Air Yard Analysis: Tyreek Hill, Darnell Mooney, Amari Cooper (Fantasy Football 2021)

Air yards are the total yards the QB threw the ball in the air toward the wide receiver. Why is this important? It helps us differentiate targets, weighing targets deeper downfield heavier than shorter throws. Since yards are a fantasy football stat, having players who need only to catch the ball to accumulate the most yards is a tried and true strategy.

Everyone is trying to gain an edge on their league. Therefore, it is advantageous to know which players are garnering the opportunities to have monster weeks before they put it all together. Every week, we will give you the top receivers (not just WR, but RB & TE too) according to air yards for every NFL team. Additionally, we will provide an evaluation of those numbers and what fantasy football actions are warranted.

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**only players with >40 Air Yards for the week are listed below**

Arizona Cardinals

Evaluation: All eyes on Nuk’s hammy after this one.

Atlanta Falcons

Evaluation: Kyle Pitts, rocketship emoji.

Baltimore Ravens

Evaluation: Wondering if Rashod Bateman goes nuts this week…

Buffalo Bills

Evaluation: Beasley ran free underneath in a prototypical performance from the slot specialist.

Carolina Panthers

Evaluation: Is there a more underappreciated fantasy WR than D.J. Moore?

Cincinnati Bengals

Evaluation: So Ja’Marr Chase is human. He had me fooled.

Chicago Bears

Evaluation: Drop Allen Robinson week has arrived.

Cleveland Browns

Evaluation: Odell Beckham bowed out quietly in his final appearance as a Brown.

Dallas Cowboys

Evaluation: Cooper Rush went full Dak Prescott, finding his big-play WRs deep downfield often. He was fun to watch.

Denver Broncos

Evaluation: Kinda boring watching this passing attack of late.

Detroit Lions

Evaluation: The Lions are going 0-17, but Hockenson and a rotating WR (St. Brown or Kalif Raymond) will be relevant weekly.

Green Bay Packers

Evaluation: Not pictured, Randall Cobb dominated the red-zone targets in Davante Adams absence.

Houston Texans

Evaluation:

Indianapolis Colts

Evaluation: We always jump at the “I told you so’s” at Air Yards Analysis. Michael Pittman is a boss. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Evaluation: Hmm, a speculative add of Agnew is recommended. Just don’t ask us if you can start him next game.

Kansas City Chiefs

Evaluation: When you have someone like Tyreek, you throw him the ball 18 times.

Las Vegas Raiders

Evaluation: Decide to get a ride before you start drinking, enjoy your night out, and everyone will be safer for it. My condolences to the family of the young woman killed this weekend.

Los Angeles Chargers

Evaluation: The Chargers wideouts were suffocated by the NE secondary all game. Allen was the only receiver who found space. Is Justin Herbert hearing the negativity, or is this just a dry spell?

Los Angeles Rams

Evaluation: We’ve reached, start your Rams territory. This offense is cooking with gas.

Miami Dolphins

Evaluation: Another week where DeVante Parker establishes his role in the Miami offense. That role? The WR1.

Minnesota Vikings

Evaluation: Careful with Jefferson in Week 9, who was knicked up at the start of this one.

New England Patriots

Evaluation: Spread it around Mac Jones was up to his old tricks again. This offense doesn’t favor any of the NE weapons. The upside is nonexistent.

New Orleans Saints

Evaluation: We’ve been anti-NO WRs all season, but Harris has us rethinking that stance. He might have a floor, which is more than you can say about anyone else lining up.

New York Giants

Evaluation: No one here I would consider in my lineups, and that includes unlisted Kadarius Toney. The NY offense is sputtering.

New York Jets

Evaluation: Mike White kept his throws in short to medium range for almost all of his first start. If that trend continues this week, you’ll want to roll with Crowder.

Philadelphia Eagles

Evaluation: This blowout didn’t produce anything special on the fantasy front, but that is Philly outside of Jalen Hurts in 2021, right?

Pittsburgh Steelers

Evaluation: The deeper we get into 2021, the more apparent this passing game can support just one WR. That one is Diontae Johnson; sorry, Claypool managers.

Seattle Seahawks

Evaluation: Will Geno Smith be able to give us one of these WRs each week? That would be a huge bonus.

San Francisco 49ers

Evaluation: :rubs eyes: Aiyuk, you say?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Evaluation: It was far from vintage, but still, start your Bucs.

Tennessee Titans

Evaluation: Rember that week you could have traded CEH for A.J. Brown? Yea, me too.

Washington Football Team

Evaluation: The second week of Carter seeing some tosses his way. It could be a factor of injuries, or maybe he’s carving out a piece for himself.

Air Yards are a beast to tackle each week, and I couldn’t put this together without the work of Dave Wright of Dynasty League Football. His weekly spreadsheet is incredible, and you should subscribe to his Patreon for a wealth of fantasy football content!

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Aaron Pags is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Aaron, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyTriage.