Hidden Stat Line: Targets, Routes & Snaps from Week 4

Hidden Stat Line: Targets, Routes & Snaps from Week 4

This article is part of our Hidden Stat Line series.

If you haven't already, check out the twin brother to this article, Hidden Stat Line: Week 4 Backfield Usage, 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 4 Sortable Stat Leaderboards

Tight Ends

(Bold indicates top-10 for the week)

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget Share
1TE George Kittle99%450.881536.60%
2TE Darren Waller95%430.861227.90%
3TE Evan Engram84%430.961027.80%
4TE Austin Hooper84%230.7726.90%
5TE Noah Fant50%160.52621.40%
6TE Greg Olsen56%220.59721.20%
7TE Travis Kelce77%290.83620.70%
8TE Zach Ertz95%351.0519.20%
9TE Robert Tonyan67%250.71618.20%
10TE Trey Burton46%170.57517.90%
11TE Tyler Eifert68%310.69616.70%
12TE Hayden Hurst64%360.8615.40%
13TE Drew Sample85%260.67514.30%
14TE Ian Thomas58%250.63513.90%
15TE Dalton Schultz77%440.71813.80%
16TE T.J. Hockenson75%260.72413.30%
17TE Mark Andrews65%190.76313.00%
18TE Tyler Higbee84%190.56412.50%
19TE Hunter Henry85%220.76312.00%
20TE Jimmy Graham66%310.7511.90%
21TE Mo Alie-Cox46%7

If you haven't already, check out the twin brother to this article, Hidden Stat Line: Week 4 Backfield Usage, 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 4 Sortable Stat Leaderboards

Tight Ends

(Bold indicates top-10 for the week)

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget Share
1TE George Kittle99%450.881536.60%
2TE Darren Waller95%430.861227.90%
3TE Evan Engram84%430.961027.80%
4TE Austin Hooper84%230.7726.90%
5TE Noah Fant50%160.52621.40%
6TE Greg Olsen56%220.59721.20%
7TE Travis Kelce77%290.83620.70%
8TE Zach Ertz95%351.0519.20%
9TE Robert Tonyan67%250.71618.20%
10TE Trey Burton46%170.57517.90%
11TE Tyler Eifert68%310.69616.70%
12TE Hayden Hurst64%360.8615.40%
13TE Drew Sample85%260.67514.30%
14TE Ian Thomas58%250.63513.90%
15TE Dalton Schultz77%440.71813.80%
16TE T.J. Hockenson75%260.72413.30%
17TE Mark Andrews65%190.76313.00%
18TE Tyler Higbee84%190.56412.50%
19TE Hunter Henry85%220.76312.00%
20TE Jimmy Graham66%310.7511.90%
21TE Mo Alie-Cox46%70.23310.80%
22TE Logan Thomas93%410.8449.10%
23TE Chris Herndon71%340.6237.00%
24TE Chris Herndon71%340.6237.00%
25TE Mike Gesicki63%360.6936.70%
26TE Rob Gronkowski86%310.6736.70%
27TE Darren Fells80%270.6826.50%
28TE Jack Doyle62%130.4313.60%

  

Wide Receivers

(Bold indicates top-20 for the week)

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget Share
1Keenan Allen94%270.931248.00%
2Adam Thielen88%230.881045.50%
3Emmanuel Sanders73%240.89936.00%
4Marquise Brown75%210.84834.80%
5Terry McLaurin90%450.921431.80%
6Odell Beckham77%331.0830.80%
7Robby Anderson57%310.781130.60%
8DeAndre Hopkins95%320.91929.00%
9Zach Pascal75%270.9828.60%
10Damiere Byrd97%411.01028.60%
11Amari Cooper77%480.771627.60%
12Greg Ward77%270.77726.90%
13Kenny Golladay82%310.86826.70%
14DeVante Parker80%410.791226.70%
15Tim Patrick76%250.81725%
16DJ Chark85%390.87925.00%
17Marquez Valdes-Scantling97%340.97824.20%
18Sammy Watkins82%300.86724.10%
19Allen Robinson89%410.931023.80%
20Jamison Crowder84%480.871023.30%
21Jarvis Landry76%290.88623.10%
22Olamide Zaccheaus76%330.73923.10%
23Tyler Boyd77%310.79822.90%
24Justin Jefferson77%220.85522.70%
25Will Fuller77%330.83722.60%
26Isaiah Ford63%360.691022.20%
27Robert Woods95%330.97721.90%
28Cooper Kupp86%320.94721.90%
29Stefon Diggs92%330.94721.90%
30Darnell Mooney74%340.77921.40%
31Jeff Smith95%540.98920.90%
32Tyreek Hill93%351.0620.70%
33Tee Higgins57%290.74720.00%
34Darius Slayton97%451.0719.40%
35Chris Hogan88%490.89818.60%
36Hunter Renfrow68%390.78818.60%
37 DK Metcalf87%340.92618.20%
38 T.Y. Hilton75%280.93517.90%
39 Mike Evans71%390.85817.80%
40 N'Keal Harry76%300.73617.10%
41Julian Edelman61%330.8617.10%
42 D.J. Moore71%320.8616.70%
43Laviska Shenault54%220.49616.70%
44Golden Tate75%390.87616.70%
45Christian Kirk63%260.74516.10%
46 Randall Cobb74%330.83516.10%
47Tre'Quan Smith89%250.93416.00%
48Scotty Miller53%320.7715.60%
49 John Brown85%330.94515.60%
50Jerry Jeudy69%260.84414.30%
51 A.J. Green71%290.74514.30%
52 Zay Jones89%430.86614.00%
53Keelan Cole74%370.82513.90%
54Mecole Hardman46%180.51413.80%
55Calvin Ridley64%290.64512.80%
56Justin Watson74%390.85612.30%
57Brandon Aiyuk88%480.94512.20%
58CeeDee Lamb76%470.76712.10%
59Tyler Lockett89%360.97412.10%
60Anthony Miller69%330.75511.90%
61DaeSean Hamilton81%270.87310.70%
62Julio Jones21%110.24410.30%
63Brandin Cooks94%380.9539.70%
64Nelson Agholor91%460.9249.30%
65Michael Gallup82%490.7958.60%
66Russell Gage67%330.7337.70%
67Deebo Samuel34%160.3137.30%
68Marvin Jones89%330.9226.70%

   

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. Stats on air yards and target share come from RotoWire's advanced stats pages.)

