Week 4 Target Watch: NFC
Welcome to the Week 4 NFC Target Watch. Below I have all the targets for each player through Week 3 and then below that I have the red zone targets and touches for each player as well. The AFC version is right HERE. I hope you enjoy and if you get a chance give a follow on Twitter.
Arizona Cardinals
Michael Floyd: 7-6-9-BYE (22), Larry Fitzgerald: 4-10-7-BYE (21), John Brown: 5-4-6-BYE (15), Andre Ellington: 5-3-4-BYE (12), John Carlson: 1-3-3-BYE (7), Ted Ginn: 3-0-3-BYE (6), Stepfan Taylor: 3-0-0-BYE (3), Rob Housler: 3-0-dnp-BYE (3), Jonathan Dwyer: 3-0-dnp-BYE (3), Robert Hughes: 1-1-0-BYE (2), Darren Fells: dnp-dnp-1-BYE (1), Troy Niklas: 0-1-0-BYE (1), Jaron Brown: dnp-0-1-BYE (1)
With Jonathan Dwyer gone we saw an increase in snaps for Andre Ellington up to 75% from 64% last week. He also had his most rushing attempts with 18 and his most total looks with 22. And to top it off he received a carry inside the opponent’s five-yard line. Unfortunately he lost four yards on the play, but it’s better than nothing. He only totaled 75 yards on the day, but it was against a tough 49ers' run defense. It looks like his foot is doing better and hopefully he can keep seeing this many looks going forward.
Drew Stanton wasn’t efficient by any stretch of the imagination and got lucky with some defensive drops, but he was able to help Michael Floyd out to a five-catch 114-yard game on nine targets. Stanton threw 13 passes over 20 yards, which is exactly what Floyd needs as the deep threat on the team.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Larry Fitzgerald: Run 0/ Tar 7, John Brown: Run 0/ Tar 3, Stepfan Taylor: Run 0/ Tar 2, Andre Ellington: Run 3/ Tar 2, Ted Ginn: Run 0/ Tar 1, Michael Floyd: Run 0/ Tar 1, Robert Hughes: Run 0/ Tar 1, Jonathan Dwyer: Run 5/ Tar 0, Carson Palmer: Run 0/ Tar 0, Drew Stanton: Run 3/ Tar 0
Larry Fitzgerald saw three targets in the red zone and caught two of them, but couldn’t get into the end zone. The touchdowns should come for Fitzgerald, as he’s the main man down there while John Brown and Floyd are seeing more of the intermediate and deep passes.
Atlanta Falcons
Julio Jones: 9-13-11-8 (41), Roddy White: 7-8-dnp-14 (29), Harry Douglas: 7-8-2-dnp (17), Devin Hester: 6-1-1-7 (15), Levine Toilolo: 6-3-2-2 (13), Devonta Freeman: 2-4-1-2 (9), Jacquizz Rodgers: 1-1-1-4 (7), Steven Jackson: 3-1-0-2 (6), Antone Smith: 1-4-0-0 (5), Eric Weems: dnp-0-5-0 (5), Patrick DiMarco: 0-0-3-1 (4), Courtney Roby: 0-dnp-2-0 (2)
The target leader in this one was Roddy White with 14, but he only caught four of those for a healthy 73 yards and a touchdown. Ryan threw 16 incompletions on 41 passes and ten of those happened when targeting White. Julio Jones was more efficient as he caught six of eight targets for 82 yards, but couldn’t find the end zone.
With Harry Douglas out of this game Devin Hester saw 57% of the snaps compared to his usual 26% to 37% so far this year. This was his highest target game with seven compared to just one in each of Week 2 and 3 and it came in a high scoring, trying to come from behind game, like his six targets Week 1 versus the Saints did. This week he caught five of his seven targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. Of course the problem is that he had just the two targets the two previous weeks. Unless Douglas continues to be injured or Hester jumps him completely on the depth chart, it’s going to be difficult to use him with confidence in fantasy.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Julio Jones: Run 0/ Tar 3, Levine Toilolo: Run 0/ Tar 2, Roddy White: Run 0/ Tar 2, Devonta Freeman: Run 0/ Tar 2, Patrick DiMarco: Run 0/ Tar 1, Harry Douglas: Run 0/ Tar 1, Steven Jackson: Run 6/ Tar 1, Antone Smith: Run 2/ Tar 0, Matt Ryan: Run 0/ Tar 0, Jacquizz Rodgers: Run 3/ Tar 0, Devin Hester: Run 1/ Tar 0
Amazingly in Week 4 the only red zone targets went to Levine Toilolo and Patrick DiMarco.
