2013 Fantasy FootballAndrew MillerFantasy Football

2013 Fantasy Football: Week 5 Target Practice

Key: I – Player missed game or left game early due to injury. S – Player was suspended for game. A – Player was inactive. B – Bye week. Most notable players who missed a game due to injury or benching are marked with an S or A. If a lesser-known player (for example Kory Sperry) was inactive, etc., I just put a 0 in his weekly spot because I don’t know if that player was just inactive, hurt, etc.

Arizona

Jaron Brown: 2-0-2-2-0 Jim Dray: 2-7-0-1-2 Andre Ellington: 3-2-6-6-4 Larry Fitzgerald: 14-5-6-9-6 Michael Floyd: 6-7-6-10-7 Rob Housler: 0-0-3-2-2 Rashard Mendenhall: 1-2-1-4-2 Patrick Peterson: 1-0-0-0-0 Andre Roberts: 9-8-4-2-1 Alfonso Smith: 1-0-1-1-3 Kory Sperry: 1-0-0-0-0 Stepfan Taylor: 0-0-1-0-0

Elllington ranks fifth in RB targets in the past three weeks. He’s averaging 62 total yards a week in the past four, and his yards per rush/receptions are both impressive. He’s definitely worth a roster spot. Floyd has at least four catches and 49 yards in four of five games. He’s only owned in 73 percent of ESPN leagues and 59 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Atlanta

Drew Davis: 0-0-1-0- Harry Douglas: 6-5-6-6- Bradie Ewing: 1-0-0-0- Tony Gonzalez: 6-8-5-14- Steven Jackson: 8-2-I-I- Julio Jones: 9-15-12-13- Jacquizz Rodgers: 1-4-3-6- Jason Snelling: 3-4-5-3- Levine Toilolo: 0-0-1-2- Roddy White: 2-3-4-9-

Baltimore

Marlon Brown: 6-6-3-8-I Dallas Clark: 12-1-7-9-0 Ed Dickson: 0-5-0-3-2 Tandon Doss: A-A-A-9-5 Jacoby Jones: 4-I-I-I-I Kyle Juszczyk: 0-0-0-0-1 Vonta Leach: 4-0-2-2-1 Bernard Pierce: 1-1-2-1-0 Ray Rice: 11-3-I-1-7 Torrey Smith: 8-13-9-12-9 Brandon Stokley: 10-5-1-0-0 Deonte Thompson: A-A-A-5-7

If Marlon Brown misses any more time, Doss could have some deep-league value. Only three Raven’s wide receivers were targeted Sunday, and Doss is averaging 15 yards a catch in the past two weeks.

Buffalo

Scott Chandler: 6-6-6-3-6 Tashard Choice: 0-1-1-0-0 Marcus Easley: 0-0-0-0-1 T.J. Graham: 1-3-5-3-4 Fred Jackson: 5-6-5-0-6 Steve Johnson: 6-10-13-6-3 Marquise Goodwin: 1-0-0-0-0 Chris Hogan: 0-0-0-0-5 Lee Smith: 0-0-0-2-1 CJ Spiller: 6-5-1-0-0 Frank Summers: 0-2-0-0-0 Robert Woods: 2-6-10-8-14

Woods ranks 12th in targets among WRs since Week 2. He’s averaging 61 yards a game since then, too. He’s owned in just 10 percent of ESPN leagues and 31 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Carolina

Kenjon Barner: 0-0-0-B-2- Armanti Edwards: 0-2-0-B-2- Ted Ginn: 1-8-4-B-5- Domenik Hixon: 0-0-1-B-0 Brandon Lafell: 0-6-5-B-9- Greg Olsen: 10-8-8-B-6- Steve Smith: 8-11-7-B-10- Mike Tolbert: 1-3-0-B-1- DeAngelo Williams: 3-0-2-B-3

Ginn is averaging 70 receiving yards in the last three weeks.

