Week 7 Fantasy Football Targets and Touches Report 

We’re back for the Week 6 edition of Targets and Touches, the most informative stat column in all of fantasy football. Last week, Reggie Wayne returned to his throne as he was looked at 20 times. Ahmad Bradshaw led all of the NFL’s running backs in total touches with 34. Who will lead the way in Week 6? Did Bradshaw get enough touches against the San Francisco 49ers to top this list again? Can surprise names from Week 5 like Jordan Norwood and Reuben Randle stick around, or were they one-hit wonders? Let’s take a more in depth look as to who touched the rock the most in Week 6;

Here are the NFL’s Targets and Touches leaders from Week 6:

Wide Receiver Targets

 15: Dez Bryant DAL;

Tied 14: Wes Welker NE, Percy Harvin MIN;

Tied 13: Donnie Avery IND, Victor Cruz NYG;

Tied 12: Andre Johnson HOU, Brandon Lloyd NE, Calvin Johnson DET, and Jordy Nelson GB;

Tied 11: Larry Fitzgerald ARI, Steve Johnson BUF, Kenny Britt TEN, and A.J. Green CIN;

Tied 10: Reggie Wayne IND, Michael Jenkins MIN, Mario Manningham SF, Jeremy Maclin PHI, Antonio Brown PIT and Randall Cobb GB;

Tied 9: Nate Burleson DET, Nate Washington TEN, Dwayne Bowe KC, Davone Bess MIA, Brandon Gibson STL, Eric Decker DEN, and Denarius Moore OAK;

Tied 8: Roddy White ATL, Vincent Jackson TB, DeSean Jackson PHI, Dexter McCluster KC, Julio Jones ATL, and Kendall Wright TEN;

Tied 7: Robert Meachem SD, James Jones GB, Harry Douglas ATL, and Chris Givens STL;

Tied 6: Anquan Boldin BAL, Domenik Hixon NYG, Sidney Rice SEA, Michael Crabtree SF, Golden Tate SEA, Emmanuel Sanders PIT, Mike Williams TB, Jeremy Kerley NYJ, and Keshawn Martin HOU;

Tight End Targets

 11: Kyle Rudolph MIN;

10: Antonio Gates SD;

Tied 9: Heath Miller PIT, Aaron Hernandez NE;

Tied 8: Brent Celek, Rob Gronkowski NE;

Tied 7: Tony Gonzalez ATL, Jason Witten DAL, Joel Dreessen DEN, Brandon Pettigrew DET, Brandon Myers OAK, and Jermaine Gresham CIN;

Tied 6: Anthony Fasano MIA, Coby Fleener IND;

Tied 5: Benjamin Watson CLE, Vernon Davis SF, Tony Scheffler DET, Owen Daniels HOU, Dennis Pitta BAL, Garrett Graham HOU, and Steve Maneri KC;

Tied 4: Jeff King ARI, Fred Davis WAS, Jermichael Finley GB, Jared Cook TEN, Lance Kendricks STL, and Dwayne Allen IND;

Running Back Targets

Tied 8: Adrian Peterson MIN, LeSean McCoy PHI, Cedric Peerman CIN, and Dexter McCluster KC;

7: Reggie Bush MIA;

6: Fred Jackson BUF;

Tied 5: Willis McGahee DEN, Steven Jackson STL, Danny Woodhead NE, Issac Redman PIT, C.J. Spiller BUF, and Ryan Mathews SD;

Tied 4: Ronnie Brown SD, Frank Gore SF, Darren McFadden OAK, Chris Johnson TEN, Ray Rice BAL, Mikel Leshoure DET, Jacquizz Rodgers ATL, Shaun Draughn KC, and Doug Martin TB;

Tied 3: Jamaal Charles KC, Arian Foster HOU, Toby Gerhart MIN, Trent Richardson CLE, Vick Ballard IND, and Daryl Richardson STL;

Running Back Touches

 32: Shonn Greene NYJ (32 carries, 0 receptions);

30: Darren McFadden OAK (27 carries, 3 receptions);

28: Ahmad Bradshaw NYG (27 carries, 1 reception);

26: Ryan Mathews SD (22 carries, 4 receptions);

