Target Watch: Appreciating the Status Quo

Sometimes in life, the status quo can be a fantastic thing. No surprises, no drama, no big headaches…nothing. Life just goes on and things just stay simple. I love it. I’m all for the thrills, chills and excitement that life can bring, but sometimes you just need a little down time to catch your breath and regroup. That seems to be the path the fantasy football world has taken as we put the final wraps on Week 7.

Like any week, we had some nice performances and we had some disappointment. But other than Arian Foster suffering a torn Achilles and being lost for the year, something everyone should have anticipated anyway, there were no performances which stood out so amazingly that the fantasy community was all abuzz. Even the number of 100-yard receiving performances dropped to just eight this week. It’s not the end of the world and no, we’re not going to be suffering from any type of a scoring drought. It’s just one of those weeks where we look at the overall numbers, shrug our shoulders and just move on to the next.

That being said, let’s check out some of those Week 7 numbers and see if we can unearth anything which may turn a head or two.

Week 7 Target Leaders

Nate Washington, WR HOU – Where did this come from, you may ask? From a little town called Garbage Time, that’s where. With the Dolphins' vastly improved pass defense focused on stopping DeAndre Hopkins, coverage on Washington lapsed to the point where Brian Hoyer could just chuck it downfield to the veteran wideout. But while you’d like to think this could be a stepping stone to something better, you need to hedge your expectations. Washington has flashed this potential before but has never been able to consistently follow it up. If you’re having bye week issues, you can give him a look, but don’t expect another week like this one.

T.Y. Hilton, WR IND – The yards and the touchdowns were great, but keep in mind that almost 90 percent of that came on two passes. He should remain a solid option moving forward, but you can’t help but be concerned over a miserable 26.7-percent catch rate.

Robert Woods/Chris Hogan, WR BUF – With both Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin unavailable, the Bills finally incorporated their wideout depth into their offensive gameplan. Given the fact that both Watkins and Harvin seem to always have some sort of an issue, Woods and Hogan could continue to be productive assets, particularly in PPR play. Expect the two to continue seeing some decent target numbers, but should either injured receiver heal, expect those numbers to start tailing off a bit.

Stefon Diggs, WR MIN – http://bit.ly/1ReSKJD

Danny Amendola, WR NE – The work is so inconsistent that Amendola should simply be a Patriots running back. While this was a nice game for him, there’s absolutely no week-to-week continuity. Julian Edelman, Gronk and maybe Brandon LaFell (now that he’s healthy) are the three top targets for Tom Brady and should be the only Patriots to be consistent threats.

Overall Targets Leaderboard

Target Percentage Leaders

Antonio Brown, WR PIT – Despite all the attention Martavis Bryant has received in his return, Brown continues to be the most-targeted receiver for the Steelers. He posted his first quality game since Ben Roethlisberger (knee) went down and is only going to improve on his overall numbers as the season rolls on. There’s talk of another Landry Jones start this week as Roethlisberger suffered a recent setback in his recovery, but considering how he and Brown have evolved in the on-field relationship, the receiver should continue to perform at a high level. The only hitch is the red zone target percentage, so if he doesn’t start doing some more end zone dancing soon, he may fall down the ranks in a standard scoring matchup

Michael Crabtree, WR OAK – He’s now overtaken Amari Cooper as the most-targeted receiver on the Raiders and considering the way coverage is rolling over to the rookie’s side, Crabtree could become even more valuable. He’s always been a strong PPR play, but if defenses are focusing more on Cooper, then Crabtree could start seeing more red zone work as well.

Jordan Matthews, WR PHI – He’s been a colossal disappointment this season after fantasy owners were jumping on him in the third round of their drafts, but that could start to change moving forward. Apparently there’s been a hand injury that was never really brought to light and now that he’s getting a bye this week and more time to heal, he could come back a much better player. For those who were ready to give up on him, just keep in mind that, in spite of the injury, he is still the most-targeted receiver on the Eagles and is on-pace for more than 85 catches and over 1,000 yards.

Red Zone Target Leaders

Jarvis Landry, WR MIA – One of the biggest knocks on Landry was that he was nothing more than a possession receiver. Well, that seems to be changing lately as not only did he grab his first two touchdowns of the season this past week, but he also is sitting on a 38.9-percent target rate inside the red zone. With the way Miami’s offense has looked since firing Joe Philbin, Landry could start to thrive even more.

Jordan Reed, TE WAS – Sure there’s a bye week in play here and he’s always an injury risk, but fantasy owners should grab him off the wire if they can in preparation for the second half of the fantasy season. Quarterback Kirk Cousins likes to rely on him when he’s on the field and he leads the team with 20.5-percent of the red zone work. If he can use this time off to continue his recovery, he should remain a solid asset moving forward.

Potential Risers

Potential Fallers

Week 8 Matchup to Watch

New York Giants at New Orleans Saints – The Giants' pass defense may rank 14^th overall, but they have also given up the second-most passing yards in the NFL this season and allow an average of 288 yards per game. Drew Brees should be able to utilize Willie Snead and Brandin Cooks in what could be a pass-heavy attack while Benjamin Watson also remains in the mix. Meanwhile, Odell Beckham is appearing to be more healthy lately while Rueben Randle, Dwayne Harris and even tight end Larry Donnell get into the action. The Saints rank 30^th overall in pass defense this season, so look for the two teams to combine for some big point totals this week.