5 NFL Stats to Know Through Week 9

There's little doubt that Week 9 was one of the wonkiest NFL slates in recent memory, which included the Bills inexplicably getting upset by the lowly Jaguars, and the Cowboys getting blown out in their own building by the Broncos.

It also wasn't exactly the prettiest football we've ever seen, and there's a good chance some modest fantasy scores will still come away with victories this week.

Here are five stats to know -- both traditional and our advanced statistics -- through nine weeks.

Elijah Mitchell Sees a Season-High 5 Targets (12.8% Share)

I'm guessing most people weren't expecting to see the short-handed Cardinals steamroll the 49ers on the road, but that's what we got on Sunday.

The result was a negative game script for San Francisco for nearly the entire game, which looked to be bad news for Elijah Mitchell's fantasy potential. Entering Week 9, Mitchell had a mere four targets across five games, resulting in a minuscule 3.0% target share. Based on that usage, it wouldn't have been surprising to see him phased out of the game.

Instead, while Mitchell didn't finish with an amazing day at the office, he was an active part of the passing game for the first time all season, which is a fantastic sign for him moving forward. Mitchell's five targets were easily a season-high, and his 12.8% target share was a notable step up from his season average. Additionally, his snap rate remained pretty much unchanged (66.1%), and his route rate saw a bump from 45.5% to 60.0%.

Mitchell could see another negative game script against the Rams this week, who are 4.5-point road favorites, per NFL odds. Although that could cap his ceiling again, Mitchell should still maintain a solid floor if he remains involved as a pass-catcher.

Overall, things are looking up for fantasy managers who bid heavily on his services early in the year.

Patrick Mahomes Is Producing -0.08 Passing NEP per Drop Back Over the Last Three Weeks

This one probably needs more context, but even if you have no idea what Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) are, you can probably guess that a negative number isn't what you're looking for.

Put simply, this numberFire metric measures the expected points generated on a given play, which includes making deductions for bad outcomes such as incompletions or sacks. In other words, Mahomes has effectively been a net negative as a passer over the past three weeks.

Over his first six games, Mahomes averaged 0.29 Passing NEP per drop back, which ranked fourth among quarterbacks with at least 50 drop backs over that span. On the other hand, his -0.08 Passing NEP per drop back over the last three weeks is the seventh-worst mark.

Put another way, if Mahomes maintained -0.08 Passing NEP per drop back over a full season, only Zach Wilson and Justin Fields would rank worse.

Obviously, we shouldn't give up on someone like Mahomes, but this merely reaffirms just how much he's struggled lately. History would suggest Mahomes bounces back eventually -- perhaps as soon as this week in a winnable road matchup against Raiders -- but you can be forgiven if you're a bit worried at this point.

D.J. Moore is Averaging 4.6 Receptions and 55.8 Yards Over His Last Five Games

Volume has remained excellent for D.J. Moore throughout the season, but the recent poor play of Sam Darnold has completely tanked his production.

Over the Panthers' first four games, Moore averaged 10.8 targets, 7.5 receptions, 99.5 receiving yards, and 0.8 touchdowns per game. In the five games since, that's dropped to 9.0 targets, 4.6 catches, 55.8 yards, and no touchdowns.

After throwing three picks in a brutal loss to the Patriots, Darnold may have finally hit rock bottom in Week 9. Darnold is dealing with a shoulder issue, and coach Matt Rhule wouldn't commit to him as the starter moving forward, so there's at least a chance that backup P.J. Walker gets a shot.

While Walker would hardly be a guarantee to improve Moore's results, any potential change has to be viewed as a positive for Moore moving forward. That said, regardless of who's under center, things don't figure to get any easier as 10-point underdogs to the Cardinals this week.

No Titans Running Back Sees More Than 11 Opportunities

If you invested in Adrian Peterson, Jeremy McNichols, or even D'Onta Foreman entering Week 9, the Titans' Sunday night victory over the Rams game didn't exactly bring about any clear winners.

McNichols recorded the highest snap rate (44.6%), but he otherwise saw a ho-hum 7 carries and 3 targets.

Peterson would log a 32.1% snap rate and notch a team-high 10 carries plus 1 target. He'd punch in the lone touchdown of the trio from the goal line.

Finally, Foreman would tally 5 carries with a modest 21.4% snap rate.

Yeah, it's pretty blah all around, and at least for the moment, it doesn't look like we can trust anyone in this group unless things shake out dramatically different in the coming weeks.

This committee also draws a tough matchup against New Orleans in Week 10, so it might be best to take a wait-and-see approach anyway.

Kenyan Drake Posts a 17.4% Target Share in Week 9

Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow were predictably the most targeted Vegas pass-catchers on Sunday at 11 and 9 targets, respectively, but Kenyan Drake was close behind at a season-best 8 targets, leading to a solid 17.4% target share.

After being pretty much left for dead towards the end of the Jon Gruden era, Drake seems to be working himself back into the mix now, with his 46.3% snap rate being his highest since Gruden's departure.

Of course, Drake's still behind lead back Josh Jacobs, but if he's being utilized in the pass-catching role we saw early in the season, he will at least have value in PPR and deeper formats.

If Mahomes looks at all like his old self against the Raiders in Week 10, that could lead to a negative game script, perhaps lending itself to another busy day in the passing game again for Drake.