Broncos (37) at Jets (28)

Broncos

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR DaeSean Hamilton 81%  27 .87 3 10.7% 1-9-0
WR Tim Patrick76%  25 .81 7 25% 6-113-1
WR Jerry Jeudy69%  26 .84  4 14.3% 2-61-1
TE Noah Fant 50%  16 .52 6 21.4% 5-35-0
  • KJ Hamler suffered a hamstring injury in the first half and finished without any targets on 14 snaps (20 percent). But he did get the start, and was on the field consistently early in the game.
  • Fant suffered an ankle injury in the second half and is expected to miss Week 5 against New England. The Broncos didn't get much from their other tight ends Thursday night, with Nick Vannett catching one of two targets for seven yards on four routes (49 percent of snaps), while Jake Butt finished without a target on 12 routes (40 percent of snaps). We'll likely see a Butt/Vannett timeshare, though it's also possible rookie fourth-round pick Albert Okwuegbunam get some work. Okwuegbunam has been a healthy scratch each week so far.
  • The seven targets for Patrick were tied for his third most in 28 career games. He's seen at least four targets and 65 percent of snaps each week this season, averaging 4.0 catches for 52.3 yards and 0.5 TDs.
  • Jeudy leads the team with 28 targets (20.6 percent share) and 234 receiving yards, despite getting very little playing time outside of three-wide formations. He played just five of Denver's 27 snaps from 12 and 22 personnel Thursday night, while Hamilton took 19 and Patrick got 15.
  • Jeudy ran 22 of his 26 routes from the slot, per PFF. For the season, he's seen 84 percent of his routes and 86 percent of his targets in the slot, though his 48-yard touchdown Thursday came on the perimeter.

  

Jets

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Jeff Smith 95%  54 .98 9 20.9% 7-81-0
WR Chris Hogan 88%  49 .89 8 18.6% 4-23-0
WR Jamison Crowder 84%  48 .87 10 23.3% 7-104-0
TE Chris Herndon 71%  34 .62 3 7.0% 1-11-0
  • Crowder returned from a two-game absence and picked up right where he left off in Week 1. The slot man has seen 30.3 percent target share in his two games.
  • Smith is a 2019 UDFA who saw two targets in one game with the Jets last year. He was on injured reserve with a shoulder injury for the first three weeks of this season, but he jumped right into an every-down role Thursday night, while Breshad Perriman (ankle) missed a second straight game and Josh Malone strictly played special teams.
  • Herndon blocked on only six of his 40 pass-blocking snaps (15 percent), down from 23.5 percent over the first three weeks of the season, per PFF. He's been targeted on 19 of his 101 routes (18.8 percent), which isn't great, and his efficiency numbers (57.9 percent catch rate, 3.9 YPT) are terrible. He had his second drop of the year Thursday night, and his 5.2 aDOT is third-shallowest among qualified TEs, per NFL Next Gen Stats. In other words, it's hard to find any cause for optimism beyond the consistently solid snap share (71-to-80 percent each week).

Cardinals (21) at Panthers (31)

Cardinals

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR DeAndre Hopkins  95%32  .91 9 29.0% 7-41-0
WR Larry Fitzgerald  93%32 .91 3 9.7% 2-4-0
WR Christian Kirk 63%26 .74 5 16.1% 3-19-1
TE Dan Arnold  54%18 .51 4 12.9% 4-39-0
  • Andy Isabella caught two of three targets for three yards while playing 42 percent of snaps and running 18 routes. KeeSean Johnson got seven targets on 71 percent snap share the previous week with Kirk out injured, but Johnson didn't play at all Week 4.
  • Hopkins (ankle) and Kirk (groin) both were listed as questionable. The former handled his usual every-down role, and the latter played 63 percent of snaps (compared to 77 and 61 percent the first two weeks).
  • The four targets matched a season high for Arnold, but he's still gone above 55 percent snap share just once this year (73 percent in Week 2). You have to be really desperate to stream him at TE.
  • Keenan Allen has pulled ahead of Hopkins for the league lead in target share, with a 37.1 to 34.1 advantage.
  • Kyler Murray is 24th in the league in passing yards per game (229.8) and 16th in rushing yards per game (66.3).

  

Panthers

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR D.J. Moore  71% 32 .80 6 16.7% 4-49-0
TE Ian Thomas  58% 25 .63 5 13.9% 2-5-1
WR Robby Anderson  57% 31 .78 11 30.6% 8-99-0
WR Curtis Samuel  47% 22 .55 4 11.1% 3-51-0
  • Moore, Thomas and Samuel each hit season lows for snap share, with FB Alex Armah getting 22 percent of naps and backup WRs Pharoh Cooper, Seth Roberts and Brandon Zylstra combining for 45 percent.
  • The Panthers ran only 40 percent of their plays from 11 personnel, down from 56 percent over the first three weeks. Not ideal for Samuel, who played just one snap in the backfield this past weekend and rarely sees the field unless the Panthers are using three WRs.
  • Moore played 87-89 percent of snaps each of the first three weeks this season, with Anderson at 74-82 percent and Samuel at 65-75. The Week 4 snap shares look a bit better if we don't count the fourth quarter — 77 percent for Moore, 62 percent for Anderson, 49 percent for Samuel.
  • Anderson now leads the team with 34 targets, slightly ahead of Moore (32).
  • Teddy Bridgewater's 6.8 aDOT is seventh-shallowest among qualified passers, but at 73.0 completion percentage (3rd) is still impressive, as is 8.1 YPA (10th). He's 15th in ESPN's QBR, but only 27th in PFF grade. While he hasn't thrown downfield much, he is tied for 12th in PFF's adjusted completion percentage on deep passes, completing six of 12.

