Damn you people and all your Josh Gordon talk. Damn you. Is he a talented receiver? Yes. Will he be the new focal point of the Browns offense? Probably. But putting all of your eggs into his proverbial basket is just insane. Fantasy suicide, if you will.

First of all, if your league’s trade deadline hasn’t passed already, you may want to think about making that adjustment for next year. It will probably stop you from doing some of the more stupid things I’ve heard just in this past week. For example: No, you don’t want to trade Jeremy Maclin for Trent Richardson and Travis Kelce because you need a running back and a tight end and are covered at receiver with Gordon returning this week. Forget about the fact that Richardson is a piece of garbage disguised as a running back, you simply have no idea how Gordon is going to perform. And I’m not even talking about his potential snap limitations or the fact that he’s going to be shadowed by Desmond Trufant all game or that he will also see a fair amount of double-coverage on top of that. I’m talking about the fact that the guy hasn’t been allowed to practice with the team for the entire season. He’s catching balls from the JUGGS machine? Who gives a crap? Maybe he’s been holding his own little workouts all this time, but it’s definitely not the same as being on the practice field with your team.  Not to mention he’s probably been settling in every night with a bong hit and a bag of Doritos.

Look, I’m not saying that he’s going to fail, nor am I rooting for that to happen. I’m just saying that you need to stop viewing him as some fantasy football messiah sent here to lead your team to the championship. If you’ve got a winning record and are headed to your playoffs, remember that you’ve done it without this knucklhead in your starting lineup. The guys on your roster are the ones who have led you this far. Don’t go abandoning them because of some blind faith. Stick with the guys who have gotten you to where you are. If you can supplement that with Gordon, then great, but don’t start breaking up the team because you think you’re adding an elite. In truth, you don’t know what you have just yet.

Now let’s get to the targets from Week 11.

Week 11 Target Leaders

 

, WR CHI – Through the first eight games, Jeffery was averaging just under eight targets per game and fantasy owners had growing disappointment as he was failing to produce as he had during his rookie campaign. Sure, there were a couple of bright spots, but overall, it just wasn’t the same. But in the two games since the bye week, Jeffery has seen 29 targets which he’s managed to turn into 198 yards and a touchdown. This 17-target performance pushes him past Brandon Marshall for the team lead though both receivers have seen an enormous amount of work over the last four games. However, one thing to take notice is the six red zone targets Jeffery has seen in these two games as opposed to just one for Marshall. It’s unlikely that he’ll continue seeing this many targets moving forward. Marshall is still considered the primary guy. But he should still be in line for a great game this week against Tampa Bay whose pass defense ranks 30th in the league and has allowed an average of 266 passing yards per game with a total of 20 touchdowns through the air.

Odell Beckham Jr., WR NYG – While the Giants have been trying to force-feed the ball to Rueben Randle all year long, it seems like Beckham is the rising star in this receiving corps. He hasn’t surpassed Randle in targets just yet, but he’s averaged 11 per game to Randle’s 12 over their last three. But Beckham has surpassed him in yardage thanks to a more reliable 64-percent catch rate and steadily, the youngster appears to be on a path towards greater success. One sticking point, at least for the time being, is the red zone target work. Randle continues to see the bulk of the looks inside the 20, particularly around the end zone while Beckham’s workload stays heavy between the 20’s. Perhaps is has to do with the size as Beckham is just 5-foot-11, but that should change given the youngster’s overall reliability.

, TE DEN – Remember me? I was once a atarget for Peyton Manning back when we were both in Indianapolis together and the whole world seems to have forgotten me ever since that Julius Thomas stole all my thunder. Well here comes the boom again as Tamme takes over as the Broncos No. 1 tight end with Thomas still sidelined with his ankle injury. As of Wednesday, Thomas hasn’t practiced at all and does not appear to be close to ready for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. Granted, the match-up isn’t as strong as it was this past week, but we all know how Peyton loves to go to his tight end. You can expect significant targets this week, including some red zone looks.

