Targets & Snaps Analysis—Looking Back at Week 1
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Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers
Chicago Key Stats:
- RB David Montgomery had six of the Bear’s 15 total rushing attempts attempts (40%).
- RB Mike Davis carried the ball five times (33%).
- WR Allen Robinson saw 13 targets out of Mitch Trubisky’s 41 pass attempts (32%); Robinson caught seven of those targets
- RB Tarik Cohen was targeted 10 times (24%) and caught eight of the passes thrown his way.
- RB Mike Davis had seven targets out of 41 total pass attempts (17%); He caught six of those targets.
Fantasy Nugget: RB Tarik Cohen had zero rushing attempts. This could be a common theme, but because he is such a solid pass catcher, fantasy owners can safely play him in the flex spot.
Green Bay Key Stats:
- RB Aaron Jones led the Packers with 13 rushing attempts out of the team’s 22 total carries (59%).
- RB Jamaal Williams had five rushes as the RB2 on the Packers (22%),
- WR Davante Adams saw eight targets out of Aaron Rodgers’ 30 passing attempts (27%). Adams caught just four of those targets and was most likely the biggest first-round bust of Week 1.
- WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling had six targets out of 30 passing attempts (20%) and recorded four receptions.
Fantasy Nugget: WR Geronimo Allison had zero targets in the game. Fantasy managers should monitor this situation.
New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys
New York Key Stats:
- RB Saquon Barkley carried the ball 11 times out of the team’s 17 total attempts (65%). Barkley saw an additional four touches in the passing game after being targeted six times by Manning (14%). Barkley predictably led the G-Men with 15 touches.
- RB Wayne Gallman had 2 rushes out of 17 attempts including a goal-line carry.
- TE Evan Engram was targeted 14 times out of Eli Manning’s 44 passing attempts (32%). Engram caught 11 of those targets and was the only Giants’ pass-catcher who found the end zone.
- WR Sterling Shepard caught all seven of his targets (16%).
Fantasy Nugget: Engram had twice as many targets as WR1 Shepard in Week 1. Engram could build on his elite performance especially because Shepard was placed in the concussion protocol.
Dallas Cowboys Key Stats:
- RB Ezekiel Elliott had 13-of-30 rushing attempts for the Cowboys (43%). He wasn’t needed too much once Dallas took control of the game in the second half.
- RB Tony Pollard equaled Elliott’s rushing attempts with 13 carries (43%) in his NFL debut.
- WR Michael Gallup caught seven-of-seven targets from Dak Prescott and was targated 22% of the Cowboys’ passing plays.
- WR Amari Cooper had nine targets on 32 passing attempts (28%). He hauled in six catches and finished just over the century mark in receiving yardage.
- WR Randall Cobb saw 5 targets, 16% of Prescott’s 32 passing attempts. Cobb caught four of those targets and found the end zone in his Cowboys’ debut.
Fantasy Nugget: Cowboys’ running backs only saw two targets in the passing game against the Giants. This should increase dramatically in the coming weeks.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Carolina Panthers
Los Angeles Rams Key Stats:
- RB Todd Gurley had 14 rushes out of the Rams’ 32 total attempts (44%).
- RB Malcolm Brown had 11 of the Rams’ carries (34%), and vultured not just one, but two touchdowns away from Gurley. Despite playing just 21 snaps overall (27.3%), Brown finished with 17.3 PPR fantasy points.
- WR Robert Woods was targeted 13 times out of Jared Goff’s 39 passing attempts (33%). Woods caught each ball thrown his direction.
- WR Cooper Kupp had 10 targets (26%) and hauled in seven receptions.
- WR Brandin Cooks was surprisingly only looked at six times by Goff, seeing just 15% of the team’s targets. He also had one of the worst games of his career, as he only produced two receptions for 39 yards despite seeing the field on 71 snaps (92.2%).
