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The XFL has made it past Week 2 and now we have eight games of data to analyze. No small feat, as nobody knew where this league was going just a few weeks ago. But here we are, just mere days from Week 3 matchups!
With two dates already in the rearview mirror and plenty of numbers stored from players showcasing their talent all around the country, it makes sense to crunch some of the data we have at hand to see how things have developed during the couple of games each team has already played. Not everybody has made it to Week 2, though, as some players missed the second matchup of the year for one reason or another. Tough league, this XFL.
In this column, I'll be taking a look at some risers and fallers in the receiving stats department, more precisely at how different players fared in terms of targets from Week 1 to Week 2 to see how different teams are using their assets, and what those men are making of their chances. Let's get to it!
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Week 1 - 2 Targets: Overall View
So far, there have been eight games with a grand total of 504 targets from the first couple of weeks of XFL play. Not bad, truth be told, with an average of 63 pass attempts per game (31.5 per team). Here is how those targets have been shared among players in Week 1 (horizontal axis) and Week 2 (vertical axis), with the color diverging from red (more targets in Week 1) to green (indicating a higher number of targets in Week 2).
click image for full-screen view
That certainly looks like your uncle fired the shotgun against the wall and that was the result, doesn't it? Quite a varying set of results! We have everything from Nick Holley being targeted for the first time this past weekend (although still on low volume) to Austin Proehl losing a lot of targets from the first time around to his last game.
Let's take a look at the real risers and fallers from Week 1 to Week 2 next.
Week 1 - 2 Targets: Risers and Fallers
I have calculated the difference in targets from Week 1 to Week 2 (positive numbers favor Week 2), and here is how things looked after this last weekend's slate of games was over. I have removed players with no change in targets from Week 1 to Week 2 and also those with just a one-target difference, either positive or negative.
One clear riser this weekend is De'Mornay Pierson-El, the only man able to bump up his numbers by six targets. On the other end, there were two players (the aforementioned Proehl and Joe Horn) who lost six targets from the first week to the last one, both dropping to four or fewer targets in Week 2.
RISER - De'Mornay Pierson-El, STL (+6, from 4 targets to 10)
The receiver of the St. Louis BattleHawks saw his targets raise the most this weekend, although his overall performance wasn't as good through the air. While Pierson-El boosted his FP thanks to a receiving touchdown, he could only rack up 50 yards compared to last week's 64. His efficiency stayed sublime as he caught nine of the 10 passes thrown his way (last week he finished catching four of four).
RISER - Donald Parham, DAL (+5, from 6 targets to 11)
Parham reached the second-largest number of targets through two weeks of XFL games with his 11 from Week 2. He caught five of 11 passes for 76 yards and also scored a touchdown for 18.6 FP, more than doubling his Week 1 score of 8.0. No wonder he leads Dallas receiving corps in targets and yardage through the air even while slotting at the tight end position. There aren't many receiving options at the tight end position in this league, so Parham is a name worth noting.
RISER - Jeff Badet, DAL (+5, from 4 targets to 9)
We stay in Dallas to highlight the exploits of a wide receiver this time. Badet went from four to nine targets, is now at 13, and his 49 yards through Week 2 rank 25th in the XFL. Although he has yet to enter the end zone with the rock in control, Badet is turning into one of the Renegades safety options on offense has he's caught nine of those 13 targets for a 69% catch rate (fifth-best among players with 13+ targets).
FALLER - Joe Horn, NY (-6, from 8 targets to 2)
New York definitely learned from its mistakes. The Guardians threw the ball eight times Horn's way in Week 1 to watch him catch just two of those passes for 27 yards, and things took a 180-degree turn this past weekend. Horn was limited to just two targets, caught none of those passes, and finished the game with a very nice and rounded 0.0 FP. Yikes.
FALLER - Austin Proehl, SEA (-6, from 10 targets to 4)
Remember Proehl numbers from Week 1? He virtually became the face of the XFL in no time after racking up a couple of touchdowns on his first appearance, catching five of 10 passes and even rushing for three extra yards on his lone attempt on the ground. Quite an explosion, wasn't it? Well, not so good for the Seattle Dragon in Week 2 as he could only catch one pass... and he lost a yard on the play. A measly 0.9 FP-performance for the receiver who is on a team that could stay run-oriented throughout the season.
FALLER - Sammie Coates, HOU (-5, from 9 targets to 4)
Carrying one of the biggest names to appear through XFL rosters due to his time with the Steelers, Coates was obviously hyper-targeted in Week 1 (nine of them) but didn't perform to the expected levels catching just two passes for 26 yards and no scores. This past weekend wasn't much better for him, as not only did his targets dropped to just four, but he was again bad at catching rocks finishing with just one reception for eight yards this time. All in all, back-to-back games under 5 FP with tallies of 4.6 and 1.8 FP respectively.
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