Hidden Stat Line: Targets, Routes & Snaps from Week 12

If you haven't already, check out the twin brother to this article, Hidden Stat Line: Backfield Breakdown, complete with sortable stat leaderboards, team-by-team usage recaps and waiver-wire recommendations for the upcoming week. Now, let's look at wide receivers and tight ends...

Week 12 Sortable Stat Leaderboards

Tight Ends

(Bold indicates Top 5 for the week)

Wide Receivers

(Bold indicates Top 15 for the week)

WNF Players

Game-by-Game Usage Breakdowns

(Snap shares come from pro-football-reference.com. Data on dropbacks and routes run comes from Pro Football Focus. Targets, targets share and air yards come from airyards.com.

Texans (41) at Lions (25)

Texans

• Jordan Akins (46% snap share) split TE work with Darren Fells (50%) and Pharaoh Brown (54%). Kahale Warring also got four snaps and a target, while Akins accounted for the team's other two TE targets (all three were incomplete).
• Cooks has back-to-back weeks with exactly five targets and 85 yards, following five-game stretch in which he had eight or more targets in every game. He still has three more targets than Fuller for the season, but Fuller has an 8-3 advantage in touchdowns and an 11.7 to 9.2 edge in YPT.
• Among qualified pass catchers, Fuller is No. 8 in yards per catch (16.6) and No. 4 in yards per target (11.7). PFF has charted him with only two drops on 76 targets, down from seven on 78 targets last season.

Lions

• Kelly Golladay (hip), Danny Amendola (hip) and D'Andre Swift (concussion) all were inactive for a second straight game. Hall got the start in place of Golladay again, but this time it was Sanu who emerged as the No. 3 receiver, taking more snaps than Quintez Cephus (30%) and Jamal Agnew (30%). Cephus got two targets on 17 routes, and Agnew got one look on 15 routes.
• Jones has averaged 7.7 targets and 13.1 PPR points in the six games without Golladay, compared to 4.6 targets and 8.9 points in the five games Golladay has played.
• Hockenson has averaged 6.0 targets and 11.6 points in games without Golladay, which is similar to his 6.4 targets and 12.1 points with Golladay playing. It's only a two-game sample so far, but Hockenson bumps up to 7.5 targets and 12.4 points with both Golladay and Amendola out.

Washington Football Team (41) at Dallas Cowboys (16)

WFT

• Dontrelle Inman returned from a hamstring injury to play his first game since Week 7, but he got just one target and 16% of snaps. McLaurin and Cam Sims were the only Washington receivers to play more than one-fourth of the snaps, as Inman split work with Isaiah Wright (25%) and Steven Sims (19%), plus the team ran its usual assortment of plays with J.D. McKissic in the slot and Antonio Gibson in the backfield.
• The four targets matched a season low for Thomas, but he scored his fourth TD of the year, took a direct snap for a three-yard carry, and completed a pass for 28 yards. He was a QB in college, and ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at 248 pounds coming out of Virginia Tech in 2014.
• McLaurin finished a third straight game with 80-plus yards but no touchdown. He already has more receiving yards (963) than he did as a rookie (919), yet has scored four fewer TDs.
• Cam Sims got a fifth consecutive start, and he's played at least 74 percent of snaps in each game. However, he's averaging only 2.4 targets per game as a starter, catching 10 of 12 passes for 206 yards.

Cowboys

• Noah Brown played 22% of snaps, and Cedrick Wilson got 20%. Neither saw a target.
• Cooper scored a 54-yard TD, and he also had the Cowboys' second longest gain (25 yards) of the afternoon.
• There have been 145 targets from Andy Dalton this season, with Cooper getting 33 (23%), Lamb 32 (22%), Gallup 23 (16%), Schultz 20 (14%), Ezekiel Elliott 17 (12%) and Tony Pollard nine (6%).
• Gallup came off the field more often than Cooper, which is the opposite of what we've seen for most of the year. It's not a huge difference, but a few extra snaps and routes can help keep Cooper alive as a fantasy asset. Gallup wasn't doing much even when he was on the field for nearly every snap.

