Week 9 Wide Receiver & Tight End Targets: Bradford Tossin' Salas

RB Targets | WR/TE Targets

 

If there’s one thing that fantasy football has taught me this year, it’s probably to not chase production from crowded situations that can really only handle one relevant fantasy player each week.  And this brings up the Raiders' situation.  We’ve now seen big weeks from Denarious Moore, Darius Heyward-Bey, and Jacoby Ford.  Heyward-Bey looked like he was well on his way to be the Raiders top wide receiver this year, and then he sees a single target, puts up a goose egg, and Jacoby Ford has his first big game of the year.  The Raiders--unlike the Saints, Patriots, and Packer--simply cannot support these 3 on a weekly basis.  While they do provide some decent depth on your roster, it will easily save you a lot of headaches if they don’t make it onto your starting roster going forward.

 

Heroes

• Rob Gronkowski led all pass catchers in targets this week with 15.  In the last two weeks, he’s seen 24 targets to Aaron Hernandez’s 9.
• Greg Salas (a guy that Johnny recommended in last week’s waiver wire) did his best impression of Danny Amendola (7 catches for 59 yards) in his best game of his young career.  For the record, his 8.4 yards per reception in this game is right around where Danny Amendola (8.0 yards per reception) is for his career.
• Vincent Jackson was right on queue for his second 3 touchdown game of the season.  Through 9 weeks, 60% of Jackson’s points have come in two matchups—the Patriots and Packers.  Not coincidentally, these teams rank 1^st and 3^rd worst respectively in fantasy points given up to wide receivers.
• Which Steelers’ wide receiver has the most targets?  If you said Mike Wallace, you’ll be surprised to learn that Antonio Brown leads the Steelers with 74 targets.  His 53% catch percentage on the season, however, leaves something to be desired, and despite the 10 more targets he’s seen than Mike Wallace, Wallace still has scored 68 more fantasy points.  The good news for Brown is that he caught his first touchdown pass of the season in week 9, and the touchdowns should continue to come going forward.
• Victor Cruz continues to shine each week, and he, not Hakeem Nicks, leads the Giants receivers in fantasy points with 115.
• Mike Williams of Tampa Bay is on pace for 9 more receptions than he had in his rookie campaign.  Unfortunately, his yards per catch is down big time (9.8 to 14.8 last year) and he has a single touchdown after finding the endzone 11 times in 2010.  I’m encouraged by how involved he’s been in the game plan in recent weeks though, and one would think he’s a prime candidate for a big second half as the touchdowns start coming.

 

Zeroes

• DeSean Jackson continues to be one of the most painfully inconsistent wide receivers in the history of fantasy football.  For the 3^rd week in a row, he hasn’t exceeded 3 catches or 50 yards.
• After a decent week 8 game that turned out to be a mirage, Demaryius Thomas had a single catch on 2 targets, and has seen 5 total targets from Tebow over the last two weeks.  This situation smells similar to the Raiders’ situation highlighted above.
• The biggest loser of the week has to be Chad Ochocinco, who didn’t catch a single one of his 5 targets.  For those scoring at home, that’s not very good.
• After his best game of the season, Davone Bess turned in another stinker with a single catch on 3 targets.  What’s worse?  He only played 9 total snaps.
• Dezmon Briscoe, a guy I wouldn’t normally care about, gets some attention this week.  With a solo catch on 8 targets, even Bryant Johnson has his hands in the air saying “What the hell, man?”

 

