Week 12 Wide Receiver & Tight End Target Report: Cruz'ing into the Fantasy Playoffs

RB Carries/Targets | WR Targets

 

Victor Cruz continues shredding opposing secondaries, and now leads all Giants’ wide receivers in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.  Who’da thunk it?  Keep riding him while he’s hot.  Since he emerged in week 4, he’s seen fewer than 80 yards and 6 catches only one time, essentially thrusting him into the mix of the WR1's.

Here’s a look at the rest of the pass catchers from week 12.

 

Menchildren

• Stevie Johnson continues to defy logic.  After starting off the season hot, with a touchdown catch in each of his first 3 weeks, Johnson has cooled considerably.  In weeks 10 and 11, Johnson had a combined 4 catches for 24 yards.  Going against conventional wisdom, Johnson proceeded to have a field day against Revis, catching 8 balls for 75 yards on 13 targets.  He also hauled in his first touchdown since week 6.  His two highest yardage totals in the last 8 weeks have come against Revis.  If these backwards trends continue, Johnson will most likely have a quiet fantasy day this week against the Titans.
• Jason Avant caught his first touchdown of the season, and led all wide receivers in targets with 14.  Don’t go chasing production from him though, as Maclin was hurt and Vince Young chucked the ball 48 times.  The previous two weeks he saw a total of 3 targets.
• For the second week in a row, Roddy White finds himself near the top of this list.  Julio Jones was held catchless, and while two solid weeks in a row is encouraging from Roddy, we’ve seen it before where he and Julio tradeoff having big games.
• Greg Little isn’t putting up monster numbers, but the rookie wideout is still seeing solid target numbers on a weekly basis.  After finding the endzone for the first time, Little is a mediocre WR3 play going forward as the the Browns’ only legitimate receiving threat.
• After a quiet couple of weeks plagued by some injury concerns, Wes Welker let his fantasy owners know that he’s A-OK with an 8rec/115yds/2TD stat line.  Welker has a dream schedule over the next 4 weeks: IND, @WAS, @DEN, and MIA.
• Laurent Robinson continues to boast solid fantasy numbers on a weekly basis.  With 12 targets this week, Robinson put up a goudy 7rec/79yds/2TD line, and has now caught a touchdown pass in each of his last 5 games.
• Brandon Lloyd continues to flash WR1 stats since being traded to the Rams.  While continuing to be a target hog, Lloyd has also managed a touchdown catch in each of the last 3 weeks.
• Gearing up for a solid stretch run during the playoffs, Mike Williams has now seen back-to-back 10+ target weeks to go along with touchdowns in each. 

 

Preschoolers

• The biggest dud of the week goes to Julio Jones, who probably did his share to ensure several desperate fantasy owners don’t make the playoffs.  He wasn’t even found on the Falcons’ box score.  I thought he must have reinjured the hammy, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for this 0.0 point performance.
• Things just aren’t right between Santonio Holmes and Mark Sanchez.  While he did salvage what would have been a lost day with a touchdown catch, Holmes only caught 2 of his 9 targets.
• Coming off the biggest game of his modest career, Nate Washington proceeded to catch a single ball on 12 targets.  Washington is just not worth the boom/bust gamble.
• With 1 catch on 3 targets before leaving with a concussion, Sidney Rice could be the best wide receiver to never be healthy. 
• In his first game back from a hamstring injury, Andre Johnson saw only 3 targets—criminal if you ask me.  With Leinart now also lost for the season, Johnson will have rookie QB T.J. Yates throwing the ball to him.  The way I see it?  The Texans are going to continue to run the ball a lot, and Andre Johnson will have to do a lot with a little, something he is certainly capable of doing.
• Vincent Jackson did that thing again where he goes quiet after a huge game.  It’s safe to say that Champ Bailey owns him.  As Evan Silva of Rotoworld pointed out, Jackson has averaged a mere 47.5 yards and has a single touchdown in 8 games against Bailey.