Photo credit: Jessica Koscielniak
Photo credit: Jessica Koscielniak

Chicago

Earl Bennett: 1-2-3-4-3- Martellus Bennett: 6-9-5-12-5- Michael Bush: 1-0-1-0-0 Matt Forte: 6-11-4-6-6- Alshon Jeffery: 8-5-8-11-13- Steve Maneri: 0-0-1-0-0 Brandon Marshall: 10-10-8-14-5- Dante Rosario: 0-0-0-0-1

Marshall had a season-low in targets, but he’ll be fine on Thursday night against the Giants. Alshon’s worked his way into every-week starter status. He’s got at least five catches in four games.

Cincinnati

Gio Bernard: 2-2-4-7-3 Tyler Eifert: 5-5-2-5-7 A.J. Green: 13-14-8-15-8- BenJarvus Green-Ellis: 1-1-0-0-1 Jermaine Gresham: 5-9-5-5-4 Marvin Jones: 2-4-4-3-2 Mohamed Sanu: 5-8-5-6-2 Dane Sanzenbacher: 0-0-0-1-0 Alex Smith: 0-1-0-0-0

Bernard rushed for 62 yards on just 13 carries, while Green-Ellis rushed for 67 yards on 19 carries. Bernard is much more of a factor in the passing game, and while The Law Firm is probably still first in line for goal-line touches Bernard’s obviously the back you want to own.

Cleveland

Gary Barnidge: 1-0-0-1-1 Travis Benjamin: 8-0-0-1-1 Davone Bess: 10-8-10-6-5 Jordan Cameron: 13-7-11-12-5 Josh Gordon: S-S-19-9-6 Tori Gurley: 2-0-0-0-0 Greg Little: 10-12-8-2-5 Willis McGahee: A-A-A-0-2 Chris Ogbonnaya: 3-0-5-5-2 Bobby Rainey: 0-0-1-2-1 Trent Richardson: 6 5 (Week 3 trade)

Outside of Cameron and Gordon there’s not much you want here. But those two are must-starts every week, even with Brandon Weeden at QB.

Dallas

Miles Austin: 12-4-5-I-I Cole Beasley: 0-0-1-3-4 Dez Bryant: 8-13-6-9-10 Gavin Escobar: 2-1-2-0-3 James Hanna: 0-5-0-0-1 Dwayne Harris: 3-0-1-2-2 DeMarco Murray: 10-6-3-5-1 Phillip Tanner: 1-0-0-0-0 Terrance Williams: 4-3-0-8-4 Jason Witten: 9-8-6-10-10

If Austin remains sidelined Williams is a borderline start in most leagues. He caught all four targets in Week 5 for 151 yards and a touchdown. Dallas plays Washington and Philly in the next two weeks so the matchups couldn’t be much better.

Denver

Montee Ball: 0-2-0-0-0 Andre Caldwell: 1-1-0-2-0 Eric Decker: 7-13-8-7-8 Virgil Green: 0-1-2-1-0 Ronnie Hillman: 2-1-1-3-4 Knowshown Moreno: 3-3-2-1-5 Jacob Tamme: 0-0-1-0-0 Demaryius Thomas: 11-6-11-10-6 Julius Thomas: 7-9-4-4-12 Wes Welker: 11-8-8-9-6

Moreno’s averaging a career-high 5.1 yards a carry and has over 90 total yards in three of five games. There’s really not much else to say except for start your Broncos.

