Eric Moody provides the numbers behind Week 2 WR performances to help fantasy football owners prepare for Week 3.
Fantasy football is a game of numbers. The goal is to outscore your opponent every week. The game film tells one story, but innovative statistics and analytics tell another.
Eighteen wide receivers had double-digit targets. Jarvis Landry was the only wide receiver with double-digit receptions. Travis Benjamin, Julio Jones, Sterling Shepard, Quincy Enunwa, Danny Amendola and Tyler Lockett had four plus targets and caught all of them. Fifteen wide receivers had 100 or more receiving yards. Travis Benjamin, Kelvin Benjamin, Corey Coleman, Mike Wallace, and Danny Amendola scored two touchdowns.
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There were a few notable injuries at the wide receiver position. Jones continues to manage an ankle injury suffered in the preseason and is also managing a calf strain. Donte Moncrief suffered a shoulder injury and will miss anywhere from four to six weeks. Doug Baldwin is dealing with a knee injury after getting his leg rolled up from behind.
The fantasy football season continues to be a rollercoaster filled with numerous twists and turns. The goal of this weekly column is to share stats with you to provide you context, clarity, and to help you understand how productive certain players can be for your fantasy football team. With that in mind, it’s time to dive into Week 2
Top 15 Fantasy Wide Receivers
| Rank | Player | Team | Targets | Rec | Pct | Yds | TD | Long | Yds/Target | Yds/Rec | FP |
| 1 | Stefon Diggs | MIN | 11 | 9 | 82 | 182 | 1 | 46 | 17 | 20 | 24.2 |
| 2 | Travis Benjamin | SD | 6 | 6 | 100 | 115 | 2 | 45 | 19 | 19 | 23.4 |
| 3 | Kelvin Benjamin | CAR | 9 | 7 | 78 | 108 | 2 | 25 | 12 | 15 | 22.8 |
| 4 | Corey Coleman | CLE | 8 | 5 | 63 | 104 | 2 | 47 | 13 | 21 | 22.4 |
| 5 | Eric Decker | NYJ | 8 | 6 | 75 | 126 | 1 | 35 | 16 | 21 | 18.6 |
| 6 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | 11 | 7 | 64 | 113 | 1 | 35 | 10 | 16 | 17.3 |
| 7 | Marquise Goodwin | BUF | 5 | 2 | 40 | 112 | 1 | 84 | 22 | 56 | 17.2 |
| 8 | Julio Jones | ATL | 5 | 5 | 100 | 106 | 1 | 48 | 21 | 21 | 16.6 |
| 9 | Mike Wallace | BAL | 6 | 4 | 67 | 41 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 16.1 |
| 10 | Greg Salas | BUF | 5 | 4 | 80 | 89 | 1 | 71 | 18 | 22 | 14.9 |
| 11 | Danny Amendola | NE | 4 | 4 | 100 | 48 | 2 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 14.8 |
| 12 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | 10 | 5 | 50 | 77 | 1 | 25 | 8 | 15 | 14.1 |
| 13 | Jaron Brown | ARI | 2 | 2 | 100 | 78 | 1 | 51 | 39 | 39 | 13.8 |
| 14 | Jordy Nelson | GB | 11 | 5 | 46 | 73 | 1 | 39 | 7 | 15 | 13.3 |
| 15 | Mike Evans | TB | 18 | 6 | 33 | 70 | 1 | 19 | 4 | 12 | 13 |
Source: FantasyData
Diggs has elevated himself to WR2 status. He owns a target share of 31.3 percent with the Vikings. Travis Benjamin was very productive with his targets. He can be viewed as a high-end WR3 with games against the Colts and Saints over the next two weeks. Kelvin Benjamin owns a target share of 30 percent with the Panthers over the first two games. He has the size, catching radius, and athletic ability to impose his will on opposing defenders. Benjamin is a candidate to finish as a top-five fantasy wide receiver. Decker continues to provide consistent value as a WR2. He has scored a touchdown in 82.3 percent of the games he has played in with the Jets. This could likely be Amendola’s best game of the season. Wallace’s fantasy production is inflated by his number of touchdowns, but Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco continues to feed him targets. He continues to emerge as the Ravens fantasy wide receiver to own. The target volume was encouraging for Evans, but his catch rate is a sobering reminder that fantasy points were left on the table.
Top 15 Offensive Snaps Among Wide Receivers
| Rank | Player | Team | Snaps | Snap Pct | Tgt Pct | FP |
| 1 | Odell Beckham Jr | NYG | 78 | 99 | 14 | 8.6 |
| 2 | Antonio Brown | PIT | 76 | 100 | 15 | 3.9 |
| 3 | Sterling Shepard | NYG | 75 | 95 | 11 | 11.7 |
| 4 | Eric Decker | NYJ | 74 | 97 | 11 | 18.6 |
| 5 | Victor Cruz | NYG | 74 | 94 | 11 | 7.1 |
| 6 | DeAndre Hopkins | HOU | 73 | 100 | 15 | 17.3 |
| 7 | Marvin Jones | DET | 73 | 92 | 15 | 11.8 |
| 8 | Jordan Matthews | PHI | 72 | 99 | 13 | 7.1 |
| 9 | Brandon LaFell | CIN | 72 | 95 | 11 | 3.9 |
| 10 | AJ Green | CIN | 72 | 95 | 11 | 3.8 |
| 11 | Brandon Marshall | NYJ | 70 | 92 | 13 | 10.1 |
| 12 | Randall Cobb | GB | 70 | 99 | 10 | 4.3 |
| 13 | Golden Tate | DET | 70 | 89 | 13 | 1.3 |
| 14 | Mike Evans | TB | 69 | 87 | 26 | 13 |
| 15 | Amari Cooper | OAK | 69 | 92 | 13 | 7.1 |
Source: FantasyData
The snap percentage refers to the percentage of offensive snaps played. The target percentage refers to the percentage of snaps played where the player was targeted by a pass attempt. Beckham and Brown provide fantasy owners with a safe floor because they are consistently on the field. This should also be factored into the success that Matthews, Jones, and Shepard has had through two games this season. LaFell played a high number of snaps, but his 43 percent catch rate on seven targets torpedoed his fantasy value. Cooper and Matthews are excellent buy low targets in trades. Cooper has the sixth most targets (20) among wide receivers through two
LaFell played a high number of snaps, but his 43 percent catch rate on seven targets torpedoed his fantasy value. Cooper and Matthews are excellent buy low targets in trades. Cooper has the sixth most targets (20) among wide receivers through two games, but has yet to score a touchdown. Matthews has emerged has Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz’s top wide receiver. He has owned a red zone target share of 30.8 percent over the first two games. Matthews can be viewed as a weekly WR2 with WR1 upside in plus matchups.
