RADIO
Kevin looks for fantasy football risers, sleepers, breakout candidates for Week 3 of 2025. He analyzes last week's targets, receptions, air yards, snaps, routes.
Targets are paramount when it comes to evaluating pass-catchers for fantasy football. There are no air yards, receiving yards, receptions, or touchdowns without first earning a target. There’s a reason the biggest and most consistent target-earners are among the top fantasy point scorers; they can be relied on by not just their team’s offense to earn targets and produce on those targets.
We’ll take a weekly team-by-team review of these target earners and separate the wheat from the chaff. To properly lead into what we’ll look at this season, we’ll have to establish a baseline of the most important things we’re looking at with targets and other receiving metrics that paint the full picture for who we should roster, who we should add, and who we can drop.
Everything we’ll discuss in this season’s WR/TE/RB Targets, Air Yards, and Snaps trends analysis article will be some of the best metrics correlating to fantasy production. Think of targets as a page in a coloring book, representing the outline yet to be colored. Coloring on that page adds context and flavor. That’s what we’ll do with targets — adding more context than just some target totals and box score stats.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Note: Statistics from our player pages at RotoBaller were included during the compilation of data, in addition to some of the following sites/databases: Pro Football Reference, PFF, Fantasy Points Data Suite, rbdsm.com/stats, NFELO, NFL NextGenStats, NFL Pro+, RotoViz, ESPN Stats and Info, and SumerSports.
Cardinals Notes From Week 2:
Both the Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers tried their absolute hardest to lose this game, but in the end, the Cardinals eked out a 27-22 win. The Panthers were down 27-3 until they put up 19 unanswered points to get within a touchdown. The Cardinals seemed to want it the least but still came up with the win.
Trey McBride led the way here with a solid 6-78 line on 100 percent route participation, but it was some shaky ground for everybody else, including Marvin Harrison Jr.’s 2-27 line. Michael Wilson was the other major route-runner among the wide receivers, with routes on 83 percent of Kyler Murray’s dropbacks, and he scored the touchdown that really helped nobody. This offense just feels like it could be better, but it continues the Arizona Cardinals tradition of being pretty underwhelming.
Trey Benson has been a bright spot for the Cardinals over the season’s first two weeks. Last season, Emari Demercado earned routes on passing downs as a clear specialized role independent of James Conner, but this season, that role has been all for Benson as Demercado has played a total of one offensive snap over two games. That helps build the case for Benson’s massive bump in contingent value should Conner get hurt, but also could provide some sneaky standalone value when bye weeks widen the player pool for managed leagues.
Conner is probably not in danger of losing the starting job or at least, the fantasy workload that we love, but Benson taking seven touches to Conner’s 12 doesn’t exactly help with the sliver of upside case Conner had when he was being drafted in the fifth round. Let’s not get it twisted: Conner is still a solid fantasy RB2, but Benson should be universally rostered for his massive contingent value plus the opportunity to build more standalone value if Benson can continue to show efficiency within the Arizona offense.
Falcons Notes From Week 2:
If you liked field goals, then this was the game for you. We got to get nice and intimate for the Younghoe Koo replacement, Parker Romo, as he booted five field goals, and we also got a Tyler Allgeier rushing touchdown as the only non-field goal score to cement the game for the visiting Falcons.
The running game was the story here as the Falcons didn’t have to do a lot of heavy lifting, just handoffs to Bijan Robinson and Allgeier, where they both put up 219 yards combined on the ground. Robinson looked like he was shot out of a cannon to start the game with runs of 25 and 17 on his first two carries, and that gave him the momentum for the rest of the night.
With as much success the run game had and the game script that allowed them to just repeatedly run on Minnesota, there wasn’t too much pass volume with just 24 dropbacks for Michael Penix Jr. Both Robinson (3-25) and Kyle Pitts Sr. (4-37) both led the team with five targets, and wide receivers Drake London (3-49) and Darnell Mooney (2-20) had four targets apiece with 100 percent route participation.
It was interesting for the Falcons to have a massive shift in philosophy just from one season to the next with Zac Robinson at the helm. Last season, we saw the Falcons run the most 11 personnel on 86 percent of their snaps. That helped get Ray-Ray McCloud III on the field quite a bit and, honestly, much more than he probably should have.
This season, the Falcons are leading the league in 12 personnel with two tight ends, as they’re getting Pitts on the field more with blocking tight end Charlie Woerner set as basically a sixth offensive lineman. Pitts ran routes on 96 percent of dropbacks in Week 2, and using 12 personnel instead of a third receiver gives some creative liberty to a player like Pitts to get out in space more as a true third receiver than making him block a decent chunk of the time.
Ravens Notes From Week 2:
For a game that was 10-3 at the half, the game got a bit squirrely and out of hand for the opposing Browns, as the Ravens put up 31 points in the second half to blow out the Cleveland Browns 41-17. When you see that Baltimore scored 41 points, your initial thoughts are Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. The arm of Jackson, yes. The legs of either? Not so much.
Henry wasn’t really a factor with just 23 yards on 11 carries, with the Ravens passing quite a bit later, with three of Jackson’s four touchdown passes coming in the fourth quarter. Two of those touchdowns went to Devontez Walker (2-26-2) for his only two receptions of the game. Tylan Wallace (2-25-1) caught one, as did DeAndre Hopkins (2-64-1). Rashod Bateman was left out in the cold with four targets and just two catches for 15 yards to show for it on 76 percent routes per dropback.
