Hidden Stat Line: Targets, Routes & Snaps from Week 6

If you haven't already, check out the twin brother to this article, Hidden Stat Line: Backfield Breakdown, complete with sortable stat leaderboards, team-by-team usage recaps and waiver-wire recommendations for the upcoming week. Now, let's look at wide receivers and tight ends...

Week 6 Sortable Stat Leaderboards

Tight Ends

(Bold indicates Top 5 for the week)

Wide Receivers

(Bold indicates Top 15 for the week)

Game-by-Game Usage Breakdowns

(Snap totals, snap shares, carries and targets come from pro-football-reference.com. Data on dropbacks and routes run comes from Pro Football Focus. 

Denver Broncos (18) at New England Patriots (12)

Broncos

• Noah Fant (ankle) was inactive, leaving Okwuegbunam (38 percent snap share) in a timeshare with Jake Butt (61 percent) and Nick Vannett (45 percent). Vannett caught his lone target for seven yards, while Butt wasn't targeted at all.
• The Broncos have played three games since Courtland Sutton suffered an ACL tear in Week 2. Patrick has seen a team-high 19 targets, with Jeudy (18) and Fant (16 in two games) not far behind.
• Patrick has drawn four or more targets each week, including seven and eight in the past two games, both 100-yard performances. He's quietly on pace for a 64-992-6 receiving line on 29 targets.
• KJ Hamler (hamstring) was inactive Sunday, despite having a Week 5 bye to recover. He also missed Week 1, and left early in Week 4. His two full games saw him get seven and five targets on 62 and 92 percent of snaps.

Patriots

• Ryan Izzo had a season-high three catches for 35 yards, but he lost a fumble, ran only 13 routes and finished with season-low 61 percent snap share. Rookie Devin Asiasi didn't get any targets, but his 42 percent snap share matched a career high from Week 3.
• Edelman threw two passes and accounted for two of the team's 34 dropbacks.
• Edelman had the one big game in Seattle, but this receiving group has otherwise been devoid of fantasy value. The Seattle game accounts for 59 percent of Edelman's 2020 yardage... yikes. However, his 25.5 percent target share is 11th-largest in the lead, so there is some upside if the Patriots can get their passing game back on track.
• Harry has 21.3 percent target share for the year, even after another dud Sunday. He's been flat-out bad from a real-life standpoint, so the bench may come calling at some point.

Cincinnati Bengals (27) at Indianapolis Colts (31)

Bengals

• No. 4 WR Mike Thomas played 36 percent of snaps and ran 14 routes, catching one of three targets for 10 yards.
• Higgins barely played Week 1 but has played 57 percent or more of snaps with six or more targets each of the past five games, averaging 4.4 catches for 67.8 yards and 0.4 TDs on 7.6 targets.
• The snap share for Higgins matched his season high from the previous week, though he did see a small dip from 0.92 routes/db.
• Boyd still leads the team with 20.1 percent target share, but he only has a 43-to-38 lead over Higgins the past five weeks.
• Green came back from the dead with his first big game of the year, also seeing a season high for snap share. It's possible all three WRs can have fantasy value, as Sample has been a total non-factor in the passing game, and the RBs still aren't getting a ton of targets most weeks. The Bengals have sent 66.9 percent of their targets to WRs, the fourth-largest share in the league.

Colts

• Jack Doyle played 62 percent of snaps, ran 24 routes and put up 3-29-1 on three targets, but he also lost a fumble. His snap share was in the 60-to-65 percent range for a third straight week, even though Mo Alie-Cox (knee) was inactive (the Colts used a lot of three-wide sets while playing from behind).
• It's hard to see upside for Hilton after he got completely shut down in a home matchup with the Bengals... one in which Philip Rivers threw 44 passes. The 30-year-old did play 90-plus percent of snaps for a second straight week, after seeing smaller shares through the first four game of the season. I'm not sure if that's a silver lining, or just adding insult to injury.
• Pascal had his best fantasy game of the year, but he's played at least 62 percent of snaps each week and is still averaging only 4.7 targets and 33.0 yards per game.
• Johnson has now spent three weeks in the No. 3 receiver role, averaging 3.0 catches for 62.7 yards on 4.0 targets, with 0.69 routes/db. The workload isn't quite enough to make him reliable for fantasy purposes, but he's at least running a good number of routes and building a solid case to see more passes.
• The Colts ran 48 of their 60 plays (80 percent) from 11 personnel Sunday, up from 66 and 63 percent the previous two weeks. It may have been an adjustment to Alie-Cox's absence, or maybe just a product of falling behind early (the Bengals had a 21-0 lead before collapsing).