Panthers (27) at Vikings (28)

Panthers

• Moore was wide open in the end zone for what should've been a four-yard TD to seal the win with two minutes remaining. Instead, Moore injured his ankle while trying to reach back for a Teddy Bridgewater misfire. The Panthers kicked a field goal. The Vikings scored a touchdown. And then Moore wasn't available on the last-ditch drive. Come on, Teddy B!
• Ian Thomas check-in: 66% snap share, two targets, 1-4-0 receiving line. The man is consistent.
• Anderson scored his first TD since Week 1, but he also finished with fewer targets than Moore for a third straight week. Heading into a Week 13 bye, Anderson still has a 102-to-89 target advantage over his running mate.
• Samuel got just one carry for a second straight week, but he put up another solid receiving line. He's up to seven consecutive games with five or more targets, averaging 5.7 catches for 52.9 yards on 6.4 targets in that stretch. He also has five TDs in that span, but two have come on the ground, and the Panthers haven't used him as much as a runner the past two weeks.

Vikes

• Adam Thielen (reserve/COVID-19) and Irv Smith (groin) both were inactive.
• Backup TE Tyler Conklin played 67% of snaps and caught one of two targets for five yards, running 31 routes (0.63 per QB dropback).
• Beebe has been the No. 3 receiver for nine straight games now, but this was his first time playing more than 39% of snaps and just his second time getting more than two targets.
• Rudolph's two best games of the season in terms of targets, catches and yards are the two games Smith has missed. (Rudolph went 4-63-0 on five targets when Smith was out Week 10.)
• This was Jefferson's first game without Thielen active, and the rookie finished with a career high in targets while scoring multiple TDs for the second time this year.

Raiders (6) at Falcons (43)

Raiders

• Bryan Edwards played 30% of snaps and caught one of two targets for 17 yards.
• Ruggs almost scored his second TD of the season, making a contested catch on a deep throw inside the 10-yard line. He stepped out of bounds while trying to dive into the end zone.
• The nine targets for Renfrow matched a season high, and the 65% snap share was his largest since Week 4. He's averaging 4.8 catches for 58.6 yards on 6.8 targets in losses this year, compared to 2.3 catches for 36.9 yards on 2.7 targets when the Raiders win. His four games with more than a handful of targets have all been losses, including three where the Raiders were blown out.
• Waller blocked on seven of his 43 pass snaps (16%), his second-most pass blocking snaps in a game this season. He's blocked on 12% of pass snaps for the year, per PFF.

Falcons

• Julio Jones (hamstring) was inactive, while Hurst (ankle) managed to play after being listed as questionable. The tight end matched a career high with eight targets, but he also played less than 63% of snaps for the first time this season, and less than 72% for the first time since early October.
• Hurst did play 59% of snaps before halftime, including 21 routes on 30 Matt Ryan dropbacks (.70 r/db). The TE then played only 32% of snaps after halftime with the Falcons nursing a large lead.
• It was a similar deal for Ridley, who played 98% of snaps in the first half but only 38% in the second. The Falcons prioritized his health over his stat line once the game was in hand.
• Olamide Zaccheaus played 12 off 18 snaps in the first quarter, while Blake got only two. But then Zaccheaus left with a toe injury, allowing Blake to join Ridley and Gage in three-wide sets.
• Gage played 19 of 21 snaps (91%) in 12 personnel or 21 personnel (two-WR formations). He lined up wide for 34 of his 69 snaps, per PFF, the first time this year he's played more than 15 non-slot snaps in a game. Gage had played 106 of his 129 snaps in the slot over the previous three games before Sunday's win. Of course, he'll likely revert to the slot role as soon as Jones is ready to play again.

Giants (19) at Bengals (17)

Giants

• The 129 receiving yards were a career high for Engram, who has seen either nine or 10 targets in four of his past five games. He also got a nice bump in snap share, up from 75% and 69% in the previous two games.
• Engram had his two longest gains of the season, picking up 53 and 44 yards. Prior to Sunday, he had just three receptions of 20-plus yards this year, and none spanning more than 30. His 107 air yards from Sunday's win account for 21% of his season total (506).
• Shepard made it five straight games with six or more catches since returning from his toe injury for Week 7. He's seen 40 targets over that five-game-stretch, with 24.0% share putting him slightly behind Engram (24.6%). Slayton is a distant third, accounting for only 13.2% of the Giants' targets since Shepard rejoined the lineup Week 7.
• Tate had a season high for targets and also attempted a pass. But he still hasn't gone any higher than five catches or 47 yards in a game this year.