Jaguars (25) at Bengals (33)

Jaguars

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR DJ Chark 85%  39 .87 9 25.0% 8-95-2
WR Keelan Cole74%  37 .82 5 13.9% 4-46-0
TE Tyler Eifert 68%  31 .69 6 16.7% 2-22-0
WR Laviska Shenault  54%  22 .49 6  16.7% 5-86-0
  • Week 3 goat Chris Conley dropped to 31 percent of snaps, catching three of four targets for 44 yards.
  • Eifert had a season high for snap share and matched his season high for targets, but he left the game in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion after a big hit.
  • Cole has landed between four and seven targets each week this season, with no more than 58 yards and no less than 43. He's quietly on pace for 76-776-8 on 92 targets, which isn't very exciting but does make him a decent fill-in starter for bye weeks and the like.
  • Chark returned from a one-game absence to handle a near-every-down role and saw more targets than he had over the first two weeks of the season combined (seven). He's caught 15 of his 16 targets for 204 yards and three TDs this year, which means Gardner Minshew has produced only 7.1 YPA and five TDs on throws that haven't gone to Chark.
  • Shenault got 68 percent snap share and .63 routes/db with Chark out the previous week. Those usage numbers dropped a little Sunday, but the rookie matched his Week 3 target total and did far more with the opportunities. He also took one carry for five yards.
  • Minshew reached 40 pass attempts for a third straight week. He's on pace for 588 attempts, 4,552 yards, 32 TDs, 16 INTs, four lost fumbles and 276 rushing yards. It works for fantasy, but it's mediocre in real life. He's been solid on deep throws with a 46.7 adjusted completion rate (15th), and his 7.8 aDOT is up a tiny bit from last year's 7.5.

  

Bengals

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
TE Drew Sample 85%  26 .67 5 14.3%3-47-0 
WR Tyler Boyd 77%  31 .79 8 22.9% 7-90-0
WR A.J. Green 71%  29 .74 5 14.3% 1-3-0
WR Tee Higgins 57%  29 .74 7 20.0% 4-77-0
  • These snap shares looked very similar to Week 3, albeit with Higgins dropping down from 79 percent. But it was mostly just run plays where the rookie was taken off the field. Higgins' 125 air yards Sunday were seventh-most in the league.
  • Green has 11 targets and 39 yards the past two games, after producing only 80 yards on 22 targets the first two weeks. The lack of production is costing him volume, and he hasn't done well with the reduced workload either.
  • Green led the league with eight targets 20-plus yards downfield over the first two weeks of the season. Over the past two weeks, Higgins is tied for second in the league with seven deep targets, while Green has seen only two.
  • Boyd is averaging 7.0 catches for 80.0 yards on 8.5 targets per game. The 82.4 percent catch rate isn't sustainable, but he did post 70.4 percent back in 2018 even with Andy Dalton missing five games.
  • Sample handled a three-down role for the second straight week, but he's seen only six targets in that stretch, partially because the Bengals have him blocking on 23.4 percent of his pass snaps, per PFF. Sample and Rob Gronkowski are tied for the TE lead with 18 pass-block snaps over the past two weeks, followed by Tyler Higbee (14), Will Dissly (14) and Kyle Rudolph (13).

Browns (49) at Cowboys (38)

Browns

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
TE Austin Hooper 84%  23 .70 7 26.9% 5-34-1
WR Odell Beckham 77%  33 1.0 8 30.8% 5-81-2
WR Jarvis Landry 76%  29 .88 6 23.1% 5-48-0
  • Donovan Peoples-Jones took over the No. 3 receiver role but didn't see any targets on 44 percent snap share. No. 2 TE Harrison Bryant was a bigger factor with four catches for 37 yards on 69 percent of snaps, but David Njoku (knee) is expected back for Week 5.
  • In case you live under a rock... Beckham had two carries for 74 yards and a game-clinching TD, in addition to the 5-81-2 receiving line. He has a lot of 'signature' games for someone who has made just one playoff appearance.
  • Beckham's 135 air yards were third most of all players Sunday, pushing him up to No. 8 (422) for the season. He's also fifth in target share (28.2 percent)
  • Landry still hasn't seen more than six targets in a game, and OC Alex Van Pelt suggested last week that the wide receiver probably isn't 100 percent healthy after offseason hip surgery. The 37-yard TD pass to Beckham saved Landry's fantasy day in Week 4, getting him to a dozen PPR points for the first time this year. He's not someone you want to be starting in fantasy lineups right now.
  • Hooper's snap share was in the usual range, but he dropped below .75 r/db for the first time since Week 1. The Browns used him as a blocker on 24.1 percent of his pass snaps, compared to 17.3 percent Weeks 1-3, per PFF.