Detroit Lions (34) at Jacksonville Jaguars (16)

Lions

• Jesse James played 55 percent of snaps and caught one of two targets for three yards. No. 3 receiver Danny Amendola caught both his targets for 31 yards, logging 35 percent snap share. The Lions went with abnormally deep rotations, as 21 players played 17 or more snaps on offense, with only Matthew Stafford and two O-linemen finishing above 81 percent.
• Golladay has accounted for 21 of Detroit's 92 targets (22.8 percent) in his three appearances. That's a small improvement from 21.1 percent last year, though it's been cancelled out — in terms of raw target volume — by the Lions running the ball more often. In any case, the average of 7.0 targets per game is right in line with his 2019 number (7.25).
• Jones and Hilton have kinda been the same deal. The snaps are still there, but the targets are inconsistent, and the passes thrown to them have been a net loss for their respective teams. Anyway, Jones is at 14.7 percent target share for the year. Not good.
• This was perhaps a small step backward for Hockenson, who got 75 percent snap share and 0.72 routes/db in his previous game. But it's still within the normal range of week-to-week variance, and his workload Sunday included targets on three consecutive snaps from the 1-yard line (he finally caught the third for a TD). He's averaging 5.0 targets per game, with 15.3 percent of the team share putting him slightly ahead of Jones.

Jaguars

• Tyler Eifert (neck) played through a questionable tag, or at least he tried to. He left after five snaps, which allowed James O'Shaughnessy to see 75 percent snap share. JOS finished without a catch on one target, despite running 32 routes... very nice!
• Depth receivers Chris Conley and Collin Johnson played 23 percent of snaps apiece.
• Shenault's snap share was a season high, up a tick from 69 percent the previous week. The rookie has drawn four or more targets in every game, including six-to-eight in each of his past four. Unfortunately, the increased receiving work has corresponded with a reduction in rushing usage (three carries for seven yards the past four games). Plus, he hurt his own cause with two drops in Sunday's loss.
• Chark's volume has been inconsistent, with target totals of 3, 4, 9, 4 and 14 in his five appearances, averaging 6.8 targets per game overall. He saw three targets 20-plus yards downfield in Sunday's game, but none of them was catchable, per PFF.
• Cole got four targets 20-plus yards downfield, tied for second most in the league. He caught two of them for 86 yards, and dropped a third. His deep usage was a big surprise, as he's largely worked from the slot this season and ran 63 percent of his routes from the inside Sunday, per PFF. We shouldn't expect a repeat of the Week 6 stat line, but Cole does lead the Jags with 38 targets this year, accounting for 16.5 percent of the total on a team that's averaging 40 throws per week.
• Shenault has 15.2 percent target share, while Chark is at 18.1 percent in the five games he's played.

Atlanta Falcons (40) at Minnesota Vikings (23)

Falcons

• Jones returned with a bang, proving fully recovered from his hamstring injury.
• Ridley has actually done best in the three full games Jones has played (Weeks 1, 2, 6). Those three contests account for all five of his TDs, and he's averaged 9.7 targets per game even with Jones also getting a ton of work (8.7 targets in those three games).
• Hurst saw season highs for snap share and routes/db, taking another small step forward after landing at 83 percent and 0.82 routes/db the previous week. He still has just one game with more than six targets, but the snap/route usage is starting to look like Ertz/Kelce/Kittle territory.
• Gage was efficient with his opportunities but now has four straight weeks with five or fewer targets.

Vikings

• Kyle Rudolph played 68 percent of snaps and had season highs for catches (three), yards (47) and targets (four). It was his first game this year with more than two catches or 27 yards.
• No. 3 WR Chad Beebe caught two of five targets for 13 yards, playing 39 percent of snaps. He's finished with 24-to-39 percent snap share in four straight games, catching only four of eight targets for 31 yards in that stretch. In other words, he's adding nothing.
• In four games as a starter, Jefferson is averaging 5.8 catches for 116.8 yards an 0.75 TDs on 7.5 targets. He obviously won't continue to produce a million yards per target, but the volume and efficiency both check out. Jefferson has 25.2 percent target share since joining the starting lineup, and Thielen has 27.8 percent share over the same stretch.

