Red zone usage and efficiency is such a beautiful thing. Travis Kelce has seven red zone touchdowns on 15 targets while Jalen Hurts has insane red zone usage of his own as they continue to top fantasy football weekly rankings. We also fantasy football draft day values like Josh Jacobs and Dameon Pierce, who each have at least 90% of their respective team’s red zone rushing attempts. On the other hand, you have some eye-popping numbers, like Joe Burrow’s sub-40% completion rate inside the 10-yard line, or Joe Mixon’s two rushing touchdowns on 23 red zone carries (third-most). From passing to rushing to receiving, we’ll take a look at some notable red zone numbers and trends from the first seven weeks of the NFL season that can help your fantasy football teams the rest of the way. As always, keep an eye on the latest NFL injury report updates and the top fantasy football waiver wire pickups before setting those NFL Week 9 lineups. Using the red zone report here at Fantasy Alarm, here are the key numbers and notes as you prepare for fantasy football Week 9 and NFL DFS lineups.

 

Red Zone Passing

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers 

Say what you will about his weapons, and performance overall, but Rodgers continues to be one of the best inside the 20s. He’s completed three-fourths of his pass attempts in the red zone, with a perfect 9:0 TD/INT ratio. Seventy percent of his completions inside the 10-yard line have gone for touchdowns, and Allen Lazard should be his primary guy in the red zone. However, the continued development of Romeo Doubs and resurgence of Robert Tonyan will help keep Rodgers’ red zone performance at peak levels.

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals 

Am I worried about his numbers in the red zone? No. However, his numbers inside the 10-yard line are a bit concerning, given that he’s completing just 38 percent of his passes, but at least six of his eight completions inside the 10 have gone for six points. The team wants to run Mixon in the red zone, but we all know that the success rate with that hasn’t been high, and even without Ja’Marr Chase for the next couple of weeks, Burrow still has a stable of weapons at his disposal.

Red Zone Rushing

Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans 

There are no questions about who’s backfield it is in Houston. Pierce has handled 94 percent of the team’s red zone carries, and positive touchdown regression should be in store for Pierce, assuming that the Houston offense can make more frequent trips to the red zone. The rookie out of Florida has been exceptional this season, and he’s dominating the Houston backfield. Health willing, he’ll be a solid contributor for fantasy football managers, and has proven to be a rather quality draft day value, especially for those who drafted early.

Daniel Jones, New York Giants 

Brian Daboll has shown that, yet again, he’s not afraid to use his mobile quarterback in the red zone. Daniel Jones is one of just four quarterbacks with at least 13 red zone rushing attempts, but unfortunately, he has just two touchdowns to show for it. Saquon Barkley will continue to dominate red zone touches, but Jones is clearly the second option, and I wouldn’t be surprised for more touches for Jones down the stretch, and the threat of Barkley could pave the way for some rushing scores for Jones. The former Duke standout has already set a career high in rushing touchdowns, and is on pace to easily surpass his previous career high of 423 rushing yards back in 2020. In fact, he’s on pace for 771 yards and six rushing scores over 17 games.

Red Zone Receiving

Zach Ertz, Arizona Cardinals 

Ertz has been one of the most targeted players in the red zone this season, and even with DeAndre Hopkins’ return, he’s still been utilized, seeing three red zone targets (1 TD) over the last two games. In fact, Ertz has more red zone targets than Hopkins in that span. I’ve been very down on Ertz’s fantasy value this season, especially with the looming return of Hopkins, but Ertz’s role seems to be safe. For what it’s worth, however, Ertz has averaged just 4.5 targets per game since Hopkins has returned, whereas he had at least six targets in five of six games prior to Hopkins’ return.

Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns 

To Cooper’s credit, he’s done far better than what I expected this year with Jacoby Brissett under center for the vast majority of the season. With Brissett under center, he’s on pace for 83 receptions, 1,175 yards and 11 touchdowns, which over a full season are numbers that he’s never hit in any season. Well, the touchdowns in particular. When Deshaun Watson returns, Cooper’s numbers could jump a bit, as Watson loves to throw to his WR1, and if the team passes a bit more in the red zone with Watson, that stands to benefit Cooper. However, we are still a few weeks away from Watson’s return, and with Brissett, all five of Cooper’s red zone receptions have gone for touchdowns. Efficient!

 

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