  

Cowboys

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Michael Gallup 82%  49 .79 5 8.6% 2-29-0
TE Dalton Schultz 77%  44 .71 8 13.8% 4-72-1
WR Amari Cooper 77%  48 .77 16 27.6% 12-134-1
WR CeeDee Lamb 76%  47 .76 7 12.1% 5-79-2
  • Lamb's snap share bounced back from 60 percent the previous week, but the Cowboys did continue to rotate their backup receivers in, with Noah Brown playing 27 percent of snaps (four targets) and Cedrick Wilson getting 22 percent (six targets).
  • Gallup's 12.1 percent target share can't really be blamed on the backups getting more run, because it's actually Cooper or Lamb coming off the field more often. Even so, it isn't ideal for Gallup to drop to 85 and 82 percent snap share the past two weeks, after 96 and 91 the first two games of the season. He's seen more than five targets in a game just once this year, though it did result in a 6-138-1 line, so he is on pace for 1,100 yards (but only 96 targets and 52 catches).
  • Cooper scored from 20 yards out on a fourth-down play, hitting paydirt for the first time this season. He's averaging a career-low 10.8 yards per catch, but with a career-high 72.5 percent catch rate and absolutely massive volume numbers (on pace for 148-1,604-4 on 204 targets).
  • Dak Prescott is on pace for 804 pass attempts, 6,760 passing yards, 36 pass TDs, 344 rushing yards, 12 rushing TDs and 20 turnovers. Lol.

Saints (35) at Lions (29)

Saints

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Tre'Quan Smith 89%  25 .93 4 16.0% 4-54-2
WR Emmanuel Sanders 73%  24 .89 9 36.0% 6-93-0
  • DFS superstar Adam Trautman played 27 percent of snaps and didn't get any targets. Fellow tight end Josh Hill played 57 percent of snaps and caught his lone target for a seven-yard gain. The Saints had seven skill-position players land between 14-31 percent snap share, going all-out committee with Jared Cook (groin) and Michael Thomas (ankle) both inactive.
  • Smith and Sanders are tied with 17.5 percent target share in the three games Thomas has missed... Alvin Kamara has a comfortable lead at 27.8 percent even after a relatively quiet Week 4 (by his standards).

  

Lions

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Marvin Jones 89%  33 .92 2 6.7% 1-9-0
WR Kenny Golladay 82%  31 .86 8 26.7% 4-62-1
TE T.J. Hockenson 75%  26 .72 4 13.3% 2-9-1
 WR Danny Amendola56%  25 .69 3 10.0% 2-57-0
  • Jones has been targeted on only 12.5 percent of his routes this year, down from 17.8 percent last season.
  • Hockenson saw a slight drop off from 82 percent of snaps and .89 routes/db the previous week, but he's still been solidly above 60 percent route participation every week this year.
  • Golladay has seen 22.6 and 26.7 percent target share in his two games, with Jones under 10 percent both times.

Vikings (31) at Texans (23)

Vikings

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Adam Thielen  88% 23 .88 10 45.5% 8-114-1
WR Justin Jefferson  77% 22 .85 5 22.7% 4-103-0
  • Kyle Rudolph (73 percent) and Irv Smith (62 percent) continued to split snaps, combining for three targets. Rudolph eight targets this season, while Smith has six.
  • Chad Beebe (24 percent) and Bisi Johnson (17 percent) both got work behind Jefferson/Thielen, combining for just one target.
  • That's back-to-back weeks for Jefferson with 77+ percent snap share, 85+ percent route participation, 22+ percent target share  and triple-digit yardage. The modest target count in Sunday's win was a product of Kirk Cousins attempting only 22 passes. Jefferson has firmly asserted himself as the No. 2 pass catch in Minnesota, and there isn't really a third guy (Dalvin Cook?). It's possible Thielen and Jefferson combine for over half the team's targets from here on out, just as they did the past two weeks.

  

Texans

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Brandin Cooks 94%  38 .95 3 9.7% 0
TE Darren Fells 80%  27 .68 2 6.5% 2-21-0
WR Will Fuller 77%  33 .83 7 22.6% 6-108-1
 WR Randall Cobb74%  33 .83 5 16.1%  2-36-0
  • TE Jordan Akins suffered a concussion and finished with only 29 percent of snaps, down from 68 percent the previous week. He did catch each of his three targets for 46 yards.
  • No. 4 WR Kenny Still had a 2-39-1 line on four targets but played only 42 percent of snaps. He's seen 2-to-4 targets each week this year, never reaching 50 percent snap share.
  • Despite his Week 2 donut while bothered by a hammy, Fuller is on pace for 72-1,096-8, catching 81.8 percent of his targets for 12.5 YPT. He's averaging 7.1 targets if you throw out the Week 2 stinker.
  • Cobb has seen 3-to-6 targets each week, with his snap share falling in the 68-to-78 percent range every time.
  • Cooks is at 17.1 percent target share and 23.2 percent air-yard share, and he's now been up around 90 percent of snaps in three straight games. The donut was rough for fantasy managers, but the usage hasn't been terrible overall.
  • Fuller is at 17.9 percent target share and 25.7 percent air-yard share, pretty close to Cooks, oddly enough. And both guys had one game where injury concerns impacted their snap counts.

Seahawks (31) at Dolphins (23)

Seahawks

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Tyler Lockett  89% 36 .97 4 12.1% 2-39-0
WR DK Metcalf  87% 34 .92 6 18.2% 4-106-0
TE Greg Olsen  56% 22 .59 7 21.2% 5-35-0
  • Will Dissly (43 percent of snaps) continues to be used as a blocker for the most part, while Freddie Swain (43 percent) and David Moore (35 percent) split the No. 3 receiver job. Moore had a big day with 3-95-1 on four targets, and he's now caught 10 of 11 passes for 173 yards and two TDs.
  • Olsen followed up last week's 5-61-0 showing with another busy day from a target standpoint, but his snaps took a little dip after rising to 63 percent (and .71 routes/db) in Week 3. He's mostly getting dump offs, with a 6.8 aDOT and only 8.6 yards per catch. He had an 8.6 aDOT and 11.5 yards per catch last year in Carolina, averaging 5.8 targets per game.
  • Even after the stinker, Lockett is 13th in the NFL in target share (25.2 percent) and 14th in receiving yards (298). Metcalf is tied for the league lead with 403 yards, making the most of slightly lower target share (21.4). Metcalf's aDOT is 16.4, compared to 10.2 for Lockett.