 

Rank	Player	REC	TGTS	CT%
1	Jason Avant , PHI	8	14	57.1%
2	Roddy White , ATL	10	13	76.9%
2	Stevie Johnson , BUF	8	13	61.5%
2	Greg Little, CLE	5	13	38.5%
5	Victor Cruz, NYG	9	12	75.0%
5	Wes Welker , NE	8	12	66.7%
5	Hakeem Nicks , NYG	7	12	58.3%
5	Laurent Robinson, DAL	7	12	58.3%
9	Dwayne Bowe , KC	7	11	63.6%
9	Mike Williams , TB	6	11	54.5%
11	Antonio Gates, SD	6	10	60.0%
11	Brandon Lloyd , STL	5	10	50.0%
11	Brandon Marshall , MIA	5	10	50.0%
11	Doug Baldwin, SEA	5	10	50.0%
11	Darius Heyward-Bey, OAK	4	10	40.0%
11	DeSean Jackson , PHI	4	10	40.0%
11	Johnny Knox , CHI	4	10	40.0%
11	Vincent Brown, SD	3	10	30.0%
19	Tony Gonzalez, ATL	9	9	100.0%
19	Michael Crabtree , SF	6	9	66.7%
19	Jermaine Gresham, CIN	5	9	55.6%
19	Anquan Boldin , BAL	4	9	44.4%
19	Larry Fitzgerald , ARI	3	9	33.3%
19	Santonio Holmes , NYJ	2	9	22.2%
25	Percy Harvin , MIN	8	8	100.0%
25	David Nelson , BUF	5	8	62.5%
25	Jimmy Graham, NO	5	8	62.5%
25	Calvin Johnson , DET	4	8	50.0%
25	Chaz Schilens , OAK	4	8	50.0%
25	Steve Breaston , KC	4	8	50.0%
25	Brandon Pettigrew, DET	4	8	50.0%
25	Dustin Keller, NYJ	4	8	50.0%
25	Pierre Garcon , IND	3	8	37.5%
34	Aaron Hernandez, NE	6	7	85.7%
34	Scott Chandler, BUF	6	7	85.7%
34	Jabar Gaffney , WAS	5	7	71.4%
34	Lance Moore , NO	5	7	71.4%
34	Lavelle Hawkins , TEN	5	7	71.4%
34	Nate Burleson , DET	5	7	71.4%
34	Reggie Wayne , IND	5	7	71.4%
34	Kellen Winslow, TB	5	7	71.4%
34	Brad Smith , BUF	4	7	57.1%
34	Plaxico Burress, NYJ	4	7	57.1%
34	Santana Moss , WAS	4	7	57.1%
34	Owen Daniels, HOU	4	7	57.1%
34	Austin Collie , IND	3	7	42.9%
34	Steve Smith , CAR	3	7	42.9%
34	Jared Cook, TEN	3	7	42.9%
34	Brandon Gibson , STL	2	7	28.6%
50	Brandon LaFell , CAR	5	6	83.3%
50	Devery Henderson , NO	5	6	83.3%
50	Brent Celek, PHI	5	6	83.3%
50	Antonio Brown , PIT	4	6	66.7%
50	Jordy Nelson , GB	4	6	66.7%
50	Dez Bryant , DAL	3	6	50.0%
50	Marques Colston , NO	3	6	50.0%
50	Mike Wallace , PIT	2	6	33.3%
50	Nate Washington , TEN	1	6	16.7%
59	Greg Jennings , GB	5	5	100.0%
59	Brian Hartline , MIA	4	5	80.0%
59	Jordan Norwood, CLE	4	5	80.0%
59	Jason Witten, DAL	4	5	80.0%
59	Vernon Davis, SF	4	5	80.0%
59	Riley Cooper , PHI	3	5	60.0%
59	Roy Williams , CHI	3	5	60.0%
59	Jake Ballard, NYG	3	5	60.0%
59	Lance Kendricks, STL	3	5	60.0%
59	Andre Roberts , ARI	2	5	40.0%
59	Harry Douglas , ATL	2	5	40.0%
59	Jerome Simpson , CIN	2	5	40.0%
59	Jermichael Finley, GB	2	5	40.0%
59	Arrelious Benn , TB	1	5	20.0%
59	Chad Hall , PHI	1	5	20.0%
59	Devin Aromashodu , MIN	1	5	20.0%
75	Hines Ward , PIT	4	4	100.0%
75	Fred Davis, WAS	4	4	100.0%
75	Rob Gronkowski, NE	4	4	100.0%
75	AJ Green, CIN	3	4	75.0%
