Fantasy Football FYI at Wide Receiver (2022)
Week One is over, and there is plenty to digest regarding who to add/drop, trade-for/trade away. This “Fantasy Football For Your Information” article series will highlight information compiled from weekly statistics so you can make strategic roster decisions en route to a fantasy football championship. The focus will be on QBs/TE outside the consensus Top 10 and RB/WR outside the Top 24 in half-PPR leagues. This week will be focused on wide receivers.
We are working with a small sample size after one week of games. It’s best to keep things straightforward. For WRs, the most direct metrics are targets, reception percentage, and the average depth of target (aDOT). aDOT measures the distance a receiver is targeted downfield; a statistic to assess big-play capability. The other stats are self-explanatory and can be combined to find value. I identified prospective add/drop candidates outside the top-24 wide receivers to monitor. So let’s get down to this week’s Fantasy Football FYI in Week 2!
Wide Receiver to Target
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns
All of Donovan Peoples-Jones’ Week 1 targets. pic.twitter.com/Qp8F4nnysu
— Zareh Kantzabedian (@ZKantzFF) September 15, 2022
Donovan Peoples-Jones is a potential league-winner if he is on your roster by the fantasy playoffs. In Week 1, he had 11 targets for six receptions and 60 yards. It is not spectacular but excellent in terms of usage as he had a 36.7% target share. That nearly doubled Amari Cooper, who had six targets. DPJ’s ADoT was only 8.5 yards, which can be attributed to Brissett’s limited arm strength. However, remember Deshaun Watson returns in Week 13, and he could give DPJ a fantasy boost going into the fantasy playoffs. DPJ’s skillset makes him a deep threat when Watson returns. It may be too early to stash DPJ on the notion that Deshaun Watson will come back and make everyone better, but Week 1 data plus previous success with Baker shows that he may have significant value before the suspension ends. If you have a free spot on your bench, then stash DPJ now to see if his high target share continues.
Wide Receiver with Concern
All Kansas City Wide Receivers
This article focused on Week 1 data, but I wrote this after the Chiefs played their Week 2 game on Thursday night. The main issue is the inconsistency of target share amongst the wide receivers, starting with JuJu Smith-Schuster and worsening with Marques Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman. In Week 1, JuJu had eight targets for a 20% target share. That target share is not enough if JuJu wants to be a fantasy WR1. However, in Week 2 against the Chargers, JuJu played 93.5% of snaps but only had three targets for an 8% target share. MVS and Hardman had a better target share in Week 2 than Week 1, but none are consistent. Travis Kelce is the primary target in the offense. We should trust Mahomes after he told us that the primary wide receiver would change weekly this season. You drafted JuJu high enough that you need to stash him on your bench and hope he improves his chemistry with Mahomes. If you still roster MVS or Hardman, then drop them.
Thanks for reading our first Fantasy Football FYI in Week 2 article!
Now go and dominate your matchups this week!