  

Dolphins

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR DeVante Parker 80% 41 .79 12 26.7% 10-110-0
WR Isaiah Ford63% 36 .69 10 22.2% 4-48-0
TE Mike Gesicki63%  36 .69 3 6.7% 1-15-0
WR Preston Williams 61%  31 .60 3 6.7% 1-15-0
  • Parker missed some snaps in the first half with an ankle injury, but he returned to the game and caught four more passes after halftime. He played each of Miami's 38 snaps in the second half.
  • Parker has been held back by one game where he left in the second quarter with an injury (Week 1) and another where a comfortable lead allowed Ryan Fizpatrick to attempt only 20 passes (Week 3). Over the past three games, Parker has handled 22.5 percent target share, similar to last year's 21.1 percent.
  • Ford strictly played in 11 personnel and ran all his routes from the slot, while Williams ceded a bunch of the outside snaps to Jakeem Grant, who logged 26 plays on the perimeter and only two in the slot, per PFF.
  • Williams had two targets on 57 percent snap share Week 3, so it's now a multi-game trend where he hasn't been a full-time player. The Dolphins are still using him in two-receiver sets for the most part, but he's been rotating with Grant in the three-wide formations.
  • Ford can disappear when the Dolphins get a lead (lol) and use heavier formations like they did Week 3 (two targets in a 31-13 win), but he's otherwise been busy, drawing 5, 9 and 10 targets on 74, 64 and 63 percent of snaps. The efficiency hasn't been good, however - 57.7 percent catch rate and 5.8 YPT.

Chargers (31) at Buccaneers (38)

Chargers

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Keenan Allen94%  27 .93 12 48.0% 8-62-0
TE Hunter Henry85%  22 .76 3 12.0% 2-39-0
 WR Jalen Guyton85%  25 .86 1 4.0% 1-72-1
  • Guyton was one of three players on the Chargers with one target and one TD. Reserve wideout Tyron Johnson had a 53-yard score, and backup TE Donald Parham added a 19-yarder. Between the long-distance touchdowns and Tampa's consistent chain-moving, the Chargers ended up running only 50 plays, with Justin Herbert throwing only 25 passes.
  • Allen leads the NFL with 36.8 percent target share, ahead of DeAndre Hopkins (34.3) and Adam Thielen (30.9). Those three are the only players above 29 percent.
  • Henry had his first dud of the year, dropping to No. 8 among TEs in target share (18.8 percent), though he's still No. 3 in yards (245).

  

Buccaneers

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
TE Rob Gronkowski 86%  31 .67 3 6.7% 1-29-0
WR Justin Watson 74%  39 .85 6 12.3% 4-40-0
WR Mike Evans71%  39 .85 8 17.8% 7-122-1
WR Scotty Miller 53%  32 .70 7 15.6% 5-83-1
  • O.J. Howard put up 3-50-1 on six targets and 37 percent of snaps, but he suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.
  • Ronald Jones actually led the team with nine targets, but he dropped two passes and finished with a meager 6-17-0 receiving line. He initially took most of the passing downs after LeSean McCoy sprained an ankle, but the Bucs turned to Ke'Shawn Vaughn for the pass-catching work in the fourth quarter. Despite lacking a standout receiving threat at the position, Tampa has sent 28.7 percent of its targets to RBs, the fourth-largest share of any team.
  • Evans now has 14 catches for 226 yards and two TDs on 18 targets in the two games Chris Godwin (hamstring) has missed, but the 6-5 wideout suffered an injury of his own in Sunday's game, playing through a sprained right ankle. The Bucs play on Thursday in Week 5, so Evans could have a tough time suiting up if his ankle swells.

Ravens (31) at Washington Football Team (17)

Ravens

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Marquise Brown 75% 21 .84834.8%  4-86-0
TE Mark Andrews 65%  19 .763 13.0% 3-57-2
WR Miles Boykin54% 15 .604 17.4% 2-28-0
  • One of Boykin's two catches came on a fake punt. His snap share was a season low, down from 68, 74 and 82 percent the first three weeks. Even so, he was second on the team in targets, and he's the only Raven besides Brown and Andrews with more than 10 targets this year (15).
  • Andrews bounced back strong from a drop-plagued game the previous week, but he didn't have a ton of opportunity, as the Ravens jumped out to a lead and Lamar Jackson threw only 21 passes.
  • Baltimore is averaging only 58 plays per game, down from 66.5 last year. The team won't necessarily rebound all the way to the mid-to-high 60s again, but the low-60s is a safe bet at least. The Ravens have made more of an effort to throw the ball early in games this year, but between the depressed snap volume and the impact of three blowout wins, Lamar Jackson is on pace for only 392 passes, which actually would be fewer than his total from 15 games last year (401).
  • Brown led the NFL with 210 air yards in Week 4, drawing six of his eight targets 20-plus yards downfield. He's now up to seventh most (453) for the season, with the second-largest team share (44.9). Brown also has 26.5 percent target share, which is 10th best in the league. The huge game hasn't happened yet, but his efficiency stats (61.5 percent catch rate, 9.3 YPT) are good, and he's getting plenty of deep shots.

