yards % Route % Snap % aDOT Target Share % First Read Target % TPRR YPRR PPR FPTS PPR Finish
Terry McLaurin WR 8 6 53 2 38.6% 79.1% 79.7% 13.3 24.2% 22.2% 23.5% 1.56 23.3 WR5
Dyami Brown WR 1 1 11 0 -0.7% 32.6% 32.2% -2.0 3.0% 5.0% 7.1% 0.79 2.1 WR89
Luke McCaffrey WR 1 1 5 0 1.8% 41.9% 37.3% 5.0 3.0% 5.0% 5.6% 0.28 1.5 WR95
Olamide Zaccheaus WR 6 4 27 0 11.5% 44.2% 39.0% 5.3 18.2% 25.0% 31.6% 1.42 6.7 WR55
Noah Brown WR 8 4 58 0 34.8% 62.8% 64.4% 12.0 24.2% 40.0% 29.6% 2.15 9.8 WR39
Zach Ertz TE 4 4 68 0 16.7% 76.7% 79.7% 11.5 12.1% 20.0% 12.1% 2.06 10.8 TE11
Ben Sinnott TE 14.0% 18.6% 0.0 TE44
John Bates TE 20.9% 35.6% 0.0 TE44
Austin Ekeler RB 5 4 47 0 -2.7% 62.8% 74.6% -1.5 15.2% 10.0% 18.5% 1.74 10.8 RB25
Jeremy McNichols RB 32.6% 37.3% 0.9 RB61

Commanders Notes From Week 6:

It feels awfully like the same thing each week with Terry McLaurin (eight targets, 6-53-2) being the clear breadwinner and everybody else picking up the crumbs, but it’s going to have to be somebody else at some point because if the Commanders want to be a good team, Jayden Daniels can’t just laser in on one guy and expect to have continued, sustained success.

That’s why I think they should be in the market for a wide receiver like the Jets did with Adams and the Bills were with Cooper. Both situations are a bit different than the Commanders, as the competitive windows are much closer to the closing phase than Washington is, who is starting to open theirs and see the light peeking out from the crack.

The current passing-game weapons are just placeholders right now, and they can only make do with what they have.

Noah Brown (eight targets, 4-58) actually tied McLaurin for the most targets on the team but was slightly less efficient on a much lower route per dropback rate (63%). Brown should be earning more routes, and with him back healthy, that should be the case.

Olamide Zaccheaus (six targets, 4-27) really has no business earning six targets in the year 2024, and you could argue that neither does Zach Ertz (four targets, 4-68). It was nice to see Ertz’s aDOT get stretched out to a vintage 11.5 yards.

No Brian Robinson in Week 6, so Austin Ekeler (9-21 rushing; five targets, 4-47 receiving) took the reigns as the workhorse (75% snaps) and was ineffective on the ground but added some floor in the receiving game.



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