This article is part of our On Target series.
Click the columns to sort.
| PLAYER | TARGETS | REC | RZ CONV% | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Fitzgerald | 6 | 5 | 67 | 4 |
| Eric Decker | 5 | 4 | 60 | 3 |
| Rob Gronkowski | 7 | 4 | 57 | 4 |
| Tyler Eifert | 6 | 3 | 50 | 3 |
| Steve Johnson | 4 | 3 | 50 | 2 |
| Pierre Garcon | 4 | 4 | 50 | 2 |
| Leonard Hankerson | 4 | 3 | 50 | 2 |
| Donte Moncrief | 4 | 3 | 50 | 2 |
| Jason Witten | 4 | 3 | 50 | 2 |
| Owen Daniels | 4 | 2 | 50 | 2 |
| Randall Cobb | 9 | 5 | 44 | 4 |
| Seth Roberts | 5 | 3 | 40 | 2 |
| Brandon Marshall | 8 | 5 | 38 | 3 |
| Julio Jones | 8 | 5 | 25 | 2 |
| A.J. Green | 8 | 4 | 25 | 2 |
| Gary Barnidge | 4 | 2 | 25 | 1 |
| Clay Harbor | 4 | 2 | 25 | 1 |
| Chris Thompson | 4 | 3 | 25 | 1 |
| Kendall Wright | 4 | 2 | 25 | 1 |
| Allen Robinson | 4 | 1 | 25 | 1 |
| Greg Olsen | 9 | 6 | 22 | 2 |
Click the columns to sort.
| PLAYER | TARGETS | REC | RZ CONV% | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Fitzgerald | 6 | 5 | 67 | 4 |
| Eric Decker | 5 | 4 | 60 | 3 |
| Rob Gronkowski | 7 | 4 | 57 | 4 |
| Tyler Eifert | 6 | 3 | 50 | 3 |
| Steve Johnson | 4 | 3 | 50 | 2 |
| Pierre Garcon | 4 | 4 | 50 | 2 |
| Leonard Hankerson | 4 | 3 | 50 | 2 |
| Donte Moncrief | 4 | 3 | 50 | 2 |
| Jason Witten | 4 | 3 | 50 | 2 |
| Owen Daniels | 4 | 2 | 50 | 2 |
| Randall Cobb | 9 | 5 | 44 | 4 |
| Seth Roberts | 5 | 3 | 40 | 2 |
| Brandon Marshall | 8 | 5 | 38 | 3 |
| Julio Jones | 8 | 5 | 25 | 2 |
| A.J. Green | 8 | 4 | 25 | 2 |
| Gary Barnidge | 4 | 2 | 25 | 1 |
| Clay Harbor | 4 | 2 | 25 | 1 |
| Chris Thompson | 4 | 3 | 25 | 1 |
| Kendall Wright | 4 | 2 | 25 | 1 |
| Allen Robinson | 4 | 1 | 25 | 1 |
| Greg Olsen | 9 | 6 | 22 | 2 |
| Vincent Jackson | 9 | 4 | 22 | 2 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 14 | 7 | 21 | 3 |
| Jordan Matthews | 5 | 4 | 20 | 1 |
| Scott Chandler | 5 | 3 | 20 | 1 |
| Marvin Jones | 5 | 2 | 20 | 1 |
| Eddie Royal | 5 | 3 | 20 | 1 |
| Travis Kelce | 5 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
| Jimmy Graham | 5 | 2 | 20 | 1 |
| Kyle Rudolph | 5 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
| Jordan Reed | 5 | 1 | 20 | 1 |
| Jamaal Charles | 5 | 5 | 20 | 1 |
| Anquan Boldin | 6 | 3 | 17 | 1 |
| Cecil Shorts | 6 | 4 | 17 | 1 |
| Calvin Johnson | 6 | 3 | 17 | 1 |
| Larry Donnell | 6 | 3 | 17 | 1 |
| Jeremy Maclin | 6 | 4 | 17 | 1 |
| Heath Miller | 7 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| Julian Edelman | 7 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| Steve Smith | 7 | 2 | 14 | 1 |
| Terrance Williams | 8 | 2 | 13 | 1 |
| Jarvis Landry | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohamed Sanu | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Cameron | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Forte | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jermaine Kearse | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Theo Riddick | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Odell Beckham | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Cole Beasley | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Le'Veon Bell | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Crabtree | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeVante Parker | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Torrey Smith | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
The first name that should jump out is the leader in Red-zone conversion, Larry Fitzgerald. It would appear that rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated. With the first competent quarterback play that he has had since, well, Palmer was last uninjured, Fitzgerald has performed like a top-10 fantasy wide receiver. This has been mostly buoyed by the fact that he's catching everything thrown his way, especially in the end zone. This is going to sound terrible, but if you can sell him for 150 percent ROI, consider it. John Brown and Michael Floyd are talented players and the Cardinals coaching staff seems pretty set on using a three-headed running back attack inside the red zone (both the Johnson's have red-zone TDs this season). This is by no means a warning shot saying that a cliff is about to emerge in front of Fitzgerald, but to expect him to continue to convert touchdowns in the red zone at a 70 percent clip is unreasonable for anyone not named Rob Gronkowski.
While I like Jarvis Landry in most PPR formats, this list is an exact illustration of the problem of relying on low efficiency slot guys for fantasy. He has 12 red-zone looks and ZERO touchdowns. T.Y. Hilton has five targets in the red zone and zero touchdowns. If you aren't as a skillful in tight spaces as a player like Randall Cobb (44 percent conversion), it's going to be hard for you to be a valuable fantasy asset. In general, Landry is overrated in most leagues, and you can probably trade him for a good number of players. Something that I might try in my leagues is packaging Landry and one of my filler RBs (think Anthony Dixon or Darren McFadden) for a player with clear RB1 upside like Todd Gurley. Landry's surface numbers look really good, but how many weeks has he won you? It's a bit of a different story in daily fantasy where Landry's week-to-week high floor can keep you afloat in cash games but for seasonal leagues, he's an overvalued asset. He should see some touchdown regression, but he will probably be a career-long underachiever in the department.
One final note on these red-zone converters: why didn't you draft Eric Decker in all your leagues? Even with bad quarterback play, Decker has always had real fantasy value because it doesn't matter which corner is covering him, he's going to be open. With at least competent QB play (that's all I'm willing to give Fitzmagic), Decker will almost always be a top-20 wide receiver, but he is never drafted or treated that way in the trade market. If you can trade for him in your league (and you should be able to unless your league-mates follow me on Twitter), I would do so immediately. Put him in the same category of Donte Moncrief in terms of players who are treated as volatile WR3s by the market but are solid week-to-week WR2s. In daily fantasy, Decker is always underowned and underpriced for his touchdown upside.
