It’s down around the end zone where touchdowns get scored. If you can latch onto a receiver who’s getting lots of looks in that area, it becomes more likely that you’ll be getting touchdown catches out of that position.
As we’re pulling into the halfway point of the season, Antonio Gates has been the busiest player in that part of the field, with 11 targets. Four others have 9-plus: Antonio Brown, Demaryius Thomas, and the two Green Bay receivers (Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb).
Here’s the list of everyone with at least 5. These include 2-point conversions, which technically aren’t NFL players but are plenty meaningful for fantasy purposes. I’m listing three stats for each player, “No” (number of catches), “Tgt” (pass attempts), “TD” (includes both TDs and 2-point conversions).
| MOST TARGETED INSIDE THE 10 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Tgt | TD |
| Antonio Gates, S.D. | 6 | 11 | 6 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 4 | 9 | 3 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 3 | 9 | 2 |
| Julius Thomas, Den. | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| Brandon Marshall, Chi. | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| Ahmad Bradshaw, Ind. | 7 | 8 | 5 |
| Larry Donnell, NYG | 4 | 7 | 4 |
| Rueben Randle, NYG | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| Martellus Bennett, Chi. | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Chi. | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Matt Forte, Chi. | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Vincent Jackson, T.B. | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Owen Daniels, Balt. | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Eric Decker, NYJ | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Coby Fleener, Ind. | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Dwayne Allen, Ind. | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Hakeem Nicks, Ind. | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Looking at the same numbers a different way, there are 61 players who’ve seen at least 20 percent of their own team’s throws in this part of the field. The leader here is Cecil Shorts III. The Jaguars have passed the ball only 3 times inside the 10, and he’s been in the intended target on 2 of them. So he’s at 67 percent (a number that will come down, no doubt, as they get busier down there and start trying some passes to other guys).
But it’s a way to look at. It can be telling. Andre Johnson, for example, has caught only 1 TD, but he’s the guy they’re at least trying to get the ball to down there. He’s been their goal-line type target on 4 of their 7 throws. I take this as evidence that Johnson might be a better scorer going forward than teammate DeAndre Hopkins, even though Hopkins thus far has outscored Johnson 3-1. Delanie Walker, Kelvin Benjamin and Jeremy Maclin also pop up as heavily used goal-line options.
The weirdest team in this part of the field has been Detroit. It’s attempted 23 passes inside the 10 (a healthy number) but no one individual has been the intended target on more than 3 of them. Instead, they’ve got 11 different players who’ve seen 1-3 passes each.
On this table, I’m showing the same three stats (Receptions, targets, TD), plus I’m adding the number of team targets and the resulting percentage (size of share of the individual). For the team targets, those are only actual throws – sacks aren’t included.
| PERCENT OF TEAM'S ATTEMPTS INSIDE 10 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | No | Tgt | TD | Tm | Pct |
| 1. | Cecil Shorts III, Jac. | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 66.7% |
| 2. | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 57.1% |
| 3. | Delanie Walker, Tenn. | 3 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 50.0% |
| 4. | Dez Bryant, Dall. | 3 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 42.9% |
| 5. | Kelvin Benjamin, Car. | 1 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 40.0% |
| 6. | Antonio Gates, S.D. | 6 | 11 | 6 | 29 | 37.9% |
| 7. | Jeremy Maclin, Phil. | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 36.4% |
| 8. | Vincent Jackson, T.B. | 2 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 35.7% |
| 9. | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 6 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 34.6% |
| 10. | Randall Cobb, G.B. | 9 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 34.5% |
| 11. | Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 4 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 33.3% |
| 12. | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 2 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 13. | Jermaine Kearse, Sea. | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 14. | Marshawn Lynch, Sea. | 3 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 33.3% |
| 15. | Mohamed Sanu, Cin. | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 33.3% |
| 16. | Andre Holmes, Oak. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| 17. | James Jones, Oak. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| 18. | Nick Jacobs, Jac. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 33.3% |
| 19. | Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 3 | 9 | 2 | 29 | 31.0% |
| 20. | Roddy White, Atl. | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 30.8% |
| 21. | Greg Olsen, Car. | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 30.0% |
| 22. | Julius Thomas, Den. | 6 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 29.6% |
| 23. | Owen Daniels, Balt. | 3 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 29.4% |
| 24. | Lance Kendricks, St.L. | 3 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 28.6% |
| 25. | Arian Foster, Hou. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 28.6% |
| 26. | Larry Donnell, NYG | 4 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 28.0% |
| 27. | Rueben Randle, NYG | 3 | 7 | 2 | 25 | 28.0% |
| 28. | Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 4 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 27.8% |
| 29. | Eric Decker, NYJ | 2 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 27.8% |
| 30. | Brent Celek, Phil. | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 27.3% |
| 31. | Brandon Marshall, Chi. | 3 | 8 | 3 | 30 | 26.7% |
| 32. | Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 7 | 7 | 3 | 27 | 25.9% |
| 33. | Jamaal Charles, K.C. | 3 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 25.0% |
| 34. | Travis Kelce, K.C. | 2 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 25.0% |
| 35. | Stepfan Taylor, Ariz. | 3 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 36. | Robert Woods, Buff. | 2 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 37. | Jimmy Graham, N.O. | 2 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 38. | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 1 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 39. | Michael Crabtree, S.F. | 3 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 25.0% |
| 40. | Ahmad Bradshaw, Ind. | 7 | 8 | 5 | 34 | 23.5% |
| 41. | Steve Smith, Balt. | 1 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 23.5% |
| 42. | Martellus Bennett, Chi. | 4 | 7 | 3 | 30 | 23.3% |
| 43. | Charles Clay, Mia. | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 22.2% |
| 44. | Lamar Miller, Mia. | 3 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 22.2% |
| 45. | Mike Wallace, Mia. | 3 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 22.2% |
| 46. | Shane Vereen, N.E. | 2 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 22.2% |
| 47. | Ben Tate, Cin. | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 22.2% |
| 48. | Jermaine Gresham, Cin. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 22.2% |
| 49. | Chase Ford, Minn. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 22.2% |
| 50. | Greg Jennings, Minn. | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 22.2% |
| 51. | Darrel Young, Wash. | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 22.2% |
| 52. | Jordan Reed, Wash. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 22.2% |
| 53. | Niles Paul, Wash. | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 22.2% |
| 54. | Pierre Garcon, Wash. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 22.2% |
| 55. | Jordan Cameron, Clev. | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 21.4% |
| 56. | Gavin Escobar, Dall. | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 21.4% |
| 57. | Terrance Williams, Dall. | 2 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 21.4% |
| 58. | Benny Cunningham, St.L. | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 21.4% |
| 59. | Louis Murphy, T.B. | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 21.4% |
| 60. | Alshon Jeffery, Chi. | 2 | 6 | 2 | 30 | 20.0% |
| 61. | Matt Forte, Chi. | 4 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 20.0% |
—Ian Allan