Carolina Panthers
Kelvin Benjamin: 8-8-11-9 (36), Greg Olsen: 11-8-7-5 (31), Jason Avant: 1-7-6-3 (17), Jerricho Cotchery: 4-4-dnp-7 (15), Philly Brown: 0-0-9-4 (13), Mike Tolbert: 4-4-3-dnp (11), Jonathan Stewart: 3-1-3-dnp (7), Darrin Reaves: dnp-dnp-1-5 (6), Brenton Bersin: dnp-1-1-1 (3), DeAngelo Williams: 1-dnp-dnp-0 (1), Ed Dickson: 0-1-0-0 (1)
The Panthers were once again routed in the win/loss column, but thankfully fantasy star in the making Kelvin Benjamin was able to produce with five receptions off of nine targets for 76 yards and a touchdown. Even with Jimmy Smith covering him much of the day, he was able to find some daylight in this tough matchup.
Jerricho Cotchery was second in targets and receptions as the Ravens put the clamps on Greg Olsen. So far this season the Ravens are only allowing a 52% completion rate and three receptions for 35 yards to opposing tight ends per game, so this was just a blip on Olsen’s monitor.
The Panthers’ running back situation is dire to say the least. Darrin Reaves had a poor day after coming in for the injured DeAngelo Williams, but at least it was against a tough defense. It looks like he’ll get another shot this week against the Browns.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Greg Olsen: Run 0/ Tar 2, Kelvin Benjamin: Run 0/ Tar 2, Philly Brown: Run 0/ Tar 1, Jason Avant: Run 0/ Tar 1, Darrin Reaves: Run 2/ Tar 1, Jerricho Cotchery: Run 0/ Tar 1, Jonathan Stewart: Run 2/ Tar 0, DeAngelo Williams: Run 5/ Tar 0, Cam Newton: Run 1/ Tar 0, Derek Anderson: Run 1/ Tar 0, Mike Tolbert: Run 4/ Tar 0
The Panthers had eight plays inside the red zone, five rushing attempts and three passing. None resulted in a touchdown.
Chicago Bears
Martellus Bennett: 10-8-8-11 (37), Alshon Jeffery: 6-6-13-7 (32), Brandon Marshall: 12-8-6-6 (32), Matt Forte: 9-8-7-6 (30), Santonio Holmes: 5-2-3-0 (10), Josh Morgan: 3-dnp-0-4 (7), Dante Rosario: 1-1-1-1 (4), Micheal Spurlock: 3-dnp-dnp-dnp (3), Josh Bellamy: dnp-1-dnp-dnp (1)
This was only the second game ever in the NFL with no punts, so you can be pretty sure the offense was flowing. The Bears target leader this week was Martellus Bennett, who had 11 targets and caught nine for 134 yards. Bennett is now your number one fantasy tight end on the season. His success is at least in part due to Brandon Marshall’s injured ankle. Marshall once again wasn’t 100% as he saw six targets and caught two for 19 yards. Thankfully for those that started him, one of those went for a touchdown.
Matt Forte had 23 rushing attempts and six targets and totaled 171 yards. He has yet to find the end zone, but does have 13 red zone looks. Last season he totaled 12 touchdowns, so look for him to find the end zone sooner than later.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Brandon Marshall: Run 0/ Tar 9, Martellus Bennett: Run 0/ Tar 8, Alshon Jeffery: Run 0/ Tar 5, Matt Forte: Run 9/ Tar 4, Santonio Holmes: Run 0/ Tar 1, Josh Morgan: Run 0/ Tar 1, Ka'Deem Carey: Run 1/ Tar 0
The Bears have really been throwing the ball a lot when in the red zone and against the Packers they ran 17 plays, 10 passes and seven rushing attempts. The passes were more fruitful as they totaled two touchdowns.
