Within last week's season-debut column, I asked the readers to provide ideas for what you would like to see highlighted in the future. One suggestion offered was that statistics on tight end usage be provided. As tight ends are used both as blockers and receivers, it's important not only to look at how many targets the top guys are getting, but also whether or not they are even running a route in the first place. Through two weeks, here is a look at the most prominent tight ends and how often they have run routes:
Tight End Route Breakdown, This Season
Things to notice
• If you want to know if the New England Patriots are going to pass, look to see if Tim Wright is on the field. The Patriots have run a pass play on 86 percent of the snaps Wright has played. It appears that the Patriots are really trying to get him to play the old Aaron Hernandez role, and when Wright gets a better handle on the Patriots' offensive system, he should become a good bye week fill-in option.
• Travis Kelce was a popular sleeper, but he's not getting enough snaps yet to be consistently valuable. However, since he runs routes on 70 percent of his snaps, it's important to monitor fluctuations in his snap count.
• Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen have played a similar number of snaps for the Indianapolis Colts, but Fleener is used more aggressively in the passing attack. In addition to running 15 more routes during the first two games, Fleener has been targeted on 37 percent of his routes, while Allen has been thrown to on just 12 percent of his.
On target
Receiving yardage is the most variable form of yardage, which makes sense because so much of it is dependent on where the quarterback elects to throw the ball. Because of this, variations in the number of times a player is targeted by his quarterback can greatly change a player's value. So while your receiver may have scored 10 fantasy points in Week 1, you need to know whether it's reasonable to expect that he can repeat that type of performance on a routine basis. If he had one target that he turned into a 40-yard touchdown, you need to realize that he was one quarterback decision away from posting a goose egg. Conversely, if your wideout had 12 targets and finished with 108 receiving yards, his prospects for consistent fantasy production are significantly greater. In the chart below, you'll see all the players who received eight or more targets in Week 1, and how many of those targets were on plays that began in the red zone.
Note: Targets are not an official NFL statistic. Based on the methodology that stat services use, the number of targets listed may be different than target values listed elsewhere. The philosophy of ESPN Stats & Information is to count a target when the analyst thinks the pass was actually intended for the player. Therefore, if a quarterback is obviously throwing a ball away, the analyst will not record a target for that pass. This gives a truer representation of what a target is -- i.e., a pass thrown to a particular player with the intent for that player to catch the ball -- and therefore should be more helpful to the fantasy community.
Targets Report
Fantasy insights based on Week 2
• Pierre Garcon receiving only four targets in a game which DeSean Jackson left due to injury is probably a huge anomaly. While Kirk Cousins looked for Niles Paul often on Sunday, expect some of those targets to go to Garcon beginning this week.
• There are only seven players that have been targeted 10 times or more in each of the first two weeks: Jordy Nelson, Calvin Johnson, Jimmy Graham, Steve Smith, T.Y. Hilton, Jeremy Maclin and ... Andrew Hawkins. Hawkins is likely still available in your league (15 percent ownership in ESPN.com leagues). Change that immediately.
• Delanie Walker is running a similar number of routes as last season, but is being targeted much more often. However, with Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter on board, do not look for that trend to continue. For reference, Walker is being targeted on 30 percent of his routes this season. Last year, the league's top tight end, Jimmy Graham, was targeted on 28 percent of his.
• Harry Douglas is averaging 7.5 targets per game and is worthy of a roster spot on those opportunities alone. Factor in his upside in the case of an injury to either Roddy White or Julio Jones and you could wind up with a WR2 for a minimal investment.
• You might think that Markus Wheaton's seven targets per game may be unsustainable because they were a product of a Pittsburgh Steelers team trying to make up ground during the second half against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2. A closer look shows that nine of his 14 targets have come during the first half of the team's first two games.
Big plays and up close
• There were nine players in Week 2 who totaled three rushes that gained 10 or more yards each. They were: LeSean McCoy (5), DeMarco Murray (5), Bobby Rainey (5), Bernard Pierce (4), Trent Richardson (3), Mark Ingram (3), Colin Kaepernick (3), Arian Foster (3) and Andre Ellington (3). That is the same number of players with at least three rushes of 10 or more yards as Week 1. However, in Week 1 no one had more than three such rushes, while Week 2 featured four players reaching at least four such runs.
• Meanwhile, there were 15 players who had at least two carries from the opponent's 5-yard line or closer: Alfred Morris (5), Knile Davis (4), Bernard Pierce (4), Arian Foster (3), Zac Stacy (2), Trent Richardson (2), Stevan Ridley (2), Montee Ball (2), Mark Ingram (2), LeSean McCoy (2), Justin Forsett (2), Josh McCown (2), Jeremy Hill (2), Giovani Bernard (2) and Chris Ivory (2). Of this group, only Pierce, Ball, Richardson and Forsett failed to score from this distance. Last week, only six players had multiple rushing opportunities from this part of the field.
• Through two weeks, the Green Bay Packers have had only two rush attempts from the opponent's 5-yard line or closer. If you own Eddie Lacy, you might think that's what has been affecting his fantasy production, but it isn't. Last season, the Packers had 20 such attempts for the season, so their opportunities in this area haven't changed significantly through the first two weeks.
• Those who started Shane Vereen were likely dismayed to see Ridley's production and opportunities. While Ridley is a popular punching bag, he's a viable NFL back and more powerful runner than Vereen. That being said, trying to figure out which running back will be featured in the New England Patriots' offensive scheme each week will be the bane of many fantasy owners.
• Due to the Ravens' duo of Pierce and Forsett being denied six times from in close, it's appropriate to wonder if rookie running back Lorenzo Taliaferro will be given an opportunity to establish himself as a short-yardage specialist. Taliaferro's size (6 feet, 226 pounds) seems to indicate a natural fit for that type of role, but what should also help his case in earning some carries is that he was graded very highly in pass protection during his Senior Bowl practices.
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' rushing attack is poised to offer plenty of fantasy value with a Thursday night game against the Atlanta Falcons on this week's menu. Of course, who will get the carries for the Bucs is a difficult question to answer. Rainey dominated in Week 2 with Doug Martin out due to a minor knee injury. Media reports had Martin back running with the first-string offense Tuesday, so it seems that a split backfield is likely.
Until next week, thanks for reading, and remember, if you have a good idea for a stat to be analyzed, be sure to comment below.