The target report
Plenty of big days from wideouts on Sunday, just not from the guys you thought. Is it time to play Pierre Garcon? Darrius Heyward-Bey? (And I NEVER thought I'd say the words "play" and "Heyward-Bey" in the same sentence unless it was "There's no way you can ever play…") However, the NFL proves us wrong every week. Just look at the top 10 targeted players in the passing game this week heading into Monday night. Your big response is going to be "Who?" -- six of the top 10 targeted wideouts this week are free agents in my NFL Network league.
Targets analysis
Doug Baldwin and Mario Manningham also saw nine targets apiece Sunday…
This is the second week of the season Early Doucet saw a lot of attention, but outside of Larry Fitzgerald, Kevin Kolb is too sporadic to recommend starting anyone else…
Heyward-Bey is worth a shot. We've been waiting for a Raiders wideout to step up. Jacoby Ford was hurt and Louis Murphy still is, so with the byes in full swing, he's a good flex play…
Jacoby Jones was targeted a bunch, but he only caught one pass. Like I've been saying, don't expect Andre-lite the next couple of weeks. When Matt Schaub can throw for 416 and you get 9 of those yards? Sorry…
Dwayne Bowe's resurgence has been nice, but I'm not believing just yet. Kansas City has had favorable matchups the last couple of weeks so I don't think this will continue. He's a guy who will come through only when he has a great matchup, and there's not many of those left…
Nice to see Mike Williams South back on this list, but Tampa Bay's passing offense has been unreliable, so I keep him on my bench…
It's time to start trusting Victor Cruz. The Giants offense is evolving back into what it was last year: Eli throwing 40 times a game, with just as many TDs as INTs. Which means great things for all the wideouts, but Cruz specifically. We've seen him produce too much to ignore. He should be starting in all formats. It doesn't matter if it's a crazy play where the ball bounces around and he makes a catch -- these types of plays seem to find him and Eli has become reliant on him…
Tight ends analysis
Jimmy Graham continued his fantasy ascent with 12 targets Sunday to lead all tight ends, including three in the red zone. He's easily a Top 5 fantasy tight end and might be the best one in the game the last month…
It was a big day for a tight end in Houston… not just Owen Daniels, who had an 89-yard day on 11 targets, but also for Joel Dreessen, who saw nine passes come his way from Matt Schaub, snagging one for a touchdown as part of a 112-yard day. I need to see him do it again to think he's going to keep taking targets from Daniels. But if your tight end position is in a free-fall, why not? Andre Johnson won't be back for at least another week…
Aaron Hernandez came off the injury report for 9 targets from Tom Brady. Even though he didn't really produce in fantasy points, he's back and healthy and should be back in your lineup.
See Jason Smith on NFL Fantasy Live, airing Sundays at 11:30 a.m. ET on the Red Zone Channel, and Tuesday-Friday on NFL Network at 2 p.m. ET and 12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT. He writes Fantasy and other NFL pith on NFL.com daily. Talk to him on Twitter @howaboutafresca. He only asks you never bring up when the Jets play poorly.