Dallas Cowboys
Dez Bryant: 6-14-7-6 (33), Jason Witten: 6-7-5-5 (23), Terrance Williams: 7-4-3-7 (21), DeMarco Murray: 4-2-4-1 (11), Cole Beasley: 5-1-2-2 (10), Lance Dunbar: 3-0-1-3 (7), Dwayne Harris: 2-0-0-2 (4), Devin Street: 3-0-0-1 (4), Gavin Escobar: 1-1-1-1 (4), James Hanna: 0-0-0-1 (1)
The Cowboys continue to run an extremely balanced offense and it’s working like a charm. The days of giving up on the run early are over and it’s helping the team in every way possible. They lead the league in 129 rushing attempts while attempting just 118 passes. Last year they ran the ball 334 times to passing it 586 times. That helps the defense and the offense. Of course those numbers are contingent on their offensive line and DeMarco Murray staying healthy, but if that happens there’s no reason for them to change up much.
Murray ran 24 times against the Saints for 149 yards and two touchdowns, which set up Tony Romo to pick apart the defense as he completed 22 of 29 passed for 262 yards and three touchdowns. It really was the perfect offensive game.
Terrance Williams led the way in the receiving game as the Saints tried to contain Dez Bryant. Williams caught six of seven targets for 77 yards and two touchdowns. He now has four touchdowns on the year. In this run first offense and as the third target on the team, Williams will have trouble sustaining his fantasy points each week, but the targets he does see should remain productive.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Terrance Williams: Run 0/ Tar 5, Dez Bryant: Run 0/ Tar 3, Cole Beasley: Run 0/ Tar 2, Jason Witten: Run 0/ Tar 2, Devin Street: Run 0/ Tar 1, DeMarco Murray: Run 9/ Tar 1, Lance Dunbar: Run 1/ Tar 1, Dwayne Harris: Run 0/ Tar 1, Gavin Escobar: Run 0/ Tar 1, Joseph Randle: Run 1/ Tar 0
Williams and Bryant both saw one target in the red zone and both caught a touchdown. Murray had three rushing attempts for 25 yards and a touchdown. That’s a total of 5 plays in the red zone for 49 yards and three touchdowns.
Detroit Lions
Calvin Johnson: 11-13-10-2 (36), Golden Tate: 6-8-7-10 (31), Reggie Bush: 6-3-8-6 (23), Joique Bell: 1-11-0-4 (16), Eric Ebron: 2-5-1-4 (12), Jeremy Ross: 0-3-3-2 (8), Joseph Fauria: 3-1-2-dnp (6), Brandon Pettigrew: 1-1-1-2 (5), Corey Fuller: 0-1-2-1 (4), Jed Collins: 0-2-0-0 (2), Ryan Broyles: dnp-dnp-dnp-2 (2)
With his best player Calvin Johnson hampered by an injury, Matthew Stafford managed to still put together a solid game and win over the Jets on Sunday. He spread the ball around well, targeting nine players and was an efficient 24 for 30 on aimed passes.
Golden Tate was able to step up with Johnson playing mostly as a decoy, and caught eight of 10 targets for 116 yards. A viable backup plan to Johnson hasn’t been on the roster and it looks like Tate can be that guy.
Joique Bell left the game with a concussion and Reggie Bush took over as the lead back, but this was the Jets and running is not easy against them. Between the two running backs they ran it 20 times for 88 yards, which is the most the Jets have given up to running backs all season. And Bush’s 46 yards was the most any one running back has totaled on the ground against them as well.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Calvin Johnson: Run 0/ Tar 5, Reggie Bush: Run 5/ Tar 4, Golden Tate: Run 0/ Tar 2, Eric Ebron: Run 0/ Tar 2, Joseph Fauria: Run 0/ Tar 2, Joique Bell: Run 6/ Tar 1, Brandon Pettigrew: Run 0/ Tar 1, Jed Collins: Run 1/ Tar 1, Matthew Stafford: Run 2/ Tar 0, Theo Riddick: Run 1/ Tar 0
Eric Ebron snagged a 16-yard touchdown pass for his only red zone target. He was supposed to see more work in this game and his snaps did go up with Joe Fauria out, but his four targets are still too low, especially when Calvin Johnson only saw two targets.
Green Bay Packers
Jordy Nelson: 14-16-7-12 (49), Randall Cobb: 9-6-6-9 (30), Davante Adams: 0-7-3-3 (13), Andrew Quarless: 4-2-5-0 (11), Eddie Lacy: 3-3-1-2 (9), Jarrett Boykin: 0-3-4-dnp (7), James Starks: 3-0-1-0 (4), Richard Rodgers: 0-1-0-2 (3), DuJuan Harris: 0-2-0-0 (2), John Kuhn: 0-1-0-0 (1)
Jordy Nelson continues to be the target king. He’s already up to 49 through four games for an average of 12.2 per game. He also leads the league with 33 receptions and 459 yards receiving.
