Target Report: Randle not taking advantage of huge opportunities

Last week, we discussed yards per target and per route run, and how both suggest that Sammy Watkins will only continue to get better, or at least hold steady, for the rest of the season. This week, let’s take a look at a person on the other side of that coin.

Fantasy football Week 10 stat projections

Rueben Randle has been racking up the targets all season, and not just because Victor Cruz went down with a knee injury. In the five games Cruz played fully before his injury, Randle had 40 targets. In the four games since, he has 39. Unfortunately, he just hasn’t done very much with his opportunity.

Randle is getting just 5.36 yards per target and 1.23 yards per route run this year. Only 11 receivers who have at least 25 percent of their team’s targets rank behind Randle in yards per route run. Odell Beckham Jr., meanwhile, just put up 156 yards last week. Randle has 370 all season. Beckham hadn’t done much outside of an anomalous two-touchdown game against the Cowboys in Week 7, but he has to be considered at least on par with Randle, given Randle’s underwhelming performance this year.

• Frustrated with your fantasy team? Draft a new one in FanNation's game

With that, let’s get to the Week 9 Target Report. As always, target numbers include plays negated by penalty.

Arizona Cardinals

Larry Fitzgerald – 62 targets, 11 red-zone targets, 91 percent of season snaps played, 93 percent of last week’s snaps played
John Brown – 54, 5, 55, 54
Andre Ellington – 51, 5, 69, 67
Michael Floyd – 48, 3, 87, 84
John Carlson – 36, 7, 87, 87

It’s hard to explain what’s going on with Floyd, especially with Carson Palmer under center. Even though he has two touchdowns in the four games since Palmer returned from his shoulder injury, Floyd has been a major disappointment. He has 11 catches for a paltry 130 yards, and was completely shut out in one game. Palmer still throws a very nice deep ball, but the duo has been unable to hook up on passes down the field with any regularity. Expect things to eventually turn in his favor. His skill set is too great, and with Palmer still excelling at downfield passes, it’s only a matter of time before the start connecting on big plays. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Ellington, who is an elite talent in a great offensive environment and is hogging all the touches out of the Arizona backfield. He’s an RB1 for the rest of the year.

Atlanta Falcons

Julio Jones – 86 targets, 4 red-zone targets, 89 percent of season snaps played, 77 percent of last week's snaps played
Roddy White – 59, 5, 94, 85
Devin Hester – 29, 1, 41, 18
Levine Toilolo – 27, 2, 88, 77
Devonta Freeman – 24, 4, 18, 12
Harry Douglas – 22, 1, 66, 47
Jacquizz Rodgers – 18, 2, 29, 25
Steven Jackson – 16, 1, 40, 50
Antone Smith – 14, 1, 14, 13

The Falcons return from their bye to take on the Buccaneers this week. It’s a great matchup for Jones and White, as the Buccaneers have allowed the most points per game to receivers. We can only hope offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter chooses to get his two best players the ball in the red zone this week.

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Baltimore Ravens

Steve Smith – 84 targets, 11 red-zone targets, 75 percent of season snaps played, 89 percent of last week's snaps played
Torrey Smith – 53, 7, 77, 83
Justin Forsett – 43, 4, 61, 73
Owen Daniels – 43, 9, 71, 75
Lorenzo Taliaferro – 9, 0, 19, 23
Bernard Pierce – 4, 0, 22, 1

Don’t look now, but Torrey Smith is starting to creep back into the low-end WR2 picture. He has 16 receptions for 286 yards and five touchdowns in his last six games, good for an average of 9.77 points per game in standard-scoring leagues. Extrapolated over a full season, that translates to 156.27 points, which would have ranked 16th last year, 17th in 2012 and 14th in 2011. While he struggled at the start of the season, he did have eight targets in two of Baltimore’s first three games. It seems that now everything is starting to even out for him.