We couldn’t get one to the guy doing all the work, though, Zay Flowers. Flowers paced the Ravens with volume as he continues his strong and efficient start to the season with a 7-75 line on a team-leading 10 targets. On the flip side, Mark Andrews could be a cut candidate depending on how strong the waiver wire is for tight ends, because he’s a complete touchdown-or-bust option that isn’t earning much volume despite running routes on 79 percent of Jackson’s dropbacks.
Bills Notes From Week 2:
The Bills weren’t great either, but they didn’t have to be, as the Jets were putrid. Buffalo led Week 2 with 43 rush attempts and had the third-lowest PROE (-8.1%) on the week. It was a steady diet of running the ball, keeping the clock moving, and moving on. Because of that, James Cook, being just under 50 percent of team rush attempts, seems low, but he had 21 carries, 132 yards, and two scores on the ground. One coming on a 44-yard run that showed a ton of patience, like another running back he’s related to.
Only Dalton Kincaid (4-37) and Keon Coleman (3-26) caught more than two balls in Week 2, and Buffalo continues to be one of the more uncondensed passing games out there. 10 players earned a target and eight caught a pass, with nobody running more routes than Joshua Palmer’s 66 percent across the entire team. Given how the game went for the Bills, you can give them a LITTLE pass here for some of the underwhelming production, but you’re hardly getting any consolidation here even in a normal week.
Panthers Notes From Week 2:
The other half of the “game nobody wanted to win”, Carolina showed some pluckiness after going down 27-3 toward the end of the third quarter, but fell short and dropped to 0-2. There was a lot of passing here on the Carolina side, having to get back into the game with 19 unanswered points.
With 59 dropbacks, the most in Week 2 by any team, Bryce Young had a fourth quarter of hero ball after a bad start to put up a solid game with 328 yards, three touchdowns (all in the fourth quarter) to go with his two turnovers. If this offense can find some week-to-week consistency, Tetairoa McMillan is going to be an instant star. He makes his quarterback better with his size, catch radius, and ball-in-hand YAC ability. McMillan led the Panthers with 10 targets and 100 receiving yards on six catches, but Hunter Renfrow grabbed two of Young’s three touchdowns late in the third quarter and late in the fourth quarter as well to put up a substantial 7-48-2 afternoon on nine targets.
The Panthers have yet to distance Ja'Tavion Sanders (7-54) from the Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans-type tight ends, where Sanders can get nine targets and have a solid game in Week 2, but the lack of routes (65 percent through two games) is going to keep his upside capped. We love what Sanders can do, but he needs to be unleashed on a team that keeps trotting out guys like Xavier Legette to get cardio for whatever reason.
I imagine it's probably not a super great thing when you can add your raw receptions and receiving yards together and get the same number as your raw targets, but that’s where we are with Xavier Legette
(derogatory)
— Kevin Tompkins (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 8:15 PM
The services of Chuba Hubbard weren’t as needed in this game thanks to the Panthers getting down 27-3, but his role is as strong as ever and secure with 74 percent of snaps and being way more efficient than Rico Dowdle’s six carries for nine yards; honestly, a low bar.
Bears Notes From Week 2:
Even in the blowout, as the Lions put it on the Bears, Chicago still had 40 dropbacks and still ended up relatively balanced between run and pass. That said, Rome Odunze (7-128, 10 targets) may have turned a corner, and it’s looking more and more that he’s the clear top receiver in Chicago over D.J. Moore. Odunze caught touchdowns in both the first and second quarters on 100 percent route participation with the second-most air yards of Week 2. He’s been nothing short of awesome over the first two weeks of the season and has been a clear winner in the Ben Johnson offense.
The shorter aDOT (5.7-yard aDOT) stuff remains DJ Moore’s bread and butter, which is something that has carried over from last season. Still, it feels like Odunze’s importance to the offense has been blown by Moore (5-46) like he was standing still. Olamide Zaccheaus (2-12) earned five targets and remains in the slot as Luther Burden III’s placeholder before Burden (1-5) takes over. Colston Loveland has yet to make a mark in a game, but was still on the field with more than half of the routes and snaps, and still well behind Cole Kmet (2-29).
D'Andre Swift (12-63-1) still carries the bulk of the rushing work with almost 50 percent of the team's rushing attempts, but Kyle Monangai retained the work behind Swift, even with Roschon Johnson active but not getting one offensive snap. That shows the tide has shifted for Monangai, and he should be the one to roster in case something happens to Swift.
Bengals Notes From Week 2:
While it’s awesome to get a massive blow-up game from Ja'Marr Chase (14-165-1) on a ridiculous 17 targets to go along with Tee Higgins’ more muted and inefficient, but still productive 3-56-1 line on nine targets, the hammer came down with Joe Burrow being out with turf toe. Jake Browning is the likely quarterback stepping in unless the Bengals go make a deal for another quarterback. That said, Browning had some starts at the tail end of 2023 that weren’t great but weren’t terrible either. Basically, he’s a backup quarterback. One of the better ones in the league, but still, a backup quarterback.
Chase and Higgins’ fantasy values take a decent hit, but Chase can make his own efficiency, and to a degree, so can Higgins. Chase Brown saw every single running back touch for the Bengals, and it’s likely he’s leaned on a bit more, too. We’ve seen reports of three months for Burrow’s timetable, which is just terrible news. The Bengals likely just keep passing through it, obviously, with the loss of efficiency of not having Burrow. Not great!
