Taking a look at the Week 7 touches and targets leaders can go a long way in projecting where fantasy points may come from in the near future. Each week I’ll break down which running backs led the way in touches, including red zone opportunities. Most of the top performers in touches and targets from 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 plus for the DFS players out there. With the recent Devonta Freeman news, Ito Smith becomes a pretty decent start now in deeper formats now. There’s even more reason to like him as you’ll see below.
Week 7 Touches Leaders
- Adrian Peterson – 24
- Saquon Barkley – 23
- Lamar Miller – 23
- Kerryon Johnson – 21
- Marlon Mack – 21
- Chris Ivory – 21
- Kareem Hunt – 20
- Alvin Kamara – 19
- Todd Gurley – 19
- Dion Lewis – 19
Lamar Miller, RB – Houston Texans
Lamar Miller’s 23 touches in Week 7 were the second-most among running backs and he had his first 100-yard rushing game since Dec of 2016 – a span of 26 games. The 22 carries were a season-high and he scored his first rushing touchdown in Sunday’s win in Jacksonville.
Maybe the week off helped Miller, but now he’s playing on a short week, and he’s never really been able to churn out consecutive 20-touch games. It’ll be hard to flip him now, but if he can take advantage of a good fantasy matchup against MIA (allowing 3rd most fantasy points to RB’s), you should consider selling high. I’m a fan of volume, but D’Onta Foreman is getting closer to a return and he’s better.
Kerryon Johnson, RB – Detroit Lions
Kerryon Johnson had a career-high 19 carries, 158 yards, and 21 touches last week in Miami. It was the second time in the last four games in which Johnson has hit the century mark on the ground. He has at least 70 rushing yards in three of his last four games and it’s clear he’s really good, but we’ve yet to see his full potential due to LeGarrette Blount.
The veteran back isn’t going anywhere either, as he has three rushing touchdowns in his last two games. All three came inside the red zone. Blount is one of the best goal-line backs in the game and has a long history of success from inside the 10-yard line. He has at least seven carries in his last five games, and at least 10 in three of his past four games. With that said, Johnson is an RB2 owners should feel good about.
Marlon Mack, RB – Indianapolis Colts
Marlon Mack had a career-high 19 carries and 126 rushing yards last week. He caught two passes for another 33 yards, plus he scored a touchdown on the ground and through the air. He now has 249 yards on 41 carries (6.1 YPC) in just three games. Mack played 56 percent of the Colts’ snaps in their win against Buffalo compared to 26 from Nyheim Hines and 23 percent from Jordan Wilkins.
As long as Mack is on the field, Hines and Wilkins should be on your bench. That’s the key for Mack, though, staying on the football field. I’d temper expectations, but he has RB2 upside when healthy. If he’s available in your leagues, you grab him and start him.
Chris Ivory, RB – Buffalo Bills
This is Chris Ivory’s second time checking in the Touches and Targets piece. He had 20 carries in Week 3 when LeSean McCoy was sidelined. Shady left early last week and Ivory totaled 81 yards on 16 carries. He added another 25 receiving yards on three catches. McCoy is currently in concussion protocol and Ivory is not 100 percent himself, and what makes it even worse, is that the Buffalo Bills play the New England Patriots Monday night. You’ll have to keep an eye on both throughout the week.
Ivory had 22 opportunities last week and will get right around the same number should McCoy be inactive. Marcus Murphy could end up having a bigger role because he’ll be involved in the passing game as they try and catch up to the Pats. Murphy had five catches on six targets last week. He also had 53 rushing yards on four carries.
Overall Touches Leaders
- Todd Gurley – 169
- Ezekiel Elliott – 157
- Saquon Barkley – 147
- Kareem Hunt – 133
- James Conner – 129
- David Johnson – 126
- Melvin Gordon – 121
- Carlos Hyde – 120
- Alvin Kamara – 119
- Christian McCaffrey – 118
Carlos Hyde, RB – Jacksonville Jaguars
Carlos Hyde joins his third team in the last two seasons and the move from Cleveland to Jacksonville hurts his value. Hyde is the most likely running back to fall outside the Top 10 in touches. He does still have a bit of value left in him, until Leonard Fournette comes back. When he comes back. If he comes back. He’s reportedly expected to return Week 10 after the Jaguars’ bye.
