MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
During the NFL season, we’re going to break down how different offenses are utilizing their weapons all over the field. As the year goes on, patterns begin to emerge that will allow us to anticipate and exploit mismatches between a defense and an offense that we’re targeting.
Short Passing
The short left zone is one that’s populated by studs of all positions. D’Andre Swift and Najee Harris might not be receiving “studs” in the traditional sense, but they’ve been focal points in their respective offenses through the first five weeks of the season. The wide receivers speak for themselves here. The only tight end on the list is Travis Kelce. Just over 40% of his targets have gone to this section of the field.
This list doesn’t feature any running backs, but it does feature the next best fantasy tight end behind Travis Kelce. Darren Waller has seen a third of his targets go to this section of the field. Darnell Mooney is an interesting name here. He has an excellent WOPR and an aDOT over 10 yards, but he’s still being featured in the short right portion of the field, as well. Here’s a look at some of the most prominent names on the list and their outlook for this weekend.
Deep Passing
Only seven wide receivers have gained at least 90 yards on deep middle targets.
The Packers move Davante Adams around quite a bit to scheme mismatches.
It appears that he’ll be able to do some extra damage in the slot. Though, to be fair, he’s a mismatch for the defender no matter where he lines up on the field.
Ja’Marr Chase is emerging as a superstar right in front of our eyes. With 310 air yards on just 9 targets, it’s clear that Joe Burrow has no qualms about targeting Chase deep. The trust and rapport are there for obvious reasons but it’s nice to see it translate into the NFL. Dawson Knox is a breakout star at TE and is getting some valuable deep looks as well as plenty of red zone opportunities.
The deep middle section of the field has plenty of familiar names as well.
Marquise Brown will continue to thrive in this Ravens offense this season thanks to where he’s seeing his targets. It’ll be worth watching Tyler Lockett to see how (and if) his efficiency changes without Russell Wilson for the next month or so.