Bengals

• Brandon Allen completed 58.6% of his passes for 4.7 YPA, and he also turned the ball over twice. The Bengals didn't have a drive span more than 31 yards until late in the fourth quarter. It was a kick-return TD that kept them in the game.
• Green posted his third goose egg of the year, while Higgins was more productive but still needed a one-yard TD to salvage his fantasy day.
• Sample's five targets were the most he's seen since Week 7, but his biggest impact was a lost fumble in the fourth quarter. He blocked on only two of his 25 pass snaps (8%), but the 78% snap share was his first time below 84% since mid-October. The Bengals ran five of their 49 plays from 10 personnel, with no tight end on the field.

Dolphins (20) at Jets (3)

Phins

• Malcolm Perry was a starter, but he left with a chest injury after playing only six snaps. He had played 78% of snaps the previous week, catching three of five targets for 23 yards.
• Jakeem Grant, Antonio Callaway, Durham Smythe and Adam Shaheen all finished in the following ranges: 18-42% of snaps, 1-3 targets, 9-17 routes. Shaheen scored a seven-yard TD, but the group otherwise had minimal impact in the passing game.
• Parker has seen 23.4% of the targets from Ryan Fitzpatrick this year, catching 40 of 59 (68%) for 526 yards (13.2 YPR, 8.9 YPT) and two touchdowns. Gesicki has the second-most targets (15.1%) from Fitzpatrick, bringing in 22 of 38 (58%) for 347 yards (15.8 YPR, 9.1 YPT) and three TDs.
• Parker's target share from Tua Tagovailoa (21.5%) isn't too much different, but the Dolphins throw fewer passes when the rookie is playing, and he's completed only 12 of 20 passes (60%) for 116 yards (9.7 YPR, 5.8 YPT) to Parker, albeit with two touchdowns.
• Gesicki has been a total non-factor with Tua at QB, seeing 13 of the 93 targets (13.9%) and catching eight of 13 for 102 scoreless yards.

Jets

• Herndon was used as a blocker on 15 of his 29 pass snaps (52%), and Ryan Griffin blocked on 13 of his 15 (87%). Those are high rates even for an Adam Gase offense.
• This was the third straight game with Perriman, Mims and Crowder all healthy, though it was the first where Sam Darnold also played. Over the past three games, Mims leads the team with 23 targets (29.1%), followed by Perriman (19 - 24.1%) and then Crowder (11 - 13.9%). That's right, Crowder is a distant third.

Titans (45) at Colts (26)

Titans

• Geoff Swaim got three targets and 64% of snaps, but he ran only seven routes.
• The Titans have now played six straight games with both Brown and Davis healthy. During that stretch, Brown leads the team with 25.8% target share, just a tick ahead of Davis (24.5%). Davis has a slight edge in receptions (27-23), and Brown a small advantage for yards (459-413), so the big difference has been touchdowns, where AJB has a 5-2 lead over his running mate in the past six games. Actually, it's a 6-2 lead if we count Brown's kick-return TD from an onsides attempt.
• Jonnu hasn't gone over 40 yards in a game since September, and he's averaging only 3.3 targets per game in the aforementioned six-game span with both Davis and Brown playing.
• With Adam Humphries (concussion) out again, Cameron Batson played 32% of snaps and Kalif Raymond got 21%. They combined for one target (Raymond) and no catches, running eight and five routes, respectively.

