Fantasy Football Player Notes

I had to double-check the stat sheet from Sunday night's game, as Edelman's eight catches for 179 yards brought his season average to 13.1 yards per target. He's never averaged more than 7.9 yards per target in his career. Just 51 of his 236 yards are after contact, so Newton is targeting him much further down the field. He's running 81 percent of his routes from in the slot, which means he'll see veteran Lamarcus Joyner in the slot. After a rough start to his slot cornerback transition (from safety), Joyner has been solid, allowing just 9.7 yards per reception, though the 72.9 percent completion-rate is high. The best performance by a slot-heavy receiver against the Raiders since the start of last year is Keenan Allen's eight-catch, 68-yard game where he didn't even score. That's not great for his projection in this game, but you have to keep playing him while getting the targets he is (9.0 per game) from Newton. Consider him a decent floor WR3 who may not come with a massive ceiling in this contest.

It's been a good two weeks for Harry with Cam Newton, as he's been targeted a team-high 18 times, connecting on 13 of them for 111 yards, though he hasn't found the end zone just yet. That could change in Week 3 against the Raiders, who have struggled on the perimeter. The duo of Travon Mullen and Damon Arnette have combined to allow 13 receptions for 216 yards and two touchdowns on 18 targets in coverage. Keep in mind they played against a Michael Thomas-less Saints and Panthers receiving corps. This was a problem last year, too, as they allowed seven different perimeter receivers post more than 100 yards, and that doesn't even include Allen Robinson's 97-yard, two-touchdown performance. Harry is quickly moving up the ranks as Newton shows he can still play, and he deserves consideration as a WR4 this week who comes with some touchdown upside.