Fantasy Nugget: Although Cooks is supposedly the WR1, he actually had half as many targets as WR2 Robert Woods. Cooks was also outperformed by WR3 Cooper Kupp and even TE Tyler Higbee, who hauled in the only Rams’ receiving touchdown. Still, owners need not worry about Cooks. He was on the field quite often and will be just fine this year barring an injury.
Carolina Panthers Key Stats:
- RB Christian McCaffrey had 19 of Carolina’s 23 total rushing attempts (83%). McCaffrey also pithced in with 10 receptions and saw 11 of Cam Newton’s 38 targets (29%). McCaffrey played 100% of the Panthers’ 67 offensive plays and finished Week 1 as the top running back with 42.9 PPR fantasy points.
- WR D.J. Moore saw 10-of-38 passing attempts (25.9%). Despite losing a fumble, he had a pretty solid outing, catching seven passes for 76 receiving yards.
- TE Greg Olsen had nine targets (24%) but only came up with four receptions.
Fantasy Nugget: Despite all the preseason hype, WR2 Curtis Samuel only saw 4 targets thrown his way, just above 10% of Newton’s attempts.
Tennessee Titans vs Cleveland Browns
Tennessee Titans Key Stats:
- RB Derrick Henry had 19 rushes on 28 total attempts (68%). He also caught one of the two passes thrown his way and took it to the house for a 75-yard reception. Henry finished Week 1 as the third-ranked running back in PPR leagues.
- WR A.J. Brown had four targets on 24 passing attempts (17%). He caught 75% of the Mariota’s throws to him and finished his first NFL game with exactly 100 yards receiving.
- TE Delanie Walker had 6 targets in 24 passing attempts (25%) and has a monster game, finishing with five receptions and two touchdowns.
Fantasy Nugget: Walker and Mariota showed their terrific rapport as Walker led the team in targets.
Cleveland Browns Key Stats:
- RB Nick Chubb had 17 rushes on 20 total attempts (85%).
- RB Dontrell Hilliard had only 1 rushing attempt but it was a goal line carry.
- WR Odell Beckham Jr was targeted 11 times (29%) by Baker Mayfield in their first regular season game together. Beckham had a decent showing with seven receptions for 71 yards.
- WR Jarvis Landry had seven targets on 38 total passing attempts (18%) but only hauled in four passes in the Browns’ disappointing loss to the Titans.
- TE David Njoku had six targets on 38 total passing attempts (16%).
Fantasy Nugget: Beckham and Landry combined for 47% of the team’s total targets. Don’t be surprised if that is a common trend throughout the season.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs Key Stats:
- RB Damien Williams had 13 rushes on the Chiefs’ 26 total rushing attempts (50%). Williams also saw 18% of Patrick Mahomes’ 33 targets, catching six-of-six passes to improve his fantasy production.
- RB LeSean McCoy had 10 rushes on 26 total attempts (38%).
- WR Sammy Watkins had 11 targets on 33 passing attempts (33%), With Tyrek Hill injured, Watkins stepped up and led the league in PPR fantasy points this week. He finished with nine receptions for 198 yards and three touchdowns.
- TE Travis Kelce had eight targets on 33 passing attempts (24%). Kelce disappointed by catching less than half of his targets, finishing with three receptions (37.5%).
Fantasy Nugget: Watkins, Kelce, and Williams combined for over 75% of the targets in this game
Jacksonville Jaguars Key Stats:
- RB Leonard Fournette had 13 rushes on 16 total attempts by the Jaguars (81%). Fournette was also targeted six times (24%) and caught four of those passes.
- WR DJ Chark had four targets on 25 total passing attempts (16%). Chark turned four receptions into 24.8 PPR fantasy points. However, the road ahead is tougher with Nick Foles sent to injured reserve.
- WR Chris Conley had seven targets on 25 total passing attempts (28%). Conley may not have led his new team to victory, but he got revenge on the Chiefs by catching six of his seven targets and scoring a touchdown.
