On Target: Keenum's No. 1 Fan

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Updated on November 20, 2013 6:48PM EST

If you're still reading these columns and haven't turned the focus of your attention to another sport, then allow me to be the first to congratulate you on making it here to Week 12 with something for which to still play. I'd say you've almost made it through the gauntlet, but considering the sensitivity issues we've had with rookie hazing and other player/coach misconduct behind the scenes in the NFL, I'll have to choose my words a little more carefully, I suppose. So how about we just leave it at congratulations? You've done a fantastic job, and that light up ahead in the distance is the end of the tunnel and the start of your fantasy playoffs.

Just one more hurdle to go.

Week 12 is the final bye week, and for many of you it's going to be a doozy. With Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Seattle and Buffalo getting the week off, there is an enormous amount of front-line talent missing. And considering what the likes of A.J. Green, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Marshawn Lynch, Russell Wilson and numerous others have brought to the table, there are probably a good number of top teams missing talent. That means those of you sitting on the bubble have your window of opportunity opening just a little bit wider this week.

Your lineup choices become more critical than ever and your waiver picks need to be both smart and productive. Choosing the right players this week could very likely mean

Just one more hurdle to go.

Your lineup choices become more critical than ever and your waiver picks need to be both smart and productive. Choosing the right players this week could very likely mean the difference between playing in the big dance and starting up your fantasy baseball prep work a month early. So with that, let's just cut to the chase and take a look at what the weekly and cumulative targets leaderboards are telling us.

Week 11 Target Leaders

(Click column headings to sort.)

PLAYER	POS	YARDS	TD	PASS ATT	TARGETS	REC	RZ TRGT	RZ TRG%	CATCH%	TARGET%
Andre Johnson, HOU	WR	116	0	49	17	10	5	42.9	58.8	35.4
Josh Gordon, CLE	WR	125	1	56	15	5	8	36.4	33.3	27.3
Dwayne Bowe, KC	WR	57	1	45	14	4	4	28.6	28.6	31.8
Calvin Johnson, DET	WR	179	2	46	13	6	6	57.1	46.2	30.2
Antonio Brown, PIT	WR	147	2	45	13	7	4	16.7	53.8	28.9
Garrett Graham, HOU	TE	136	1	49	13	7	0	0.0	53.8	27.1
Demaryius Thomas, DEN	WR	121	0	40	13	5	0	0.0	38.5	32.5
Brian Hartline, MIA	WR	65	0	35	13	5	1	33.3	38.5	37.1
Kendall Wright, TEN	WR	80	0	28	12	9	1	50.0	75.0	42.9
Chris Ogbonnaya, CLE	RB	30	0	56	12	6	4	27.3	50.0	21.8
Michael Floyd, ARI	WR	193	1	42	11	6	3	14.3	54.5	26.8
Vincent Jackson, TB	WR	165	1	25	11	10	4	40.0	90.9	44.0
Victor Cruz, NYG	WR	110	0	35	11	8	1	14.3	72.7	31.4
Alshon Jeffery, CHI	WR	83	0	31	11	7	2	20.0	63.6	35.5
Shane Vereen, NE	RB	65	0	40	11	8	0	0.0	72.7	27.5
Jimmy Graham, NO	TE	41	0	43	11	6	5	50.0	54.5	27.5
Coby Fleener, IND	TE	107	0	36	10	8	0	0.0	80.0	27.8
Delanie Walker, TEN	TE	91	1	28	10	10	1	50.0	100.0	35.7
Wes Welker, DEN	WR	72	0	40	10	8	1	25.0	80.0	25.0
Pierre Garcon, WAS	WR	68	0	35	10	6	0	0.0	60.0	32.3
Heath Miller, PIT	TE	67	0	45	10	8	1	8.3	80.0	22.2
Ace Sanders, JAX	WR	61	0	42	10	8	2	50.0	80.0	27.0
Brandon Marshall, CHI	WR	42	0	31	10	4	6	40.0	40.0	32.3

