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 Alec Pierce‘s 248 air yards all the way down to Michael Pittman‘s 53 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 7. 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 7 Air Yards and Air Yards% Data
Top Takeaways From Week 7 Air Yards Data
Grab Parker Washington
Brian Thomas Jr. left Week 7 with an injured shoulder and is on bye in Week 8 to try and recover from it. But if Thomas misses any time or does not appear to be fully healed, Parker Washington is the wide receiver to grab. Seeing just 52 yards in the box score might be appealing to anyone, but 10 targets and over 200 air yards are borderline elite levels of usage.
Travis Hunter has been used sporadically, and his usage can vary from week to week. After a strong start to the season, Travis Etienne has really tailed off. This leaves Washington as a key part of this offense going forward. And he also has another weapon up his sleeve this season. In Week 7, Washington rushed three times for 10 yards. He is a gadget-type player who can thrive with these manufactured touches.
Jordan Addison Threatening to Take Over
Jordan Addison was the only player who scored for the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night. That production, combined with what he did last week, tells a pretty convincing tale that he is moving up the priority list for the Vikings. Addison’s target share, air yards and air yards share were all top-10 marks among wide receivers, and he had a season-high 12 targets. Addison only had four targets on Thursday, but one of them was in the red zone.
Overall, Jordan Addison is now slightly over 114 air yards per game since he returned from suspension, which ranks fifth among all wide receivers in 2025. His 8.7 targets per game are also in the top 15 at the position. There is a lot of uncertainty with Carson Wentz now injured and J.J. McCarthy likely coming back soon. But one thing is clear in Minnesota. They value Jordan Addison and his ability just as highly as anyone else on the offense.
A Tale of Two Colts
Two Indianapolis Colts bookend the air yards list this week, with Alec Pierce putting up an incredible 248 air yards and Michael Pittman checking in with just 53. Even though they had similar target numbers (Pierce: 10; Pittman: nine), how they are used really shows the depth and all-field ability of this offense. Pierce’s average depth of target (aDOT) was 24.8 yards, while Pittman’s was the lowest of the slate at just 5.9 yards. Daniel Jones has learned where both players can be most effective and is targeting them in the right areas of the field.
On the season, Pierce has 575 air yards in just five games, while Pittman has 384 air yards in seven games. Pittman has scored five times, and Pierce has yet to find the end zone. For fantasy football purposes, each of these players poses an interesting option when deciding whether or not to start them. Pierce offers immense, slate-breaking potential, but is absolutely boom or bust depending on whether the air yards turn into receiving yards and touchdowns. Pittman has a much safer PPR floor and is frequently used in the red zone.
But the combination of these players, plus Josh Downs chipping in with 34 targets in six games, shows that this is an offense that has turned into a dynamic unit at all levels of the field. This is one of the more interesting teams to track in terms of air yards for the rest of the season.
Jaylin Noel Deserves Your Attention
This week, Nico Collins and Christian Kirk are unlikely to play for the Houston Texans. When both missed parts of the game in Week 7, Jaylin Noel finally got the opportunity to see some heavy usage. Noel’s final line against the Seahawks was four receptions for 77 yards, but it could have been so, so much better. He finished the day with seven targets and 126 air yards, beating receivers like Justin Jefferson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Drake London and A.J. Brown.
Even with a banged-up offense, the San Francisco 49ers offense is going to push this Texans offense to score points on Sunday. George Kittle is back. Christian McCaffrey is doing incredible things and catching 10 passes per game. And the Texans’ passing game might have to revolve around Noel, Dalton Schultz and Xavier Hutchinson. Hutchinson saw only four targets on Monday night, so Noel was clearly the favorite target with over 31% of Houston’s air yards in that game.
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