Rank	Player	REC	TGTS	CT%
1	Rob Gronkowski, NE	8	15	53.3%
2	Greg Salas, STL	7	13	53.8%
2	Brandon Lloyd , STL	5	13	38.5%
4	Vincent Jackson , SD	7	12	58.3%
4	Denarious Moore, OAK	4	12	33.3%
4	Larry Fitzgerald , ARI	4	12	33.3%
7	Brandon Marshall , MIA	8	11	72.7%
7	Antonio Gates, SD	8	11	72.7%
7	Steve Breaston , KC	7	11	63.6%
7	Victor Cruz, NYG	6	11	54.5%
7	Antonio Brown , PIT	5	11	45.5%
12	Wes Welker , NE	9	10	90.0%
12	Anquan Boldin , BAL	7	10	70.0%
12	Dwayne Bowe , KC	6	10	60.0%
12	Jerome Simpson , CIN	3	10	30.0%
16	Brent Celek, PHI	7	9	77.8%
16	Andre Caldwell , CIN	5	9	55.6%
16	Torrey Smith, BAL	5	9	55.6%
16	Dez Bryant , DAL	4	9	44.4%
16	Jeremy Maclin , PHI	4	9	44.4%
16	Roddy White , ATL	4	9	44.4%
22	Greg Jennings , GB	6	8	75.0%
22	Mike Williams , TB	6	8	75.0%
22	Jimmy Graham, NO	6	8	75.0%
22	Dennis Pitta, BAL	5	8	62.5%
22	Jared Cook, TEN	4	8	50.0%
22	Sidney Rice , SEA	3	8	37.5%
22	DeSean Jackson , PHI	2	8	25.0%
22	Greg Little, CLE	2	8	25.0%
22	Dezmon Briscoe , TB	1	8	12.5%
31	AJ Green, CIN	7	7	100.0%
31	Andre Roberts , ARI	5	7	71.4%
31	Lavelle Hawkins , TEN	5	7	71.4%
31	Jermichael Finley, GB	5	7	71.4%
31	Damian Williams , TEN	4	7	57.1%
31	David Nelson , BUF	4	7	57.1%
31	Dustin Keller, NYJ	4	7	57.1%
31	Fred Davis, WAS	4	7	57.1%
31	Jake Ballard, NYG	4	7	57.1%
31	Jason Witten, DAL	4	7	57.1%
31	Vernon Davis, SF	4	7	57.1%
31	Mario Manningham , NYG	3	7	42.9%
31	Jacob Tamme, IND	2	7	28.6%
44	Early Doucet , ARI	6	6	100.0%
44	Jacoby Ford, OAK	5	6	83.3%
44	Jordy Nelson , GB	5	6	83.3%
44	Heath Miller, PIT	5	6	83.3%
44	Mike Wallace , PIT	4	6	66.7%
44	Reggie Wayne , IND	4	6	66.7%
44	Vincent Brown, SD	4	6	66.7%
44	Kellen Winslow, TB	4	6	66.7%
44	Tony Gonzalez, ATL	4	6	66.7%
44	Doug Baldwin, SEA	3	6	50.0%
44	Jerricho Cotchery , PIT	3	6	50.0%
44	Nate Washington , TEN	3	6	50.0%
44	Pierre Garcon , IND	3	6	50.0%
44	Roy Williams , CHI	3	6	50.0%
44	Santonio Holmes , NYJ	3	6	50.0%
44	Stevie Johnson , BUF	3	6	50.0%
60	Brandon Gibson , STL	5	5	100.0%
60	Earl Bennett , CHI	5	5	100.0%
60	Josh Cribbs , CLE	5	5	100.0%
60	Laurent Robinson, DAL	5	5	100.0%
60	Marques Colston , NO	5	5	100.0%
60	Michael Crabtree , SF	5	5	100.0%
60	Plaxico Burress, NYJ	5	5	100.0%
60	Austin Collie , IND	4	5	80.0%
60	Austin Pettis, STL	4	5	80.0%
60	Jabar Gaffney , WAS	4	5	80.0%
60	Jeremy Kerley, NYJ	4	5	80.0%
60	Leonard Hankerson, WAS	4	5	80.0%
60	Aaron Hernandez, NE	4	5	80.0%
60	Eric Decker , DEN	3	5	60.0%
60	Deion Branch , NE	2	5	40.0%
60	Eddie Royal , DEN	2	5	40.0%
60	Ramses Barden , NYG	2	5	40.0%
60	Terrence Austin , WAS	2	5	40.0%
60	Dallas Clark, IND	2	5	40.0%
60	Ed Dickson, BAL	2	5	40.0%
60	Devin Hester , CHI	1	5	20.0%
60	Jon Baldwin, KC	1	5	20.0%
60	Chad Ochocinco , NE	0	5	0.0%