Buffalo Bills

Sammy Watkins – 69 targets, 7 red-zone targets, 97 percent of season snaps played, 96 percent of last week's snaps played

Robert Woods – 53, 3, 85, 33
Fred Jackson – 41, 4, 53, N/A
Scott Chandler – 35, 6, 68, 55
Anthony Dixon – 3, 0, 21, 75
Bryce Brown – 3, 1, 25, 25

Watkins and Kelvin Benjamin are neck and neck for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors halfway through the season. I give the edge to Watkins for the rest of the year, thanks to the stability provided by Kyle Orton under center. The Bills had their bye last week, and host the Chiefs in Week 10.

Carolina Panthers

Kelvin Benjamin – 84 targets, 13 red-zone targets, 83 percent of season snaps played, 82 percent of last week's snaps played
Greg Olsen – 69, 10, 95, 100
Jerricho Cotchery – 48, 0, 80, 84
Jason Avant – 40, 4, 57, 60
Jonathan Stewart – 15, 1, 62, 61
DeAngelo Williams – 3, 0, 36, 39

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I’ve fielded a lot of questions this week from Benjamin owners who are worried that their prized rookie’s season will go into the tank because of Cam Newton’s struggles. My counsel? Don’t put too much stock into one game. Benjamin has been one of the most consistent receivers this year, putting up at least nine fantasy points in six of his nine games. It’s not like Newton was playing lights-out football earlier in the season, either. Benjamin has had at least six targets in every game, and at least eight targets in all but two weeks this year. He and Sammy Watkins will likely take the Offensive Rookie of the Year battle down to the last week, with Mike Evans potentially entering the race, as well. I may prefer Watkins, but that’s no knock on Benjamin. Both will be WR2s for the rest of the season.

Chicago Bears

Matt Forte – 73 targets, 10 red-zone targets, 91 percent of season snaps played, 81 percent of last week's snaps played
Alshon Jeffery – 69, 8, 87, 99
Brandon Marshall – 68, 16, 91, 90
Martellus Bennett – 67, 17, 88, 78
Santonio Holmes – 12, 1, 43, 54

The Bears come out of their Week 9 bye to take on the Packers on Sunday night. It’s widely viewed as a must-win game for the Bears, as they’d likely have to reel off seven straight wins to end the season if they fall in Lambeau. The twin fantasy struggles of Jeffery and Marshall have been one of the biggest surprises of the season. Marshall’s catch rate of 51.5 percent is his worst through eight games in the last seven years (hat tip to Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com for that stat).

Cincinnati Bengals

Mohamed Sanu – 72 targets, 8 red-zone targets, 93 percent of season snaps played, 87 percent of last week's snaps played
Jermaine Gresham – 43, 6, 94, 94
A.J. Green – 35, 6, 62, 56
Giovani Bernard – 34, 2, 69, N/A
Brandon Tate – 22, 2, 59, 22
Jeremy Hill – 16, 0, 35, 65

People seemed all too willing to write off Sanu with Green’s return, when the actuality is that the second receiver in Cincinnati has been reliably productive during Andy Dalton’s tenure as the starter. Even with Green back last week, Sanu led the team with eight targets, 95 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals eased Green back onto the field last week, as he played barely more than half of their snaps, a rate that is sure to increase as his recovery progresses. Still, Sanu should remain a WR2 for the rest of the year. Hill had a monster game with Bernard out, and would again be a strong play on Thursday night if Bernard sits.

Cleveland Browns

Andrew Hawkins – 69 targets, 6 red-zone targets, 68 percent of season snaps played, 46 percent of last week's snaps played
Miles Austin – 46, 6, 66, 75
Taylor Gabriel – 42, 7, 58, 63
Jordan Cameron – 33, 4, 73, N/A
Travis Benjamin – 23, 3, 35, 33
Ben Tate – 9, 0, 53, 45
Terrance West – 8, 4, 41, 55
Isaiah Crowell – 5, 0, 24, 0

Hawkins led the team in targets last week with eight, but caught just three of them for 34 yards. You have to like that he continues to get the most looks from Hoyer, but he doesn’t get very many deep or red-zone targets. He has been targeted on just six passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air, and six more in the red zone. He needs to be incredibly efficient to show up for fantasy owners, and he wasn’t last week, which explains his dud performance. 