Browns Notes From Week 2:
This game got away from the Browns in a hurry with 31 points in the second half for the Ravens, but the Browns got to throw the ball around a little bit with 51 total dropbacks, fourth-most in Week 2. Jerry Jeudy carried over some of his inefficiency from Week 1 into Week 2, with just a 4-51 line on a team-leading eight targets. To give you a clue of how it went for the Browns, Cedric Tillman (2-22-1, seven targets) caught a touchdown pass that likely wasn’t even intended for him, but hey, it’s better to be lucky than good!
As for our favorite league-winning tight end, Harold Fannin Jr. was still very good and well utilized, with 65 percent of routes and catching all five targets for 48 yards. It was ho-hum, but those games happen. David Njoku was solid as well with a 4-40 line on five targets on solid 77 percent routes.
As for the run game, Quinshon Judkins got his first carries as a Cleveland Brown and he was pretty efficient with more than six yards per carry on a team that honestly needed a bit of juice with Jerome Ford (6-30 rushing, 5-23 receiving) being an overall milquetoast option and Dylan Sampson much better in the receiving game (3-13, receiving TD) than on the ground. Judkins is slated to get more work, but a looming suspension could be coming in the next little while for his legal issues in the offseason.
Cowboys Notes From Week 2:
With 57 dropbacks from Dak Prescott and what was a turbulent fourth quarter and then a lackluster overtime that we were hoping to get some more fireworks in between the Cowboys and Giants, we did get some fun stuff when the smoke cleared.
The top three in the passing game all had very nice outings, with CeeDee Lamb such a clear star that I can’t do that phrase enough justice to expand further. Lamb may be so out in front of George Pickens and Jake Ferguson in terms of every-game involvement that it hinders the latter two to a degree. Luckily, in a game where the Giants were pushing and pushing with over 500 air yards on their side, the Cowboys had to follow suit with 372 of their own.
Lamb’s 9-112 stat line on 11 targets led the way for Dallas, but Ferguson led the way with 12 targets, chewing up yardage in the middle of the field for nine catches and 78 yards. Pickens (eight targets, 5-68) is still feeling his way here with some misses, but he scored a fourth-quarter touchdown as the second of three touchdowns scored by both teams with 2:45 remaining, where Brandon Aubrey sent the game into overtime with a field goal at the end of regulation and then won it with no time left in overtime.
Another very strong outing for Javonte Williams here with 18 carries, 97 yards and a rushing touchdown, plus 6-of-6 receiving for 33 yards. I still don’t know what to make of it, because it feels like he’s playing over his skis in the way D’Andre Swift was last season on his big early-season run with Chicago. You’re left waiting for the other shoe to drop,
It’s as clear a sell-high opportunity as you’re going to get in managed leagues with Williams. Jaydon Blue has been a healthy scratch in both weeks, and who knows, maybe the Cowboys are just going to trot him out there with Miles Sanders picking up the pieces behind him? No matter what, it feels like anybody who drafted Williams has already gotten most of the return on investment at this point, even through two weeks.
Williams has seen 68 and 64 percent of the team's rushing attempts over the past two weeks, and with that kind of market share in the run game for a team that’s going to score points, that’s certainly worth something. I would just be trying to get something better in return if I could.
Broncos Notes From Week 2:
The Broncos and Colts played a fun game that ended on a game-winning field goal after a leverage penalty.
Bo Nix looked a bit better than Week 1 against the Titans, as he threw for three touchdowns and also threw mostly to Troy Franklin, as Courtland Sutton (four targets, 1-6) took a slight dip in his snaps and routes this week, but it’s probably a one-week thing as Sutton has been the one constant for the Denver passing game. Besides that, it’s more rotational stuff from everybody. Evan Engram (1-12) at 58 percent of routes. Pat Bryant (2-18) at 26 percent. You know the drill.
J.K. Dobbins seems to have gained a bit more favor as the lead back as opposed to R.J. Harvey, who took a slight step back in his opportunities. The Harvey stuff is worth waiting for, but Dobbins is a solid start, knowing you can pencil him in for 12-15 opportunities each week, potentially more in a game like this that was back and forth, where both teams were pushed a bit.
Also, a note: Sean Payton hates your fantasy teams. He hates them with the power of 1,000 suns. No head coach uses the sheer amount of personnel on offense that Payton does, so when somebody else pops up with a big stat line outside of Sutton in a given week, it’s met with heavy skepticism. Franklin backed up a 65 percent routes per dropback in Week 1 with a jump to 88 percent; the second time in his career that he’s eclipsed 80 percent routes in his career and then put up an 8-89 line plus a touchdown on a team-leading nine targets.
Sure, we can probably add Franklin as a speculative add to fantasy rosters, but over the course of human history (or at least Payton’s head-coaching career), we’ve seen time and time again the secondary pass-catchers who have popped and then reverted to where they came from. It’s basically a game of “Sean Payton Whack-A-Mole" at this point.
oh hey, remember when Marvin Mims was supposed to be a full-time player this season?
— Kevin Tompkins (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social) September 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I’ve seen Payton do this time and again, only to revert to the status quo. That said, Nix – Franklin’s college quarterback at Oregon – targeted Franklin on 31 percent of his routes, so maybe there is some smoke to this fire? We’re waiting for the Week 3 rug pull, cue that rug pull in 3… 2… 1…
Lions Notes From Week 2:
The Lions scored double-digit points in all four quarters of this game, and nobody should be worried any longer about the state of the Lions’ offense. Some of the concern was based on how thoroughly the Packers stymied them in Week 1. Jared Goff threw for five touchdowns, and three of them went to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was just unreal with 115 yards on nine receptions and 11 targets. St. Brown dominated targets as no other Lion had more than four targets. Still, Jameson Williams did a ton of damage on his four targets, with a 2-108 line and a 44-yard touchdown at the end of the third quarter.
