Skip to main content
Fantasy Sports

Jaxon Smith-Njigba & the Biggest Fantasy Football Red-Zone Target Trends to Watch in Week 2

Red-zone opportunities are one of the most important usage trends for fantasy football managers to monitor, especially as offenses begin establishing their scoring roles early in the season.
Daniel Outerbridge|
Sep 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Sep 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In this story:

Seattle Seahawks

Week 1 provided the first real glimpse at which playmakers NFL offenses trust when the field condenses. With touchdowns carrying outsized weight in fantasy formats, red-zone volume is one of the most predictive early-season indicators available. Identifying who receives high-value opportunities before touchdown regression hits is critical for setting Week 2 lineups.

Ashton Jeanty/Raiders RB

Metrics: 4 RZ Targets/3 RZ carries/2 TDs

Jeanty tied for the league lead with 4 red-zone targets while securing a heavy rushing workload. Dual-threat RB usage inside the 20 creates an elite fantasy floor because touchdown avenues are doubled.

Amon-Ra St. Brown/Detroit Lions WR

Metrics: 4 RZ Targets/2 Inside-10 Targets

High-volume wide receivers usually rely on big plays downfield, but St. Brown's usage inside the 10-yard line grants him low-yardage touchdown upside. His targeted role in tight spaces makes him a dominant fantasy WR1 who doesn't rely strictly on yardage volume to deliver elite scoring weeks.

Trey McBride/Arizona Cardinals TE

Metrics: 4 RZ Targets/2 Inside-10 Targets

McBride continues to command top-tier target shares at the tight end position. Drawing four targets inside the 20 confirms that his target volume isn't isolated to the middle of the field. He remains a primary focal point of Arizona's scoring-area package.

Isaiah Likely/New York Giants TE

Metrics: 4 RZ Targets/1 Inside-10 Target/2 Touchdowns

Likely commanded New York's red-zone passing work in Week 1, leading the team in end-zone targets. The core metric to track in Week 2 is whether his high target rate per route holds as his overall snap count scales up, but his intermediate chemistry in the scoring area is highly encouraging.

Deebo Samuel Sr./San Francisco 49ers WR

Metrics: 3 RZ Targets/2 Inside-10 Targets/ 1 TD

Samuel Sr. efficiently converted all three of his red-zone looks into catches, with two coming inside the 10. Opportunities inside the 10 convert to touchdowns at nearly double the rate of looks between the 10-and 20-yard lines, making his high-value touches extremely efficient.

Jaxson Smith-Njigba/Seattle Seahawks WR

Metrics: 3 RZ Targets/2 Inside-10 Targets/ 0 TDs

In Week 1 , Smith-Njigba was targeted on 37.5% of his routes inside the 20. Drawing a target on more than one-third of his scoring-area routes confirms that he remains the primary first-read option for Seattle's passing attack when the field compresses. Two of his three red-zone targets occurred inside the 10-yard line. Passes targeted inside the 10 carry an expected touchdown (xTD) rate nearly double that of general red-zone passes.

Matthew Golden/Green Bay Packers WR

Metrics: 3 RZ Targets/ 6 RZ Routes

Golden ran six routes inside the red zone, turning half of them into direct targets. High route-participation rates in scoring territory suggest his expanded role in the Packers' passing game is intentional rather than situational.

Juwan Johnson/New Orleans Saints TE

Metrics: 3 RZ Targets/2 Inside-10 Targets

Tight ends who earn multiple targets inside the 10-yard line yield high fantasy points per target. If Johnson maintains this level of scoring-area involvement, he quickly enters the weekly tight end streaming conversation for tight-end-needy teams.

Lineup Implications

While one week of usage data doesn't guarantee future output, tracking target distribution near the goal line gives fantasy managers an immediate edge when setting Week 2 lineups. Focus on players who command high-value touches inside the 10-yard line, as these looks represent the easiest strategy to sustainable fantasy production.

Add us as a preferred source on Google
Published | Modified
Daniel Outerbridge
DANIEL OUTERBRIDGE

Daniel Outerbridge covers the NBA, NFL, WNBA, and MLB with an emphasis on the numbers behind the game. His work breaks down player performance, team strategy, and emerging statistical trends to provide actionable insights for fans and fantasy players. Outerbridge has written for a myriad of other outlets including Anubis Sports and FanSided.

Home/Rankings