amphitheater of pain | RealTime Fantasy Sports

Red Zone Numbers

Wed Aug 17 2:35pm ET
By JEFF PAUR
Sr Fantasy Writer

Kupp piled up the red zone looks

It is always a good idea to take a close look at the red-zone statistics from the previous season. Players that get more looks in the red zone can carry more fantasy value. There are always a few surprises and other takeaways with these numbers. We thought we would take a closer look, examining the top targets in the red zone for receivers and tight ends. Plus, we take a look at the quarterbacks that threw the ball most often inside the 10-yard line. Lastly, we wanted to see all the players with the most carries inside the 10-yard line. Enjoy!

	Red Zone WR Targets
1.	Cooper Kupp	37
2.	Stefon Diggs	34
3.	Davante Adams	27
4.	Chris Godwin	25
5.	Keenan Allen	23
	Tyreek Hill
	Hunter Renfrow
6.	Diontae Johnson	21
7.	Justin Jefferson	20
8.	D.K. Metcalf	19
	Mike Williams

TAKEAWAYS: It is not a surprise to see Cooper Kupp top this list. He was the top fantasy receiver last year and had a monster year. . . . .Stefon Diggs was one of two receivers to have 30-plus red-zone targets. He had a career high in touchdowns last year because of all the added looks in the red zone. . . . .One surprise on the list is Hunter Renfrow. He is not your typical red-zone receiver, but he got the looks last year. He scored nine touchdowns on all those targets and was a top-10 fantasy receiver. Can he repeat those targets with Davante Adams around? Adams was third on this list. Something has to give, right? . . . . .The Chargers had two receivers finish on the list, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. The Chargers are a team to target come draft day because of their prolific passing attack that could be even better this year.

	Red Zone TE Targets
1.	Mark Andrews	20
	Cameron Brate
	Pat Freiermuth
2.	Tyler Higbee	18
	Dawson Knox
3.	Hunter Henry	17
4.	Tyler Conklin	16
	Travis Kelce
5.	Kyle Pitts	14

TAKEAWAYS: It is not a surprise to see Mark Andrews tied for first in red-zone targets at tight end. He led all of tight ends in fantasy scoring. He is setup to be the top target in the Ravens once again this year. . . . .There are some surprises on this list including Cameron Brate. He didn’t even start for the Bucs but had 20 red-zone targets. The problem is he converted all those targets to just four touchdowns. It is something to keep in mind come draft day, especially with Rob Gronkowski’s status still up in the air. . . . .Pat Freiermuth was a rookie last year but quickly emerged as a top target in the red zone. He has the ideal size to be a threat to score often. This could be a breakout year for Freiermuth, who should start from day one in year two. . . . .Kyle Pitts cracks the top 10 for red-zone targets at tight end despite scoring just once. This is a good sign for him going forward. It wasn’t for a lack of chances that he didn’t score much his rookie year. Look for those touchdown numbers to climb.

	Red Zone Pass Attempts (inside the 10)
1.	Tom Brady	60
2.	Josh Allen	56
3.	Matthew Stafford	54
4.	Justin Herbert	53
5.	Aaron Rodgers	51
6.	Patrick Mahomes	50
7.	Ben Roethlisberger	40
8.	Carson Wentz	38
	Matt Ryan
9.	Kyler Murray	36

TAKEAWAYS: For the second straight season, Tom Brady tops the list of pass attempts inside the 10. This should not come as a big surprise. Brady is great at the play-action fake and has always thrown the ball often around the goal line. His touchdown ceiling remains very high in this offense. . . . .It is good to see Kyler Murray make the top 10 because he has the reputation of running often when inside the 10. His dual threat ability, especially in the red zone, makes Murray an exciting fantasy option for the coming season. . . . .Three veterans, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan, had their chances inside the 10 last year. This is a good sign for their fantasy values, especially Ryan. He now plays in Wentz’s offense from last year.

	Red Zone Rush Attempts (inside the 10)
1.	Jonathan Taylor	41
2.	Damien Harris	30
3.	James Conner	28
4.	Dalvin Cook	26
	Joe Mixon
5.	Austin Ekeler	25
	Antonio Gibson
	Leonard Fournette
6.	Sony Michel	24
	David Montgomery
7.	Nick Chubb	22
	Jalen Hurts

TAKEAWAYS: The top fantasy back in the game was the clear leader in rush attempts inside the 10. Jonathan Taylor is going first overall this season and these numbers help solidify that spot at the top. . . . .Damien Harris is second on the list, which might be a little surprising to some. He is ahead of some really good fantasy backs. Harris has a few question marks for the coming year but he might be a little undervalued at this point, having an ADP of 72.23. . . . .It might be good news for Cam Akers, who missed most of last year, to see Sony Michel get 24 carries inside the 10. This bodes well for Akers for the coming season. He could rack up the touchdowns. . . . .There is only one non-running back on this list and it is Jalen Hurts. This is really intriguing for the fantasy value for Hurts. The dual threat quarterback could score a lot of touchdowns in what should be an improved offense this season.

Jeff Paur is a two-time finalist for FSWA Fantasy Football Writer of the Year and won the FSWA award for Best Fantasy Football Article on the Web in 2011. He also was the most accurate expert in 2012, winning the FSTA Fantasy Football Accuracy Award. If you have any questions for Jeff, email him at jeff@rtsports.com. Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffpaur.

Red Zone Numbers

The Paur Report