Fantasy Football on Target - Week 17

December 29, 2009 @ 17:07:50

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Cory J. Bonini

Opportunity in the NFL world can translate into success in the fantasy football world. This is where targets come into play. While a wide receiver may have caught only four passes in a given week, his target total might have been double or triple that. Those targets may not have translated into catches one week, but they may in the future.

The following players gained attention because of the number of targets they received this past week. Are these numbers a trend in the making or simply an aberration?

Fantasy Football on Target

First things first, only three teams have locked up their playoff seeding: the New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts.

We've already seen the Colts rest their starters; Austin Collie led their wideouts last week with 10 targets. Hank Baskett could also be worth a look; he hasn't had much of an impact but could see a boost from his two targets in the last six weeks.

For San Diego, Vincent Jackson might be the one to give way. Who benefits? Malcom Floyd, all 6-foot-5 of him, should see a few more reps. None of the tight ends have much fantasy value, though, even with added snaps.

Finally, the Saints. We don't see them playing the full game, but they've lost two in a row and have a first-round bye. It might be nice for them to get a bit of momentum on their side. We could see the big guys (Drew Brees, Marques Colston) take a seat for a half. If that's the case, Mark Brunell would be behind center. He's 39 and hasn't been noted for his arm strength.

Detroit Lions quarterbacks Drew Stanton and Daunte Culpepper loved throwing to top target Calvin Johnson. Megatron tied for the weekly lead in targets with 15, accounting for just under half of the team's passing attempts. Johnson turned those targets into seven receptions for 96 yards. It might not be too late for him to help you to a championship, especially with the Chicago Bears coming to town. You had this planned when you drafted him in the first round this year, didn't you?

The rest of the top five read as you would expect: Brandon Marshall (15), Roddy White (14), Santonio Holmes (13), Wes Welker (13) and Derrick Mason (13).

The New England Patriots' Randy Moss helped many to fantasy championships last weekend with his three TDs. He needed only five targets to do that, though. He has had six or fewer in four of his last five games.

Maclin shrugged off injury last week

Jeremy Maclin returned for the Philadelphia Eagles and finished with 11 looks - one behind team leader DeSean Jackson. Maclin's targets yielded six receptions for 92 yards, though, while Jackson managed just four for 33.

Since returning from the suspended list, the Kansas City Chiefs' Dwayne Bowe has been targeted 22 times in the last two weeks. His work hasn't cut into Chris Chambers' looks drastically as the former Miami Dolphin received 10 targets last week.

The Chicago Bears upset the NFC playoff applecart with their win over the Minnesota Vikings Monday night. Quarterback Jay Cutler went to Devin Aromashodu nine times; he has been looked at 31 times in the last three weeks. Oh, and this week, they'll face division doormat, the Detroit Lions, who are one of the best matchups for this position. It's hard to imagine they'd go away from Aromashodu even if Devin Hester (calf) returns.

Who doesn't like Triple Ds? In this case, it's Deion Branch, Danny Amendola and Deon Butler. They were targeted nine, eight and eight times, respectively, in Week 16. Of the three, Butler was the least efficient with just one catch for 15 yards. The room to improve (he's a rookie) is what intrigues us. Maybe not for Week 17, but keep him in mind in your dynasty league.

Muhsin Muhammad was targeted just four times last week; Carolina attempted only 20 passes in total as they milked a big lead against the New York Giants. Carolina might not have the luxury of protecting a lead against the New Orleans Saints this week. With Steve Smith (arm) out, his 8.5 targets (Weeks 12 through 15), have to go somewhere. Moose would appear the most likely, though Dante Rosario might see a couple more looks. They don't really have any other receivers (Charly Martin, Kenneth Moore, Dwayne Jarrett) that will be fantasy relevant for Week 17.

Chaz Schilens has seen his targets jump from four to eight to 10 in the last three weeks. He hasn't done much with those utilizations with just 11 catches in that time, but he is getting the looks....

The Miami Dolphins' Ted Ginn Jr. received seven targets; he had just eight in the previous three weeks combined. Of course, Miami also chucked the ball 55 times last week. Reason to believe that'll happen again? Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a decent run D and suspect pass D. It's tough to count on any receiver in Miami's corps, though. Their other wideout looks from Week 16: Davone Bess (10), Greg Camarillo (six) and Brian Hartline (six).

Devin Thomas (ankle) didn't suit up for the Washington Redskins. That would explain Malcolm Kelly's eight looks. He caught just four of those targets, though. This week the 'Skins travel to San Diego to play a Chargers team that might be resting some starters: We can't advocate playing Kelly, but keep an eye on him to watch for any kind of spark.

Hines Ward (hamstring) might not play in Week 17; Mike Wallace was looked at seven times last week. Joey Galloway is in Pittsburgh, but he's probably just a warm body to fill out the depth chart. If Ward misses time, it could benefit Wallace (seven targets last week), slightly, and tight end Heath Miller (four targets).

Concussions should fear Miller

What concussion? Zach Miller, of the Oakland Raiders, led all tight ends with 13 looks last week. Oaktown let quarterback Charlie Frye air it out 45 times. This week they'll face the Baltimore Ravens, who are a decent matchup for tight ends. Of course, who knows what to expect from Chaz in terms of passing attempts. You would have thought Oakland would keep it on the ground against the Cleveland Browns, one of the league's worst run defenses. And yes, I just wanted an excuse to say Chaz.

Finally, Joel Dreessen has emerged as a consistent target for the Houston Texans. Quarterback Matt Schaub showed earlier this year he likes to go to this position. It's taken awhile for someone to emerge after Owen Daniels knee injury, but Dreessen has 17 looks in the last three weeks with no fewer than five in a game. Last week was his best game of the season with four receptions for 65 yards, though it was a favorable matchup.

Remember: Opportunity can lead to success. Find out which players we recommend adding in this week's Fantasy Football Waiver Wire.

KFFLians are saying....

Comment

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1

Confucius, at 06:17 on 12/29/09, says: You knuckledhead; this week the Raiders face the Ravens, not the Jaguars. (I just wanted an excuse to say "knucklehead")

Report!

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2

Bryce McRae, at 12:45 on 12/31/09, says: Thanks for reading, Confucius! Glad I could give you an excuse.

Report!

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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