According to AirYards.com, in Week 10, 21 wide receivers had more than 100 air yards. Among those, six of them would be considered second or third options in their team's receiving corps. It's a reminder that it's prudent down the stretch to look at situations that have changed, especially ones which may have elevated previously forgotten players to important status in fantasy football.
Let's recap some usage trends from the past week.
Rushing Market Shares
Kareem Hunt
Kareem Hunt, making his debut for the Cleveland Browns, had four carries for 30 yards and seven receptions for 44 yards on nine targets. Hunt's unknown status kept some fantasy owners from acquiring him and others from dealing him until they knew what they had. And now, the area is less grey but is still uncertain.
Nick Chubb did Nick Chubb things despite Hunt’s return, with a 20-carry, 116-yard rushing day, adding two receptions for five yards).
It's just one game, but it sure looks like Hunt is going to be a factor in the passing game after seeing a 23 percent share of the targets in Week 10. Given that it was his first game, it's possible his workload grows. If he's available in your league, pick him up.
Brian Hill
Brian Hill is getting his chance.
With Ito Smith lost for the season and Devonta Freeman potentially out for multiple weeks after suffering a mid-game injury in Week 10, Hill dominated the rushing shares in the Atlanta Falcons' backfield with 20 carries for 61 yards and one reception for 11 yards and one touchdown.
Other than Freeman, only one other running back saw a carry in Atlanta's shocking win at the New Orleans Saints, and that was Kenjon Barner, who got one.
Hill looks poised to dominate the rushing work while Freeman is out, and he showed he’s more than capable of handling a three-down role if needed.
Receiving Market Shares
Demaryius Thomas
Demaryius Thomas, wide receiver for the New York Jets, is an odd insert in this article, but he’s becoming a stable asset. On Sunday versus the New York Giants, Thomas led the Jets in targets with nine, and he finished with six receptions for 84 yards, including a 47-yard grab, something that used to be a hallmark of his game.
Overall, Thomas accounted for a 30 percent target share and saw 50 air yards.
Perhaps the Giants' defense was awful, or perhaps Sam Darnold and the Jets’ offense are going to start doing what many had expected of them earlier in the season. Either way, it's a situation worth monitoring as Gang Green has some juicy upcoming matchups, including a nice one this week at Washington.
Thomas may have some fantasy relevance down the stretch.
Devante Parker
DeVante Parker has the chance to become the top option for the Miami Dolphins. While being the number-one wideout for one of the league's worst offenses isn't an ideal spot, fantasy is all about volume, and Parker could see plenty of it. Plus, with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm, this offense has been better.
This last Sunday, Miami's first game sans Preston Williams, Parker caught five passes for 69 yards on 10 targets. He handled a 30 percent target share and a massive 69 percent air yards share for the Dolphins. His 120 air yards were 11th most in Week 10 among all players.
With Fitzpatrick under center and few other viable options to speak of around him, Parker can serve as a flex play or WR3 down the stretch.
Red Zone Market Shares
Latavius Murray
Latavius Murray was stellar when Alvin Kamara missed time earlier this year. Kamara returned in Week 10, but Murray might be able to hold some standalone value the rest of the way.
Murray currently has three red zone rushing touchdowns on 17 attempts. He handles 37.8 percent of the Saints’ red zone carries. Kamara, meanwhile, has only 10 red zone carries, good for a 22.2 percent share. Obviously, Kamara's missed time skews the numbers a bit, but Murray looks like the Saints' preferred red zone option.
Kamara is the alpha in this backfield, but now that he's back and healthy, it should be easier to acquire Murray on the cheap. Latavius is a top-shelf handcuff as well as a decent flex option on bye weeks.
Deebo Samuel
Deebo Samuel performed well on Monday night (eight catches for 112 yards on 11 targets), but he’s still under the radar enough to acquire for cheap.
Samuel, wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, has been a big factor in the red zone. He has 10 red zone targets -- a 27.8 percent share -- this year for the 49ers. He also had 95 air yards on Monday, and for the year, he's seeing a 17 percent target share and 19 percent air yards share. Not bad at all.
With only one touchdown so far for Samuel, he's due for some positive regression in the scoring department. He's also aided by a banged-up San Fran passing game. Emmanuel Sanders exited early in Week 10, and the Niners were already without George Kittle.
Samuel appears poised for a strong finish to his rookie campaign, especially if Sanders has to miss time.