- WR Dede Westbrook also saw (24%) of his team’s targets, and also turned five receptions into a solid day with a touchdown.
Fantasy Nugget: QB Gardner Minshew replace Nick Foles and completed 22-of-25 passes for an 88% completion rate, two touchdowns, and one interception.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins
Baltimore Ravens Key Stats:
46 rushing attempts; 20 passing attempts
- RB Mark Ingram received 14 of the Ravens’ 46 carries, He played 25 snaps, 32.5% of the Ravens’ 66 offensive naps.
- RB Gus Edwards got 17 carries and actually out-snapped Ingram due to the fact that the Ravens were blowing the Dolphins out. Edwards was on the field 37.7% of the time throughout the game.
- TE Mark Andrews caught eight-of-eight receptions and found the end zone. Andrews was on the field for fewer snaps than any other tight end on the Ravens (32), but he was targeted 25% of his snaps.
- WR Marquise Brown’s first two receptions went for touchdowns and he finished the day with 4 receptions on 5 targets for a whopping 30.7 PPR fantasy points, despite playing just 14 snaps. He led the NFL in Week 1 with most PPR points per 100 snaps.
Fantasy Nugget: Lamar Jackson threw five touchdowns and proved that is not just a running quarterback. Fantasy owners shouldn’t overreact too much to Week 1, but if Jackson can perform even remotely similarly in Week 2 against the Cardinals, Jackson will immediately catapult into a top 5 quarterback this fantasy season.
Miami Dolphins Key Stats:
12 rushing attempts, 32 passing attempts
- QB Ryan Fiztpatrick played 45-of-50 snaps but the Dolphins struggled to move the ball and Josh Rosen came in for the final five players of the game. In Rosen’s 10% of snaps, he struggled just as much as the Harvard man, throwing an interception and scoring -1.8 fantasy points.
- The Dolphins barely ran the ball because they had to throw the ball if they were to have any chance to get remotely close back into the ball game. That didn’t happen but neither running back proved much in their limited carries. Kalen Ballage rushed five times in his 20 snaps (40%), while Kenyan Drake saw just four carries in his 27 snaps. Fantasy owners will likely want to stay away from the Dolphins’ backfield.
- WR DeVante Parker caught three-of-seven targets for 75 yards and played the most snaps of any skill position player outside of Ryan Fitzpatrick (76%).
- TE Mike Geisicki struggled like the rest of the Dolhpins against a tough Ravens’ defense. He caight 2 receptions on 6 targets and played 68% of the offensive snaps.
- WR Preston Williams produced 3 receptions on 5 targets and was one of the lone bright spots for the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. He scored their only touchdown despite playing just 21 snaps (42%).
Fantasy Nugget: The Dolphins are flat out terrible. Fantasy owners will want to stay away from starting anyone on Miami until they adjust their game plan and start to improve. Drake is simply too tough to trust when the Dolphins’ game script will likely be playing from behind all day.
Atlanta Falcons vs. Minnesota Vikings
Atlanta Falcons Key Stats:
17 rushing attempts; 46 passing attempts
- The Falcons were in catch-up mode, which is why Devonta Freeman and Ito Smith only combined for 14 of the team’s 17 rushing attempts. Neither player was very effective and the Falcons were forced to throw the ball more than they wanted to make the game competitive.
- TE Austin Hooper was a bright spot for Atlanta. Hooper was targeted 20% of the time and caught all 9 targets thrown in his direction.
- WR Julio Jones salvaged his day with a garbage-time touchdown but despite seeing 11 targets, Jones only played 67.9% of the offensive snaps. I wouldn’t read too deep into that number. There was no reason to risk an injury when the Falcons had no shot at defeating the Vikings.
- WR Calvin Ridley was pretty irrelevant in this matchup even though he played more snaps than Jones. He finished with 4 receptions on 6 targets.