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Dallas Cowboys

Dez Bryant – 88 targets, 9 red-zone targets, 85 percent of season snaps played, 86 of last week's snaps played
Jason Witten – 48, 2, 100, 100
Terrance Williams – 46, 10, 80, 81
DeMarco Murray – 35, 2, 75, 67
Cole Beasley – 25, 2, 45, 53
Gavin Escobar – 9, 4, 21, 19

For all the deserved praise heaped upon Murray and the Dallas offensive line this season, we saw last week just how important Tony Romo is to this team. The Cardinals shut down their passing game with Brandon Weeden at the helm, making the offense one-dimensional. Bryant and Williams had zero catches going into the fourth quarter, though they ended up combining for 17 targets. Romo made the trip to London this week, but it’s hard to trust Williams and Witten if Weeden is the starter. Once this team gets in the red zone, it needs to do a better job getting Bryant the ball. He has caught five of his nine red-zone targets, and all of those have resulted in touchdowns.

Denver Broncos

Demaryius Thomas – 92 targets, 17 red-zone targets, 90 percent of season snaps played, 91 percent of last week's snaps played
Emmanuel Sanders – 81, 11, 93, 91
Julius Thomas – 44, 13, 92, 98
Wes Welker – 31, 2, 68, 58
Ronnie Hillman – 28, 6, 57, 63
Juwan Thompson – 3, 0, 13, 14

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In a game where Manning put the ball in the air 57 times -- 57! -- Julius Thomas got two targets. In his defense, he saw a lot of Brandon Browner last week, but this is indicative of why he remains a great sell-high target. His value is entirely tied up in touchdowns. Demaryius Thomas and Sanders hog all the targets; they combined for 27 last week. What’s more, Julius Thomas’ red-zone targets have tapered off in the last three weeks. Given his presence in this offense, you should be able to get a very nice return for him, and he could realistically be a low-end TE1 for the remainder of the season.

Detroit Lions

Golden Tate – 85 targets, 6 red-zone targets, 83 percent of season snaps played, 89 percent of last week's snaps played
Calvin Johnson – 37, 5, 70, N/A
Reggie Bush – 35, 6, 43, N/A
Joique Bell – 28, 4, 57, 61
Corey Fuller – 25, 2, 53, 89
Eric Ebron – 21, 4, 45, N/A
Jeremy Ross – 20, 0, 70, 84
Theo Riddick – 18, 4, 15, 41

Calvin Johnson is expected to return from his ankle injury this week, which is bad news for Tate owners. Tate's had a huge five-game run, but that's been a direct result of Megatron's absence. In the three games when both were at 100 percent, Tate had a total of 21 targets. He’s still a WR2, but he’s no longer the WR1 he has been with Johnson slowed down by the ankle sprain.

Green Bay Packers

Jordy Nelson – 84 targets, 18 red-zone targets, 93 percent of season snaps played, 93 percent of last week's snaps played
Randall Cobb – 56, 13, 89, 93
Davante Adams – 36, 7, 67, 96
Eddie Lacy – 25, 4, 63, 75
Andrew Quarless – 23 5, 60, 46
James Starks – 14, 0, 28, 21
Richard Rodgers – 11, 2, 41, 50

The Packers host the Bears on Sunday Night Football after both teams enjoyed a bye last week. The Saints shut down Nelson the last time we saw the Packers play, but don’t expect the Bears to be able to do the same. He had 10 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns the first time these teams played. Cobb had seven grabs for 113 yards and two scores of his own.