  

WFT

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
TE Logan Thomas 93%  41 .84 9.1% 1-8-0
WR Terry McLaurin90%  45 .9214 31.8% 10-118-0
WR Isaiah Wright 82%  44 .90 5 11.4% 4-20-0
 WR Dontrelle Inman80%  43 .88 5 11.4% 4-29-0
  • Steven Sims (toe) was inactive, after handling a limited role while playing through injury the previous week.
  • McLaurin's aDOT is down from 13.8 as a rookie to 9.6 this year, but his catch rate is up to 66.7 percent and his 211 yards after the catch are second most among all players (including RBs). Even with the lower aDOT, he's 13th in air yards (375) and ninth in team share of air yards (37.7 percent), thanks to dominant 27.1 percent target share (No. 7).
  • Thomas saw fewer than seven targets for the first time all year, and his terrible efficiency states sunk even further. He's now at 3.6 YPT, with a 46.4 percent catch rate. That's unsustainably bad, but it's also unsustainable for someone with numbers that bad to continue seeing seven targets per week.

Giants (9) at Los Angeles Rams (17)

Giants

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Darius Slayton 97%  45 1.0 7 19.4% 3-48-0
TE Evan Engram 84%  43 .96 10 27.8% 6-35-0
WR Golden Tate 75%  39 .87 6 16.7% 4-20-0
  • C.J. Board (47 percent of snaps) and Damion Ratley (43 percent) split the other receiver job again, filling in for Sterling Shepard (toe).
  • Engram is now third among TEs in both target share (20.7 percent) and targets (17), but his 4.7 aDOT is third-shallowest among qualified pass catchers at the position, and yet his catch rate (58.6 percent) looks like that of a perimeter receiver. Unlike the aforementioned Thomas, Engram has enough of a track record to continue seeing passes even though it isn't working for the Giants so far. Plus, nothing else is working for the team, and they can't just take a kneel-down every snap, tempting as it may seem.
  • Tate has seen 13 targets in the two games without Shepard, accounting for 19.7 percent of the team total. Slayton is at 21.2 percent, and Engram at 22.7 percent. The volume is there if the offense can start moving the ball a little.

  

Rams

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Robert Woods 95%  33  .97 7 21.9% 6-35-0
WR Cooper Kupp 86%  32 .94 7 21.9% 5-69-1
TE Tyler Higbee84%  19 .56 4 12.5% 3-21-0
WR Josh Reynolds53%  22 .65  4 12.5% 3-25-0
  • The Rams used a ton of 12 personnel, with Gerald Everett getting 58 percent of snaps and running only four fewer routes (15) than Higbee. Everett lost a fumble on his lone target, but did have a two-yard rushing TD on an end-around.
  • Higbee continues to linger around 50 percent route participation. He's second among TEs with 28 pass-blocking snaps, per PFF, and Everett has a 23-to-13 snap advantage on 3rd-and-medium/long this year. The sell-high window is gone, unfortunately, but Higbee at least figures to be efficient with his limited receiving opportunities. He's seen 2-to-5 targets each week this season, averaging 3.75 per game.
  • Kupp leads the team with 23.9 percent target share, slightly ahead of Woods (22.2). Both are right where we expected in terms of team share, but the raw numbers have been less exciting, as Jared Goff is on pace for only 488 pass attempts. The 2017-18 powerhouse Rams typically leaned on their aerial attack early in games before running more after halftime. This year's version ranks fourth in first-half run rate (49 percent), with Sean McVay reorienting toward a greater focus on his rushing game (it helps that the O-line remembered how to block).
  • Reynolds got 90 percent of snaps and .56 routes/db in the Week 3 loss at Buffalo. His Week 4 dip wasn't about Van Jefferson (5 percent of snaps); it was a product of Everett getting more snaps in those aforementioned two-TE formations.

Colts (19) at Bears (11)

Colts

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Zach Pascal 75%  27 .90 8 28.6% 3-58-0
WR T.Y. Hilton 75% 28 .93 5 17.9% 3-29-0
TE Jack Doyle 62%  13 .43 1 3.6% 1-12-0
TE Trey Burton 46%  17 .57 5 17.9% 2-16-0
  • Mo Alie-Cox scored another TD, but he saw only three targets on 46 percent snap share and ran only seven routes. He's making a strong case for more work, but it didn't happen Week 4.
  • Burton played seven of the 14 snaps on 3rd-and-medium/long, with Alie-Cox and Doyle getting six apiece. The Colts used 13 personnel (three TEs) on 24 percent of their snaps, but only three of the 17 plays were pass attempts. Ashton Dulin was the lone wideout for 15 of those 17 snaps, rather than Pascal or Hilton.
  • The Colts used 11 personnel (three WRs) on 65 percent of snaps, with Hilton and Pascal both going 47-for-47 in snap participation (Doyle got 21, Burton 14, Alie-Cox 11, i.e., a true timeshare). Marcus Johnson had a 32-15 snap advantage over Daurice Fountain in those looks, as the split the No. 3 job.
  • Hilton is at 17.7 percent target share in an offense averaging 30.3 pass attempts per game. He hasn't seen more than five targets in a game since Week 1, but his snap share and route participation did get a bump this past weekend, up from 52 percent and .60 r/db the previous week. (The Colts are low on healthy bodies at WR.)