Colts

• Mo Alie-Cox actually got more snaps (51%) and routes (23) than Burton, but was limited to 2-19-0 on two targets. Meanwhile, Jack Doyle played only 29% of snaps and saw one target on nine routes. Doyle hasn't seen more than three targets in a game since Week 1.
• With all three TEs healthy the past two weeks, Burton leads the way with 11 targets (15.6% share), catching five of them for 67 yards and two scores. Alie-Cox has seen only five targets in the same stretch, despite running two more routes (38-36). It's unlikely Burton will continue to be targeted on 31% of his routes, though he does have a strong number (24%) for the season as a whole.
• Pittman started for the fourth week in a row and led the team in routes for a third straight week. The rookie's four-game run in a starting job has produced averages of 4.0 catches for 62.8 yards on 6.8 targets, albeit with only one touchdown.
• Pittman committed three drops, but they were his first three of the season, per PFF. FWIW, Pittman had only five drops and 171 receptions at USC.
• Hilton had his best stat line of the season, but he still has just one game with more than four catches this year, and just two games with more than six targets.
• Pascal played 44 of his 53 snaps in the slot, per PFF. He's been a slot specialist most of the season, but even more so since a Week 7 bye.
• The Colts have now played three straight games with Pittman, Hilton, Pascal, Burton and Alie-Cox all healthy. In that span, Pittman leads the way with 17.7% target share, followed by Hilton (14.2%), Burton (12.4%), Pascal (10.6%) and Alie-Cox (8.0%). Of course, Nyheim Hines also has 17.7% target share in that stretch, while Jonathan Taylor and Jordan Wilkins have combined for 10.6%.

Cardinals (17) at Patriots (20)

Cardinals

• With Larry Fitzgerald on the COVID list, Isabella filled in as the No. 3 receiver. KeeSean Johnson played only 12.3% of snaps, but nearly scored a TD on his lone target.
• Maxx Williams played 71% of snaps to Dan Arnold's 36%, but Arnold had a 20-18 advantage in routes and a 3-2 edge for targets.
• Kirk is now at three straight games with single-digit PPR points. His hot streak with five touchdowns over a three-game span is a distant memory.

Pats

• Meyers handled snap share in the 90s for a fifth straight game. Looking at just those five games - Weeks 8-12 - Meyers leads the team with 8.0 targets per game and 31.0% share, well ahead of Byrd (5.4, 20.9%) even after Byrd was busy in back-to-back games. Meyers even has a 382-324 advantage in air yards over that stretch, though Byrd has the lone receiving TD.

Browns (27) at Jaguars (25)

Browns

• Landry finally had his post-OBJ breakout game, but he still missed out on a lot of snaps and routes, sitting right around 60% snap share for a third straight week. He was targeted on more than half his routes, getting open with ease against a pitiful Jaguars defense.
• The Browns ran 16 plays in 13 personnel (1 RB, 3 TEs, 1 WR), with Landry playing just three of those snaps. He got 18 of 20 snaps in 11 personnel, and 19 of 24 in 12 personnel.
• David Njoku played 60% of snaps but ran only 12 routes and wasn't targeted. So the Browns had three tight ends play more than half their snaps, while no WR got more than 61%.
• KhaDarel Hodge played 43% of snaps, catching each of his three targets for 31 yards, and running 11 routes.
• The Browns have played four games since Odell Beckham's season-ending injury, and this was the first one that wasn't impacted by strong winds. Landry has 32.6% target share sans Beckham, far ahead of Higgins (14.6%). Landry, Higgins and Kareem Hunt (11.2%) are the only Browns with more than nine targets over the past four games.

Jags

• DJ Chark (ribs) and Chris Conley (hip) both were inactive, and Mike Glennon was the QB.
• Backup TE James O'Shaughnessy played 38% of snaps and was targeted on four of his 10 routes. Eifert didn't do much besides the touchdown, but he was still the clear No. 1 TE in terms of routes.
• Cole played each of the 11 snaps in 12 personnel, with Shenault getting nine and Johnson two. Cole has mostly been the slot guy for three-wide formations this year, but he got more outside work with Chark and Conley gone.

Chargers (17) at Bills (27)

Chargers

• Tyron Johnson got 22% of snaps and ran 14 routes, catching two of four targets for 63 yards. He's still not getting much work, but continues to provide a big-play spark off the bench.
• Austin Ekeler played 72% of snaps and led the team with 16 targets. He has 31 targets in his three full games with Herbert as the quarterback.
• Looking at the three games (Weeks 2-3, 12) with both Herbert and Ekeler healthy, Allen has averaged 13.0 targets and Henry is at 8.3, while Williams has seen only 3.3. Maybe that's just a small sample thing, as it seems a bit strange for Ekeler to take looks away from the deep threat rather than the team's other chain-movers.

