NFL Fantasy Football Red Zone Report: Week 4

What's going on y'all? I'm filling in for Justin this week, hoping to just suffice as a spot starter as Justin is one helluva an ace! Paying attention to who is getting targeted and/or getting carries in the red zone and down near the goal line are both very important in all fantasy formats. Touchdowns are major point boosters in PPR leagues and even more so in standard. The weekly report will be a one-stop shop where you can find all the information you could possibly need when it comes to the red zone. Each week I will point out some notable performances for that week and then include season totals. Let’s dive in!

Red Zone Receiving

Melvin Gordon , RB, LAC - If you go check out Justin Vreeland’s Week 3 report you’ll see that Melvin Gordon wasn’t even a member of the top-10 in red zone targets heading into Week 4. That all change when Philip Rivers looked his way five times inside of the 20 yard line and he scored on one of the attempts from six yards outs. Gordon now has nine red zone targets which puts him in a tie with A.J. Green for fifth in the league. Gordon’s been rather efficient with those targets this season, catching six of them and converting three of them into scores.

Sterling Shepard , WR, NYG - The hype behind Sterling Shepard grows with every passing week, and if you look at his uptick in red zone targets with each passing week, you’ll see why. He caught all three that came his way and now has caught five in a row over the past two weeks. The best part about it is that he’s gotten into the end zone in BOTH weeks. Just to put it in perspective; Odell Beckham Jr. has been targeted only four times in the red zone and Saquon Barkley has just three. If you take a look at his red zone snap counts, Shepard has been in on 95-percent of them for three straight games. He’s a WR2 going forward.

Cooper Kupp , WR, LAR - Kupp, like Shepard before him, saw three targets in the red zone during Week 4 including one score. Kupp is someone we saw near the top of the list last year, so his 10 this season is not surprising. Kupp had 23 red zone targets last season which ranked him fourth, the exact spot he sits with his 10 this season. Kupp has already doubled up both Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods ’ targets in the red zone, so look for Jared Goff to continue to look Kupp’s way first before the other two.

*The below tables are the top-10 in targets for the season in the red zone and inside the 10 yard line. Take note that targets inside the 10 are also included in inside the 20. These tables will be made Thursday’s as to not include Thursday night games.

Red Zone Rushing

Carlos Hyde , RB, CLE - Hyde was a part of this segment last week, but was force fed the rock six times inside of the 20 in Week 4 so how do we not include him again? Yeah, Nick Chubb is the hot new toy that everyone rushed to acquire off of waivers, but Hyde is the one who leads the NFL with 83 carries and is third in red zone rushing attempts. With the volatility at the rest of the running back position, anyone who’s averaging 20 carries and over three rushes in the red zone is a must play on a week-to-week basis.

T.J. Yeldon , RB, JAC - With Leonard Fournette ’s hamstrings on the fritz, Yeldon has stepped in to a primary role in the Jacksonville offense and performed at a high level. Jacksonville really relied on him in the red zone in Week 4 as Blake Bortles handed him the rock five times inside of the 20 and one of them ended up scoring his team six points. With Fournette out again and the Jaguars drawing a matchup against the Chiefs, Yeldon is likely to be featured in the red zone again. The Chiefs have allowed four rushing touchdowns and two more through the air to running backs. We could see Yeldon RACK up receptions and rushes inside the 20 this week. He’s an elite option in all formats.

Alvin Kamara  , RB, NOS - Although he’s a running back, the first three weeks we saw Kamara featured as more of a pass catcher first a running back second. Week 4 was a different story as he had a season-high 19 carries for 134 yards, but he was featured in the red zone five times on the ground to boot. His 20 carries inside the red zone ties him for the league lead with Todd Gurley  and he is only trailing Gurley by ONE touchdown. It’s interesting to note that Kamara has those 20 red zone carries, but yet people are excited that Mark Ingram  is back because he’s supposedly going to get the carries near the goal line. Obviously he will get some work, but with the way Kamara is playing and performing, why would the Saints take the ball out of their superstars hands? Just some food for thought.

*The below tables are the top-10 in carries for the season in the red zone and inside the five yard line. Take note that carries inside the five are also included in inside the 20. These tables will be made Thursday’s as to not include Thursday night games.

Red Zone Passing

Philip Rivers , QB, LAC - I already mentioned Melvin Gordon ’s five targets within the red zone so it’s hard to think Rivers didn’t make the cut here. He threw 10 times in the red zone in Week 4, completing 60-percent of his throws and notching two touchdowns. Rivers is actually just percentage points behind the aforementioned Derek Carr for the league lead in red zone completion percentage as he’s gone 16-of-24 so far. The amount of weapons Rivers has at his disposal is crazy, so we should see way more weeks like Week 4 as opposed to his three red zone throws in Week 3.

Derek Carr , QB, OAK - There weren’t many better fantasy quarterbacks than Carr in Week 4 and a lot of that had to do with his effectiveness in the Red Zone. Weirdly enough, Car had only made 13 throws in the red zone over the first three weeks of the season and than made 11 in Week 4. He completed six of those 11 passes and FOUR for touchdowns. Carr actually leads all current starters -- outside of Jameis Winston because he’s thrown just one pass -- in red zone completion percentage. If you look at the Raiders upcoming schedule, Carr has a lot of really favorable matchups and he could potentially sneak into a lot of people’s lineups and potentially help them secure wins going forward.

Mitchell Trubisky , QB, CHI - We can’t talk about QB’s from Week 4 without mentioning Trubisky, right? He only attempted six passes in the red zone, but four of them resulted in a touchdown. The Bears have been consistently calling pass plays for Trubisky in the red zone this year as he’s thrown the ball five or more times in each game and has six total touchdowns thrown and even ran one in. Trubisky is on a bye in Week 5, but when he comes back, his Week 4 performance puts him firmly in play going forward.

*The below tables are the top-10 in pass attempts for the season in the red zone and inside the 10 yard line. Take note that pass attempts inside the 10 are also included in inside the 20. These tables will be made Thursday’s as to not include Thursday night games.