The backfield got in their bag as well, with both Jahmyr Gibbs (12-94-1) and David Montgomery (11-57-1) both scoring touchdowns. It’s not an even split, though, as Gibbs has gotten more and more of the split this season. Start Montgomery still with confidence as long as his carries are still there in the double digits.
Packers Notes From Week 2:
The Packers look like the best team in the NFC right now, but remain one of the most frustrating teams to roster players for fantasy football. No team passes vertically more than the Packers, with a massive 13.1 average depth of target and 9.1 yards per target from Jordan Love so far. He’s benefitted from the fifth-highest time to throw in the NFL through two weeks. That’s good!
Green Bay also has the fifth-lowest raw pass rate (53%) and spreads the ball to multiple pass-catchers, making it next-to-impossible to roster anybody outside of Tucker Kraft in fantasy. That’s bad!
Jayden Reed is out for multiple weeks with a broken clavicle, so Dontayvion Wicks and his 59.1 percent of slot snaps in Week 2 will hop into the slot while Jayden Reed is hurt. Well, at the very least, Wicks is at least a speculative add to fantasy rosters. He is the closest thing the team has to a consistent target-earning pass-catcher. People forget that Wicks led the Packers in targets (76) last season, and with Reed out for several weeks, Wicks will be the primary slot receiver and may still rotate in on the outside for Green Bay.
Kraft’s Week 2 certainly got the attention of everybody in fantasy land as he led all tight ends in Week 2 in receiving yards (124) and yards after the catch (74) while finishing overall TE1. Kraft is inarguably the Packers’ most productive pass-catcher through two weeks, with the most targets, receptions, yards, and touchdowns amongst Green Bay pass-catchers. This was the top-end thesis for Kraft that he would rise above low target volume to match the efficiency of the quarterback and the offense. It was a rather thin bet for fantasy football, but it was certainly in the range of outcomes for Kraft.
As for the elephant in the room, Matthew Golden, he hasn’t done much to satisfy the hype of fantasy managers with just two receptions for 16 yards in his first two NFL games. That said, Golden has been the recipient of several deep throws from Love that have just missed being huge plays. We’d be talking about Golden much favorably if those plays had gone the other way.
One good sign for Golden is that his routes per dropback have come up from 57 percent in Week 1 to 68 percent in Week 2. Still, fantasy managers won’t get points for almost scoring or almost catching the ball. You’re not getting one fantasy point per 10 unrealized air yards. Unless you are, and then I need to ask: why didn’t you invite me into THAT league?
Josh Jacobs has a rushing touchdown in 10 consecutive regular-season games dating back to Week 11 of 2024. As usual, his massive role goes unchecked by anybody behind him, so lock in his 77 percent of team rush attempts into your lineups for the foreseeable future.
Texans Notes From Week 2:
Outside of Nico Collins in the passing game, it’s rather gross for anybody we could have one iota of excitement about. Nobody is excited about Xavier Hutchinson getting three targets on 70 percent of routes. Nobody is excited about Justin Watson in the year 2025 getting a couple of targets at 47 percent of routes at the expense of rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, who both combined for one target – that went to Higgins for 28 yards.
At least Collins earned nine targets and caught a touchdown, which should have been two if he hadn’t gotten stopped at the goal line. Other than that, Stroud was very off for much of the night. Outside of Collins, it’s really too spread out right now to pick another option here to bank on. I’m not even convinced that Christian Kirk can return and put his stamp on the offense as a solid second option next to Collins.
The running game with Nick Chubb is certainly one of the running games of all time, but he got into the end zone on a 25-yard run that saved his day from mockery and derision in this article. Woody Marks was also solidly involved with a 37-yard reception and a few carries, but there’s entirely too much Dare Ogunbowale involvement here. Unless Houston is putting him on the field specifically to get blown up in pass protection, because whenever I saw Ogunbowale on the field, that’s what he was doing with his 20 percent of snaps.
That said, I’m trying to find room on the tail end of my roster to stash Marks as he’s the contingent play right now with Dameon Pierce inactive as a healthy scratch in Week 2.
Colts Notes From Week 2:
We talk about wanting a tight end in fantasy that’s a top-two target on their team. What about the TOP target? That rarefied air is reserved for Brock Bowers, and that’s about it. It could very well be Tyler Warren in Indianapolis, as he’s seemingly been the focal point of everything that the Colts are doing in the passing game thanks to the first-read RPO stuff. The overall stat line of 4-79 on seven targets doesn’t seem too revolutionary, but Warren has transformed this offense in just two weeks.
It’s also causing a bit of flux within the passing game, as in a game like this, with Josh Downs the odd man out now. Downs still earned a team-leading eight targets, but with a suddenly crowded passing game in Indy, it feels more like an exception rather than the rule, as Downs did only have 61 percent of routes per dropback. Michael Pittman Jr. (4-40) and Alec Pierce (4-68) both kept their strong roles, with both at 84 percent of dropbacks or better and both earning five targets apiece.
Jonathan Taylor destroyed worlds with 215 total yards, including a receiving touchdown. His role is massive, as always, and Taylor already looks like one of the big second-round hits in drafts thanks to the upgraded offensive environment in Indianapolis. Speaking of rushing stuff, you’ve got to upgrade Daniel Jones, who got his rushing touchdown via three consecutive ‘tush push’ attempts. He’s at worst a priority streaming quarterback, but with injuries around the league to a handful of quarterbacks, he’s probably more in line to be a starter in most fantasy leagues.