Bills

• John Brown (IR - ankle) was inactive for the third time this season. Davis has played 100%, 95% and now 97% of snaps in those games, averaging 3.0 catches for 49.3 yards and 0.33 TDs on 5.3 targets.
• Dawson Knox played 61% of snaps and caught his lone target for a two-yard touchdown. He ran 15 routes on 29 dropbacks (52%), slightly down from 30 out of 51 (59%) in the previous game.
• Diggs is averaging 12.0 targets in the games Brown has missed, but it hasn't led to huge production. His receiving lines sans Brown have been 10-106-0, 6-48-0 and now 7-39-0, with just one of the 36 targets traveling 20-plus yards downfield. Davis has seen four deep targets in those three games, while no other Bill has gotten more than one.

49ers (23) at Rams (20)

Niners

• Brandon Aiyuk (reserve/COVID-19) missed the game, but he was then activated from the COVID-19 list Tuesday afternoon.
• Samuel having more targets than air yards isn't a typo. He got seven of his 13 targets behind the line of scrimmage, and just one traveling 10-plus yards downfield, per PFF. He forced six missed tackles, averaging 12.4 YAC per reception. But he didn't have any rush attempts, apart from all the receptions that were basically the same thing as carries (except for that extra PPR point... cha-ching).
• Ross Dwelley played 61% of snaps but ran only seven routes. Reed is the pass catcher, and while he didn't catch many passes Sunday, he was targeted on one-fourth of his routes and led the team with 84 air yards.
• Reed has played mote than one-fourth of the snaps in three games this season, with eight, six and six targets in those contests (Weeks 2, 10, 12).
• James has played the vast majority of offensive snaps since his TNF breakout in Week 9, but it's yielded only six targets the past two games.

Rams

• Tyler Higbee played 61% of snaps, ran 16 routes and saw two targets. Gerald Everett played 47% of snaps, ran 17 routes and also got two targets. The Rams used 11 personnel (three-wide) on 55 of 62 snaps, reversing the recent trend of multi-TE formations being a major part of the offense. Regardless, the TE timeshare has made it so neither Higbee nor Everett can be trusted in fantasy lineups.
• The heavy three-wide usage meant more snaps for Kupp, who was typically the one coming off the field in recent weeks when the Rams used a second TE instead of a third WR. Kupp didn't take advantage on the stat sheet, unfortunately.
• Woods has 27 targets the past two weeks, bumping him up to 7.9 per game for the season. His catch rate (70.1%) is the best he's done since joining the Rams, but his yards per reception (11.1) and yards per target (7.8) are his worst marks since the Buffalo years.
• Kupp still has nine more targets than Woods on the season, but their numbers are very similar, with Kupp catching 68.8% of his chances for 11.6 YPR and 7.9 YPT. The big difference is touchdowns, with Kupp scoring only two all year, while Woods has five receiving and two more on the ground. You probably remember that Kupp was the TD scorer the past three years, while Woods scored just 13 receiving TDs from 3,134 receiving yards in his first three years with the Rams.

Saints (32) at Broncos (3)

Saints

• For a second straight week, Adam Trautman got more snaps (61%) and the same number of routes (seven) as Cook, whose playing time had been trending downward even before the Drew Brees injury. Cook isn't even in a deep-league play with Taysom Hill at quarterback.
• Hill has now started two games, with Thomas getting 48.9% of the targets in those contests. Emmanuel Sanders (16.2%, six targets) is the only other Saint with more than three targets with Hill as the starter the past two weeks.

Broncos

• Ha! There's no point looking at the receiving stats here, but the snap shares were as follows: Tim Patrick (72%), Noah Fant (70%), KJ Hamler (65%), Jerry Jeudy (51%), Nick Vannett (47%), DaeSean Hamilton (42%), Troy Fumagalli (28%), Tyrie Cleveland (26%).
• Kendall Hinton had 11 dropbacks, while the other guys who took direct snaps (Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay) didn't have any. Hinton completed just one of his nine pass attempts, a 13-yard gain to Fant.

