We all knew reuniting Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler with wide receiver Brandon Marshall in Chicago would be a good thing for both players, but did we know that Marshalll would be one of the top targeted wide receivers in 2012? Marshall was targeted 19 times on Sunday, and has now seen 157 targets on the season, good for second in the NFL behind only Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne.
Let's take a look at the rest of the wide receivers who saw a lot of targets in Week 14:
Player |
Targets |
Rec |
Yd |
Avg |
TD |
Marshall, Brandon WR CHI |
19 |
10 |
160 |
16 |
1 |
Maclin, Jeremy WR PHI |
13 |
9 |
104 |
11.6 |
1 |
Johnson, Calvin WR DET |
13 |
10 |
118 |
11.8 |
0 |
Smith, Steve WR CAR |
12 |
7 |
109 |
15.6 |
0 |
Gordon, Josh WR CLE |
12 |
8 |
86 |
10.8 |
0 |
Blackmon, Justin WR JAC |
12 |
6 |
57 |
9.5 |
0 |
Avant, Jason WR PHI |
12 |
7 |
133 |
19 |
0 |
Alexander, Danario WR SD |
11 |
7 |
88 |
12.6 |
2 |
White, Roddy WR ATL |
11 |
9 |
117 |
13 |
1 |
Fitzgerald, Larry WR ARI |
11 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
Jones, Julio WR ATL |
11 |
5 |
66 |
13.2 |
1 |
Wallace, Mike WR PIT |
11 |
7 |
112 |
16 |
2 |
Crabtree, Michael WR SF |
11 |
9 |
93 |
10.3 |
0 |
Jackson, Vincent WR TB |
10 |
6 |
131 |
21.8 |
1 |
Wayne, Reggie WR IND |
10 |
6 |
64 |
10.7 |
1 |
Austin, Miles WR DAL |
10 |
4 |
46 |
11.5 |
0 |
Givens, Chris WR STL |
10 |
3 |
25 |
8.3 |
0 |
Elliott, Kevin WR JAC |
10 |
3 |
38 |
12.7 |
0 |
Durham, Kris WR DET |
9 |
4 |
54 |
13.5 |
0 |
Garcon, Pierre WR WAS |
9 |
5 |
87 |
17.4 |
1 |
Hitting the Bullseye
Brandon Marshall, CHI
Marshall was targeted 19 times on Sunday, catching 10 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. On the season, Marshall now has 101 receptions for 1,342 yards and nine touchdowns. Going into Week 14, he was the second highest scoring fantasy wide receiver in the league that I play in. He will be a Top 5 wide receiver heading into 2013 fantasy drafts, hands down.
Roddy White, ATL
White has had an up-and-down season, but he caught nine of his 11 targets for 117 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, and now has 77 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns this season. His touchdown total is a bit of a disappointment, but there are a lot of good receivers in Atlanta, and the Atlanta Falcons' high powered offense has struggled of late thanks to a move toward running the ball more.
Jeremy Maclin, PHI
Maclin was targeted 13 times by quarterback Nick Foles on Sunday, catching nine passes for 104 yards and a score. Sunday was just the fifth time Maclin has seen double-digit targets this season, and so far in 2012 he has caught just 53 balls for 646 yards and five touchdowns for the disappointing Philadelphia Eagles offense.
Mike Wallace, PIT
Wallace had a big game Sunday, catching seven of his 11 targets for 112 yards and two scores in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 34-24 loss to the San Diego Chargers. The Steelers moved to a shorter passing scheme this season, directly impacting Wallace's biggest asset: His speed. As a result, Wallace has just 59 receptions for 728 yards and eight touchdowns this season. I see Wallace wearing a different jersey in 2013.
Danario Alexander, SD
Where did this guy come from? Alexander has been a major find for the Chargers. He has made the most of his time on the field this season. Alexander caught seven of his 11 targets for 88 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, and has caught 33 balls for 555 yards and five touchdowns in just seven games this season. He has scored 20 or more fantasy points in three of his seven games this season.
Josh Gordon, CLE
Gordon was targeted 12 times by quarterback Brandon Weeden on Sunday, catching 8 balls for 86 yards and no touchdowns. The 12 targets were a season high for him. Gordon has now caught 42 of his 78 targets for 732 yards and five touchdowns this season, but has just one TD in his last six games.
Missing the Target
Larry Fitzgerald, ARI
Fitzgerald ended Sunday's blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks with just one reception for two yards on 11 targets. Thus far in 2012, he has just 57 receptions for 661 yards and four touchdowns, by far his career lows in all categories. Over his last four games, he has just six receptions for 76 yards and no touchdowns, so he is either injured or a product of a very bad Arizona Cardinals offense.
James Jones, GB
After scoring seven touchdowns in the first six weeks of the season, Jones has scored just two touchdowns since, and has seen his number of targets drop off in a big way. Over his last four games, he has caught six of his 11 targets for exactly 100 yards and just one touchdown.