Andre Johnson, WR HOU - Fantasy owners went ballistic Sunday when Texans coach Gary Kubiak made a highly questionable call and replaced Case Keenum with Matt Schaub in the fourth quarter, citing Schaub as the better option to run the hurry-up offense and lead the team toward a comeback. It was a complete mess as Schaub brought the Texans inside the 15-yard line only to come away with two field goals and a blown opportunity in the waning seconds of the game. And no one was more upset than Johnson, who had been thriving with Keenum under center. With Schaub at the helm, Johsnon has zero touchdowns this season. With Keenum, he has five. Johnson saw more targets on average with Keenum under center, and if there was anyone who needed to be on the same page as his quarterback in the final seconds of Sunday's game, it was Johnson. Kubiak has yet to announce his Week 12 starter, but you can believe that if it's Keenum, Johnson is primed for another strong week.

Dwayne Bowe, WR KC - Word out of Kansas City is that Bowe's arrest was somewhat of a wake-up call for the troubled receiver, and now they say he's re-committed himself to the game. He saw plenty of targets from Alex Smith in this one and caught his first touchdown pass in five games. If he is truly ready to step up his game finally, then this coming week is the perfect time to get him active as he tangos with the weak secondary of the San Diego Chargers. With few options for Smith to use, Bowe should continue to see a strong number of targets this week. I'd say his ceiling for the week is high, but that would just be too cliche, wouldn't it?

Chris Ogbonnaya, RB CLE - It was announced this last week that Ogbonnaya would be the new primary ballcarrier in Cleveland these next few games, and given the number of targets he sees, 36 over the last five games, the extra touches in the backfield should make him an interesting flex play with the right matchup, particularly in PPR leagues. This isn't to say that you bench proven talent with a rough matchup in favor of him, but if you're short on options, he just might be one to consider.

Shane Vereen, RB NE - Well, it certainly didn't take too long for Tom Brady to revert back to that Week 1 game plan with Vereen back in the lineup, did it? With 11 targets in just his first game back, you know that this is going to be a beautiful relationship. If Stevan Ridley continues to fumble his way into Bill Belichick's doghouse, then you could be looking at a large number of touches for Vereen. He's already a strong flex play, so additional work should easily vault you into the bonus round.

Delanie Walker, TE TEN - I honestly thought Walker's day was going to come to a quick end when I saw him get head-butted in the face with his helmet off, but that apparently just fueled his fire. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is all about utilizing the tight end, and Walker has now seen 18 targets and two touchdowns over his last two games. With a matchup against a relatively soft Raiders pass defense, you can assume Walker and Fitzpatrick are looking for an encore performance.

Now, how about that overall leaderboard?

Overall Targets Leaderboard

(Click column headings to sort.)

