This is the Air Yards Report Week 12! Find out which players led Week 11 in Air Yards and how YOU should use Air Yards when setting your fantasy lineups.
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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.
Air Yards Standouts Who Shined in Week 11
Ladd McConkey | Los Angeles Chargers — 123 Air Yards (7th Overall)
Ladd McConkey is the rookie wide receiver to roster for the fantasy playoff run! He has finished as a respectable flex play in four of five games. He is coming off a 18.3 fantasy point performance which could have been an even bigger outing if he did not miss some snaps due to an injury scare. In the last four games, he has averaged seven targets and 80 Air Yards per game. If your trade deadline hasn’t past, look to scoop him up and start him before he goes off against a porous Ravens secondary this week.
Christian Watson | Green Bay Packers — 104 Air Yards (15th Overall)
In his last three games, Christian Watson has averaged six targets and 120 Air Yards per game. He has either tied or led the Packers’ wide receivers in targets per game during this time. Now fully healthy from an early season ankle sprain, Watson appears to be the Packers top wide receiver. Look for the opportunities to continue this week against the 49ers who give up the fourth most points to wide receivers on the season. In a week where many options are limited to bye weeks, Watson should be a mainstay in most lineups.
Players Who Disappointed but Will Bounce Back
Calvin Ridley | Tennessee Titans— 152 Air Yards (3rd Overall)
Few things are as certain in life, but here are a few: death, taxes, and Calvin Ridley Air Yards. Since Week 6, Ridley has averaged 143 Air Yards per game. The fantasy production has been highly volatile as Ridley has as many games below WR40 in points on the week as he has games above WR 40 on the week. Despite this risky volatility, Ridley is a no brainer start this week against a Houston secondary that has been scored on and with six teams on bye.
Quentin Johnston| Los Angeles Chargers— 179 Air Yards (1st Overall)
Quentin Johnston scored 12.8 fantasy points which normally would not qualify as a disappointing outcome. However, his day should have been much bigger after seeing eight targets and 179 Air Yards against the Bengals. He has seen at least 74 Air Yards in three of his past six games, and the Chargers will likely be forced to throw to keep pace with the Ravens offense this week. Johnston makes for a great WR3 play this week.
Air Yards Player to Fade
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine| Tennessee Titans – 101 Air Yards (18th Overall)
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has gotten some buzz on Twitter/X lately thanks to a WR10 finish in Week 11 where he saw six targets, 101 Air Yards catching two passes for 117 Yards and a touchdown. He also had a top 24 wide receiver finish in Week 9. While Westbrook-Ikhine has clearly locked down a starting role in the Titans offense based on his snap share, he is best left on waivers this week unless you are truly desperate. His 101 Air Yard performance last week was his best utilization all season. It is not something anyone should bank on moving forward.
Tight End to Prioritize
Luke Schoonmaker | Dallas Cowboys — 86 Air Yards (1st Overall)
With Cooper Rush under center for the Cowboys, Dallas focused on a short and intermediate passing attack. After Jake Ferguson left last week’s contest against the Houston, backup tight end Luke Schoonmaker soaked up all those vacated targets. Schoonmaker finished Week 11 with 10 targets and 86 Air Yards finishing with 11.6 fantasy points. He had only two less targets, and nine less Air Yards than CeeDee Lamb. If Ferguson is forced to miss Week 12, confidently fire up Schoonmaker as a TE1.
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