This is the Air Yards Report Week 15! Find out which players led Week 14 in Air Yards and how YOU should use Air Yards when setting your fantasy lineups.
PlayerProfiler is home to award-winning redraft rankings and tools. Our Player Rankings are second to none, and the World Famous Draft Kit contains detailed player write ups and cheat sheets to help You dominate fantasy drafts! Check it out.
What are Air Yards?
Air Yards measure how many yards the football travels past the line of scrimmage on a passing play. Some Air Yards come from completed passes and some are incomplete passes. They are not a perfect measurement of future fantasy success but a tool that we can utilize to help us make lineup decisions.
This season, we will parse through the Air Yards metric to help identify players who you should prioritize as starters in your fantasy lineups, players who disappointed but are likely to bounce back based on their Air Yards, and players you should feel free to fade despite voluminous Air Yards. With the fantasy playoffs in full swing, we will mainly focus on players rostered in most formats as opposed to those players on the fringes of the waiver wire. Hopefully, this article can help you advance this week by helping you win the flex with one of these receivers.
Air Yards Standouts Who Shined in Week 14
Jordan Addison | Minnesota Vikings — 136 Air Yards (6th Overall)
Some fantasy players may see Jordan Addison‘s 39.3 fantasy point performance last week and think it is completely unsustainable. While Addison WR3 overall finish in Week 14 was fueled by an unsustainable three touchdown performance, the Air Yards underlying his production is for real. Addison has surprisingly outgained teammate Justin Jefferson in Air Yards over the past four games. He has seen 442 Air Yards compared to Jefferons’ 300. Addison has also out targeted Jefferson 35 to 29 during this same time period. Don’t be hesitant to start Addison this week against a reeling Bears defense.
Adam Thielen | Carolina Panthers — 130 Air Yards (7th Overall)
Since his return from a hamstring injury in Week 12, Adam Thielen has seen at least 100 Air Yards and double-digit targets in two of three games. He has finished as a top 24 wide receiver the past two weeks. He is a large part of the reason as to why Bryce Young looks to have shaken off the bust label.
Even in a neutral matchup this week against the Cowboys, he should continue to be force feed targets from the slot. I’d honestly start him over Malik Nabers in PPR formats this week just based on the consistency he has shown the past two games.
Players Who Disappointed but Will Bounce Back
Amari Cooper | Buffalo Bills — 254 Air Yards (1st Overall)
It is hard to call the 15.5 fantasy points Amari Cooper scored last week disappointing. However, he could have had a much bigger game. Cooper saw a league leading 254 Air Yards last week and the second most targets on the week with 14. This week he squares off against a Detroit Lions secondary that has been very generous to wide receivers this season. Cooper can help win your week in what might be a shootout between the Bills and Lions.
DeAndre Hopkins | Kansas City Chiefs — 166 Air Yards (6th Overall)
DeAndre Hopkins has been Patrick Mahomes go-to receiver for the past two weeks. He leads all Chiefs receivers with 18 targets and 283 Air Yards through the past two weeks. Hopkins is one of the few playmakers Mahomes can trust to get the ball down field. You could do a lot worse than using Hopkins as your WR3 in the playoffs.
For more articles from PlayerProfiler, check out the fantasy home page – NFL Fantasy | PlayerProfiler – Fantasy Football News & Media