24: Adrian Peterson MIN (17 carries, 7 receptions);

Tied 23: Alex Green GB (22 carries, 1 reception), Chris Johnson TEN ( 19 carries, 4 receptions);

Tied 21: Willis McGahee DEN (17 carries, 4 receptions), Fred Jackson BUF (16 carries, 5 receptions), and LeSean McCoy PHI (14 carries, 7 receptions);

19: Felix Jones DAL (18 carries, 1 reception);

Tied 18: Arian Foster HOU (17 carries, 1 reception), Mikel Leshoure DET (15 carries, 3 receptions);

Tied 17: Ray Rice BAL (16 carries, 1 reception), BenJarvus Green-Ellis CIN (16 carries, 1 reception), Stevan Ridley NE (16 carries, 1 reception), Alfred Morris WAS (16 carries, 1 reception), and Reggie Bush MIA (12 carries, 5 receptions);

Tied 16: Marshawn Lynch SEA (15 carries, 1 reception), Montario Hardesty CLE (15 carries, 1 reception), Trent Richardson CLE (14 carries, 2 receptions), and C.J. Spiller BUF (12 carries, 4 receptions);

Tied 15: DeMarco Murray DAL (14 carries, 1 reception), Doug Martin TB (13 carries, 2 receptions), and Steven Jackson STL (12 carries, 3 receptions);

Workhorses

 In Week 6, the New York Jets rode Shonn Greene to victory giving him 32 carries out of the backfield. That resulted in 161 yards gained on the ground, and three touchdown scores. Not a great pass catcher, but when he gets his opportunities, I like Greene in the RB2 category. He scored 34 fantasy points, and outplayed every running back in the NFL by far. Greene showed what he can do when he gets a heavy workload. Can this workload repeat in Week 7 at New England? We’ll see.

Needless to say, Greene was riding my bench in Week 6. Sad.

Notable Mentions: Darren McFadden touches the rock 30 times while New York’s Ahmad Bradshaw touches it 28 times. Ryan Mathews also seems to have reached his normal workload as he touched the ball 26 times on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos.

To Dez or not to Dez?

Im buying high on Dez Bryant. Tony Romo now recognizes that Dez Bryant is his finest weapon on the field, and he is looking to #88 constantly. After catching just 13 passes in Weeks 1-3, Bryant has 21 catches in his last two games totaling 200 yards receiving. He was targeted a ridiculous 28 times in the last two games, and if it weren’t for some bad drops, he might of had back-to-back career high games. In Week 6, Dez was targeted 15 times and came away with 13 catches for 95 yards and his first two touchdown scores of the season. I’m ready to ride this horse, straight into Week 7 when the Cowboys travel to Carolina. The Panthers’ secondary is playing awful, allowing opposing wideouts to catch 22 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns. I expect another monster week from Dez.

Why, Hello Antonio!

 It seemed like until Week 6 came alone you might as well look for Antonio Gates’ picture on the side of a milk carton. But wait, He’s alive! After catching just 13 passes up until Week 5, future Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates was targeted 10 times resulting in 6 catches for 81 yards and two big touchdowns. Not saying the Chargers don’t have a plethora of talent lining up on offense, but it seems like Rivers should look to Ol’ Reliable a little more often. Gates is back folks! Some teams just do not have the personnel to cover a great tight end. Gates put up 20 fantasy points in Week 6, more than he totaled in all of 2012. The Chargers go on a bye week, and then will travel to Cleveland to face the Browns. The Browns will struggle all afternoon long with defending Gates. I expect another big day from 85.

Surprises -Michael Jenkins MIN (10), Mario Manningham SF (10)

Before we finish up, here’s a quick list of the Top 10 2012 Target Leaders through Week 6;

70: Reggie Wayne IND

70: Victor Cruz NYG

67: A.J. Green CIN

66: Wes Welker NE

66: Dwayne Bowe KC

64:Larry Fitzgerald ARI

62: Percy Harvin MIN

57: Brandon Lloyd NE

56: Brandon Marshall CHI

56: Steve Johnson BUF

Don’t forget to check out the Week 7 edition of Targets and Touches!

*All statistics according to ESPN standard scoring.