Fantasy Nugget: The Falcons are not going to be this bad all season long. The Vikings has one of the best defenses in the league and Atlanta will improve as the season progresses. Fantasy owners with Ryan, Jones, Freeman or Ridley do not need to worry. Things will get better.
Minnesota Vikings Key Stats:
38 rushing attempts, 10 passing attempts
- QB Kirk Cousins only had to throw 10 passes and the Vikings still won this game comfortably. While he did have a touchdown pass to Adam Thielen along with a rushing touchdown, it’s pretty safe to say that this team is going to run the ball as much as possible as long as they get results like they did in Week 1.
- RB Dalvin Cook had 21 of the Vikings’ 38 carries and led the team to victory. In just 36 snaps (67.9%), Cook managed to produce a game-high 26 PPR fantasy points.
- RB Alexander Mattison carried the ball 75% of the time he was on the field (9-of-12 snaps) and actually showed he can be a solid change-of-pace back.
- WR Adam Thielen scored the first touchdown of the game and was targeted 30% of Cousins’ 10 attempts. Thielen always seems to manage to produce double-digit fantasy points.
- WR Stephon Diggs is the receiver I would worry about as a fantasy manager. He was targeted twice (20%), and although he caught both passes, he was clearly bothered by an injury and only played 60.5% of the offensive snaps. Hopefully, the decision to keep him on the sidelines for much of the game was simply precautionary.
Fantasy Nugget: Clearly, fantasy owners need to worry if they own Cousins or Diggs. I think Thielen will always produce because of his consistency, but as long as Cook stays healthy, the Vikings plan to pound the rock as much as possible. Diggs may not see as many targets as fantasy owners originally expected,
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Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets
Buffalo Bills Key Stats:
25 rushing attempts; 37 passing attempts
- RB Frank Gore rushed 11 of the the Bills’ 25 attempts.
- QB Josh Allen scrambled for yardage on 10 plays.
- RB Devin Singletary had 4 carries (all in the second half). He also had 5 receptions on 6 targets.
- WR John Brown caught seven of his 10 targets and led the Bills’ receiving corps.
- WR Cole Beasley produced 6 receptions on 9 targets.
- WR Zay Jones managed just 2 receptions on 5 targets,
Fantasy Nugget: Singletary proved that he is the main guy in Buffalo after a tremendous second half. Frank Gore can be dropped in all but the deepest leagues.
New York Jets Key Stats:
21 rushing attempts; 41 passing attempts
- RB Le’Veon Bell was on the field for 100% of the Jets’ snaps and had 17 of the team’s 21 carries. Bell also saw nine targets and caught six of them, including a touchdown.
- WR Jamison Crowder was QB Sam Darnold’s main target. Crowder produced a whopping 14 receptions on 17 targets.
- WR Robby Anderson produced 3 receptions on 7 targets.
Fantasy Nugget: There was some concern that Ty Montgomery would eat into Le’Veon Bell’s workload. That clearly is not the case. Fantasy owners should fire Bell up as an RB1 every single week!
Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Redskins Key Stats:
13 rushing attempts; 44 passing attempts
- RB Derrius Guice saw most of the workload in the backfield with 10 carries.
- RB Chris Thompson received Washington’s only other 3 carries, but also chipped in with seven receptions on 10 targets.
- WR Terry McLaurin was awesome in his rookie debut, catching 5 receptions on 7 targets for over 100 yards.
- TE Vernon Davis had 4 receptions on 7 targets, including a touchdown.
- WR Trey Quinn managed 4 receptions on 6 targets. He also added a garbage-time touchdown.
Fantasy Nugget: Adrian Peterson was inactive for the first time of his career, but now that Guice is injured, Peterson should take over the lead-back duties in Washington.
Philadelphia Eagles Key Stats:
31 Rushing Attempts; 39 Passing Attempts
- The Eagles did what we all expected and went with the dreaded running back by committee.