Jaguars Notes From Week 2:
Reportedly, Brian Thomas Jr. is dealing with a wrist injury, which could have something to do with his inefficiency to start this season. He’s still seeing a huge amount of passing volume, though, as 11 targets and 173 air yards is hellacious intent from Trevor Lawrence, but just 4-43 on those opportunities is something that needs to get worked out.
It’s been a rough two-week stretch for this passing game as Travis Hunter (six targets, 3-22) gets worked into the offensive game plan while also playing a sizable share of snaps (62 percent) on defense, too. I do think everything is worked out eventually, because Liam Coen is smart enough to be able to manage this offense and get them all on the same page.
For now, Dyami Brown (5-57-1) is going to do some heavier lifting in the offense than anticipated, as he scored the game’s first score with a nine-yard touchdown reception. Tight end Brenton Strange was solidly involved at 84 percent of routes but didn’t have too much to show for it other than a 3-17 line on five targets. He’s clearly behind the wide receivers in the pecking order as a Cade Otton-type player who runs routes but is only occasionally involved in the offense.
The Jaguars moved Tank Bigsby to the Philadelphia Eagles with the hopes that the team cleared out space to get Bhayshul Tuten more involved, and that’s what happened with Tuten’s first NFL touchdown on an eight-yard reception in the second quarter. Tuten’s 74 total yards and the touchdown were productive on 10 touches, but Travis Etienne is still firmly ahead in the pecking order. Etienne also scored on a receiving touchdown and totaled over 100 yards rushing and receiving, while notching 52 percent of total team rushing attempts. Both will be involved, but we’ll see if Tuten can build more involvement in the offense going forward. But he needs to be rostered in all leagues right now.
Chiefs Notes From Week 2:
Why does every Travis Kelce reception feel like Patrick Mahomes is throwing to an offensive lineman? He’s just been an ordeal this season, whether it’s costing the Chiefs a dynamic playmaker in Week 1 or dropping a likely touchdown pass the Chiefs needed in the fourth quarter, which turned into an interception and an eventual Eagles score. This offense is in quicksand right now, with Kelce leading the way with a 4-61 line on a team-high six targets.
The rest of the offense is very predictable, with Isiah Pacheco (10-22) and Kareem Hunt (8-31) bulldozing their way to inefficiency (a combined 2.7 yards per carry, -17 RYOE, and -6.5 rushing EPA) and deep shots to Tyquan Thornton (five targets, 2-59-1) and hoping one hits. One happened to for a touchdown, and Thornton has been their completely telegraphed deep threat with 277 air yards in the first two games.
This offense desperately needs Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice in the worst way. Sorry, Marquise Brown, you and your five receptions for 30 yards are not it.
Raiders Notes From Week 2:
It was NOT a Geno Smith night on Monday night. Three interceptions, sailing passes left and right, and 43 pass attempts led to just 180 yards and zero touchdowns.
A knee issue that knocked Bowers out of Week 1’s game against the Patriots had him on the injury report, but he did play and saw 83 percent of routes per dropback, but saw just seven targets as he gutted out a 5-38 line. The passing game wasn’t too fruitful, but at least Jakobi Meyers put forth a solid 6-68 effort on a team-leading 10 targets and 98 percent routes. Tre Tucker saw eight targets but could only muster a 3-12 line. The other starting wide receiver, Dont'e Thornton Jr., was inefficient on his four targets, bringing in just one catch for 20 yards on 85 percent of routes per dropback. We’re grasping at straws here.
The Raiders worked in Zamir White and Dylan Laube much more than in Week 1, which caused Ashton Jeanty’s snaps to drop from 85 percent to just 55 percent against the Chargers, with routes coming down a bit, too, to 38 percent from Week 1’s 55 percent. Jeanty was *fine* for all intents and purposes, but negative game script plus things not really going in Vegas’ favor on the night led to a more subdued game from the rookie Jeanty.
Chargers Notes From Week 2:
After most of the viewing audience (especially East Coast Dads™️) was no doubt fatigued watching the Buccaneers and Texans, this game was a slog. The passing game led the way with two Justin Herbert passing touchdowns and the league’s heaviest target distribution to the wide receiver position through two games at 82 percent of targets.
Central to that previous point is the trio of Ladd McConkey, Keenan Allen, and Quentin Johnston, who comprised 70 percent of the total targets on the night. Touchdowns went to Johnston and Allen, and it’s becoming more apparent that some unforeseen target competition in Los Angeles has caused some problems with the McConkey bull case this season. The blow-up games for McConkey are going to be there with the Chargers being the top team in pass rate over expected over the season’s first two weeks.
Most of Johnston’s 3-71 line came on a 60-yard touchdown at the end of the first half, while Allen was a key chain mover. Johnston and Allen both are fantasy-viable receivers in this iteration of the Chargers if they’re going to be relying on Herbert to make plays rather than using the run game to set up the pass.
Speaking of the run game, it definitely took a backseat, and Omarion Hampton’s strong role from Week 1 was walked back a little bit to benefit Najee Harris. Hampton still had the decisive edge in snaps and routes, but neither back was efficient at all as both Hampton and Harris combined for a little over 3.2 yards per carry. The Hampton role is still sizable, but he’s still a fine fantasy start here despite Harris edging out Hampton 10:9 in total touches. Harris? Not so much.