75	Austin Pettis, STL	3	4	75.0%
75	Ben Obomanu, SEA	3	4	75.0%
75	Damian Williams , TEN	3	4	75.0%
75	James Jones , GB	3	4	75.0%
75	Legedu Naanee , CAR	3	4	75.0%
75	Ramses Barden , NYG	3	4	75.0%
75	Visanthe Shiancoe, MIN	3	4	75.0%
75	Davone Bess , MIA	2	4	50.0%
75	Emmanuel Sanders , PIT	2	4	50.0%
75	Louis Murphy , OAK	2	4	50.0%
75	Michael Jenkins, MIN	2	4	50.0%
75	Randall Cobb, GB	2	4	50.0%
75	Benjamin Watson, CLE	2	4	50.0%
75	Earl Bennett , CHI	1	4	25.0%
75	Josh Cribbs , CLE	1	4	25.0%
75	Patrick Turner , NYJ	1	4	25.0%
95	Andre Caldwell , CIN	3	3	100.0%
95	Greg Olsen, CAR	3	3	100.0%
95	Jeremy Shockey, CAR	3	3	100.0%
95	Andre Johnson , HOU	2	3	66.7%
95	Andrew Hawkins, CIN	2	3	66.7%
95	Ted Ginn , SF	2	3	66.7%
95	Torrey Smith, BAL	2	3	66.7%
95	Vincent Jackson , SD	2	3	66.7%
95	Jacob Tamme, IND	2	3	66.7%
95	Jeff King, ARI	2	3	66.7%
95	Michael Palmer, ATL	2	3	66.7%
95	Braylon Edwards , SF	1	3	33.3%
95	Golden Tate , SEA	1	3	33.3%
95	Titus Young, DET	1	3	33.3%
95	Kevin Boss, OAK	1	3	33.3%
95	Mike Williams , SEA	0	3	0.0%
95	Mohamed Massaquoi , CLE	0	3	0.0%
95	Preston Parker , TB	0	3	0.0%
113	Jon Baldwin, KC	2	2	100.0%
113	Kevin Walter , HOU	2	2	100.0%
113	Anthony Fasano, MIA	2	2	100.0%
113	Dennis Pitta, BAL	2	2	100.0%
113	John Phillips, DAL	2	2	100.0%
113	Kellen Davis, CHI	2	2	100.0%
113	Logan Paulsen, WAS	2	2	100.0%
113	Randy McMichael, SD	2	2	100.0%
113	Tony Scheffler, DET	2	2	100.0%
113	Donald Driver , GB	1	2	50.0%
113	Jacoby Jones, HOU	1	2	50.0%
113	Patrick Crayton, SD	1	2	50.0%
113	Ed Dickson, BAL	1	2	50.0%
113	Heath Miller, PIT	1	2	50.0%
113	James Casey, HOU	1	2	50.0%
113	Martellus Bennett, DAL	1	2	50.0%
113	Stephen Spach, ARI	1	2	50.0%
113	Zach Miller, SEA	1	2	50.0%
113	Donte' Stallworth , WAS	0	2	0.0%
113	Eddie Royal , DEN	0	2	0.0%
113	Sidney Rice , SEA	0	2	0.0%
134	Anthony Armstrong , WAS	1	1	100.0%
134	Clyde Gates, MIA	1	1	100.0%
134	Early Doucet , ARI	1	1	100.0%
134	Lee Evans , BAL	1	1	100.0%
134	Sam Hurd , CHI	1	1	100.0%
134	Devin Thomas, NYG	1	1	100.0%
134	Anthony McCoy, SEA	1	1	100.0%
134	Bear Pascoe, NYG	1	1	100.0%
134	Brandon Myers, OAK	1	1	100.0%
134	Clay Harbor, PHI	1	1	100.0%
134	Evan Moore, CLE	1	1	100.0%
134	Joel Dreessen, HOU	1	1	100.0%
134	Leonard Pope, KC	1	1	100.0%
134	Matt Spaeth, CHI	1	1	100.0%
134	Weslye Saunders, PIT	1	1	100.0%
134	Allen Reisner, MIN	1	1	100.0%
134	Demaryius Thomas , DEN	0	1	0.0%
134	Derrick Mason , HOU	0	1	0.0%
134	Jerricho Cotchery , PIT	0	1	0.0%
134	Kyle Williams , SF	0	1	0.0%
134	Ruvell Martin , BUF	0	1	0.0%
134	Terrence Austin , WAS	0	1	0.0%
134	Tiquan Underwood , NE	0	1	0.0%
134	Andrew Quarless, GB	0	1	0.0%