In this weekly article, Bjorn Yang-Vaernet uses the Advanced Stat Explorer and other RotoViz tools to dive deep into wide receiver usage trends. Usage is key for making waiver wire adds, start/sit decisions, and finding the next blow-up WR in DFS.
Week 2 is in the books and the craziness of the NFL continues. Tons of big performances, injuries, and more importantly, another round of usage data points to analyze. Wide receiver usage is so critical because the position, outside of the quarterback, is the most important for a fantasy team. Here is the breakdown of the top-20 players in fantasy points by scoring system:
| PPR | 0.5 PPR | |
|---|---|---|
| WR | 13 | 12 |
| RB | 4 | 5 |
| TE | 3 | 3 |
Given how crucial the WR position is for a top-performing team, let’s dig into the usage through two weeks.
Routes Run and Routes per Target
Routes run is the first key statistic I’ll focus on because WRs need to be on the field to produce. The second statistic is routes per target. Unlike RBs usage, targets are earned as a WR and routes per target is a helpful measure in figuring out which players are good (or which players coaches want to get the ball to).
*Routes for Monday’s game are not included