  

Bears

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Allen Robinson 89%  41 .93 10 23.8% 7-101-1
WR Darnell Mooney74%  34 .77 9 21.4% 5-52-0
WR Anthony Miller 69%  33 .75 5 11.9% 3-16-0
TE Jimmy Graham 66%  31 .70 5  11.9% 4-33-0
  • Miller got more playing time this week, but it was largely just a product of the Bears playing from behind and using 11 personnel more often. Miller played 35 of the 38 snaps in 11 personnel, and only eight of 23 snaps in all other formations.
  • Mooney's season high in targets was accompanied by a season high in snap share, up from 60 and 62 percent the previous two weeks. His 120 air yards Sunday were ninth-most in the league, though Robinson (129, t-4th) was a few spots higher.
  • Robinson is ninth in the league in target share (26.6), fourth in targets (41) and fifth in air yards (469). He's seen at least nine targets each week, and the overall usage looks nearly identical to last season.

Bills (30) at Raiders (23)

Bills

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Stefon Diggs 92%  33 .94 7 21.9% 6-115-0
WR John Brown 85%  33 .94 5 15.6% 4-42-0
 WR Gabriel Davis59%  19 .54 1 3.1% 1-26-1
  • Cole Beasley caught three of four targets for 32 yards and a TD, but his snap share plummeted to 30 percent after three straight weeks in the 61-67 percent range. No injury was reported, so it seems the Bills simply wanted Davis to get more playing time. They also had Isaiah McKenzie in for 34 percent of snaps, getting two carries and a target.
  • Dawson Knox saw three targets on 48 percent snap share, with Tyler Kroft adding three targets on 33 percent of snaps.
  • The Bills ran 42 of 59 snaps from 11 personnel, plus 12 more snaps from four/five-wide formations. That means they had only five plays with fewer than three WRs on the field.
  • Brown nearly had his third TD of the season but was marked down inside the 1-yard line after review. It looked like a score to me...
  • Diggs is 16th in the league in target share (24.3), tied for eighth in targets (35) and 11th in air yards. He's also tied for the NFL lead with 403 receiving yards, cashing in on Josh Allen's breakout season (and also aiding it in a big way).

  

Raiders

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
TE Darren Waller 95%  43 .86 12 27.9% 9-88-0
WR Nelson Agholor 91%  46 .92 4 9.3% 4-44-1
WR Zay Jones 89%  43 .86 6 14.0% 4-32-0
WR Hunter Renfrow 68%  39 .78 8 18.6% 5-57-0
  • Henry Ruggs (knee) and Bryan Edwards (ankle) were inactive, leaving Agholor and Jones as the starting wideouts, with Renfrow coming off the bench to play the slot in three-wide sets.
  • Renfrow ran 69 percent of his routes from the slot, per PFF. He was in the game for all 43 of the snaps in 11 personnel, but only nine of 31 from all other formations. That means his route participation (and target total) could go down if the Raiders aren't playing from behind. He's been targeted on 20.4 percent of his routes, which is pretty good, but it's a step down from 24.5 percent last year.
  • Waller is fourth in the league with 29.0 percent snap share, 6.6 percentage points ahead of any other TE (Travis Kelce, 22.4). It's still a ton of short stuff (5.4 aDOT), but that certainly gets the job done for PPR, and the sheer volume makes him a top TE even in standard scoring. However, Waller is down to 6.2 YPT, a big drop from 9.8 last year. He's making up for it, of course, with an extra 2.7 targets per game.

Eagles (25) at 49ers (20)

Eagles

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
TE Zach Ertz 95%  35 1.0 5 19.2% 4-9-0
WR John Hightower 81%  29 .83 2  7.7% 2-22-0
WR Greg Ward 77%  27 .77 7 26.9% 4-38-0
WR Travis Fulgham60%  21 .60 3 11.5% 2-57-1
  • The Eagles shifted to more 11 personnel with Dallas Goedert (ankle) out. No. 2 TE Richard Rodgers played only 35 percent of snaps, though he did catch three passes for 35 yards on four targets.
  • DeSean Jackson (hamstring) also was out, joining Alshon Jeffery (foot) and Jalen Reagor (thumb). The rookie will miss more time, but it's possible the veterans return soon.
  • Ward had 8-72-1 on 11 targets and 84 percent snap share the previous week, after barely making a peep as the No. 3 receiver Weeks 1-2 (eight targets, 44 and 18 percent of snaps). He should be taken seriously as a fantasy option for as long as the Eagles are plagued by injuries. The Goedert injury might actually be the biggest one, as it discourages the Eagles from using two-wide formations.
  • Ward played 30 of the 33 snaps in 11 personnel, plus 17 of 28 in other formations. In other words, he wasn't strictly the slot guy in three-wide sets, though that's clearly how the Eagles prefer to use them when they aren't hit by injuries. Anyway, snap share and route participation around 80 percent would be reasonable expectations if Goedert, Jeffery, Jackson and Reagor all miss another week. It gets a little dicey once one or two of them returns.
  • Ertz is at 18.4 percent target share in an offense where everyone else is injured. And his 4.8 YPT isn't helping matters. However, he's still fourth among TEs with 29 targets, in large part because Carson Wentz is averaging 40 passes per game.

  

49ers

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
TE George Kittle 99%  45 .88 15 36.6% 15-183-1
WR Brandon Aiyuk88%  48 .94 5  12.2% 2-18-0
WR Kendrick Bourne 68%  36 .71 6 14.6% 3-33-0
WR Deebo Samuel 34%  16 .31 3 7.3% 3-35-0
  • It was Bourne, rather than Aiyuk, who had his playing time scaled back to accommodate Samuel's first appearance of the season. Slot specialist Trent Taylor also played 51 percent of snaps but finished without a catch on one target. It looks like Samuel and Aiyuk will be the full-time guys once the 49ers are confident Samuel can handle a full workload.
  • Kittle!