Washington Football Team (19) at NY Giants (20)

WFTs

• Wright (undisclosed) was injured on the final drive, after Antonio Gandy-Golden (hamstring) had already left the game. Cam Sims filled in as the No. 3 receiver at the very end, scoring his first NFL touchdown from 22 yards out. Maybe Washington should've kicked the PAT, just to make it a better moment/memory for Sims.
• Kyle Allen showed more of what we saw last year in Carolina. He's able to complete passes and allows his teammates to put up some decent stats, but he also commits egregious turnovers that make it difficult to win games. In fantasy terms, Allen is probably better than Dwayne Haskins if you're looking for production from McLaurin or Thomas.
• McLaurin is now up to fifth in the league with 27.6 percent target share, seeing 9.7 passes per game. He's on pace for 96 catches and 1,299 yards, but still has just the one touchdown, i.e., he's looking a whole lot like 2019 D.J. Moore, at least from a fantasy standpoint.

Giants

• The Giants ran only 46 plays, while Washington got 69. Neither team moved at a fast pace, and neither had many incompletions. The Giants' two TDs came on a fumble return for a TD and on a short field after an interception. Daniel Jones attempted only 19 passes, adding seven carries for 74 yards.
• C.J. Board suffered a scary injury, after which Austin Mack filled in alongside Slayton and Tate, running 15 routes.
• It doesn't look great when you see 'four targets' in the box score, but Slayton's 22.2 percent share was barely any different from his season mark of 23.2 percent.
• Engram has only five targets the past two weeks but still has respectable share (18.5 percent) for the year.

Ravens (30) at Eagles (28)

Ravens

• Willie Snead, Miles Boykin, Devin Duvernay and Nick Boyle all finished with 2-to-4 targets. Boyle had a seven-yard TD on a broken play, but none of this bunch looked like a priority in the offense, per usual.
• Duvernay has caught 10 of 12 targets for 90 yards and gained 42 yards on his only carry (Week 5), plus he's averaging 34.4 yards per kick return. He looks like a playmaker, and his snap share is at least slowly trending in the right direction, with 36 percent in Sunday's win being a new high (up from 28 and 29 percent the prior two weeks).
• The 51 percent snap share was a season low for Andrews, who landed in the 58-to-79 percent range each of the previous five weeks. Nick Boyle's 77 percent share was his second largest of the year.
• Brown is eighth in the league with 26.4 percent target share.
• Andrews is third among TEs with 20.8 percent target share.

Eagles

• Ertz injured his ankle in the fourth quarter, further adding to the Eagles' seemingly infinite injury list. Dallas Goedert suffered a small fracture in his ankle in late September, and Joshua Perkins (upper body) has been on IR since August. Richard Rodgers SZN???
• Fulgham's averages in three games as a starter: 6.0 catches for 95.7 yards and 1.0 TD on 8.7 targets. He could keep the No. 1 job even if/when the team starts to get healthier, right? Regression is coming, to some extent, but that doesn't necessarily mean Fulgham won't remain valuable.
• Fulgham's rise has coincided with Ward's fall. The slot specialist has averaged 3.3 catches for 27.7 yards and 0.33 TDs on 5.0 targets the past three weeks.
• Hightower dropped a deep ball on the opening drive but got some redemption with a 50-yard gain in the second half. Each of his four targets travelled 20-plus yards downfield, and he's now seen nine of his 19 targets on deep balls, with just the one catch and two drops, per PFF. It seems pretty obvious that DeSean Jackson (hamstring) will take snaps and routes away from Hightower, not Fulgham. Of course, having a better player in that role could pull some of the targets away from Fulgham.
• The Eagles play on Thursday in Week 7, hosting the Giants. They also lost Miles Sanders (knee) on Sunday, so they'll need to get super creative.

