Some time early in our lives, we're taught to share. If we don't pick it up at home, it's surely reinforced by kindergarten.
But when it comes to fantasy football, we don't like players who share. We want bell-cow backs and target-hog receivers.
My first search in this week's data meandering had to do with teams that are steering most of their passing production to just two players. I culled all the players with a team yardage percentage of 25% or higher (there are 30 of them), and looked for offenses that had at least two of these players.
Seven teams made the cut. Let's look at those offenses and try to see what's what.
Carolina Panthers
WR Tetairoa McMillan — 30.4% yardage share
WR Jalen Coker — 26.1%
On a per-game basis, McMillan is the WR9 and Coker is the WR12. A friendly early slate has helped, but the Panthers are also past their bye now — so McMillan and Coker become a little more valuable looking forward.
The key to their ceiling case is the true talent level of Bryce Young. It's plausible that Young is taking a step forward in his fourth pro season, and although his completion percentage lags under the league average, all of his other key metrics are above average. I don't think anyone expects the Panthers to maintain 300 passing yards per week, but if Young is at least average — and maybe he's even above average — McMillan is going to beat his summer cost and Coker is going to smash his ADP.
Dallas Cowboys
WR CeeDee Lamb — 35.2%
WR George Pickens — 26.1%
Ah, the maddening Cowboys. Only in Dallas could a player like Lamb catch 17 passes for 189 yards one week, then two grabs for nine yards the next. And Pickens has never been a beacon of consistency, either — we recall all those Pittsburgh videos where Pickens would often seemingly mail it in on plays where he wasn't the focus.
The Cowboys are phasing out tight end Jake Ferguson and that's justified — he's lagging at 4.8 yards per target. I've always liked Ryan Flournoy as a third receiver, but he's dropped two yards on his YPT number, too. It probably won't be a linear story, but the Dallas passing game remains a two-man show.
Green Bay Packers
WR Christian Watson — 31.9%
WR Matthew Golden — 29.8%
I was hoping the Packers would track in this stat and the numbers are here. Green Bay's horrible offensive line has turned this offense into a pass-first outfit, and even with the expected return of Josh Jacobs, I don't think that's going to change. I've always thought QB Jordan Love was underrated, too.
Love would appreciate some stickier hands moving forward, as the Packers lead the league in dropped passes and Golden is first in that stat (six to eight drops, depending on your source). But unlike fumbles, drops are rarely held against players — teams just want those receivers to keep getting open and they'll live with the occasional hiccup.
Tucker Kraft? We talked about him last week. His route participation doesn't quite match his snap rate among elite tight ends. He's somewhere in the top 10 at the position, but closer to 10 than he is to 1.
Los Angeles Rams
WR Puka Nacua — 38.3%
WR Davante Adams — 26.6%
Well, that was fun while it lasted. Adams is out 6-10 weeks, so Nacua's target share will go to the moon. We're curious who the second pitch will become — it could be Konata Mumpfield, Colby Parkinson or Tyler Higbee. Terrance Ferguson isn't close to returning, so scratch him from your plans for at least the next few weeks.
Miami Dolphins
WR Malik Washington — 30.9%
WR Caleb Douglas — 27.1%
Here's where we have to be realistic about the size of the pie. The Dolphins are 31st in passing yards per game and 30th in EPA per dropback. They've also thrown just two touchdown passes, and Washington currently ranks fourth on the Diontae Johnson list — most targets without a touchdown. The bottom line, we want to keep chasing volume, and we like the concentration of the offense. But the juice has to be worth the squeeze.
New York Giants
WR Malik Nabers — 34.1%
TE Isaiah Likely — 26.4%
We just hope J.J. McCarthy continues to pepper his two main threats like Jaxson Dart and Jameis Winston did. McCarthy had 17 recorded targets in his first start, and they were evenly distributed — Nabers had five and Likely had three (meanwhile, Malachi Fields had five and Charlie Jones drew three). Sometimes backup QBs are more comfortable initially with non-starting players because they've run reps together; it's sort of a JV connection. McCarthy's Week 7 start against Houston has a wide range of outcomes, but it's still appointment viewing.
New York Jets
WR Garrett Wilson — 31.3%
WR Omar Cooper Jr. — 28.5%
WR Adonai Mitchell — 26.6%
This one's a little bit wonky, because Cooper and Mitchell have played just two games each. But the shape of the New York passing tree is fun — Wilson winning all over the field, Cooper and Mitchell taking the top off the defense. Geno Smith can be a tough watch at times, but his passer rating is 13% better than average, and he's also beating the league average in EPA per dropback. Perhaps Cooper and Mitchell will cannibalize each other when they're both healthy — Mitchell was expected to be a limited practice particpant Wednesday — but for now we can dial up Cooper with excitement.
Leaders for the Diontae Johnson Award — Most Targets without a TD
Before we wrap for the week, let's check out one more fun leaderboard. Good luck in Week 7.
Drake London, 47
Josh Downs, 42
Dalton Schultz, 37
Malik Washington, 36
Christian McCaffrey, 35
KC Concepcion, 35