By the Numbers: Dominant Red Zone Receivers
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Touchdowns are fickle beasts, and projecting them for fantasy football is something of a fool’s errand. Unfortunately, they are also the difference between good and great fantasy assets. In 2015, eight of the top-12 receivers and both of the highest-scoring tight ends recorded double-digit touchdowns. Elite production almost requires elite touchdown numbers, and that is why both red-zone opportunities and efficiency are so important.
13 receivers or tight ends scored double-digit touchdowns last year. Of those 13, only Ted Ginn and Allen Hurns had fewer than 15 red-zone targets, and the group averaged just under 20 red-zone looks. DeAndre Hopkins and Antonio Brown were the only two who converted less than a third of their targets, and they managed to score on 26 percent and 32 percent of their red-zone looks respectively. More tellingly, of the 15 players who saw 20 red-zone targets last year, only three had fewer than seven touchdowns. The group averaged 9.3 scores.
Players who get targeted and are efficient in the red zone put up big touchdown numbers. With that in mind, here is a look at the best red-zone receivers from last season.
*Stats from ProFootballReference.com
Tyler Eifert
It is difficult to overstate how good Eifert was in the red zone last season, and it is equally difficult to overstate how much of his fantasy production relied on short touchdowns. 11 of his 13 scores came inside the red zone, and he only needed 15 targets in the scoring area to reach that total. Those 11 red-zone touchdowns made up 47 percent of his total fantasy production. Even with Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu gone, it is going to be difficult for Eifert to match his touchdown total from last year, and that is even before his injury situation is factored into the equation. He is being widely overvalued as the TE4.
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