Browns (7) at Steelers (38)

Browns

• Baker Mayfield played through a rib injury but was pulled in the third quarter with the Browns trailing by 14 points.
• Higgins got another boost in playing time, up from 55 percent snap share and .56 routes/db the previous week. He wasn't exactly busy in terms of targets (two), but maybe the TD helped him solidify that No. 3 job.
• Hooper lead the team in targets for a second straight week, and also cleared 50 yards again.
• Beckham drops to 12th in the NFL with 25.4 percent target share. His catch rate (53.5 percent) and YPT (7.4) are actually worse than his numbers from last year, but four total TDs in six games have masked some of the issues. It does kind of feel like the same idea as last year, with one huge game early in the season surrounded by a slew of mediocre performances.
• Landry has caught 3-to-5 passes each week this season, landing between 7.0 and 15.3 PPR points in every game. Not what anyone was hoping for.

Steelers

• Diontae Johnson (back) was ruled out beforehand, allowing the Steelers to avoid their WR logjam for at least one more week. The conventional wisdom has Washington as the odd man out, so naturally he came through with a big game. However, he hasn't been the same deep threat he was last year, averaging 10.9 yards per catch and 7.1 YPT, down from 16.7 and 9.2, respectively, in 2019. Granted, his catch rate has gone up from 55.0 percent to 65.4 percent, so it's more about role/usage than his personal efficiency.
• Ebron has four straight games with snap share above 70 percent, handling 16.5 percent target share in that stretch. It's a nice role by TE standards, but it's led to just one game with double-digit PPR points so far. Dude is getting me killed on DraftKings, which seems to be the recurring theme of our relationship over the years.
• Smith-Schuster technically leads the team in targets (28), but only because Johnson has missed the better part of two games, and Claypool didn't have a regular role until Week 5. JuJu has seen only 14 targets the past three games, despite running routes on 92 of Ben Roethlisberger's 98 dropbacks (94 percent). Claypool has seen 19 targets on 76 routes in that same stretch, and Washington has seen 18 targets on 82 routes.
• Claypool scored a short rushing TD for a second straight week. He has five carries for 13 yards and two TDs over the past two games, in addition to the excellent receiving work. His combination of deep-ball and red-zone usage suggests he can continue producing even if the overall target volume isn't prolific.
• Claypool had two big gains (a 36-yarder and a 23-yarder) where he was tackled inside the Cleveland 5-yard line.

Texans (36) at Titans (42)

Texans

• Jordan Akins (ankle, concussion) missed a second straight game, and this time Fells was regularly involved, rather than scoring nearly all his fantasy points on a single play (he had a 2-57-1 receiving line in Week 5).
• Cooks is now at 21.5 percent target share, with Fuller (21.0) close behind. Remember that both had a game in September where injuries impacted their workloads.
• Fuller is averaging 4.7 catches for 75.8 yards and 0.67 TDs on 6.8 targets.
• Cooks is averaging  4.5 catches for 61.2 yards and 0.33 TDs on 7.0 targets.
• Deshaun Watson threw only two passes 20-plus yards downfield in Sunday's loss, with both going to Fuller (including a 53-yard TD).
• For the season, Cooks has nine of those deep targets, with Fuller right behind at eight. Everyone else on the team has combined for just seven, per PFF.

Titans

• Jonnu Smith suffered an ankle injury, finishing with one catch for 13 yards on 39 percent of snaps. Firkser had the huge game, but Geoff Swaim (65 percent of snaps) actually took a lot of the snaps that normally go to Jonnu. Swaim caught two of three targets for 10 yards while running 12 routes.
• Firkser produced 1.58 yards per route last season, catching 14 of 24 targets for 204 yards and a touchdown. He's at 9.5 YPT and a 78.1 percent catch rate for his three-year career, providing uber-efficient production in his limited role on passing downs. Just remember that there will be some risk even if Smith misses time, as the Titans prioritize blocking ability for their tight ends. MyCole Pruitt has typically been the second blocker behind Smith, but he's still on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Pruitt rejoining the team could impact Firkser's snap share, and possibly even his route share a little.
• Brown is averaging 5.7 catches for 59 yards and 1.0 TD on 8.0 targets through three games. He's seen six of his 24 targets in the red zone, which is part of the reason he has modest numbers for yards per catch and yards per target.
• Brown saw 16 of his 84 targets (19 percent) travel 20-plus yards downfield last year, catching eight of those for 378 yards (yee-haw!) and a TD. Only two of his 24 targets (8.5 percent) this year have been deep throws, netting one catch for a 16-yard TD. Anyway, you're obviously starting him every week now, but it'll at least be interesting as a fan to see how the Titans use him. What we've seen the past three games is what most expected when Brown was drafted. Last year's explosive production was kind of surprising.