Chiefs (27) at Bucs (24)

Chiefs

• Mecole Hardman caught three of five targets for 23 yards, but he played only 30% of snaps and ran only 16 routes, with Watkins back in the lineup for the first time since Week 5.
• Hill put up 7-203-2 in the first quarter alone. It looked like he'd make a run at single-game record of 336 receiving yards (Flipper Anderson, 1989), but the Bucs did a much better job on defense after the first quarter.
• Hill has nine TDs in his past five games, and he has three in a row with 14 or more targets and 102 or more yards. This is an all-time heater we're witnessing, after Hill failed to reach 100 yards in each of his first eight games this season (he did come very close a couple times, and was scoring plenty of TDs even before the hot streak).
• Hill has 35.1% target share the past three games, but it hasn't been any problem for Kelce, who has 22.4% target share and 368 receiving yards over the same stretch. The running backs and the ancillary pass catchers like Hardman are the ones seeing less work. It also helps that Patrick Mahomes has thrown 42 or more passes in four straight games.

Bucs

• Cameron Brate played 39% of snaps and caught four of six targets for 34 yards, running 20 routes (only five fewer than Gronk).
• We've now seen four games with Brown in the lineup. The targets have been spread out pretty evenly, except for Evans having a gargantuan advantage in scoring opportunities. Here's the breakdown:

Bears (25) at Packers (41)

Bears

• Jimmy Graham caught three of four targets for 32 yards, but all of his production came in the fourth quarter, and he finished the game with 34% snap share and 30% route share. In other words, Kmet replaced Graham as the top tight end, though he didn't do much with the new role.
• Mooney is 18th in the NFL with 932 air yards. But he only has 385 receiving yards, the third-fewest among all players in the Top 50 for air yards. A.J. Green has a truly incredible ratio of 1,120 air yards to 357 receiving yards, and Mooney's teammate Anthony Miller is at 676/377.

Packers

• Equanimeous St. Brown actually played more snaps (54%) than Lazard (47%), but Lazard had a 17-10 advantage in routes and a 6-2 lead in targets.
• Lazard went 2-18-0 on four targets and 60% of snaps the previous week, his first game back after a two-month absence recovering from core muscle surgery.
• The Packers ran 54 of their 69 plays (78%) in 11 personnel.
• Adams extended his TD streak to six weeks, and he's still seen at least nine targets in every healthy game this season. His production through nine appearances prorates to 132-1,614-20 over a 16-game schedule.

Seahawks (23) at Eagles (17)

Seahawks

• Freddie Swain played the same number of snaps as Moore but ran seven fewer routes and didn't draw a target. Moore's three catches were a one-yard TD, a five-yard loss and a two-yard loss.
• Dissly and Hollister split work with Greg Olsen (foot) unavailable for the first time this season. The snaps and routes were pretty similar, but Hollister had a 5-0 target advantage.
• (Insert hyperbolic statement about DK Metcalf.)

Eagles

• Richard Rodgers put up 3-53-1 on six targets, but he played only 31% of snaps and ran only 17 routes.
• With Jeffery, Reagor and Fulgham splitting perimeter snaps, Goedert was the only Eagle to run a route on more than 62 percent of dropbacks. This is a mess for fantasy purposes, and even Goedert won't necessarily be reliable, as Zach Ertz (ankle) could be back soon.

Ravens (14) at Steelers (19)

Ravens

• Mark Andrews and Willie Snead both missed the game while on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Steelers 

• James Washington made a contested catch to clinch the win, but he played only 33% of snaps and got three targets.
• Ebron had a season high for targets, but his snap and route shares actually dipped a little bit compared to previous weeks. It was Ebron's first time below 84% snap share since Week 6.   

WR/TE Waiver Targets

This is limited to players who are on less than 50 percent of Yahoo rosters as of Tuesday afternoon. The list will be updated Wednesday, after all Week 12 games have been played.

1. Jordan Reed
2. Denzel Mims
3. Nelson Agholor
4. Laviska Shenault
5. Gabriel Davis
6. Henry Ruggs
7. Sammy Watkins
8. Josh Reynolds
9. Breshad Perriman
10. Trey Burton
11. Darnell Mooney
12. Jacob Hollister

Bonus: Some Droppable Guys who are 40+ percent rostered

1. Will Fuller
2. John Brown
3. A.J. Green - better late than never!
4. Travis Fulgham
5. Darius Slayton
6. Christian Kirk
7. Emmanuel Sanders
8. Michael Gallup
9. Jared Cook
10. Jimmy Graham
11. Jonnu Smith
12. Tyler Higbee - better late than never!