Aaron Rodgers carved the Bears up as he completed 22 of 28 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns. Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb were the main beneficiaries, catching 17 of 21 targets for 221 yards and four touchdowns.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Jordy Nelson: Run 0/ Tar 11, Randall Cobb: Run 0/ Tar 8, Andrew Quarless: Run 0/ Tar 3, Davante Adams: Run 0/ Tar 3, Jarrett Boykin: Run 0/ Tar 2, Eddie Lacy: Run 8/ Tar 2, Aaron Rodgers: Run 2/ Tar 0, James Starks: Run 3/ Tar 0, John Kuhn: Run 1/ Tar 0
Jordy Nelson saw five targets in the red zone and caught two for touchdowns while Cobb saw three targets and caught one for a touchdown. Those five targets knock Nelson up to 11 on the season and give him the league lead.
Minnesota Vikings
Greg Jennings: 7-4-7-4 (22), Cordarrelle Patterson: 5-7-5-4 (21), Matt Asiata: 1-7-6-4 (18), Kyle Rudolph: 4-8-5-dnp (17), Jarius Wright: 3-3-0-10 (16), Jerick McKinnon: 0-3-5-3 (11), Rhett Ellison: 1-1-2-1 (5), Chase Ford: dnp-dnp-dnp-4 (4), Adrian Peterson: 3-dnp-dnp-dnp (3), Adam Thielen: 0-3-0-0 (3)
Teddy Bridgewater’s first NFL start was a memorable one, as his team rolled over the Falcons at home 41-28. Bridgewater was fairly conservative, but still managed some nice deeper throws while also making a great run for a touchdown.
Jarius Wright was the receiving star as he saw his highest snap count of the year and caught eight of nine targets for 132 yards. With Kyle Rudolph injured, it looks like Wright will take a step up in the pecking order.
The run game was the moneymaker this week as Matt Asiata rushed for three touchdowns and Jerick McKinnon rushed for 135 yards. All told the duo put together 38 carries for 213 yards and four receptions for 39 yards, plus the three Asiata touchdowns.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Matt Asiata: Run 10/ Tar 3, Greg Jennings: Run 0/ Tar 2, Jarius Wright: Run 0/ Tar 2, Adrian Peterson: Run 1/ Tar 1, Kyle Rudolph: Run 0/ Tar 1, Cordarrelle Patterson: Run 0/ Tar 1, Chase Ford: Run 0/ Tar 1, Jerick McKinnon: Run 3/ Tar 0, Christian Ponder: Run 1/ Tar 0, Teddy Bridgewater: Run 5/ Tar 0, Matt Cassel: Run 1/ Tar 0
The Vikings ran the ball 15 total times in the red zone to just three pass attempts. It’s not hard to see that they are easing Bridgewater in, but the offense didn’t suffer at all against the weak Falcons’ defense. We’ll have to see how they do against a tougher defense.
New Orleans Saints
Jimmy Graham: 10-13-8-11 (42), Brandin Cooks: 8-6-10-6 (30), Marques Colston: 8-0-5-10 (23), Pierre Thomas: 7-3-3-2 (15), Kenny Stills: dnp-4-5-3 (12), Robert Meachem: 2-5-1-1 (9), Travaris Cadet: 1-0-0-6 (7), Josh Hill: 0-2-2-1 (5), Ben Watson: 1-2-1-1 (5), Mark Ingram: 1-4-dnp-dnp (5), Khiry Robinson: 1-0-0-3 (4), Joe Morgan: 3-dnp-dnp-dnp (3)
It was 31-3 with 13 minutes left in the game when the Saints scored their first touchdown, so Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham owners can thank the fantasy Gods for garbage time!
Marques Colston led the way with 11 targets, but only caught five for 50 yards. Graham was the best fantasy producer as he caught eight of 10 targets for 86 yards and a touchdown. And when you look at the offensive stats it’s kind of hard to imagine the beat down they suffered, but suffered it they did.