Rams Notes From Week 2:
It was your classic Los Angeles Rams condensed offense in Week 2. Puka Nacua and Davante Adams are both awesome, and they combined for 68 percent of the team’s targets on the afternoon against the Titans. Nacua, who sleepwalks into a 3.00+ yards per route run each week, caught 8-of-9 balls for 91 yards and then added a 45-yard rushing touchdown to boot. Why he’s not talked about with top receivers in the NFL is beyond me, but he’s absolutely one of the best.
Adams carried the bulk of the volume with a team-high 12 targets, 106 yards on six catches, plus catching one of two Matthew Stafford touchdown passes on the day. Both Nacua and Adams are ‘simpatico’ for fantasy purposes. Not much else in the passing game, though Tyler Higbee did see about 62 percent of routes, catching all four passes for 37 yards.
Kyren Williams maintained his strong role with 68 percent of team rushing attempts and 66 yards on 17 attempts, but it was Blake Corum (5-44) who strung together a couple of nice runs, including a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter that he almost broke for a long touchdown. Later in the drive, Corum had a nine-yard rush that got the Rams just outside the goal-line, where Corum plunged in for the score the next play. Corum looked really good, not to say Williams didn’t, but Corum had just a little more “oomph” and burst closing things out for the Rams in the late stages.
Dolphins Notes From Week 2:
The classic Miami Dolphins target concentration at work here, where the main players ate. Tyreek Hill had a productive 6-109 on seven targets, Jaylen Waddle had a 5-68 line and an 18-yard touchdown in the second quarter. De'Von Achane was the heavy hitter in the receiving game with a team-leading 10 targets and an 8-92 line with a 29-yard touchdown just before the first half ended.
While Achane didn’t do much on the ground with less than 3.0 yards per carry on 11 carries, the receiving stuff truly put it over the top in an Alvin Kamara-ish kind of way. The role is massive, with 73 percent of team rushing attempts and between Hill, Waddle, and Achane’s across-the-board production, the overall offensive concentration and intent to keep the bulk of the production to these three is what we love for fantasy football.
Vikings Notes From Week 2:
Let’s keep an open mind here about the Vikings, as we’ve gotten the first two NFL starts from J.J. McCarthy these past two weeks, with both games in primetime for the entire world to scrutinize. It’s going to be more of a process for McCarthy than we anticipated, even if it probably should have been expected. No Jordan Addison because of a suspension, no Christian Darrisaw either, no Aaron Jones Sr. for the next four weeks as he left Week 2 with a hamstring injury, and to cap things even further, McCarthy himself is out multiple weeks with a high-ankle sprain. We now get the Carson Wentz experience for a few games.
A friend of mine who is a Vikings fan summed it up better than I could: “I’m sorry, everyone is hurt. Worst offensive game I have maybe ever watched.”
Maybe it’s the high misery above expectation (MaE) metric that Vikings fans are seemingly born with, but I could be MUCH worse for the Vikings. I mean, did you SEE the New York Jets? Justin Jefferson (3-81) was just okay in his typical massive role, T.J. Hockenson (1-12) caught just one pass on three targets, and Jalen Nailor (3-31) was also present and accounted for with 100 percent route participation. However, McCarthy only completed 11 passes. That’s not great!
With Jones out for at least the next four games, this backfield is going to be dominated by as much Jordan Mason as you can handle. He more than doubled up Jones’ touches 11:5 on the evening, but this was a clunker you could flush away because it’s not going to be able to give us true insight into how this offense operates with Wentz at quarterback and Mason heading the backfield for the next month.
Patriots Notes From Week 2:
When you look at the box score and the stats for this game, you’re underwhelmed for the most part, but Drake Maye put all of it together and really crushed for one of the most complete performances of his career. Maye was a solidly efficient 19-of-23 for 230 yards and two touchdowns, plus 31 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The whole was greater than the sum of the parts for the Patriots, but on the passing side, Rhamondre Stevenson caught a ball that was reportedly a play drawn up for TreVeyon Henderson in practice, but they ran it with Stevenson.
that deep bomb to Rhamondre Stevenson yesterday was originally designed for TreVeyon Henderson 🫠 https://t.co/GcNELGlwtg pic.twitter.com/EHon7CDtry
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) September 15, 2025
Stevenson paced the pass-catchers with 88 yards and caught all five targets. The actual receivers, though, were a mixed bag with Stefon Diggs’ 4-32 on five targets, but everybody else was subpar. Kayshon Boutte’s only target was a touchdown reception for 16 yards, but for somebody running 74 percent of routes, it’s not great for the target-earning profile.
On the rushing side, Stevenson still has the lead with Henderson and Antonio Gibson all worked in to a degree. Henderson’s touches did drop a bit from 11 in Week 1 to just five total touches in Week 2. While it’s taking a step backward, the thesis of getting more work and ramping up never changes. Not every rookie running back is on a parallel schedule across the league, so it’s going to take a little bit of time for Henderson to get the touches necessary to be an efficiency monster.
Saints Notes From Week 2:
You have to give it up to the New Orleans Saints: they’re playing much better football than anybody is giving them credit for. They’re sneakily condensed with their personal as the top-three wide receivers ran over 75 percent of routes, Juwan Johnson had a massive 93 percent routes share, and Alvin Kamara’s role is ridiculously strong too, with 86 percent snap share and 70 percent of the team’s rush attempts.
Credit should go to Kellen Moore, who is running a fast-paced offense, and Spencer Rattler has been much improved from his initial starts last season. Rattler tossed three touchdowns and 207 yards on 34 pass attempts, with 10 of the targets headed to Chris Olave on a less-than-efficient 6-54 line. Johnson has been the most productive player through two weeks with another nine targets and a touchdown. Johnson has to be starting in every fantasy league going forward, as the role is massive and the offense is better than expected.
