This article is part of our On Target series.
| PLAYERS | TARGETS | REC | PCT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeAndre Hopkins | 6 | 4 | 66.7 | 25 | 2 |
| Vincent Jackson | 6 | 1 | 16.7 | 15 | 1 |
| Julian Edelman | 5 | 4 | 80.0 | 25 | 1 |
| Rob Gronkowski | 5 | 4 | 80.0 | 25 | 4 |
| Heath Miller | 5 | 4 | 80.0 | 24 | 1 |
| Matt Forte | 5 | 3 | 60.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Jamaal Charles | 5 | 5 | 100.0 | 4 | 1 |
| Steve Smith | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Matthews | 4 | 3 | 75.0 | 35 | 1 |
| Tyler Eifert | 4 | 3 | 75.0 | 30 | 3 |
| Cecil Shorts | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 22 | 0 |
| A.J. Green | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 16 | 1 |
| Anquan Boldin | 4 | 1 | 25.0 | 14 | 1 |
| Jarvis Landry | 4 | 3 | 75.0 | 12 | 0 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Jimmy Graham | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 8 | 1 |
| Jason Witten | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 6 | 2 |
It's pretty interesting that two Patriots fall on this list. Thus far in 2015, they've been passing 20 percent more than game script suggests that they would. Gronkowski is obviously one of the five best assets in all of fantasy football but until further notice, Edelman has
| PLAYERS | TARGETS | REC | PCT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeAndre Hopkins | 6 | 4 | 66.7 | 25 | 2 |
| Vincent Jackson | 6 | 1 | 16.7 | 15 | 1 |
| Julian Edelman | 5 | 4 | 80.0 | 25 | 1 |
| Rob Gronkowski | 5 | 4 | 80.0 | 25 | 4 |
| Heath Miller | 5 | 4 | 80.0 | 24 | 1 |
| Matt Forte | 5 | 3 | 60.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Jamaal Charles | 5 | 5 | 100.0 | 4 | 1 |
| Steve Smith | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Matthews | 4 | 3 | 75.0 | 35 | 1 |
| Tyler Eifert | 4 | 3 | 75.0 | 30 | 3 |
| Cecil Shorts | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 22 | 0 |
| A.J. Green | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 16 | 1 |
| Anquan Boldin | 4 | 1 | 25.0 | 14 | 1 |
| Jarvis Landry | 4 | 3 | 75.0 | 12 | 0 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Jimmy Graham | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 8 | 1 |
| Jason Witten | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 6 | 2 |
It's pretty interesting that two Patriots fall on this list. Thus far in 2015, they've been passing 20 percent more than game script suggests that they would. Gronkowski is obviously one of the five best assets in all of fantasy football but until further notice, Edelman has to be treated like an elite fantasy commodity. Not only is DeAndre Hopkins a candidate to lead the entire NFL in targets but he is also getting fed in the red zone with Arian Foster out. If you didn't get Hopkins in your seasonal leagues, jumping all over him in DFS is the smart play. Jarvis Landry and Jordan Matthews are both slot WRs who are leading their team in targets and supplying TD upside as well, raising their ceiling in a role that normally rewards floors. Matthews has a very tough matchup this week against the Jets; combine that with how bad the Philly offense overall looks and this is a fantastic buy-low opportunity. Now on to our three players to analyze this week:
On Monday Night against the Jets, it became apparent which wide receiver was going to step up for a struggling Colts offense: Moncrief. Even with T.Y. Hilton active, Moncrief lead the Colts in targets, yards and scored a touchdown in the closing moments. Those familiar with him know that he was a stud in college who wrecked the combine with supreme athleticism. There was some concern that the Colts drafting Phillip Dorsett in the first round sounded a death knell for Moncrief's upside but that is definitely not the case. Dorsett is not ready for prime time, whereas Moncrief may immediately become a top 20 fantasy WR. The second-year player is second on the Colts with 19 targets but has two touchdowns to Hilton's zero and that is representative of their abilities. Moncrief can run the same down-the-field routes that Hilton does and, at the same time, be a dominant red zone option. As much as fantasy owners love Hilton, he's only scored 19 career touchdowns on 381 targets. Moncrief already has five touchdowns on 68 career targets. If you can get him in your leagues, do it! If you play daily fantasy, take advantage of his salary while it's still cheap.
Crabtree had an insane SIXTEEN targets last week against the Ravens! He caught only nine of them but that is probably to be expected considering his quarterback and the theoretically-tough matchup against Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb. I can admit that I wasn't buying into Crabtree much over the offseason but it seems that he has an important role in this Raiders offense. Derek Carr doesn't like to test cornerbacks down the field too often and Crabtree is very skilled in the intermediate areas of the field at getting open. If we see another week of the Raiders trailing (and their secondary is so putrid that this is likely a scenario that will repeat itself time after time in 2015) with Crabtree dominating targets over Amari Cooper, I'm prepared to move him up several tiers in WR evaluation to the point of a low end WR2 with more value in PPR leagues.
Decker mesmerized the Monday Night Football audience with his 11-target, 97-yard and one touchdown performance. He compiled all of those stats in the first half before exiting the game with a knee injury. The Jets have already said that Decker does not require surgery and there is an outside chance he is active for Week Three. Even if Decker is out injured on Sunday, you should be trying to acquire him in every format. I've rallied for years about how underrated Decker is (has always scored more fantasy points than average, no matter what offense he is in). He has a great athletic profile, is a true red zone weapon and now that he is playing out of the slot in the Chan Gailey offense his PPR floor is much higher than in years past. In daily fantasy, Decker will always be under owned in large field tournaments and has the same upside as any of your favorite WR1.