Pierre Thomas’ usage and production is becoming a concern as he has had 30 total touches through four games now. He still is on the field more than the other running backs, but he’s just not getting the work, while Travis Cadet saw a big bump in work as he was in on 30% of the snaps and caught six of six targets. I’m not giving up on Thomas just yet, but I am concerned.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Jimmy Graham: Run 0/ Tar 5, Brandin Cooks: Run 0/ Tar 4, Marques Colston: Run 0/ Tar 3, Pierre Thomas: Run 4/ Tar 2, Robert Meachem: Run 0/ Tar 2, Josh Hill: Run 0/ Tar 2, Ben Watson: Run 0/ Tar 1, Travaris Cadet: Run 1/ Tar 1, Kenny Stills: Run 0/ Tar 1, Khiry Robinson: Run 4/ Tar 0, Mark Ingram: Run 7/ Tar 0, Drew Brees: Run 3/ Tar 0
New York Giants
Victor Cruz: 6-10-6-10 (32), Larry Donnell: 8-9-6-8 (31), Rueben Randle: 3-7-10-10 (30), Preston Parker: 0-2-4-5 (11), Rashad Jennings: 5-4-0-2 (11), Jerrel Jernigan: 7-2-dnp-dnp (9), Daniel Fells: 1-1-2-2 (6), Andre Williams: 1-4-0-1 (6), Adrien Robinson: 0-0-0-1 (1), Jeremy Kerley: 5-8-11-3 (27)
The Giants up-tempo, no-huddle offense is starting to work and work well. Eli was on target all game as he completed 28 of 39 passes for 300 yards, four touchdowns and one interception while also scoring on a one yard run.
Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle and Larry Donnell all put up nice fantasy numbers in the process and after preseason and Week 1, I was starting to wonder if the Giants could ever get together with Ben McAdoo’s west coast offense. Amazingly the light has flipped on and is shining bright.
Rueben Randle saw ten targets once again this week, but unlike last week he connected with Manning on eight of those for 89 yards. 27 targets over the last three weeks is a great sign for him going forward.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Larry Donnell: Run 0/ Tar 9, Rueben Randle: Run 0/ Tar 8, Daniel Fells: Run 0/ Tar 3, Rashad Jennings: Run 17/ Tar 2, Victor Cruz: Run 0/ Tar 2, Preston Parker: Run 0/ Tar 1, Corey Washington: Run 0/ Tar 1, Henry Hynoski: Run 1/ Tar 0, Andre Williams: Run 8/ Tar 0, Eli Manning: Run 1/ Tar 0
Larry Donnell had five red zone targets; so only three targets came outside the red zone. He of course caught three touchdowns off those targets and now has nine and leads all tight ends on the season.
Rueben Randle is the second most targeted red zone player on the Giants and had three against Washington. He now has eight on the season, which makes him the third most targeted wide receiver in the red zone in the NFL.
Philadelphia Eagles
Jeremy Maclin: 10-11-10-16 (47), Riley Cooper: 7-3-7-8 (25), Jordan Matthews: 4-4-9-7 (24), Darren Sproles: 6-7-4-4 (21), Zach Ertz: 5-6-3-6 (20), LeSean McCoy: 6-5-3-0 (14), Brent Celek: 4-1-4-2 (11), Jeff Maehl: 1-0-1-0 (2), James Casey: 0-0-1-0 (1)
There really isn’t too much to take from this game. Nick Foles was shaky at best, the offensive line was manhandled as LeSean McCoy ran just 10 times for 17 yards and not one player topped 57 yards or scored an offensive touchdown.
The target leader was once again Jeremy Maclin, as he saw a league high 15, but only caught four for 57 yards. But the good news is that Maclin is the no doubt #1 receiver on a team that likes to spread the ball around.
Riley Cooper was second in targets, but dropped a touchdown pass and fumbled. Jordan Matthews didn’t do either of those things and should start to move ahead of him as the season goes on.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Jeremy Maclin: Run 0/ Tar 6, Jordan Matthews: Run 0/ Tar 5, Brent Celek: Run 0/ Tar 4, Riley Cooper: Run 0/ Tar 3, Darren Sproles: Run 3/ Tar 2, Zach Ertz: Run 0/ Tar 1, LeSean McCoy: Run 13/ Tar 1
San Francisco 49ers
Michael Crabtree: 4-9-11-8 (32), Anquan Boldin: 9-6-6-7 (28), Steve Johnson: 2-4-9-2 (17), Vernon Davis: 6-3-dnp-3 (12), Brandon Lloyd: 1-dnp-4-5 (10), Derek Carrier: dnp-4-2-2 (8), Carlos Hyde: 0-2-2-1 (5), Frank Gore: 0-2-0-2 (4), Vance McDonald: 0-2-dnp-dnp (2), Bruce Ellington: 0-1-1-0 (2), Bruce Miller: 1-0-0-0 (1)
The 49ers got back to the running game in this one as Frank Gore saw 24 carries for 119 yards and one reception for a 55-yard touchdown. Last season Gore had just two games with 24 or more carries.