Hyde has a tough first matchup this week against the Philadelphia Eagles and T.J. Yeldon will likely get on the field in passing situations. It’s not a great outlook for any of the Jacksonville RB’s going forward. I expect a fully healthy Fournette will lead this backfield and the Jaguars were just protecting their run game mentality. Yeldon wasn’t cutting it and Fournette could suffer a setback.
It’s really good news for Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson. Chubb had 80 yards on 18 rushing attempts while scoring his third touchdown of the season. He has upside to be a low-end RB1 and will get all the work in the red zone. I expect from here on out, Chubb will flirt with Top 10 rushing attempts each week and could even replace Hyde in the red zone rushing attempts as you’ll see below.
Week 7 Targets Leaders
- Jarvis Landry – 15
- Stefon Diggs – 14
- A.J. Green – 14
- Tarik Cohen – 12
- Julio Jones – 12
- Zach Ertz – 11
- Trey Burton – 11
- Mike Evans – 11
- Devin Funchess – 11
- Odell Beckham Jr. – 11
Tarik Cohen, RB & Trey Burton, TE – Chicago Bears
As expected, the Chicago Bears had to play some catchup in this game and Mitch Trubisky threw the ball 23 times to Tarik Cohen and Trey Burton. Cohen played a season-high 51 percent of the Bears’ snaps and had 69 yards on eight catches with another 14 on six carries. Jordan Howard has lost snaps to Cohen over the last few weeks, but should remain the lead back on the ground and near the goal line. Having said that, Cohen is a borderline RB2 in standard formats due to his involvement through the air. He’s had an increase in snap percentage. Simply put, Cohen is a weapon who finished with the second-most catches on his team in his rookie season.
Burton scored a touchdown for the third straight game and has four in his last five games. He had a season-high nine catches, 11 targets and 126 yards against the Patriots. Burton is awesome, and a borderline Top 5 TE the rest of the season.
Overall Target Leaders
- Adam Thielen – 89
- Jarvis Landry – 82
- Julio Jones – 81
- Odell Beckham Jr. – 80
- Zach Ertz – 78
- Stefon Diggs – 73
- Antonio Brown – 72
- Davante Adams – 71
- DeAndre Hopkins – 71
- A.J. Green – 69
Jarvis Landry, WR – Cleveland Browns
Out of the Top-5 target leaders, it’s Jarvis Landry who has the fewest catches (41) and yards (489). Landry is coming off a season-high 10 catches, he scored his second touchdown, and reached 97 yards last week. He’s had at least 10 targets in every game with Baker Mayfield, but this was his best. Landry has three positive matchups coming against Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Atlanta.
Overall Red Zone Rushing Attempts
- Todd Gurley – 43
- Alvin Kamara – 25
- Sony Michel – 21
- Adrian Peterson – 19
- Kareem Hunt – 18
- James Conner – 17
- Carlos Hyde – 17
- David Johnson – 16
- Melvin Gordon – 15
- Marshawn Lynch – 15
Marshawn Lynch, RB – Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders placed Marshawn Lynch on injured reserve and he’ll likely be sidelined for the entire season He’s eligible to return Week 16, but there won’t be much of a point as the Raiders will be long out of it by then. Doug Martin is the likely candidate to see the majority of carries and red zone rushing attempts, but Jalen Richard has more value. He ranks inside the Top 10 in targets and catches among backs and Oakland traded their number one wide receiver, Amari Cooper.
Overall Red Zone Targets
- Alvin Kamara – 16
- JuJu Smith-Schuster – 16
- Davante Adams – 15
- Eric Ebron – 14
- Michael Thomas – 14
- Zach Ertz – 13
- A.J. Green – 13
- Todd Gurley – 13
- Jarvis Landry – 13
- DeAndre Hopkins – 12
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.