PLAYER	POS	YARDS	TD	PASS ATT	TARGETS	REC	RZ TRGT	RZ TRG%	CATCH%	TARGET%
A. J. Green, CIN	WR	1020	6	407	123	67	24	28.9%	54.5%	30.4%
Vincent Jackson, TB	WR	827	5	343	113	56	25	37.8%	49.6%	35.2%
Andre Johnson, HOU	WR	966	5	406	113	72	15	20.5%	63.7%	28.3%
Pierre Garcon, WAS	WR	871	3	381	109	67	25	32.6%	61.5%	29.3%
Calvin Johnson, DET	WR	1083	11	419	109	59	39	42.1%	54.1%	25.0%
Antonio Brown, PIT	WR	952	5	385	106	74	18	22.0%	69.8%	28.7%
Brandon Marshall, CHI	WR	828	8	367	103	64	26	23.6%	62.1%	28.7%
Victor Cruz, NYG	WR	824	4	368	98	58	13	26.3%	59.2%	29.0%
Cecil Shorts, JAC	WR	629	1	346	96	50	24	22.6%	52.1%	26.7%
Alshon Jeffery, CHI	WR	818	3	367	95	54	26	29.1%	56.8%	26.5%
Demaryius Thomas, DEN	WR	914	9	408	92	60	18	17.6%	65.2%	22.4%
Torrey Smith, BAL	WR	785	3	377	91	46	16	25.5%	50.5%	24.4%
Jimmy Graham, NO	TE	846	10	406	90	60	19	27.7%	66.7%	22.8%
DeSean Jackson, PHI	WR	985	7	351	89	58	10	20.9%	65.2%	25.9%
Dez Bryant, DAL	WR	749	8	370	89	52	26	25.6%	58.4%	24.4%
Wes Welker, DEN	WR	648	9	408	88	61	36	29.4%	69.3%	21.5%
Mike Wallace, MIA	WR	534	1	376	85	44	11	17.5%	51.8%	23.3%
Kendall Wright, TEN	WR	660	1	322	84	59	11	25.0%	70.2%	26.5%
Steve Smith, CAR	WR	512	3	299	83	46	19	34.4%	55.4%	28.3%
T.Y. Hilton, IND	WR	707	5	357	83	46	9	17.0%	55.4%	22.6%
Jordy Nelson, GB	WR	889	7	348	82	57	24	28.8%	69.5%	25.5%
Brian Hartline, MIA	WR	599	2	376	82	48	7	15.0%	58.5%	22.5%
Eric Decker, DEN	WR	792	3	408	81	54	24	17.6%	66.7%	19.8%
Josh Gordon, CLE	WR	751	4	416	81	40	17	15.8%	49.4%	19.1%
Tony Gonzalez, ATL	TE	568	4	412	80	54	22	25.0%	67.5%	21.3%
Larry Fitzgerald, ARZ	WR	554	6	359	79	45	18	30.6%	57.0%	24.2%
Antonio Gates, SD	TE	664	3	383	79	56	20	17.5%	70.9%	22.5%
Steve Johnson, BUF	WR	471	3	379	79	41	19	29.4%	51.9%	21.0%
Jamaal Charles, KC	RB	383	2	360	79	49	20	22.9%	62.0%	20.1%
Jordan Cameron, CLE	TE	629	6	416	79	56	28	28.1%	70.9%	18.5%
Julian Edelman, NE	WR	500	2	380	78	52	15	24.4%	66.7%	21.5%
Anquan Boldin, SF	WR	630	3	251	76	47	9	28.6%	61.8%	35.0%
Hakeem Nicks, NYG	WR	620	0	368	76	42	10	23.7%	55.3%	22.5%
Emmanuel Sanders, PIT	WR	509	2	385	76	42	13	16.9%	55.3%	20.6%
Denarius Moore, OAK	WR	569	5	306	74	37	24	35.5%	50.0%	25.0%
Harry Douglas, ATL	WR	754	2	412	74	51	14	14.1%	68.9%	19.7%
Jason Witten, DAL	TE	532	4	370	72	47	13	20.9%	65.3%	19.7%
Dwayne Bowe, KC	WR	426	3	360	71	37	14	18.8%	52.1%	18.0%
Greg Little, CLE	WR	344	1	416	69	29	19	17.5%	42.0%	16.2%
Golden Tate, SEA	WR	600	4	326	68	42	12	25.8%	61.8%	24.3%
Michael Floyd, ARZ	WR	657	3	359	68	42	11	22.2%	61.8%	20.9%
Davone Bess, CLE	WR	288	2	416	66	32	11	12.3%	48.5%	15.5%
Aaron Dobson, NE	WR	492	4	380	65	35	16	22.0%	53.8%	17.9%
Nate Washington, TEN	WR	521	2	322	64	31	5	9.4%	48.4%	20.2%
Jerome Simpson, MIN	WR	492	0	342	64	34	4	11.8%	53.1%	19.2%
Danny Woodhead, SD	RB	424	4	383	64	55	22	25.4%	85.9%	18.2%
Martellus Bennett, CHI	TE	469	4	367	63	42	24	25.5%	66.7%	17.5%
Matt Forte, CHI	RB	374	1	367	62	49	10	12.7%	79.0%	17.3%
Julius Thomas, DEN	TE	590	10	408	62	45	22	20.6%	72.6%	15.1%
DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	WR	546	2	406	61	38	14	15.9%	62.3%	15.3%
Greg Olsen, CAR	TE	492	4	299	60	40	14	31.3%	66.7%	20.5%
Charles Clay, MIA	TE	474	4	376	60	42	15	22.5%	70.0%	16.4%
Scott Chandler, BUF	TE	428	2	379	60	37	7	14.7%	61.7%	16.0%
Robert Woods, BUF	WR	349	2	379	60	26	9	17.6%	43.3%	16.0%