Colin Kaepernick was his usual amazing/not so amazing self in this one, but managed to cobble a pretty good game together, as is his way.
Michael Crabtree led in targets again, but missed some time due to a foot injury and had a pedestrian five receptions on eight targets for 43 yards. No receivers really put up big numbers in this game, but Stevie Johnson made a great touchdown reception on one of his two targets. He’ll need injuries to give him playing time, but if that does happen, he’s shown the ability.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Michael Crabtree: Run 0/ Tar 5, Steve Johnson: Run 0/ Tar 3, Anquan Boldin: Run 0/ Tar 3, Carlos Hyde: Run 8/ Tar 2, Brandon Lloyd: Run 0/ Tar 1, Vernon Davis: Run 0/ Tar 1, Colin Kaepernick: Run 8/ Tar 0, Frank Gore: Run 9/ Tar 0
Frank Gore had four carries and Carlos Hyde had two. On the day there were eight rushing attempts to three passing attempts in the red zone.
Seattle Seahawks
Percy Harvin: 7-1-9-BYE (17), Doug Baldwin: 5-6-5-BYE (16), Jermaine Kearse: 3-5-2-BYE (10), Marshawn Lynch: 1-4-5-BYE (10), Zach Miller: 4-1-2-BYE (7), Bryan Walters: 0-2-5-BYE (7), Ricardo Lockette: 3-1-1-BYE (5), Robert Turbin: 0-2-1-BYE (3), Derrick Coleman: 1-0-1-BYE (2), Luke Willson: 1-0-0-BYE (1), Paul Richardson: 0-0-1-BYE (1)
Russell Wilson completed passes to an amazing 11 players on Sunday. Only Percy Harvin saw over five targets as he had nine and caught seven of them for just 42 yards. But I’ll take that because anytime Harvin has seven receptions you can usually count on him breaking one of those, he just didn’t this week.
Marshawn Lynch was the fantasy and real life stud in this game as he had 31 looks and totaled 128 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a slight difference from his 10 touches last week. He’s still the engine in this Ferrari.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Percy Harvin: Run 1/ Tar 2, Doug Baldwin: Run 0/ Tar 2, Marshawn Lynch: Run 13/ Tar 2, Jermaine Kearse: Run 0/ Tar 1, Derrick Coleman: Run 0/ Tar 1, Robert Turbin: Run 0/ Tar 1, Russell Wilson: Run 3/ Tar 0
Lynch was the main man in the red zone as he touched the ball eight times out of 11 plays and scored twice.
St. Louis Rams
Brian Quick: 9-9-4-BYE (22), Jared Cook: 8-4-9-BYE (21), Lance Kendricks: 3-4-7-BYE (14), Kenny Britt: 3-1-7-BYE (11), Austin Pettis: 0-4-4-BYE (8), Zac Stacy: 2-0-6-BYE (8), Benny Cunningham: 4-2-2-BYE (8), Chris Givens: 3-2-3-BYE (8), Tavon Austin: 3-1-dnp-BYE (4), Cory Harkey: 1-2-0-BYE (3)
I’m not 100% sure what the Rams were doing in this game as they were all over the map in their targets and touches. The target distribution went, Jared Cook 9, Kenny Britt 7, Lance Kendricks 7, Zac Stacy 6, Austin Pettis 4 and Brian Quick 4. Quick had been the target leader so far this year and had been playing extremely well to just drop to fifth on this list. He did catch a nice touchdown pass, but I wonder what he could have done with the target lead?
Cook continues to see targets and has now caught 15 passes through the first three games. His lack of touchdowns is what is keeping him out of most waiver wire articles at the moment.