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Houston Texans

Andre Johnson – 89 targets, 13 red-zone targets, 92 percent of season snaps played, 97 percent of last week's snaps played
DeAndre Hopkins – 68, 6, 94, 93
Arian Foster – 36, 5, 75, 65
Garrett Graham – 20, 1, 77, 80
Alfred Blue – 8, 1, 24, 22

Both Johnson and Hopkins have been productive this year, but it’s almost depressing to think what they could be doing with a competent quarterback. Last week displayed how Ryan Fitzpatrick is holding back what could be among the best receiver duos in the league, which probably contributed to head coach Bill O'Brien's decision to start Ryan Mallett this week. The Eagles have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this year, and yet Fitzpatrick threw for just 203 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Foster did most of the work on his touchdown reception. Fitzpatrick missed on all four of his deep balls to Johnson and Hopkins. The latter also gifted him 62 yards with a brilliant run after the catch on a simple slant. If only these two were playing with Aaron Rodgers or Peyton Manning, they could be among the stud fantasy receivers.

Indianapolis Colts

T.Y. Hilton – 86 targets, 7 red-zone targets, 75 percent of season snaps played, 76 percent of last week's snaps played
Reggie Wayne – 71, 8, 81, 72
Hakeem Nicks – 46, 9, 54, 51
Coby Fleener – 46, 10, 62, 52
Ahmad Bradshaw – 44, 11, 51, 59
Dwayne Allen – 41, 8, 70, 75
Trent Richardson – 28, 4, 46, 28
Donte Moncrief – 25, 2, 23, 33

Few teams have been as consistent as the Colts this year, and it all stems from Andrew Luck. This past week, he threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns, spreading his scores around to four different receivers. Of course, Luck was far from perfect on Monday night, and got a ton of help from Hilton and Wayne. Meanwhile, Fleener had 11 targets, while Allen got just five. Both are going to be on the field for well more than half the snaps in a typical game. It gives both low-end TE1 potential for the rest of the year.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Allen Robinson – 69 targets, 6 red-zone targets, 76 percent of season snaps played, 87 percent of last week's snaps played
Cecil Shorts – 56, 6, 81, 84
Allen Hurns – 54, 4, 78, 86
Clay Harbor – 29, 2, 87, 81
Marqise Lee – 21, 1, 39, 10
Denard Robinson – 16, 0, 41, 60
Toby Gerhart – 13, 1, 41, 32

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​Hurns was the main beneficiary of the Jaguars' three-receiver sets last week. It marked the first time this season that three different Jacksonville receivers played at least 80 percent of the snaps, and given the team’s relative success, chances are we see that much more often the rest of the season. Hurns caught seven passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns, the first time since Week 3 that he found the end zone. It’s hard to trust anyone, other than Denard Robinson, in Jacksonville as a regular starter, but Hurns and Allen Robinson both have WR3 potential for the rest of the season, especially if they stick with last week’s frequency of three-receiver sets.

Kansas City Chiefs

Dwayne Bowe – 49 targets, 4 red-zone targets, 82 percent of season snaps played, 84 percent of last week's snaps played
Travis Kelce – 44, 8, 53, 52
Anthony Fasano – 28, 4, 90, 97
Jamaal Charles – 24, 8, 61, 81
Junior Hemingway – 16, 0, 36, 31
Knile Davis – 16, 4, 39, 17
A.J. Jenkins – 13, 2, 39, 64

Bowe seems content to chug along at his mediocre pace, putting up somewhere between four and six catches for 60-to-80 yards per game. He has one more week of fleeting fantasy relevance with six teams sitting down with their byes. On the flip side of that is Kelce, who can’t be held down, even by inexplicable light usage. The Chiefs have the fourth-friendliest remaining schedule for tight ends, and that should help move Kelce into the top five at the position for the rest of the year. Half of Charles’ red-zone targets have come from inside the 10-yard-line. Ahmad Bradshaw is the only back in the league with more.