Detroit

Joique Bell: 6-8-5-4-4 Ryan Broyles: I-I-3-1-2 Nate Burleson: 6-8-9-I- Reggie Bush: 8-4-I-6-6 Kris Durham: 2-2-3-4-8 Pat Edwards: 3-0-0-0-5 Joseph Fauria: 3-0-3-0- Calvin Johnson: 9-8-13-10-I Kevin Ogletree: (Acquired from Tampa Bay, Week 5) A-A-A-A-3 Brandon Pettigrew: 4-6-2-7-5 Tony Scheffler: 1-0-2-2-7

Green Bay

Randall Cobb: 12-10-11-B-8 Jermichael Finley: 8-7-1-B-6 Johnathan Franklin: 0-0-3-B-0 James Jones: 2-12-8-B-6 Eddie Lacy: 2-I-I-B-1 John Kuhn: 1-0-0-B-0 Jordy Nelson: 10-4-9-B-7 Andrew Quarless: 0-3-5-B-0 Jeremy Ross: 0-0-2-B-0 James Starks: 1-5-0-B-0 Ryan Taylor: 0-0-3-B-1

Cobb’s last two games haven’t been great, but he’s still being targeted a ton and rushed for 72 yards Sunday. Nelson has at least 66 yards in every game. Finley has at least six catches and/or a touchdown in his three games. Jones is averaging 18 yards a catch so even if the quantity isn’t always there there’s a great chance for a high quality day from him. With a lack of proven running game and Lacy’s somewhat injury-proneness always start those four Packers’ receivers.

Houston

Owen Daniels: 7-5-9-11-9 Arian Foster: 8-4-2-8-5 Garrett Graham: 5-5-0-6-5 Ryan Griffin: A-A-A-1- DeAndre Hopkins: 6-13-7-3-4 Andre Johnson: 16-13-6-12-10 Greg Jones: A-A-A-1-1 Keshawn Martin: 0-2-3-6-1 DeVier Posey: 0-0-4-0-2 Ben Tate: 2-4-4-1-2

Daniels might miss some time due to a leg injury, so if he does Graham’s value goes way up. Graham’s been targeted a lot, and despite a bad game against San Fran he’s a main red zone target.

Indianapolis

Vick Ballard: 2-0-0-0-0 Ahmad Bradshaw: 1-3-4-I-I Donald Brown: 0-0-1-2-2 Coby Fleener: 1-8-2-7-3 Stanley Havili: 0-0-1-2-0 Darrius Heyward-Bey: 4-5-5-6-6 T.Y. Hilton: 5-12-4-9-6 Robert Hughes: 0-0-0-0-2 Dominique Jones: 0-2-0-1-0 Trent Richardson 0-0-3-1-1 Reggie Wayne: 8-8-7-11-9 Griff Whalen: 0-3-0-0-0 Dwayne Allen: 2 0 0 (out for season)

My advice on Hilton: Just start him and hope he has a big game. His two best games this season have come against Seattle and Miami, the two best teams against wide outs in fantasy. So there’s no way to predict when he’ll go off and when he’ll be quiet. Better yet maybe see what you can get for him after this big week?

Jacksonville

Justin Blackmon: S-S-S-S-9 Mike Brown: 3-0-0-0-0 Stephen Burton: 0-3-9-0-0 Jeremy Ebert: 0-0-0-3-2 Justin Forsett: 5-0-0-0-0 Clay Harbor: 1-4-1-8-5 Maurice Jones-Drew: 2-1-5-1-3 Allen Reisner: 5-2-1-1-0 Denard Robinson: 0-0-0-1-0 Ace Sanders: 9-7-3-8-1 Cecil Shorts: 11-14-15-12-10 Will Ta’ufo’ou: 1-0-1-0-1 Jordan Todman: 4-0-0-0-0 D.J. Williams: 0-0-1-0-1

Blackmon looked pretty good in his season debut. He got five passes for 136 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown, albeit against very bad coverage. But with how badly the Jaguars fall behind in every game he and Shorts make for OK plays. MJD finally had a run of over 10 yards Sunday, but he just looks slow. And he only has six catches this season.