Stacy accumulated 121 yards on 17 touches, but just had the 12 rushing attempts while Benny Cunningham and Trey Watts had 14 rushing attempts between them. Stacy’s six targets and five receptions were great to see after he had just two targets Week 1 and none Week 2, but he really deserved more carries to help him and the offensive line find some type of rhythm.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Austin Pettis: Run 0/ Tar 3, Jared Cook: Run 0/ Tar 2, Lance Kendricks: Run 0/ Tar 2, Benny Cunningham: Run 2/ Tar 1, Kenny Britt: Run 0/ Tar 1, Brian Quick: Run 0/ Tar 1, Cory Harkey: Run 0/ Tar 1, Austin Davis: Run 0/ Tar 0, Zac Stacy: Run 6/ Tar 0, Trey Watts: Run 1/ Tar 0
Stacy had one carry inside the five yard line, while they passed the four other times, converting two of those into touchdowns.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vincent Jackson: 9-7-9-10 (35), Mike Evans: 9-4-7-7 (27), Brandon Myers: 8-2-5-1 (16), Bobby Rainey: 2-3-8-2 (15), Louis Murphy: dnp-dnp-dnp-11 (11), Austin Seferian-Jenkins: 2-dnp-dnp-7 (9), Robert Herron: 0-3-3-dnp (6), Doug Martin: 2-dnp-dnp-2 (4), Luke Stocker: 1-0-2-0 (3), Russell Shepard: 0-0-0-2 (2), Chris Owusu: 2-0-0-dnp (2), Jorvorskie Lane: 0-1-0-0 (1), Mike James: 0-0-1-dnp (1)
With Mike Evens hurting his groin in this game we saw Louis Murphy step in and lead the team in targets with 11. He wasn’t spectacular, but he did make some nice plays as he caught six of those for 99 yards.
Vincent Jackson is still having trouble connecting with his quarterbacks this season as he caught just three of his ten targets, but thankfully one of those was for a touchdown and the game winner.
Mike Glennon’s accuracy wasn’t great with his 50% completion rate, but he did lead the team to an improbable comeback win over the Steelers, so I think we can gloss over that particular stat.
This was Doug Martin’s first game back from his injury and he touched the ball 16 times for 56 yards and a touchdown. He saw 56% of the snaps to Bobby Rainey’s 44%, but Rainey touched the ball just five times for 18 yards.
Red Zone Targets+Touches: Vincent Jackson: Run 0/ Tar 7, Louis Murphy: Run 0/ Tar 3, Mike Evans: Run 0/ Tar 3, Brandon Myers: Run 0/ Tar 1, Chris Owusu: Run 0/ Tar 1, Jorvorskie Lane: Run 0/ Tar 1, Bobby Rainey: Run 9/ Tar 1, Austin Seferian-Jenkins: Run 0/ Tar 1, Mike Glennon: Run 0/ Tar 0, Josh McCown: Run 2/ Tar 0, Doug Martin: Run 3/ Tar 0, Mike James: Run 3/ Tar 0
Jackson saw five targets in the red zone this week while Murphy had three. I think we can expect Jackson to put up better fantasy points going forward with the number of targets he’s seeing.
Washington
Pierre Garcon: 12-4-16-6 (38), Niles Paul: 4-11-9-4 (28), DeSean Jackson: 9-2-11-4 (26), Andre Roberts: 3-5-6-5 (19), Roy Helu: 3-2-1-5 (11), Ryan Grant: 0-8-1-1 (10), Logan Paulsen: 2-0-2-3 (7), Darrel Young: 1-2-2-1 (6), Aldrick Robinson: 0-2-0-1 (3), Alfred Morris: 0-0-0-3 (3), Jordan Reed: 1-dnp-dnp-dnp (1)
This is not a game Kirk Cousins will want to watch again very soon as he threw four interceptions and his team was dominated 45-14.
Alfred Morris probably had the best game of the bunch as he rushed 12 times for 63 yards and a touchdown while also catching three passes for 27 yards. He hadn’t caught one pass this season or even seen a target. Last year he totaled nine receptions. If this happens to be the start of trend it will help his fantasy numbers, but don’t bank on it being a trend just yet.
Pierre Garcon led in targets, but with just six and he caught only two of those for 28 yards. Cousins targeted ten players in this one and was all over the map.
Red Zone Targets +Touches: Andre Roberts: Run 0/ Tar 4, Niles Paul: Run 0/ Tar 3, Darrel Young: Run 1/ Tar 3, DeSean Jackson: Run 0/ Tar 2, Ryan Grant: Run 0/ Tar 2, Pierre Garcon: Run 0/ Tar 1, Robert Griffin III: Run 0/ Tar 0, Roy Helu: Run 3/ Tar 0, Silas Redd: Run 5/ Tar 0, Alfred Morris: Run 16/ Tar 0