Giants Notes From Week 2:
Malik Nabers is awesome, folks. You can write his name in a ballpoint pen with the top of the tier of fantasy wide receivers. 9-167 on 13 targets with two touchdowns. It was evident from the jump in his rookie season that Nabers was incredible, and not that this game definitively solidified that kind of lofty status, but well, you know.
Robinson exploded in Week 2 with an 8-142 line plus a touchdown. Even more astounding was his role; Robinson had 174(!) air yards after he had 675 air yards total last season. I think we do have to be cautious a little bit with such a wild shift in role as we’ve known Robinson to be a sort of “PPR scam” wide receiver who racks up catches, especially on third downs. But the possibility of role expansion – basically adding on Darius Slayton’s role – and especially one that lets him get downfield (17.4-yard aDOT) is intriguing. The Giants feature the ninth-highest utilization of 11 personnel in the league, with 72.4 percent of the snaps in that personnel grouping.
Over to the run game, where we have a shift from Week 1 to Week 2, where Tyrone Tracy Jr. was used as a change-of-pace back and Cam Skattebo took more snaps AND routes, ending Week 2 with a 13:9 touch advantage over Tracy. Tracy will likely get more of the third-down work, but for early-down carries and short-yardage work, that seems ticketed for Skattebo’s skillset. This changeover likely would have happened right away had Skattebo not gotten hurt in training camp and most of the preseason, but we have to downgrade Tracy and upgrade Skattebo going forward.
Jets Notes From Week 2:
The other shoe dropped on the New York Jets. Whether you want to call it “football” that they played in Week 2 is your prerogative, but it was an awful watch and cruise control for the Bills. The Jets were stymied all game, and then Justin Fields left the game in the fourth quarter with a concussion, ending his day with 3-of-11 passing for just 27 yards and 49 yards on the ground.
Besides seven targets and a 4-50 line from Garrett Wilson, only one other Jet (Breece Hall) earned more than two targets and gained more than eight yards receiving. Hall led the way for the running backs with just shy of 3.0 yards per carry on 10 carries and two receptions on 12 opportunities. If this sounds disgusting, it’s because it was. The Bills dominated throughout and then put foot to throat to seal it.
Eagles Notes From Week 2:
Both teams were geared up here, and the Eagles edged out the Chiefs 20-17 in a Super Bowl rematch. Neither team cared about putting up any fantasy-relevant stats, because there really wasn’t much. Certainly not in the passing game, as the Eagles wanted to run as much as they possibly could with 34 rushing attempts and just 22 passes. A.J. Brown’s eight targets (5-27) and DeVonta Smith’s six targets (4-53) constituted two-thirds of the targets for the Eagles. No other Eagle had more than two targets or more than six yards receiving.
The main engine of the Eagles’ offense was (predictably) Saquon Barkley with 88 yards rushing, plus a touchdown. Jalen Hurts chipped in on the ground with a ‘tush push’ touchdown, but only passed for 101 yards on 22 attempts.
Barkley does feel a bit less impactful this season as a pick in the middle of the first round versus being picked a full round or more, thanks to the combination of players you could get before selecting him. That’s why his 2024 season crushed people at his ADP versus if he does the same this season. He’s still going to put people in the dirt again this season, just because the running game in Philadelphia is pretty much the only thing that’s currently working when it comes to their offense.
Steelers Notes From Week 2:
The Steelers feature one of the most unconcentrated offenses in the league, and when you’re getting five wide receivers, three tight end,s and a fullback out there mixing and matching, it’s hard to get anything to your featured guys. DK Metcalf scored a touchdown on just 3-20 receiving, but did lead the Steelers with six targets. Both Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith are splitting one tight end role, so while both had four targets, we’re not touching either in fantasy. Calvin Austin III ran a ton of routes (90 percent) but only caught one pass on three targets.
Jaylen Warren led things in both receiving (4-86) and rushing (14-48), while Kenneth Gainwell’s touches were scaled back a little bit. It also helps that it’s a two-man backfield with Kaleb Johnson finding nearly permanent residence in the doghouse after letting a live ball go behind him on a kickoff return and allowing a touchdown.
49ers Notes From Week 2:
Kyle Shanahan had his ultimate dream scenario play after four seasons: he got to start Mac Jones in an NFL game for the 49ers. With Brock Purdy out thanks to a shoulder and toe injury, Jones was solid for the most part, tossing three touchdowns and 279 yards on 43 dropbacks. Jauan Jennings dropped back into the 49ers lineup and looked like he didn’t skip a beat from his 2024 breakout, pacing the team with a 5-89 line and a 42-yard touchdown on nine targets. Jennings did pick up an ankle injury on top of the shoulder injury he had before, so his Week 3 status is up in the air.
After Jennings, Ricky Pearsall (4-56) was solid and had an opportunity for a long gain, but that was wiped away by a penalty. Christian McCaffrey (6-52) was the third in the passing game, and he also scored a touchdown from seven yards. McCaffrey’s rushing stuff was strong with the role, and solidly efficient with just a shade over 4.0 per carry on his 13 carries for 55 yards.
Seahawks Notes From Week 2:
So far this season, everything has come up Jaxon Smith-Njigba (8-103, nine targets) on the receiving end. Of all the early returns so far in terms of players, we have to readjust our line of thinking on JSN has to be the top one. 21 targets, 17 receptions, and 227 yards so far this season, and he’s taken a huge leap.
