The quarterback position is the most important in the world of professional football. He has the ball in his hand on the majority of offensive snaps, and his knowledge, skill set and decision-making ultimately determine how an offense will perform. That also means he’s integral in the production of points for our fantasy teams.
As a result, it makes sense for us to know his tendencies.
What position does he target most in the pass attack? Does he take chances downfield? The answers are important to his draft value and to the value of the players around him. So let’s look at which field generals targeted certain offensive weapons – broken down by position – the most and the least last season.
In the first of a three-part series, we’ll start off with the running backs.
1. Justin Herbert, Chargers (24.7%): Herbert led all quarterbacks in passes to his running backs, which is no surprise since Austin Ekeler had 107 catches. He was also 27th in aDOT (average depth of target), which is a surprise when you consider his big arm. With new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore at the helm and all of his wideouts at 100% (plus the addition of Quentin Johnston), I think this will change. In fact, I’d expect Herbert to take more chances downfield this season.
2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
T-2. Russell Wilson, Broncos (24%): Wilson is coming off a dreadful season, but can he turn things around with coach Sean Payton at the helm? Payton was a big fan of throwing the ball to his running backs in New Orleans, but he also had Alvin Kamara at his disposal. Still, this should be considered a good thing for the duo of Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine in terms of their target share.
T-2. Davis Mills, Texans (24%): Mills is obviously not going to be under center for the Texans this season, as the team drafted C.J. Stroud second overall. It’s tough to gauge if this trend of targeting backs will remain under new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, since he’s never been in this position. Still, Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary should help the young quarterback as pass catchers.
4. Andy Dalton, Saints (23%): Dalton is now a backup in Carolina, but it’s notable that running backs were targeted 23% of the time in New Orleans. Pete Carmichael is still the offensive coordinator, and Kamara will remain a popular target for the new starter, Derek Carr. If you’re wondering, he targeted running backs 19.1% of the time in what would be his final season as a member of the Raiders.
5. Mac Jones, Patriots (22.2%): Jones, who played without an actual offensive coordinator last season, was fifth in targets to backs. That was huge for the value of Rhamondre Stevenson, who had 88 targets and 69 catches. New coordinator Bill O’Brien liked to target backs in Houston (remember Arian Foster?), and there’s no superior competition for Stevenson in terms of targets in this backfield.
6. Daniel Jones, Giants (22%)
7. Joe Burrow, Bengals (21.9%)
8. Aaron Rodgers, Packers (20.7%)
9. Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers (20.5%)
10. Ryan Tannehill, Titans (20.3%)
