Taking a look at the Week 11 targets and touches leaders can go a long way in projecting where fantasy points may come from in the near future. Each week I break down which running backs lead the way in touches, including red zone opportunities. Most of the top performers in touches and targets on a week-to-week basis are not only owned in most leagues, but started as well. This will give us a clearer view of where touchdowns may come from; a huge plus for the DFS players out there. As you’ll see below, Leonard Fournette continues to lead the way in touches and will as long as he stays healthy. Is Gus Edwards for real? His fantasy football playoff schedule certainly makes him appealing.
Week 11 Touches Leaders
- Leonard Fournette – 30
- Ezekiel Elliott – 30
- Saquon Barkley – 29
- David Johnson – 26
- Melvin Gordon – 24
- Lamar Miller – 23
- Peyton Barber – 20
- Jordan Howard – 19
- Christian McCaffrey – 19
- Gus Edwards – 17
Leonard Fournette, RB – Jacksonville Jaguars
Leonard Fournette led all running backs in touches for the second straight week. His 24 carries in Week 10 were the second-most and his 28 carries in Week 11 were the most. As I said last week, the Jacksonville Jaguars want to run the ball. No other team ran more than them last season and they improved their offensive line heading into this season. If he manages to play out the rest of the season, he’ll finish in the top three in touches from his return on. He has 250 yards and three touchdowns on 59 touches over his last two weeks. If he continues to churn out those numbers, he may just make up for missing most of the first half.
Peyton Barber, RB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Peyton Barber’s 18 carries in Week 11 were one off his season-high, but his 106 rushing yards and 20 touches were a season-high. It was the first time he hit the 100-yard mark and it was just the second time this season where he scored a rushing touchdown. He doesn’t have anyone to compete with for touches and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter Week 12 with the most yards and passing yards per game. Overall, Barber has been disappointing and has been dropped/added more than I can count, but he’s in a decent spot this week against the San Francisco 49ers.
Gus Edwards, RB – Baltimore Ravens
Gus Edwards came out of nowhere with 17 carries and is now one of the hottest waiver wire pickups in Week 12. Baltimore Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh threw us a curve ball and it wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. I’ve been crying for Alex Collins to get more touches for weeks and when Baltimore ran the ball on the first 13 plays in last week’s game and it ended in a Collins touchdown, I thought for sure he’d have a great day. Instead, Harbaugh rode the hot hand with Edwards as he finished with 115 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Edwards only had 64 yards on 15 carries in his four other games this season, and even, though, he may not finish in the top 10 again, the Ravens are definitely going to be a run-heavy team from here on out. They ran the ball 54 times last week and Lamar Jackson finished with 27 rushing attempts compared to 19 passing attempts. You’d have to imagine these two are pretty comfortable with each other having practiced together all season.
The matchups for the rest of the season are pretty solid as well:
Oakland Raiders – second-most rushing yards allowed per game.
Atlanta Falcons – 10th-most rushing yards allowed per game.
Kansas City Chiefs – most fantasy points allowed per game to RB’s.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – sixth-most fantasy points allowed per game to RB’s; most points allowed.
Overall Touches Leaders
- Todd Gurley – 253
- Ezekiel Elliott – 233
- Saquon Barkley – 222
- James Conner – 218
- Kareem Hunt – 207
- David Johnson – 200
- Christian McCaffrey – 196
- Alvin Kamara – 192
- Melvin Gordon – 185
- Adrian Peterson – 185
Adrian Peterson, RB – Washington Redskins
Adrian Peterson ranks inside the top 10 in touches and his 171 carries are the fifth-most. AP only has six decent games this season, and four of them were because he found the end zone. Peterson has six TD’s on the season and is very touchdown dependent, but the volume is there. With Alex Smith done for the season, it’ll likely mean more touches for AP should Colt McCoy struggle.
Week 11 Targets Leaders
- Stefon Diggs – 18
- Travis Kelce – 15
- Kenny Golladay – 14
- Tyreek Hill – 14
- Antonio Brown – 13
- Tre’Quan Smith – 13
- Davante Adams – 12
- Adam Thielen – 12
- Brandin Cooks – 12
- Keenan Allen – 12
Tre’Quan Smith, WR – New Orleans Saints
I’d be surprised if Tre’Quan Smith finished in the top 10 in targets again. Last week’s outburst against the Philadelphia Eagles had a lot to do with their struggles on defense. Having said that, this is another good spot for Smith against the Atlanta Falcons. Keep in mind Smith had 111 yards in Week 5, then combined for only 85 yards over his next four games before last week’s showing. He’s very boom or bust, but is trending in the right direction and plays on the highest scoring team in the league. There’s value in that.
Overall Targets Leaders
- Adam Thielen – 115
- Julio Jones – 111
- Antonio Brown – 109
- Davante Adams – 106
- Odell Beckham Jr. – 106
- Jarvis Landry – 106
- Stefon Diggs – 103
- Zach Ertz – 103
- Travis Kelce – 101
- DeAndre Hopkins – 96
Jarvis Landry, WR – Cleveland Browns
I’v received a lot of ‘should I bench Jarvis Landry’ questions. First of all, he’s hard to drop and I get he’s hard to play, but he’ll be a borderline WR3 for me this week. The Cincinnati Bengals have allowed the most yards and passing yards per game. Landry only has 57 catches, but he’s tied for the fourth-most targets. You can’t ignore that kind of volume. At the end of the day, he has 26 catches in his last four games, which isn’t bad in PPR formats.
Overall Red Zone Rushing Attempts
- Todd Gurley – 55
- Alvin Kamara – 37
- James Conner – 30
- Saquon Barkley – 30
- Kareem Hunt – 27
- Adrian Peterson – 26
- Ezekiel Elliott – 25
- Sony Michel – 23
- Lamar Miller – 23
- Christian McCaffrey – 22
Overall Red Zone Targets
- Alvin Kamara – 21
- JuJu Smith-Schuster – 21
- Davante Adams – 20
- Michael Thomas – 20
- Odell Beckham Jr. – 18
- Zach Ertz – 17
- DeAndre Hopkins – 17
- Travis Kelce – 17
- Eric Ebron – 16
- Jarvis Landry – 16
Eric Ebron, TE – Indianapolis Colts
As predicted last week, Eric Ebron was a complete fade against the best TE defense in the league. Ebron may have nine touchdowns and 16 red zone targets, but he wouldn’t come near my starting roster. Ebron had zero targets last week and continues to play behind Jack Doyle. Cameron Brate is a solid replacement if you’ve held onto Ebron.
Overall Passing Attempts
- Jared Goff – 74
- Drew Brees – 71
- Andrew Luck – 70
- Patrick Mahomes – 65
- Eli Manning – 62
- Ben Roethlisberger – 56
- Deshaun Watson – 55
- Kirk Cousins – 51
- Tom Brady – 51
- Aaron Rodgers – 49
Deshaun Watson, QB – Houston Texans
Deshaun Watson had a brutal showing last week and he has a tough matchup this week against the Tennessee Titans. Many people are looking to move on from him in favor of Lamar Jackson or Jameis Winston. That’s fine and all, but Watson has a beautiful schedule in the fantasy football playoffs. He plays the Browns in Week 13, followed by Colts, Jets and Eagles. It doesn’t get much juicier than that!
Get more Chris Meaney on his new podcast, By Any Means. Each week he’ll bring in guests from around the industry to break down all the fantasy news you need to know for your march to the championship.
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