It does help to have somebody to play off in the passing game, and that’s why it was also nice to see Cooper Kupp have a productive Week 2 with a 7-90 line on eight targets in the slot. Tory Horton also caught his first touchdown, and he has a decent grip as the third receiver over Jake Bobo and Dareke Young. No other Seahawk caught more than two balls, but tight end AJ Barner (2-26, three targets) scored a touchdown on 69 percent of routes.
For the run game, it’s an interesting dynamic because both Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet are very fantasy relevant, but it certainly doesn’t help when Charbonnet has 15 carries for 10 yards to keep his role. He will, but these games happen. Walker averaged just shy of 8.1 yards per carry as he went over 100 yards and scored a 19-yard touchdown to seal the win for the Seahawks. Both backs are about the same in value and are a true backfield split without anybody taking a true lead here. At least for now.
Buccaneers Notes From Week 2:
The Buccaneers and Texans had to grind this out a little bit, but volume went the way of the Bucs as Rachaad White scored a rushing touchdown with under 10 seconds left to put Tampa ahead 20-19 after missing the two-point conversion.
Some more status quo stuff from the Buccaneers, as Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka combined for 50 percent of the total targets. Egbuka scored on a designed play where Otton and Sterling Shepard on the inside of the three WR ran off toward the hashes, the right guard and right tackle screened off the defenders and let Egbuka use his ball-in-hand skills to score the 15-yard touchdown. These are truly easy plays to scheme up and show that the creativity from Liam Coen last season to offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard hasn’t left the building.
Evans carried the volume, though he only put up a 5-56 line on a team-high 11 targets. Shepard saw the bulk of the slot work for Tampa and ran 89 percent of routes per dropback in Week 2, catching all four targets for 34 yards. Otton (3-25) was also strong at 93 percent of routes with his four targets on the evening.
Bucky Irving caught all six of his targets for 50 yards, with extremely strong routes (76%) and snaps (71%) that we haven’t seen in games where White has been healthy. Both backs combined for 136 yards on the ground, but Irving was the star with 121 total yards. He’s firmly solidifying his role by the week and looks like the best player on the field when he’s on it.
Titans Notes From Week 2:
The Titans stink. Not quite out loud, but the murmurs are there. They lost to the Rams 33-19 in a game that was never in doubt despite just a two-score difference.
Without hesitation, my auto-correct always changes Elic Ayomanor’s first name to “epic”, and while we’re not QUITE there yet with Ayomanor, we do like what we see from the rookie in the season’s first two weeks. Ayomanor has taken advantage of his opportunities, earning a combined 13 targets in two weeks. In Week 2, Ayomanor’s routes came down to 68 percent, but he was much more productive with a 4-56 line and his first NFL touchdown. Once we have the marriage of efficiency with the opportunity with Ayomanor, it’s going to be a great thing for fantasy managers.
If the Tennessee Titans were a Tootsie Pop, we’re currently at the “just unwrapped it” phase in terms of getting to the good stuff with getting the young, exciting pass-catchers time on the field. The early-season “we have to get the veterans their snaps” stuff is in full swing for the Titans. Calvin Ridley is going to get his involvement, and he’s not going anywhere with his 90 percent routes and six targets, which tied Ayomanor and Chig Okonkwo for the team lead.
The hope for Okonkwo is that this offense would find a little groove early and find potential as the second target, but Ayomanor seems to have assumed that role. We’ve been trying to make fetch (Okonkwo) happen for several seasons, but it’s probably more likely that Okonkwo is just who he is. So, back to waiver wire purgatory for Okonkwo goes until bye weeks hit.
It’s also interesting to see the Titans get an unheralded rookie more time, as Chimere Dike earned five targets but jumped up from 15 percent routes in Week 1 to 42 percent in Week 2. It could be just open tryouts each week as they try to find pieces that will be part of the future for Cameron Ward this season and beyond. At least that’s happening at the expense of real estate agent Tyler Lockett, whose routes cratered from 77 percent in Week 1 to 46 percent in Week 2.
Tony Pollard got all of the running back touches in Week 2, plus 77 percent of the team's rushing attempts. In the losing effort, Pollard’s role remains very strong with zero threat behind him.
Commanders Notes From Week 2:
The Commanders were all out of sorts against the Packers, as they only had 13 called rushing plays on the night, thanks to some of the game script stuff, but with that, the team loses Austin Ekeler for the season with an Achilles’ tear. A brutal beat for a team looking to contend in the NFC East and the NFC in general. That does put Jacory Croskey-Merritt at the forefront of the running game for the time being, and they may need him much more than they did in Week 2, as JCM only had four rushing attempts and one target in the Week 2 loss to the Packers. Washington will inevitably bring Chris Rodriguez Jr. up to mix in with JCM and Jeremy McNichols, who could factor into some of the receiving work Ekeler leaves behind.
For the passing game, it’s been a nice two games for Deebo Samuel Sr., as he looked pretty good catching all seven targets for 44 yards and a late touchdown for the game’s final touchdown. Terry McLaurin has been very quiet with just 75 yards in two games, but he did get a team-leading 10 targets here. If Daniels can gut it out with the knee sprain he picked up to start in Week 3, better days are ahead for McLaurin and the passing game. However, it could be Marcus Mariota starting for Washington if Daniels can’t go, thanks to a knee sprain he picked up in the loss.
Zach Ertz (6-64-1) has picked up right where he left off last season, with touchdowns in his first two games plus 80 percent routes per dropback in both games. You have to feel pretty good about Ertz so far as a later-round tight end pick if you punted the position.
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