RGIII"s 50-Yard TD Bomb to Terrelle Pryor! (Preseason) | Falcons vs. Browns | NFL
Opportunity is the name of the game in fantasy football. Talent matters, of course, but we want players who see a healthy volume of targets and touches to anchor our lineups, especially in daily fantasy. Every week in the second season of the Opportunity Report, we"ll look at all the passing targets for every NFL team and the percentage each player owns. Franchise will handle the backfield touches section this year and his Week 3 piece is tabbed above.
After Week 3 we have even more new data to work with and can dig into the passing distribution for each NFL team. We"re trending far more towards the territory where we need to believe what we are seeing in these distributions is the new reality we should adopt.
Note: The Opportunity Report is a living document and will be updated with the results of every game until after the Monday night game concludes. If you"re looking for target data on a team and they aren"t here yet, check back later.
Arizona CardinalsAfter two disconcerting weeks of poor usage and single-digit catch outings, this was a sign of optimism for John Brown. He played 57 percent of the snaps, well ahead of Jaron Brown and tied Michael Floyd for second on the team in targets behind Larry Fitzgerald. He hauled in six of his 11 targets for 70 yards and finally looked like the John Brown of old. Brown"s usage should continue to trend upward as he gets further away from the dreadful offseason concussions which cost him "way too much time" according to coach Bruce Arians. The Cardinals need better play from their wide receiver group as Michael Floyd continues to be one of the more disappointing players in the early going of this season. Floyd had the Bills" cornerbacks in his hip pocket consistently on Sunday.
Buffalo BillsNo Bills pass-catcher is relevant with Sammy Watkins out. Robert Woods had a 32 percent share of the team targets despite seeing just eight go his way. We will have to wait until Sammy Watkins plays to see if new offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn really does change the passing game at all.
Cleveland BrownsTerrelle Pryor was absolutely dynamic on Sunday. Not only did he dominate the target share for Cleveland on a 36.8 percent clip while racking up 144 yards, he also ran four times for 21 yards and a touchdown and threw the ball five times, completing three for another 35 yards. The Dolphins defense isn"t exactly the toughest test, but Pryor looked like the actualization of the long overused term "offensive weapon." Yet, the best news of all was that Pryor ran routes like a wide receiver and made a number of clean consistent catches.
The volume Pryor saw in this contest won"t last much longer with Josh Gordon set to return in Week 5 and Corey Coleman still on track to return at some point. However, he"s made the legitimate leap to the level of a starting NFL wide receiver and should be owned across all fantasy leagues. We have to wonder if the Browns continue using him as a runner and quarterback with Cody Kessler the starting signal-caller.
Houston TexansIt"s hard to take much from this game for the Texans, as the team fell behind quickly and was eventually shut out. It"s far more pivotal to weigh the first two games of the season where the Texans funneled their offense almost exclusively through DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. With Brock Osweiler under a ton of pressure, he was simply content to dump the ball off to Ryan Griffin frequently throughout the game.
iMiami DolphinsDeVante Parker started off this game with a bang, catching the first touchdown of the contest. However, he went silent quickly despite the game remaining competitive. He finished third on the team in wide receiver snaps and targets, which should remind us that there will be some volatility in his weekly stat lines. Nevertheless, Parker is developing nicely after a poor offseason.
With or without his own numbers, Parkers" mere presence on the field is what matters most to the Dolphins offense. After today Jarvis Landry now averages 11.9 targets and 105.6 yards in games he plays with Parker, compared to 6.1 and 59.4 in games without Parker the last two years. The threat of another option beyond a slot receiver in Miami"s offense opens up opportunities for the unit as a whole to improve.
New England PatriotsThere was not much volume to go around for the Patriots pass catchers as the team threw for well under 200 yards with Jacoby Brissett under center. Rob Gronkowski"s return to play was disappointing as he primarily blocked and was a no-show in the stat sheet. We"ll be completely hands off this passing game if Brissett must start the fourth and final game sans Tom Brady.
New York GiantsThe Giants deployed three wide receivers on all but two of their plays where they used four wideouts. Odell Beckham played 100 percent of the snaps, while Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz played 99 percent. At this point Shepard is ahead of Cruz in the pecking order, and we could see that coming by the team asking Cruz to move out of the slot to make room for the rookie. Shepard had more targets than the veteran for the second straight week and came with a lower average depth of target (11.1 to 13.7) indicating he will bring more consistent production going forward. Nevertheless, all of these wide receivers will be relevant on a week-to-week basis.
Odell Beckham passed his Josh Norman coverage test with flying colors. Per Next Gen Stats, Beckham lined up opposite Norman on 28 pass plays getting 10 targets, 6 catches and 107 yards with Eli Manning earning 96.6 passer rating. Even though he has not reached the end zone yet, any worries about Beckham"s stock should be put to rest.
Washington RedskinsJamison Crowder comes up in this space seemingly every week and he tied for second on the team in targets with three other players in Week 3. As usual, Crowder was only targeted at an average of 5.8 yards down the field. However, he showed off more big play ability, racking up 23.3 yards after the catch. At this point, it"s time to consider Crowder one of the top-three receiving options, at worst, on this team. Considering Washington skews pass-heavy, that makes him a weekly flex consideration.
Crowder"s emergence, especially as a surprising red zone weapon, has come at the expense of Jordan Reed. He no longer owns a dominant share of the team passing targetsand doesn"t hold the same touchdown upside as he did down the stretch in 2015.
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Matt Harmon is an associate fantasy writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of #ReceptionPerception, who you can follow on Twitter @MattHarmon_BYB or like on Facebook.
Source: http://www.nfl.com/fantasyfootball/story/0ap3000000709924/article/john-brown-and-terrelle-pryor-surprise-in-week-3-targets