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Miami Dolphins

Mike Wallace – 70 targets, 12 red-zone targets, 73 percent of season snaps played, 71 percent of last week's snaps played
Brian Hartline – 45, 8, 84, 63
Charles Clay – 44, 11, 76, 71
Jarvis Landry – 40, 5, 55, 72
Lamar Miller – 29, 6, 59, 50

Miller injured his shoulder last week, but it sounds like he will be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Lions. Clay has picked up his game after getting off to a very slow start this year. He’s had at least 11 fantasy points in two of his last three games, and with the Miami offense rounding into form, he could be a sneaky play for the rest of the year. Remember, he was the No. 7 tight end in fantasy leagues last year. The fact that he has the second-most red-zone targets on the team should tell you all you need to know about how much Ryan Tannehill likes him when the Dolphins are in scoring range.

Minnesota Vikings

Greg Jennings – 58 targets, 9 red-zone targets, 86 percent of season snaps played, 86 percent of last week's snaps played
Cordarrelle Patterson – 56, 2, 77, 74
Jarius Wright – 42, 4, 55, 40
Matt Asiata – 36, 4, 48, 51
Jerick McKinnon – 33, 1, 43, 49
Chase Ford – 30, 3, 63, 68
Rhett Ellison – 15, 0, 56, 75

Patterson excited his owners two weeks ago by catching six of his 12 targets for 86 yards, and then he followed it up by catching one of seven for nine yards in the win over Washington last week. Even in a favorable matchup, he is completely untrustworthy for fantasy purposes. Overall, this is one of the least interesting passing games in the league. Considering that they are on a bye this week, and only six teams still have byes once the Vikings return to action in Week 11, you can pretty much forget about all the receivers in this offense. The only player, other than McKinnon, I’d even think about owning in a traditional 12-team league is Jennings, and that’s about depth more than anything else.

New England Patriots

Julian Edelman – 86 targets, 12 red-zone targets, 85 percent of season snaps played, 90 percent of last week's snaps played
Rob Gronkowski – 80, 11, 67, 90
Brandon LaFell – 65, 8, 75, 89
Shane Vereen – 53, 9, 54, 74
Danny Amendola – 22, 4, 43, 54
Tim Wright – 18, 4, 21, 14
Jonas Gray – 1, 0, 29, 26

Three weeks into the season, LaFell had four catches for 46 yards, and let it be known that he was unhappy with his role serving primarily as a blocker. In the last six weeks, he has the seventh-most fantasy points among receivers. Only Demaryius Thomas, Randall Cobb, T.Y. Hilton, Antonio Brown, Golden Tate and DeSean Jackson have more points in that stretch than the man who has seemingly become the top receiver in New England. Meanwhile, Gronkowski first played at least 70 percent of New England’s snaps in Week 5. Since then, he’s averaging 16.32 fantasy points per game.

New Orleans Saints

Jimmy Graham – 64 targets, 12 red-zone targets, 65 percent of season snaps played, 68 percent of last week's snaps played
Brandin Cooks – 56, 6, 74, 61
Marques Colston – 50, 5, 73, 64
Travaris Cadet – 33, 5, 18, 29
Kenny Stills – 32, 2, 52, 34
Pierre Thomas – 30, 3, 39, N/A
Mark Ingram – 12, 0, 47, 66
Khiry Robinson – 6, 0, 28, N/A

Drew Brees completed 24 of his 34 pass attempts for 297 yards and 8.74 yards per attempt last week. All of those are strong numbers, but he had just one touchdown while throwing one interception. Cooks and Colston combined for six catches for 74 yards. Graham appears to be fully back, catching all seven of his targets for 83 yards and a score, but he’s the only trustworthy pass catcher in town. It’s why I continue to disagree with all the sell-high hype for Ingram. Other than his first game back from a broken hand, he has at least 16.4 fantasy points in every game he has played this year. It may have once been in vogue to beat up on Ingram, but this looks like the breakout season the oracles predicted many moons ago. With the Saints’ passing game looking merely good for the first time in the Brees era, expect Ingram to continue to shine for his fantasy owners.