Bears (23) at Panthers (16)

Bears

• Robinson has nine or more targets each week, ranking third in the league with 28.6 percent target share.
• Graham extended his streak to four straight games with at least a handful of targets, though he has just one game with more than 34 yards in that stretch, still relying on red-zone work for any upside (he didn't get any RZ targets Sunday).
• Mooney also saw five or more targets for a fourth straight game, but he's averaging only 3.0 catches for 30.5 yards over that stretch. Eight of the 23 targets have gone 20 or more yards downfield, with only one of those completed, per PFF.
• The snap share was Miller's second-largest of the year, and he even played four of the nine snaps in 12 personnel (two-TE), one more than Mooney got.

Panthers

• Keith Kirkwood filled in as the No. 3 receiver for Curtis Samuel, who was inactive due to a knee injury. Kirkwood played 51 percent of snaps and ran 24 routes, catching one of two targets for 13 yards.
• PFF charted Moore with three drops, including one on a deep ball. But he finished with 93 yards for a second straight week, and his 23.9 percent target share is 17th in the league.
• Despite the down week, Anderson is No. 9 in the NFL with 26.4 percent target share.
• Teddy Bridgewater had seven scrambles and four sacks among his 40 dropbacks.

Jets (0) at Dolphins (24)

Jets

• Chris Hogan (IR - ankle) was inactive, while Perriman made his first appearance of the year.
• Chris Herndon played 63 percent of snaps but wasn't targeted. Ryan Griffin got 37 percent and caught two of three targets for 17 yards.
• Crowder has seen 13, 10, 10 and 13 targets in his four appearances. This was his first time under 100 yards all year.

Dolphins

• Isaiah Ford saw season-low 32 percent snap share, down even from 36 percent the previous week. He ran 14 routes, barely more than Grant's 12. Ford's playing time has varied wildly based on game script, as he's the slot man for three-wide sets in an offense that doesn't tend to use three-wide formations while playing with leads.
• Parker didn't produce, but his target share looked more like what we saw the second half of last season. The Dolphins have been a spread-the-wealth offense for most of the year, with their overall improvement allowing Ryan Fitzpatrick to drop to 32.8 pass attempts per game.
• Gesicki was shut out, but it wasn't for a lack of snaps or routes. He was right near his season averages in that regard.
• Williams has scored TDs in three of the past four games, but he still hasn't topped five targets since Week 1.

Packers (10) at Buccaneers (38)

Packers

• Adams had no restrictions in his first game back in the lineup. The Packers just took a beat down.
• Tonyan saw a slight drop off from 67 percent snap share and 0.71 routes/db in the previous game, but he's still been at 59-to-67 percent of snaps every week, so there's no role change to speak of. Some might say his 10.9 percent target share for the season is a red flag.
• MVS has four-to-eight targets each week this year, including 13 the past two weeks.  

Bucs

• The Bucs had seven WRs take snaps on offense, with Scotty Miller (35 percent) slightly ahead of Tyler Johnson (26 percent) and Justin Watson (20 percent). None saw more than two targets, though Miller did run 13 routes.
• The Bucs pulled Tom Brady in the fourth quarter, allowing Blaine Gabbert to play nine snaps (14 percent). Godwin and Evans didn't play any of those snaps, and Gronk played only one.
• If we only look at when Brady was in the game... Gronk played 96 percent of snaps, Evans played 91 percent, and Godwin played 71 percent. So the Bucs did ease Godwin back into action, kind of, though only in terms of snaps, not target share.
• Godwin has seen 7, 6 and 7 targets in his three appearances, while Evans has seen 4, 4 and 2 in those same games...uh, not good!

Los Angeles Rams (16) at San Francisco 49ers (24)

Rams

• Gerald Everett played 50 percent of snaps, ran 17 routes and caught three of four targets for 27 yards. He had four catches for 90 yards the previous week, but he still hasn't gone above four targets or 58 percent snap share in a game this year, averaging 1.8 catches for 28.0 yards per week.
• Higbee watch: another efficient receiving line, still hasn't seen more than five targets in a game. Get used to it.
• Reynolds has either four or five targets in four consecutive games.
• Per-target efficiency has never been a problem for Kupp, so Sunday night's stat line was entertaining. Anyway, he's 13th in the league with 24.6 percent target share, and Woods is 22nd at 22.4 percent.