Kansas City

Donnie Avery: 5-4-7-10-4 Dwayne Bowe: 6-8-3-7-6 Kevin Brock: 0-0-1-2-2 Jamaal Charles: 6-10-8-11-9 Knile Davis: 1-0-0-0-1 Anthony Fasano: 5-2-0-0- Cyrus Gray: 1-0-0-0- Chad Hall: 0-0-1-0-4 Junior Hemingway: 1-0-1-0-1 A.J. Jenkins: 0-0-2-0-1 Dexter McCluster: 5-4-4-5-3 Sean McGrath: 0-4-4-5-6 Anthony Sherman: 4-0-2-1-2

If you need a bye-week replacement at tight end, McGrath is averaging 3.75 catches and 45 yards in his last four games. I know that’s not great, but he’s been pretty consistent in his targets and production.

Miami

Charles Clay: 6-7-6-6-6 Michael Egnew: 0-0-1-0-1 Brandon Gibson: 10-2-8-8-5 Brian Hartline: 14-8-6-4-7 Rishard Matthews: 0-0-4-2- Lamar Miller: 1-2-3-3-0 Dion Sims: 0-0-1-1- Marcus Thigpen: 0-0-0-2-1 Daniel Thomas: 1-1-1-1-2 Mike Wallace: 5-11-5-7-16

Wallace only caught seven of his 16 targets, but did put up 105 yards. He’s just like Hilton in that you start him weekly, but you should’ve known what you were signing up for on draft day. Gibson has at least 71 yards in three of five games. He’s barely owned in any leagues. Hartline went four catches for 60 yards. He doesn’t have much upside, but is a consistent performer.

Minnesota

John Carlson: 1-2-2-2-B Toby Gerhart: 0-0-2-1-B Greg Jennings: 7-6-6-4-B Zach Line: 1-0-1-0 Cordarrelle Patterson: 1-2-4-2-B Adrian Peterson: 4-2-6-1-B Kyle Rudolph: 4-6-8-2-B Jerome Simpson: 8-5-8-11-B Joe Webb: 0-0-1-1-B Jarius Wright: 2-2-4-1-B

New England

Danny Amendola: 14-I-I-I-9 LeGarrette Blount: 0-1-0- Brandon Bolden: 0-0-6-1-8 Josh Boyce: 2-0-1-3-0 James Develin: 0-1-0-1-0 Aaron Dobson: 0-10-10-3-4 Julian Edelman: 9-18-7-9-7 Michael Hoomanawanui: 2-0-2-0-2 Matthew Mulligan: 0-0-0-1-0 Stevan Ridley: 0-0-0-2-0 Zach Sudfeld: 1 I 2 (Released)  Kenbrell Thompkins: 14-7-7-11-4 Shane Vereen: 10-I-I-I-I

Just a bad day all around for New England and especially its passing game. Amendola is probably going to play more next week, so he should be back to his regular ways. Edelman should be OK, too.

New Orleans

Jed Collins: 0-0-1-1-5 Marques Colston: 6-7-8-8-2 Jimmy Graham: 7-16-15-4-11 Mark Ingram: 0-1-0- Robert Meachem: 0-0-2-1-1 Lance Moore: 4-4-3- Darren Sproles: 6-8-6-8-3 Kenny Stills: 5-0-2-6-2 Pierre Thomas: 4-5-6-6-9 Nick Toon: 0-0-0-2-1 Ben Watson: 3-0-2-2-1

Thomas caught all nine of his targets, and now the Chicago native’s three best PPR days have all come in Chicago.

New York Giants

Victor Cruz: 8-11-8-16-12 Larry Donnell: 0-3-0-0-0 Henry Hynoski: 1-0-1-0-0 Brandon Jacobs: 0-1-0-1-3 Jerrel Jernigan: 0-0-1-0-3 Louis Murphy: 0-0-1-0-0 Brandon Myers: 9-10-6-1-5 Hakeem Nicks: 8-7-1-9-12 Reuben Randle: 6-9-4-4-13 Da’Rel Scott: 8-4-3-2 (Released) Bear Pascoe: 0-2-2-1-0 David Wilson: 1-1-0-3-1

Randle (6-96-2) and Nicks (9-142-0) had huge days, while Cruz (5-48) took a backseat somehow. Those three could all produce again against Chicago Thursday, as the Bears ranked seventh worst heading into the weekend against wide receivers. I’d say Cruz and Nicks are must-starts in most if not all leagues, and Randle can go in deeper leagues.

