Welcome to the Week 9 edition of Jason Bales’s “Red Zone Targets” article. Each week, he analyzes one leader in red zone rushes or targets that has a certain amount of untapped potential. In identifying these players, fantasy owners can delve further into their own research, bookmarking them for possible trade candidates in season-long fantasy football leagues, or tournament plays in daily fantasy football leagues.
Running Back Red Zone Targets Value:
Tevin Coleman (SF)
Tevin Coleman dealt with a small setback in Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season, suffering a high ankle sprain. He missed Week 2 and 3. Returning against the Cleveland Browns, he carried the ball 16 times for 97 yards and 1 touchdown. During his brief absence, Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert looked great. Even Jeff Wilson earned a few red zone carries.
Coleman’s role with the San Francisco 49ers is confusing. He has 20 or fewer carries in every game he played this season. Last week, he carried the ball 11 times for 105 yards and 3 touchdowns. Despite missing time and sharing carries with Breida and Mostert, Coleman has 18 rush attempts inside the 20-yard line. His red zone rushes resulted in 59 yards and 4 touchdowns. He should continue to see a majority of the 49ers’ red zone work moving forward, if not more.
In Week 9, the 49ers head into Arizona to face off against the Cardinals. The Cardinals have one of the worst run defenses in the league, and Coleman makes for a great option in both season-long and daily fantasy leagues. His touchdown upside is obvious, and on the season, he is averaging over 4.5 yards per carry. Do not expect Kyle Shanahan to ever break up his running back by committee style of game play, but Coleman is definitely the front runner.
Wide Receiver Red Zone Targets Value:
D.K. Metcalf (SEA)
The Seattle Seahawks’ season has been a rollercoaster, but Russell Wilson never fails to impress. In 2019, he has over 2,000 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 1 interception. The Seahawks’ franchise QB is making an early case for NFL MVP.
Wilson spreads the ball around, as Chris Carson, Will Dissly, D.K. Metcalf, and Tyler Lockett all have over 20 receptions. Carson, Dissly, and Metcalf are all very similar with 22, 23, and 23 receptions respectively. Lockett caught 46 balls for over 600 yards this season. Despite Lockett’s dominance over the Seahawks’ receiving core, Metcalf earned more targets in the red zone this season. He has 11 red zone targets compared to Lockett’s 9. Unfortunately, Metcalf’s 11 targets only resulted in 2 receptions for 6 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Pitch and catch.@DangeRussWilson to DK Metcalf for the @Seahawks score! #SEAvsATL @dkm14
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Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/a16R5wPShJ pic.twitter.com/Lpn8ATJKcG— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2019
Metcalf’s efficiency in the red zone should start to improve, and his 6-foot-3-inch frame will force the Seahawks to continue to call his name inside the 20-yard line. Metcalf is a freak athlete, and in Week 9, he gets a great matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He makes for a great, high-upside tournament option in daily fantasy leagues. However, his touchdown dependency makes him nothing more than a decent flex option in deeper season-long leagues.
Tight End Red Zone Targets Value:
Darren Fells (HOU)
When Deshaun Watson targets Darren Fells, it tends to be in the red zone. Fells owns 10.4% of the Houston Texans’ target share, but 21.6% of the red zone target share. Watson has targeted Fells inside the red zone at least once in 5 of 8 games. Last week, he earned 6 total targets, 3 of which were in the red zone.
On the season, Fells touts 8 total red zone targets, which resulted in 7 receptions for 75 yards and 5 touchdowns. His efficiency is other-worldly. Tight ends do tend to have higher red zone efficiency ratings, but Fells is catching nearly every ball thrown in his direction. Watson is going to continue to target him when it counts. He is tied with teammate DeAndre Hopkins in red zone targets, making his touchdown upside obvious.
This week, Fells gets a decent matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars have been a disappointing team, and Fells will go under-owned in both daily and season-long fantasy leagues. He is not an exciting receiving TE (except for his Odell Beckham Jr.-like catch last week), but he gets the job done. Roster him in tournaments for his upside, and stream him in season-long leagues if TE depth is weak.
Deshaun Watson has one eye basically closed, Darren Fells looks like Odell Beckham, and the Texans can run this out. pic.twitter.com/wirl6vBOkx
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) October 27, 2019
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