New York Giants

Rueben Randle – 71 targets, 14 red-zone targets, 91 percent of season snaps played, 95 percent of last week's snaps played
Larry Donnell – 50, 14, 80, 95
Odell Beckham – 31, 6, 85, 99
Preston Parker – 26, 2, 39, 46
Rashad Jennings – 14, 2, 59, N/A
Peyton Hillis – 14, 1, 19, 45
Andre Williams – 12, 1, 41, 49

Beckham has inherited the Victor Cruz role in the offense, running several routes out of the slo, and he just set a career high in receptions (eight), targets (11) and yards (156) last week. He doesn’t yet have enough slot routes to qualify, but his 1.81 yards per route run would tie him for 14th with DeSean Jackson and Marques Colston.

New York Jets

Eric Decker – 64 targets, 9 red-zone targets, 74 percent of season snaps played, 93 percent of last week's snaps played
Jeremy Kerley – 53, 7, 70, 57
Jace Amaro – 41, 5, 43, 51
Jeff Cumberland – 30, 7, 82, 77
Chris Johnson – 22, 3, 34, 38
Percy Harvin – 22, 3, 67, 84
Chris Ivory – 20, 4, 41, 25

Harvin racked up 13 targets last week, catching 11 of them for 129 yards, which should convince you that the Jets plan to use their new weapon to the fullest, something that never happened for him in Seattle. In just two games with the Jets, he has already managed to rack up 27 combined targets and carries. In five games with the Seahawks, he had a total of 35 targets and carries. The Jets’ coaching staff let Harvin do what he does best, namely catch balls in space and make things happen with his legs. Four of his receptions were on screen passes, and he had a total of 81 yards after catch last week. He was also targeted once on a deep ball, which he hauled in for a 42-yard gain. Now that he’s on a team committed to him, Harvin can be a WR2 for the rest of the year.

Oakland Raiders

James Jones – 61 targets, 7 red-zone targets, 72 percent of season snaps played, 67 percent of last week's snaps played
Andre Holmes – 48, 3, 60, 67
Mychal Rivera – 43, 4, 72, 74
Darren McFadden – 36, 1, 69, 54
Denarius Moore – 25, 2, 49, 26
Kenbrell Thompkins – 12, 0, 40, 34

Is it time to take Rivera a little bit seriously as a fantasy option? He has 20 targets in the last two weeks, catching 15 of them for 121 yards and two touchdowns. He had a total of 22 targets in his first six games this year, but seems to have taken on a larger role in the offense in the last two weeks. And yet, by virtue of being on the Raiders, his value is almost nil. With Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Gates, Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener and Jordan Reed all on bye this week, Rivera could be a sneaky play for Week 10. After that, send him back to the waiver wire.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jeremy Maclin – 84 targets, 8 red-zone targets, 87 percent of season snaps played, 86 percent of last week's snaps played
Jordan Matthews – 55, 8, 61, 66
Riley Cooper – 53, 6, 86, 83
Zach Ertz – 44, 5, 52, 51
Darren Sproles – 31, 3, 31, 23
LeSean McCoy – 29, 3, 71, 65

This entire situation could get thrown out of whack with Mark Sanchez at the helm. In defense of The Sanchize, he never had weapons in New York that even come close to resembling what he now has in Philadelphia. He played well in relief of the injured Nick Foles last week, throwing for 202 yards, 9.18 yards per attempt, two touchdowns and two interceptions. If you’re invested in Maclin, McCoy or Ertz, you have to like that Chip Kelly isn’t going to scale back the playbook with Sanchez under center. Part of what has made Maclin so lethal this year is the many downfield targets. He leads the league with 26 targets that traveled at least 20 yards in the air, catching eight of them for 334 yards and five touchdowns. He hooked up with Sanchez on one last week, which should give his owners confidence.