New York Jets

Tommy Bohanon: 2-0-1-3- Jeff Cumberland: 0-0-3-1- Clyde Gates: 4-8-1-3- Alex Green: 0-0-0-1- Stephen Hill: 9-8-6-1- Santonio Holmes: 3-6-10-5-  Chris Ivory: 2-0-0-I- Jeremy Kerley: 4-0-5-5- Ben Obomanu: 0-0-0-1- Bilal Powell: 5-5-3-5-  Konrad Reuland: 1-0-0-0- Kellen Winslow: 8-6-0-9-

Oakland

Brice Butler: 1-3-4-3-1 Jacoby Ford: 2-2-1-0-2 Rashad Jennings: 0-2-2-8-0 Jeron Mastrud: 1-0-0-2-0 Darren McFadden: 5-4-1-0-I Denarius Moore: 7-2-11-6-8 Jamize Olawale: 0-0-0-1-2 Marcel Reece: 2-0-5-2-3 Mychal Rivera: 3-3-3-6-3 Jeremy Stewart: 0-0-0-1-1 Rod Streater: 8-4-4-3-3

Moore’s quietly averaging 16 yards a catch and almost 80 yards a game. He also had a 33-yard TD called back Sunday night due to no fault of his own.

Philadelphia

Jason Avant: 3-7-8-4-7 Bryce Brown: 0-1-0-3-2 Brent Celek: 3-1-5-6-3 Zach Ertz: 3-2-1-2-3 James Casey: 0-1-0-1 Riley Cooper: 6-3-7-2-1 DeSean Jackson: 9-15-7-6-12 Jeff Maehl: 0-0-0-2 LeSean McCoy: 1-6-1-3-8 Chris Polk: 0-0-0-2

D-Jax is the only must-start Philly receiving option right now and most likely for the season.

Pittsburgh

Le’Veon Bell: I-I-I-5-B Antonio Brown: 7-9-13-12-B Jerricho Cotchery: 7-9-4-6-B Jonathan Dwyer: 0-0-3-0 -B David Johnson: 1-1-3-1-B Will Johnson: 0-0-1-0-B Felix Jones: 0-0-2-1-B Heath Miller: I-I-4-8-B Derek Moye: 0-1-0-0-B David Paulson: 0-4-2-0-B Isaac Redman: 3-2-0-0-B Emmanuel Sanders: 12-10-8-8-B Larod Stephens-Howling: 3-0-0-0-B Markus Wheaton: 0-0-1-5-B

San Diego

Keenan Allen: 0-3-1-6-9 Ronnie Brown: 2-1-0-0-3 Vincent Brown: 4-7-3-9-9 Malcom Floyd: 5-6-I-I-I Antonio Gates: 4-10-7-10-10 Ladarius Green: 0-0-2-0-1 Ryan Mathews: 2-1-0-4-0 Le’Ron McClain: 0-0-1-0-0 John Phillips: 0-0-0-1-0 Eddie Royal: 6-8-2-3-8 Danny Woodhead: 3-9-8-7-9

Allen’s last two weeks have shown what the rookie is capable of. He’s arguably the Chargers’ most skilled pass catcher depending on what you think of Gates. Allen’s got five or more catches and 80 or more yards in each of the past two weeks, and he’s averaging 16 yards a catch on the season. He’s owned in just 1 percent of ESPN leagues and 5 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

San Francisco

Jon Baldwin: A-A-A-2-2 Anquan Boldin: 17-4-8-7-6 Garrett Celek: 0-0-2-0-0 Vernon Davis: 9-5-I-4-6 Frank Gore: 2-3-4-2-0 Kendall Hunter: 0-0-1-1-0 Vance McDonald: 2-2-3-2-0 Bruce Miller: 2-5-1-3-1 Marlon Moore: 0-1-0-A-0 Quinton Patton: 0-0-1-1-0 Kyle Williams: 6-6-6-1-0

Boldin and Davis were the only two Niners’ receivers who caught passes Sunday night. Those are the only two you should be starting, as well.

