This season, Zachary Krueger will use the RotoViz Screener Tool to evaluate player red-zone opportunity. Understanding how teams deploy their red-zone personnel, and who they give red-zone opportunities to, can offer a valuable edge over your opponents. This weekly Red Zone Report aims to give you that exact edge.
The purpose of this weekly article has always been to exploit the upside that comes from players who produce in the red-zone. While this isn’t always the easiest of tasks, things become easier to spot as the season continues.
It’s worth noting that red-zone usage for any player isn’t always going to be predictable. This in part is due to the fact that in order to get significant red-zone work, a team has to be in the red-zone. However, getting a player right when they do hit in the red-zone can be very rewarding.
Week 3 featured a lot of red-zone production.
Leveraging our knowledge of how players are used in the high scoring part of the field should be viewed as an important part of the start/sit process. The better we get at doing this, the better we get at scoring fantasy points.
And the more fantasy points we score, the more we find ourselves in the winner’s circle each week.
This past week featured a handful of players who saw elite red-zone production, and could be ready to do so again next week. Let’s take a look at some Week 3 red-zone numbers and see how they can help us win Week 4.
Running Back Red Zone Opportunity
| PLAYER | TEAM | OPP | EP | PPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myles Gaskin | MIA | 9 | 8 | 1.8 |
| Kareem Hunt | CLE | 8 | 8.6 | 10.1 |
| Derrick Henry | TEN | 7 | 12.7 | 14.1 |
| Aaron Jones | GB | 7 | 14.7 | 6.7 |
| Jeff Wilson | SF | 7 | 7.3 | 17.9 |
| Rex Burkhead | NE | 7 | 9.7 | 22.6 |
| Mike Davis | CAR | 7 | 10.1 | 10.4 |
| Darrell Henderson | LAR | 6 | 10 | 6.8 |
| Devin Singletary | BUF | 6 | 9.8 | 3.2 |
| Ronald Jones | TB | 6 | 6.7 | 1.5 |
| Adrian Peterson | DET | 5 | 3 | 1.4 |
| Jonathan Taylor | IND | 5 | 6.3 | 8.5 |
| James Conner | PIT | 5 | 6.9 | 9.6 |
| Nick Chubb | CLE | 4 | 2.3 | 15.9 |
| Todd Gurley | ATL | 4 | 5.4 | 7.5 |
| Jerick McKinnon | SF | 4 | 3.2 | 8.7 |
| J.J. Taylor | NE | 4 | 3.6 | 1 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | 3 | 8.2 | 6.5 |
| Frank Gore | NYJ | 3 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Jordan Howard | MIA | 3 | 8.8 | 6.1 |
| Josh Jacobs | LV | 3 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| Joe Mixon | CIN | 3 | 4.4 | -0.1 |
| Kenyan Drake | ARI | 3 | 2.3 | 0.2 |
| Miles Sanders | PHI | 3 | 2.4 | 1.3 |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC | 3 | 5.9 | 0.4 |
| David Montgomery | CHI | 3 | 4.1 | 1.4 |
| Nyheim Hines | IND | 3 | 4.9 | 2 |
| Alvin Kamara | NO | 3 | 4.7 | 11.5 |
| Antonio Gibson | WAS | 2 | 3 | 6.5 |
| Alexander Mattison | MIN | 2 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Chris Carson | SEA | 2 | 4.5 | 0.4 |
| Devontae Booker | LV | 2 | 1 | 0.8 |
| Joshua Kelley | LAC | 2 | 1.1 | 0.5 |
| James Robinson | JAC | 2 | 3.8 | 13.2 |
| Jamaal Williams | GB | 2 | 5.6 | -0.3 |
| Kerryon Johnson | DET | 2 | 1.8 | 0.7 |
| Leonard Fournette | TB | 2 | 2.7 | 0.8 |
| Latavius Murray | NO | 2 | 1 | 0.8 |
| Austin Ekeler | LAC | 2 | 2.1 | 7.9 |
| Chase Edmonds | ARI | 2 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
| Giovani Bernard | CIN | 2 | 3.6 | 3.3 |
| Jalen Richard | LV | 2 | 2.3 | 2.8 |
| Benny Snell | PIT | 1 | 3.2 | 0 |
| C.J. Prosise | HOU | 1 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| David Johnson | HOU | 1 | 2.4 | 6.2 |
| Jaylen Samuels | PIT | 1 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Malcolm Brown | LAR | 1 | 1 | 0.6 |
| Reggie Bonnafon | CAR | 1 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Sony Michel | NE | 1 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| T.J. Yeldon | BUF | 1 | 1.6 | 0.1 |
| Anthony Sherman | KC | 1 | 2.9 | 7.5 |
| Chris Thompson | JAC | 1 | 1.5 | 1.9 |
| Jeremy McNichols | TEN | 1 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Royce Freeman | DEN | 1 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| Tarik Cohen | CHI | 1 | 1.9 | 0.2 |
| Tyler Ervin | GB | 1 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
Jeff Wilson
Week 3 brought forth the likes of Mike Davis, Jeff Wilson and Rex Burkhead, all because of their teammates missing time. Injuries to Christian McCaffrey, Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman opened the doors for Davis and Wilson, and they capitalized.
At the end of the week, Davis and Wilson tied for third most red-zone opportunities (7). They combined for just 17.4 expected fantasy points, but finished with a total of 28.3 PPR points. While their expected point totals were low, Davis and Wilson capitalized on their red-zone touches by scoring three total touchdowns.