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Pittsburgh Steelers

Antonio Brown – 111 targets, 15 red-zone targets, 95 percent of season snaps played, 96 percent of last week's snaps played
Le’Veon Bell – 56, 7, 77, 74
Markus Wheaton – 52, 7, 73, 57
Heath Miller – 49, 8, 96, 100
Martavis Bryant – 17, 4, 41, 49
LeGarrette Blount – 8, 3, 19, 22

It’s not surprising in today’s NFL that a quarterback threw for six touchdowns in back-to-back games, but it is a bit of a surprise that Ben Roethlisberger was the quarterback to do it. Bryant, who has 10 catches for 167 yards and five touchdowns this season, will slow down eventually, but, as we’ve stated here before, the speed element he brings to this offense is crucial. He caught one of his two passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air, which went for a touchdown. He dropped one ball across the middle, but caught his other one, also for a touchdown. Finally, he took a screen pass two yards behind the line of scrimmage and turned it into a seven-yard gain. His versatility is helping turn the Pittsburgh offense into one of the very best in the league.

San Diego Chargers

Keenan Allen – 72 targets, 9 red-zone targets, 95 percent of season snaps played, 84 percent of last week's snaps played
Antonio Gates – 57, 14, 65, 51
Malcom Floyd – 47, 6, 82, 86
Eddie Royal – 43, 3, 63, 73
Branden Oliver – 27, 6, 53, 47
Donald Brown – 20, 4, 44, 33
Ladarius Green – 18, 4, 37, 43
Ryan Mathews – 4, 0, 32, N/A

The biggest takeaway from last week’s Chargers’ loss to the Dolphins concerns a player who was not on the field. After three straight lackluster performances from Oliver, expect Mathews to once again take over as the feature back when the team returns from their bye in Week 11. The team has lost all of those games, and needs to punch on the ground that Mathews provides. Interestingly, outside of Gates, there isn’t a pass catcher you can trust with any regularity in San Diego, despite the fact that Philip Rivers ranks sixth among all quarterbacks in fantasy points. The targets are simply too spread out, and Gates is the only one who has made his red-zone targets count this year.

San Francisco 49ers

Michael Crabtree – 66 targets, 11 red-zone targets, 73 percent of season snaps played, 73 percent of last week's snaps played
Anquan Boldin – 62, 7, 88, 85
Steve Johnson – 37, 6, 31, 33
Vernon Davis – 29, 1, 80, 99
Brandon Lloyd – 23, 1, 44, 42
Carlos Hyde – 12, 4, 34, 43
Frank Gore – 11, 1, 58, 54

Fantasy owners hear all about waiting on quarterbacks in drafts, but Davis this year has showed why you should also be patient with all non-elite tight ends. You had to use a relatively high pick to get Davis, for reasons that are still nebulous, at best. Serving as the third option in a low-value passing attack, Davis has yet to eclipse 50 yards in a game this season. He has fewer than four fantasy points in five of his six games, as well. At this point, he shouldn’t even be owned in nearly all formats. Remember this next year when you’re considering being the first person to take a tight end after Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, and perhaps Julius Thomas are off the board.

Seattle Seahawks

Doug Baldwin – 51 targets, 5 red-zone targets, 87 percent of season snaps played, 80 percent of last week's snaps played
Jermaine Kearse – 35, 6, 86, 84
Marshawn Lynch – 29, 5, 69, 72
Luke Willson – 20, 4, 59, 74
Paul Richardson – 15, 1, 38, 72
Cooper Helfert – 13, 3, 30, 21

In Seattle’s three games since trading Harvin, Richardson’s snap percentages have risen from 59 percent, to 69 percent, to 72 percent. After last week, expect that number to keep on increasing. Richardson may have had just three catches for 12 yards, but he’s the only speed threat on the entire Seattle offense. There may have been things happening behind the scenes that made Harvin’s status with the team untenable, but when they shipped him out of town, they lost their only weapon that made opposing secondaries nervous. That showed up in Russell Wilson’s stat line last week, as he threw for just 179 yards and 5.11 yards per attempt against the Raiders. Quite frankly, there’s no one on this team worth playing in most weeks other than Lynch.