Seattle

Doug Baldwin: 8-1-2-4-9 Derrick Coleman: 3-0-0-1-0 Kellen Davis: 0-0-2-0-0 Jermaine Kearse: 2-0-1-1-1 Marshawn Lynch: 3-3-0-3-2 Zach Miller: 4-4-3-3-0 Sidney Rice: 3-5-5-5-4 Golden Tate: 7-2-7-5-11 Robert Turbin: 2-1-1-0-0 Stephen Williams: 1-0-0-1-0 Luke Willson: 0-1-5-0-4

Seattle’s passing game lacks consistency, but if you’re going to roll with one of the receivers I’d go with Tate.

St. Louis

Tavon Austin: 7-12-7-8-6 Stedman Bailey: 0-0-1-0-0 Jared Cook: 10-6-7-9-3 Benny Cunningham: 0-0-3-1-0 Chris Givens: 3-8-8-8-7 Cory Harkey: 0-0-1-0-2 Lance Kendricks: 4-3-5-1-6 Mike McNeill: 0-1-0-0-0 Isaiah Pead: S-4-7-S-1 Austin Pettis: 6-11-5-9-5 Brian Quick: 2-1-4-3-2 Daryl Richardson: 6-6-0-2-1 Zac Stacy: 0-0-0-0-1

Givens was led the Rams in targets Sunday, but only hauled in two for 16 yards. Pettis has at least 59 yards or a touchdown in four of five games. He had two TDs Sunday, including a nice 31-yard grab that he caught while being covered very well. He’s Sam Bradford’s main red zone target.

Tampa Bay

Nate Byham: 1-1-1-0-B Jeff Demps: 0-0-0-1-B Vincent Jackson: 13-11-6-11-B Mike James: 0-0-0-1-B Brian Leonard: 1-0-2-2-B Erik Lorig: 0-0-1-2-B Doug Martin: 6-1-6-4-B Kevin Ogletree: 2-3-6-9 (Acquired by Detroit) Eric Page: 0-0-5-0-B Mike Williams: 8-6-9-6-B Timothy Wright: 0-0-2-6-B

Tennessee

Jackie Battle: 0-0-0-0-2 Kenny Britt: 2-9-5-I-6 Justin Hunter: 0-0-2-1-3 Chris Johnson: 0-1-2-2-5 Collin Mooney: 0-0-0-1 Michael Preston: 0-0-1-0 Craig Stevens: 1-0-0-0 Delanie Walker: 4-2-8-4-6 Nate Washington: 7-5-10-8-8 Damian Williams: 2-0-2-7-2 Kendall Wright: 4-11-6-9-8

Wright’s averaging 63.75 receiving yards in his last four games. Averaging six catches in his pat four, he’s able to catch a good amount of his targets too. He’s owned in just 39 percent of ESPN leagues and 23 percent of Yahoo! leagues. If you’re looking for bye-week help at tight end, Walker has a touchdown or at least 40 yards in every game.

Washington

Fred Davis: 4-2-0-1-B Pierre Garcon: 11-13-13-7-B Leonard Hankerson: 7-3-7-7-B Roy Helu: 2-1-3-3-B Josh Morgan: 5-6-2-1-B Alfred Morris: 1-2-1-0-B Santana Moss: 9-5-9-3-B Niles Paul: 0-0-1-3-B Logan Paulson: 0-3-6-2-B Jordan Reed: 6-3-6-I-B Aldrick Robinson: 2-2-2-0-B Darrel Young: 1-0-0-2-B

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