Analyzing NFL air yards for fantasy football is a valuable exercise for prognosticating what might be coming for certain receivers. If a wide receiver saw a tremendous number of air yards but fell entirely short on receiving yards and receptions, we could make an assumption that will regress in his favor in future games. Conversely, if a player saw a huge spike in receiving yards but did not see the corresponding air yards, that could mean a tremendous number of yards after the catch, which could always vary from week to week.
Looking at a player’s intended usage and not just the surface-level outcomes is a way to more accurately value players in fantasy football. I hope you will join me every week during the regular season for our breakdown of the week that was in fantasy football air yards.
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NFL Air Yards Analysis & Fantasy Football Takeaways
Below we have a chart representing air yards and receiving data courtesy of the 4for4 Air Yards App. Air yards is a tool that is now freely accessible everywhere, and you can find the site or format that works best for you.
This list represents the top 50 wide receivers from most to fewest air yards. From Jaxon Smith-Njigba‘s 176 air yards all the way down to Michael Wilson‘s 42 air yards from this past week. Also included in this list are each player’s targets, receptions, average depth of target (aDOT), target share and share of the team’s air yards.
Showcasing all these pieces of data together provides an opportunity for a quick review of this chart and yields a significant number of takeaways after Week 6. In this weekly piece of analysis, we will dig into the four biggest things that jump out to me from this week’s dataset.
Week 6 Air Yards and Air Yards% Data
Top Takeaways From Week 6 Air Yards Data
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Might be the WR1 Overall
After a league-leading 176 air yards in Week 6, we have a new season-long leader in the clubhouse as well. In 2025, Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the league in air yards (728), receiving yards (696), air yards share (50.5%) and target share (36.4%). After the first third of the NFL season, there is nothing that should stand in the way of Smith-Njigba tracking towards the overall WR1.
The superstar receiver benefits from an inefficient run game, a lack of other great receivers on his team and a tendency for the Seattle Seahawks to throw at a higher rate over expectation. All of the other candidates around him (CeeDee Lamb, Puka Nacua, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, etc.) either have quarterback concerns or injuries they have to deal with. Smith-Njigba has put up elite numbers so far in 2025, and right now, injury is the only thing that could slow him down.
If we were drafting this season over again, Smith-Njigba would be a first-round pick, and that isn’t even debatable at this point.
We Will Definitely Take This Version of Ladd McConkey
At the bottom of the list of lowest average depth of target (aDOT) this week is Ladd McConkey with 7.1 yards. However, with Quentin Johnston out, McConkey saw nine targets and caught seven passes for 100 yards despite seeing just 64 air yards (30th among wide receivers). He also scored in Week 6, displaying exactly the type of game we thought we were getting when we drafted him in the third round this summer.
The yards after catch monster is exactly what we need from McConkey. Let Johnston and Keenan Allen go down the field. Justin Herbert needs to find McConkey on slants and crosses and let him use his speed to get upfield and gain yards. We will need to monitor how he is used with Johnston coming back, but this provides a glimmer of hope for fantasy football managers who held onto McConkey with the hope that these types of games would eventually come.
Jerry Jeudy Can’t Catch a Break (or a Pass)
After seeing just 19 total targets in his previous three games, 13 targets for Jerry Jeudy in Week 6 were a godsend. Jeudy finally reassumed the role of top target on the Browns’ offense after David Njoku went down with a knee injury. However, those 13 targets and 134 air yards (fifth-most on the week) resulted in only 43 receiving yards (number 31 on the week). For Jeudy, it appears even when he has days with ultra-elite usage like this, the inaccuracy and poor quarterback play are going to keep holding him down.
In his four games played this year, Dillon Gabriel‘s true completion rate is just 60.7%, ranking 35th among all quarterbacks this season. In the red zone, Gabriel’s completion percentage is a lowly 42.1%. Joe Flacco wasn’t any better and isn’t making another start for this team anyway. It appears Jeudy is going to have to suffer through another high-usage, low-production kind of year unless the Browns find an accurate passer. Oh, how we long for the days of Jameis Winston…
Just Wait Until Tetairoa McMillan Puts It All Together
Tetairoa McMillan caught the first two touchdown passes of his career on Sunday afternoon against the Dallas Cowboys. It was not surprising to see a player of his talent score, considering the state of the Dallas defense and the fact that the Cowboys have allowed the most passing touchdowns on the season. What was surprising, however, was that McMillan only saw five targets and had three receptions, with two of those being scores. McMillan only had 52 air yards on the day.
Overall, in 2025, McMillan is 12th in targets (48) and air yards (542), 13th in target share (25.1%) and fifth in air yards percentage (41.9%). But he had not scored before Sunday. In Week 6, he didn’t get the air yards or the targets, but he got the red-zone looks. Imagine for a moment what this looks like if McMillan ever combines the target share, air yards and red-zone opportunities all in one game.
McMillan won’t get to play the Dallas Cowboys anymore this season, but if things are finally all coalescing for McMillan, this could be a league-winning finish to the fantasy season for him.
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