St. Louis Rams

Jared Cook – 55 targets, 5 red-zone targets, 74 percent of season snaps played, 73 percent of last week's snaps played
Kenny Britt – 32, 1, 68, 95
Lance Kendricks – 24, 4 60, 51
Benny Cunningham – 22, 4, 42, 29
Zac Stacy – 20, 2, 38, 0
Tavon Austin – 19, 0, 40, 58
Stedman Bailey – 9, 1, 25, 64
Tre Mason – 5, 1, 40, 69

It appears that Britt will gain the most individually in the wake of Brian Quick’s season-ending shoulder injury. He hadn’t played in more than 70 percent of team’s snaps in a game before Quick got hurt Week 8, but he played 79 percent that week and 95 percent a week ago. Of course, he had just four catches for 84 yards in those two games, but he did hit paydirt last week. Even with the increased opportunity, he’s no better than a low-end WR3 or a WR4 for the rest of the season. We’ll take as extended a look at the running backs as they deserve later in the week, but Mason has command of the backfield. That still doesn’t make him any better than a low-end RB3.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Vincent Jackson – 78 targets, 8 red-zone targets, 97 percent of season snaps played, 98 percent of last week's snaps played
Mike Evans – 55, 4, 78, 80
Louis Murphy – 35, 6, 68, 58
Bobby Rainey – 32, 3, 56, 88
Austin Seferian-Jenkins – 24, 4, 85, 97
Doug Martin – 14, 0, 58, N/A

A quarterback like Mike Glennon generally isn’t going to help a pair of receivers to WR2 status. Yet, that’s exactly what Jackson and Evans are for the rest of the year. Why, you ask? Well, Glennon loves both in the red zone. Evans’ total red-zone targets may not seem impressive, but recall that he played fewer than 70 percent of the team’s snaps in two games, and missed another because of a groin injury. Second, they both get plenty of chances to make plays deep down the field. Jackson is third in the league with 20 deep targets, while Evans is 12th with 16. Evans has been particularly effective on such passes, catching eight of the for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

Tennessee Titans

Delanie Walker – 58 targets, 9 red-zone targets, 81 percent of season snaps played, 95 percent of last week's snaps played
Kendall Wright – 55, 6, 81, 87
Justin Hunter – 49, 5, 85, 90
Nate Washington – 33, 4, 81, 61
Dexter McCluster – 20, 5, 28, 30
Bishop Sankey – 10, 0, 38, 54
Shonn Greene – 2, 1, 23, 3

The Titans had a bye last week, and travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens on Sunday. They’ve allowed the second-most fantasy points to receivers this year, so it wouldn’t be crazy to think about Wright or Hunter this week. You’re always rolling the dice with this passing game, but if you’re hurting at receiver due to byes, consider one of the top receivers in Tennessee. They both have WR2 potential, and should be considered WR3s for the week.

Washington Redskins

DeSean Jackson – 66 targets, 9 red-zone targets, 76 percent of season snaps played, 88 percent of last week's snaps played
Pierre Garcon – 62, 2, 86, 91
Andre Roberts – 50, 7, 70, 66
Niles Paul – 39, 5, 57, 49
Roy Helu – 33, 3, 42, 37
Jordan Reed – 28, 3, 48, 66
Alfred Morris – 11, 0, 55, 63

It seems almost impossible that Garcon has played the entire season and has just two red-zone targets, but that is the case. He caught three of his five targets for 15 yards in the return of Robert Griffin III. He’s no better than a low-end WR3, and can be cut in many formats. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Jackson has been a true WR1 this year. He put up his fifth 100-yard game of the season last week, catching four balls for 120 yards and a touchdown. He’s 13th in the league with 15 deep targets, but no one has more than his 452 yards on such passes. Jackson remains the preeminent deep threat in the league.