Target Percentage

Sort the above table by Target Percentage and we have a few names creeping up the ladder. While seeing Pierre Garcon and Victor Cruz shouldn't really come as much of a surprise, it's interesting to note both are seeing an increase while their respective teams seem to be moving in opposite directions. Garcon is seeing the majority of targets almost out of desperation as Robert Griffin III doesn't exactly seem too enamored with his other options, especially when injuries start to pile up. Jordan Reed left Sunday's game with an injury, as did Leonard Hankerson. Griffin tried bringing his team back from a substantial deficit, but with few other trusted options he continued to lean on Garcon.

Meanwhile, the Giants have won four in a row, and Eli Manning seems to be getting his swagger back a little. He's doing a fairly good job at spreading the ball around to his top three receivers, but the heavy lean goes to Cruz, who has been his most trusted ally even through the dark days of Interception City. Rueben Randle should still see his fair share of targets, and red-zone looks while Hakeem Nicks works more like a possession receiver. But Cruz is the receiver who gets Eli's attention first and foremost regardless of where he is on the field. Long or short, it doesn't matter. Eli will continue to look his way which makes him a must start each and every week.

And, of course, an honorary mention to Antonio Brown whose near 70-percent catch rate has hooked in Ben Roethlisberger and is rapidly approaching his second 1,000-yard season. He's a tough play this week, though, as he'll be wearing a Joe Haden blanket for most of his day.

Red Zone Target Percentage

Jordan Cameron, TE CLE - With Jason Campbell working under center, Cameron's red-zone work has tapered off, and he's just not seeing the red-zone targets like he used to see. In fact, he went from 33.3 percent last week to just 28.1 percent this week. A quick glance back up to the top can shed some light on that as Josh Gordon saw eight red-zone targets alone this week, which was more than 36 percent of the week's share. And not only have Cameron's red-zone looks diminished recently, giving him just one touchdown over the last six games, his overall target numbers have taken a few hits as well.

Greg Olsen, TE CAR - Not only did Olsen fail to make the overall leaderboard last week, but he burst onto it this week with a solid 31.3 percent of the red-zone looks from Carolina. The recent resurgence of targets, particularly inside the red zone, has increased Olsen's value again, and he's become a must-start tight end lately with three touchdowns in his last four games. He's about 50/50 with good and bad matchups the rest of the way, but considering the overall dropoff in tight-end values we've seen this year, he just might be a must-start regardless of who he is facing.

Potential Risers (those who failed to make the cut this week)

Keenan Allen
Brandon LaFell
Marques Colston
Garrett Graham
Pierre Thomas

Potential Fallers

Nate Washington
Jerome Simpson
DeAndre Hopkins
Charles Clay
Scott Chandler

Week 12 Matchup to Watch:

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants - We're just loving these NFC East matchups lately, aren't we? And this game is definitely no exception. I've already mentioned the recent surge by the Giants over the last four weeks, and given the pass defense of the Cowboys, Eli Manning could post a huge day. Between his top three wideouts, who have all been mentioned already, and the potential for tight end Brandon Myers getting in on the mix, we could be looking at a ton of targets and a ton of receiving yards/touchdowns. On the other side, Tony Romo will undoubtedly keep pace and gets another weapon in Miles Austin back this week. With Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Jason Witten out there as well, the "over" might not be high enough. Well, certainly not higher than Dwayne Bowe. Ba-dum-bum! Thank you. I'll be playing the room all evening. Try the veal and don't forget to tip your waitress.