83	Julio Jones, ATL	3	4	75.0%
83	Preston Parker , TB	3	4	75.0%
83	Donald Lee, GB	3	4	75.0%
83	Owen Daniels, HOU	3	4	75.0%
83	Jacoby Jones, HOU	2	4	50.0%
83	Donald Jones , BUF	1	4	25.0%
83	T.J. Houshmandzadeh, OAK	1	4	25.0%
90	Lance Moore , NO	3	3	100.0%
90	Mike Williams , SEA	3	3	100.0%
90	Scott Chandler, BUF	3	3	100.0%
90	Braylon Edwards , SF	2	3	66.7%
90	Devery Henderson , NO	2	3	66.7%
90	Jason Avant , PHI	2	3	66.7%
90	Laquan Williams, BAL	2	3	66.7%
90	Miles Austin , DAL	2	3	66.7%
90	Anthony Fasano, MIA	2	3	66.7%
90	Jim Dray, ARI	2	3	66.7%
90	Davone Bess , MIA	1	3	33.3%
90	Naaman Roosevelt , BUF	1	3	33.3%
90	Patrick Crayton, SD	1	3	33.3%
90	Jake O'Connell, KC	1	3	33.3%
90	Kellen Davis, CHI	1	3	33.3%
105	Arrelious Benn , TB	2	2	100.0%
105	Ben Obomanu, SEA	2	2	100.0%
105	Chaz Schilens , OAK	2	2	100.0%
105	Donald Driver , GB	2	2	100.0%
105	Anthony McCoy, SEA	2	2	100.0%
105	Benjamin Watson, CLE	2	2	100.0%
105	Colin Cochart, CIN	2	2	100.0%
105	Delanie Walker, SF	2	2	100.0%
105	Evan Moore, CLE	2	2	100.0%
105	Joel Dreessen, HOU	2	2	100.0%
105	Matt Spaeth, CHI	2	2	100.0%
105	Zack Pianalto, TB	2	2	100.0%
105	Demaryius Thomas , DEN	1	2	50.0%
105	Kyle Williams , SF	1	2	50.0%
105	David Johnson, PIT	1	2	50.0%
105	John Gilmore, TB	1	2	50.0%
105	Leonard Pope, KC	1	2	50.0%
105	Michael Palmer, ATL	1	2	50.0%
105	Dane Sanzenbacher, CHI	0	2	0.0%
105	Julius Thomas, DEN	0	2	0.0%
125	Golden Tate , SEA	1	1	100.0%
125	James Jones , GB	1	1	100.0%
125	Johnny Knox , CHI	1	1	100.0%
125	Jordan Norwood, CLE	1	1	100.0%
125	Julian Edelman , NE	1	1	100.0%
125	Keary Colbert, KC	1	1	100.0%
125	Kevin Walter , HOU	1	1	100.0%
125	Louis Murphy , OAK	1	1	100.0%
125	Marc Mariani , TEN	1	1	100.0%
125	Micheal Spurlock , TB	1	1	100.0%
125	Ted Ginn , SF	1	1	100.0%
125	Bear Pascoe, NYG	1	1	100.0%
125	Brandon Myers, OAK	1	1	100.0%
125	Brody Eldridge, IND	1	1	100.0%
125	Clay Harbor, PHI	1	1	100.0%
125	Craig Stevens, TEN	1	1	100.0%
125	Daniel Fells, DEN	1	1	100.0%
125	Dante Rosario, DEN	1	1	100.0%
125	David Thomas, NO	1	1	100.0%
125	James Casey, HOU	1	1	100.0%
125	Jordan Cameron, CLE	1	1	100.0%
125	Lance Kendricks, STL	1	1	100.0%
125	Randy McMichael, SD	1	1	100.0%
125	Josh Baker, NYJ	1	1	100.0%
125	Anthony Armstrong , WAS	0	1	0.0%
125	Bryant Johnson , DET	0	1	0.0%
125	Darius Heyward-Bey, OAK	0	1	0.0%
125	David Reed , BAL	0	1	0.0%
125	Donnie Avery, STL	0	1	0.0%
125	Hines Ward , PIT	0	1	0.0%
125	Michael Clayton , NYG	0	1	0.0%
125	Mohamed Massaquoi , CLE	0	1	0.0%
125	Niles Paul, WAS	0	1	0.0%
125	Riley Cooper , PHI	0	1	0.0%
125	Robert Meachem , NO	0	1	0.0%
125	Billy Bajema, STL	0	1	0.0%
125	Jeff King, ARI	0	1	0.0%
125	John Phillips, DAL	0	1	0.0%
125	Logan Paulsen, WAS	0	1	0.0%