Matthews has emerged has Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz’s top wide receiver. He has owned a red zone target share of 30.8 percent over the first two games. Matthews can be viewed as a weekly WR2 with WR1 upside in plus matchups.
Top 15 Fantasy Points Per Opportunity Among Wide Receivers
| Rank | Player | Team | PPO |
| 1 | Travis Benjamin | SD | 0.88 |
| 1 | Jaron Brown | ARZ | 0.88 |
| 3 | Kelvin Benjamin | CAR | 0.79 |
| 4 | Stefon Diggs | MIN | 0.73 |
| 5 | Corey Coleman | CLV | 0.69 |
| 6 | Julio Jones | ATL | 0.59 |
| 7 | Tyrell Williams | SD | 0.52 |
| 8 | Sammie Coates | PIT | 0.5 |
| 9 | Eric Decker | NYJ | 0.49 |
| 10 | DeAndre Hopkins | HST | 0.49 |
| 11 | Mike Wallace | BLT | 0.48 |
| 12 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARZ | 0.40 |
| 13 | Cole Beasley | DAL | 0.35 |
| 14 | Torrey Smith | SF | 0.35 |
| 15 | Quincy Enunwa | NYJ | 0.33 |
Fantasy Points Per Opportunity, or PPO, is another resource provided by the great team at Pro Football Focus. It provides a more finely tuned point average that captures what an NFL player does with the one thing that he can truly control – his opportunity on the football field. PPO is calculated by taking a player’s total fantasy points scored and dividing it by his carries plus his pass routes run. These statistics are useful in attempting to identify players in a position to break out. The visual above represents the top 15 wide receivers in PPO who played 50 percent or more of the offensive snaps. Here is what I observed from Week 2’s data.
Williams should be owned in all formats. If he is somehow available in your leagues I recommend you change that. Williams is in for a monster season and gave owners a glimpse of what he could do along with Travis Benjamin. Beasley and Enunwa continue to be criminally underrated. Enunwa is viable in all formats and owns a 20.6 target share with the Jets over the first two games. Beasley is a PPR dynamo who actually has a higher target share (24.7) with the Cowboys than Dez Bryant (23.3).
Beasley and Enunwa continue to be criminally underrated. Enunwa is viable in all formats and owns a 20.6 target share with the Jets over the first two games. Beasley is a PPR dynamo who actually has a higher target share (24.7) with the Cowboys than Dez Bryant (23.3).
Jaron Brown simply does not get the target volume to provide value on a consistent basis, but is worth watching. He immediately becomes WR3 with upside if Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, or John Brown suffers an injury in Arizona. Coates’ stat line was inflated by a 53-yard reception, but his 40 percent catch rate on five targets in Week 2 suggests he is more bust than boom.
Top 8 Teams in Fantasy Points Allowed To Wide Receivers Through Week 2
| Rank | Team | Gms | WR Pts |
| 1 | OAK | 2 | 43.8 |
| 2 | NYJ | 2 | 35.4 |
| 3 | BUF | 2 | 32.4 |
| 4 | TB | 2 | 32.4 |
| 5 | JAX | 2 | 32 |
| 6 | NO | 2 | 30.9 |
| 7 | WAS | 2 | 29.9 |
| 8 | CLE | 2 | 28.6 |
All of these defenses are prime targets when making start or sit decision relative to the wide receiver core on your fantasy team. The one defense I would take with a grain of salt would be the Jets. The unit gave up two big receptions against the Bills that inflated the number of fantasy points allowed.
Quick Hitting Stats
Will Fuller has an aDOT or depth of target of 23.5 yards through two games according to Pro Football Focus.
Phillip Dorsett has averaged 24.8 yards per reception through two games.
Willie Snead (The Discount Brandin Cooks) actually has a higher PPO or Points Per Opportunity (0.45) than the name brand (0.40) through two games.
Kelvin Benjamin has caught 72 percent of his targets through two games.
Conclusion
The wide receiver position continues to be plentiful for fantasy owners. Selecting the right wide receiver core for your team week in and week out can give you a significant advantage and help win fantasy matchups. There are a lot of statistics out there revolving around the NFL and fantasy football. The purpose of this column is to assemble that data in an organized manner to enable you to make better decisions regarding your teams. What statistics stood out to you? Feel free to leave a comment below or better yet reach out to me on Twitter @EricNMoody where I am very active.
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