Patriots (10) at Chiefs (26)

Patriots

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Damiere Byrd 97% 41 1.0 10 28.6% 5-80-0
WR N'Keal Harry 76% 30  .73 6 17.1% 3-21-1
WR Julian Edelman61% 33 .80 6  17.1% 3-35-0
  • Opinion: The Patriots would've won this game if they had someone like Joe Flacco or Case Keenum as their backup QB, rather than Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham. The difference between the competent backups and the guys who are barely hanging on in the league is huge. Also, the zebras gave KC a boost in primetime for a second straight week. (They don't need the help.)
  • Ryan Izzo played 85 percent of snaps and finished without a catch on three targets. He has three receptions on 240 offensive snaps this year.
  • Edelman let two passes bounce off his hands. The first was caught on the rebound by teammate Gunner Olszewski, while the second was caught by Tyrann Mathieu for a pick-six. Maybe Edelman was trying to teach Stidham a lesson about throwing high-risk hospital balls to the flats?
  • Harry saw passes into the end zone on three consecutive plays at one point in Monday's game. The first was a PI penalty, the second incomplete, and the third went for a TD.
  • Byrd has played at least 86 percent of snaps in each game, with target totals of 0, 9, 3, 10. It adds up to 17.6 percent target share overall, putting him on the map for deep leagues.
  • Edelman is at 24 percent target share, and Harry at 22.4 percent (it helps when the TEs never get the ball).

  

Chiefs

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Tyreek Hill 93% 35 1.0 6 20.7% 4-64-1
WR Sammy Watkins 82% 30 .86 7 24.1% 4-43-0
TE Travis Kelce 77% 29  .83 6  20.7% 3-70-0
WR Mecole Hardman 46% 18 .51 4   13.8% 4-27-1
  • Hardman played three more snaps than Demarcus Robinson (41 percent), who finished the night without a target. It's still a timeshare, but it may be trending more toward the youngster. Robinson played 55 percent of snaps to Hardman's 39 percent the previous week in Baltimore.
  • Patrick Mahomes threw only 29 passes, tied for his second-fewest in a full game since the start of last season. New England unexpectedly ate up most of the possession, running 74 plays to KC's 55.
  • Watkins has 18.4 percent target share for the season, with weekly target totals of 9, 3, 8 and 7. The game with only three targets was the one where he left early to be checked for a concussion and finished with 58 percent snap share; he's played at least 80 percent of snaps every other week. (He did lose a fumble Monday night, tisk tisk.)
  • Kelce leads the team with 33 targets (22.4 percent), ahead of Hill (19.7 percent). Reek is producing 9.9 YPT and living in the end zone, but the non-dominant target share is still suboptimal for a top-20 fantasy pick.

Falcons (16) at Packers (30)

Falcons

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Olamide Zaccheaus 76% 33 .73 9 23.1% 8-86-0
WR Russell Gage 67%  33  .73 3 7.7% 2-22-0
WR Calvin Ridley 64%  29 .64 5  12.8% 0
TE Hayden Hurst 64%  36 .80 6 15.4%4-51-0
WR Julio Jones21% 11 .24 410.3%4-32-0
  • Ridley had his snaps scaled back a bit while playing through an ankle injury, and Jones left early after aggravating his hamstring.
  • Three of Ridley's five targets were 20-plus yards downfield, so he still leads the league in those opportunities (13) this year.
  • Christian Blake caught three of five targets for 47 yards, taking full advantage of his 14 routes. He was only the No. 4 receiver even after Jones left, though. Zaccheaus picked up most of the snaps and routes.
  • Hurst continues to run a lot of routes without seeing a lot of targets. He's now fifth among TEs in routes (140) but only t-10th in targets (22), seeing a pass on 15.7 percent of his routes. You would think Jones being out and Ridley banged up might help the tight end, but Matt Ryan mostly just threw the ball to his backup wideouts instead.

  

Packers

 SnapsRoutesRoutes/DropbackTargetsTarget ShareReceiving Line
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling 97%  34 .97 8 24.2% 4-45-0
WR Malik Taylor71%  26 .74 1 3.0% 1-20-0
TE Robert Tonyan67%  25 .71 6  18.2% 6-98-3
WR Darrius Shepherd57%  22 .63 3 9.1% 2-21-0
  • Davante Adams (hamstring) should be back after the Week 5 bye, as he clearly believes he could've played Monday night.
  • Tonyan didn't really get a snap boost with Marcedes Lewis (knee) unavailable. The 67 percent was a season high, but the MNF superstar has been in the 60s each week this year. He's now tied with Mike Evans for the league lead in TD receptions (five), though it's actually teammate Aaron Jones who leads the NFL in red-zone targets (nine). Tonyan only has four RZ targets... all touchdowns!
  • The red flag with Tonyan is that he's been targeted on only 15.2 percent of his routes. But if we discard the season opener, in which he had zero targets, the rate jumps to 20.6 percent. Just don't expect too much once Adams is healthy... which should be soon.
  • The eight targets were a season high for MVS, who saw just four passes on 92 percent snap share the previous week. It looks like Adams will be back before Lazard, so while Valdes-Scantling may continue to see huge snap shares, it won't necessarily lead to steady targets (though it might!).

  

Top Waiver/FAAB Targets (WR/TE)

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

  1. WR Tee Higgins
  2. WR Mike Williams
  3. WR Laviska Shenault
  4. WR Scotty Miller
  5. TE Robert Tonyan
  6. WR N'Keal Harry
  7. WR Henry Ruggs
  8. WR Greg Ward
  9. WR Hunter Renfrow
  10. WR Alshon Jeffery

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jerry Donabedian
Jerry was a 2018 finalist for the FSWA's Player Notes Writer of the Year and DFS Writer of the Year awards. A Baltimore native, Jerry roots for the Ravens and watches "The Wire" in his spare time.
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