- RB Miles Sanders 11 carries
- RB Darren Sproles 9 carries
- RB Jordan Howard 6 carries
- WR DeSean Jackson saw 10 targets and turned eight receptions into a monster day, including two touchdowns.
- TE Zach Ertz had a pedestrian day with 5 receptions on 7 targets.
- WR Alshon Jeffery caught five of his 6 targets for 49 yards and found the end zone on a pass from Carson Wentz. Jeffery also had a sneaky rushing touchdown.
Fantasy Nugget: Those who drafted Miles Sanders may have to be patient, as the Eagles seem perfectly content rolling out three running backs.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Indianapolis Colts Key Stats:
33 rushing attempts; 27 passing attempts
- RB Marlon Mack dominated the touches in the backfield with 25 carries.
- RB Nyheim Hines had four carries, but also caught all four of his targets.
- WR T.Y. Hilton had an outstanding performance, catching eight balls from QB Jacoby Brisset on 9 targets. He was even targeted three times in the red zone and caught two of those passes for 28 yards and two scores.
- WR Devin Funchess caught three passes before getting hurt and is now on injured reserve.
Fantasy Nugget: T.Y. Hilton may have been a value pick if you drafted after Andrew Luck retired. He looked just as good as he did with Luck on the field. It’s definitely a situation to monitor.
Los Angeles Chargers Key Stats:
21 rushing attempts; 34 passing attempts
- RB Austin Ekeler 12 carries
- RB Justin Jackson 6 carries
- WR Keenan Allen 8 receptions on 10 targets
- RB Austin Ekeler 6 receptions on 7 targets
- TE Hunter Henry 4 receptions on 5 targets
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Seattle Seahawks
Cincinnati Bengals Key Stats:
14 rushing attempts; 51 passing attempts
- RB Joe Mixon 6 carries
- RB Gio Bernard 7 carries
- WR John Ross 7 receptions on 12 targets
- WR Tyler Boyd 8 receptions on 11 targets
Seattle Seahawks Key Stats:
25 rushing attempts; 20 passing attempts
- RB Chris Carson 15 carries
- RB Rashaad Penny 6 carries
- QB Russell Wilson 4 carries
- WR DK Metcalf 4 receptions on 6 targets
- WR Tyler Lockett 1 reception on 2 targets
- RB Chris Carson 6 receptions on 7 targets
Detroit Lions vs. Arizona Cardinals
Detroit Lions Key Stats:
32 rushing attempts; 45 passing attempts
- RB Kerryon Johnson 16 carries
- RB C.J. Anderson 11 carries
- WR Danny Amendola 7 receptions on 13 targets
- TE T.J. Hockenson 6 receptions on 9 targets
- WR Kenny Golladay 4 receptions on 9 targets
- WR Marvin Jones 4 receptions on 4 targets
Arizona Cardinals Key Stats:
23 rushing attempts; 54 passing attempts
- RB David Johnson 18 carries
- QB Kyler Murray 3 carries
- WR Larry Fitzgerald 8 receptions on 13 targets
- WR KeeSean Johnson 6 receptions on 10 targets
- RB David Johnson 6 receptions on 7 targets
- WR Christian Kirk 4 receptions on 12 targets
San Francisco 49ers vs. Tampa Bay Bucs
San Francisco 49ers Key Stats:
32 rushing attempts; 27 passing attempts
- RB Matt Breida 15 carries
- RB Raheem Mostert 9 carries
- RB Tevin Coleman 6 carries
- TE George Kittle 8 receptions on 10 targets
Tampa Bay Bucs Key Stats:
26 rushing attempts; 36 passing attempts
- RB Ronald Jones 13 carries
- RB Peyton Barber 8 carries
- WR Chris Godwin 3 receptions on 6 targets
- TE O.J. Howard 4 receptions on 5 targets
- WR Mike Evans 2 receptions on 5 targets
- RB Dare Ogunbowale 4 receptions on 5 targets