49ers

• Samuel scored from six yards out on the opening drive, going around the end on one of those quick forward tosses that technically counts as a pass but really is more like a run play. He also had a 35-yard gain on a similar play earlier on that drive. It worked Sunday night, and there's no question he's a tough man to tackle, but don't be too surprised if he ends up with a 5-13-0 receiving line one of these weeks.
• Kittle had a couple drops. If he's not perfect, there's truly no hope for the rest of us.
• Aiyuk didn't get many touches, but he did reach 85 percent snap share for a third straight week and also scored his third TD (first receiving) in the past four games. We could see him get more carries and short targets now that Raheem Mostert (ankle) is set to miss time, again.

Chiefs (26) at Bills (17)

Chiefs

• The Chiefs dominated possession, yet attempted only 26 passes. They had 46 rush attempts for 245 yards, led by 161 yards from Clyde-Edwards Helaire. The run-heavy approach limited pass/target volume for both team.
• Hardman played 84 percent of snaps in the second half of last week's game, after Sammy Watkins suffered a hamstring injury. But Monday was a much different story, with Robinson serving as Watkins' replacement while Hardman split the "fifth skill-position player" spot with Byron Pringle (37 percent snap share) and backup TE Nick Keizer (29 percent).
• Hill finally was held out of the end zone, at which point people maybe started to notice that his target share (17.7 percent) is a major disappointment. Nobody was ever expecting Davante Adams volume, but Hill did see 24.3 percent target share in 2018, so something in the 20s was a reasonable expectation.
• Kelce, on the other hand, continues to feast, accounting for 24.7 percent of the KC targets. He did lost a fumble Monday evening, but a pair of TDs got the job done for fantasy managers. Kelce has 15 more targets than Hill.

Bills

• Dawson Knox (calf) was inactive, but Tyler Kroft caught only one of two targets for seven yards.
• No. 4 WR Gabriel Davis caught his lone target for a seven-yard gain, but he did play 64 percent of snaps, same as Beasley.
• Brown finished with a donut, but the playing time suggests the Bills weren't too worried about the knee injury that caused him to miss the previous game.
• Beasley is cold-weather Keelan Cole, finishing with four-to-seven targets each week this season. Beasley has yet to land outside the range of 9.8 to 16.0 PPR points.
• Diggs is up to 27.6 percent snap share, locked in as a high-end WR1. He's fourth in the league in targets (59) and third in receiving yards (555).

Cardinals (38) at Cowboys (10)

Cardinals

• Hopkins saw his usual monstrous target share, but he was completely shut down until he turned a short crossing route into a 60-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
• Kirk went above 63 percent snap share for the first time since Week 1, and his .86 r/db was a small bump up from .79 the previous week. Fitzgerald, on the other hand, saw a drop off from 80 percent snap share and .82 r/db the week prior. Giving some of Fitzgerald's snaps to Kirk kind of makes sense, especially now that Kirk has caught seven of nine targets for 164 yards and two TDs the past two games.

Cowboys

• Gallup dropped what should've been a 16-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Later, he drew two interference penalties and an incomplete target inside the 5-yard line. None of these things provided any points for my fantasy teams. Yes, I'm still angry.
• Noah Brown and Cedrick Wilson combined for four catches for 25 yards on five targets.
• Schultz didn't have a catch after halftime. Schultz is now at four straight games with target share below 14 percent, essentially maintaining fantasy relevance only because the Cowboys repeatedly end up throwing 50-plus passes.
• Cooper and Lamb were quiet in the first half but did their usual thing piling up numbers with the Cowboys playing from behind in the second half.

Top Waiver/FAAB Targets (WR/TE)

(Limited to players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues.)

1. Travis Fulgham
2. Christian Kirk
3. Laviska Shenault
4. Keelan Cole
5. Tim Patrick
6. Cole Beasley
7. Trey Burton
8. Logan Thomas
9. Anthony Firkser
10. Marquez Valdes-Scantling