Taylor Gabriel, WR CLE – Who? Exactly. We all know who Andrew Hawkins is. Travis Benjamin, too. But where in the world did Gabriel come from and what’s with the 13 targets? Only five catches and no red zone work says it all, but is Gabriel possibly someone to look at for the fantasy playoffs? Um. No. Especially with Josh Gordon coming back. This was simply one of those coverage match-ups where the mismatch was so great that Brian Hoyer just couldn’t pass it up. With Gordon returning and Andrew Hawkins back to 100-percent, even without Jordan Cameron around, Gabriel is not going to be someone with whom you are going to trust.

Overall Target Leaders

 

Target Percentage Leaders

Andrew Hawkins, WR CLE – Yes, more talk about the anticipated coverage Josh Gordon will see this week and moving forward, but in a slightly different light. Let’s talk about the fact that so many defenses will be keying in on him that they just might overlook Hawkins who, as evidenced by his 25.2-percent target rate, has been Hoyer’s favorite this season. Gordon is going to pull so much coverage his way that Hawkins should not only maintain his rate, but he could even see an increase in targets if he can beat the one-on-one coverage he’ll likely be seeing all day.

, WR WAS – Back around Week 3 of the season, Garcon was lighting it up on the field and sporting a target rate in excess of 23-percent. Now he’s dropped to 18.5-percent here after Week 11 and he’s become an afterthought in the Washington passing attack. What the hell happened here? We expected a slight drop-off this year with the addition of DeSean Jackson, but this is ridiculous. Even with tight end Jordan Reed hurt, Gsarcon isn’t seeing any legitimate work and it’s difficult to explain why. The quarterback situation? Maybe, but you can’t tell me that both Kirk Cousins nor RG3 had issues with him. The play-calling? Maybe, but there’s no other receiver depth on this team, so where are the looks going? You never want to drop a talent like this onto your waiver wire, but if you haven’t stopped using him altogether in both full-season and daily fantasy play, then you’re not paying attention.

Red Zone Target Leaders

, WR JAC – The loss of Allen Robinson is going to change up the dynamic in the red zone for the Jaguars. Granted, they haven’t gotten there all that often, but when they did, most of the work was going the way of Shorts and Robinson, as evidenced by their respective red zone target rates. But while Robinson’s red zone looks will be dispersed amongst a few, Shorts is likely to get some of them thrown his way which will increase his already team-leading 32-percent. The Colts pass defense, now down from fourth to 17th in just a few weeks’ time, has been getting lit up lately and that could mean a nice game for Shorts…if he stays healthy, of course.

John Brown, WR ARI – More speculative than anything else, but keep an eye on the red zone work for Brown now that Drew Stanton is sitting under center for the Cardinals the rest of the way. His red zone work has been fairly light, but with Larry Fitzgerald banged up and questionable, Stanton could end up relying on Brown a little more inside the 20-yard line. His targets have been up since Stanton has moved under center and now that Fitzgerald might be limited, Stanton is going to have to find someone a bit more reliable that the spotty Michael Floyd.

Players on the Rise

Rather than do the usual risers and fallers, I just want to mention a few guys who may have been overlooked this week in your league.

, WR DEN – With the expected loss of both Emmanuel Sanders and Julius Thomas, coupled with the fact that Wes Welker hardly ever sees the ball anymore, most people are buzzing again about Cody Latimer, the rookie out of Indiana. He got a ton of preseason hype, but was thrust so far down the depth chart that the only time he came up for air was for a nine-yard  catch last week. But Caldwell has always been the forgotten man on this team and has had to make do with being a kick returner more than a wide receiver to get his name into the weekly boxscores. That could change significantly this week with the Broncos being short-handed and matching up with a tough Miami pass defense. Caldwell had a nice two-TD game last year and followed it up with another toiuchdown the game after. Peyton Manning is very familiar with him and the two could connect this week for a little end zone action.

Marcedes Lewis, TE JAC – Forget Clay Harbor. The Jags did weeks ago, so why shouldn’t you? While most people are looking at Allen Hurns and Cecil Shorts for an increase in targets with Allen Robinson finished for the season, few people are remembering that Lewis is set to return to action this week after missing almost the whole season with an ankle injury. Sure, Hurns and Shorts will see plenty of work, but Blake Bortles has been in dire need of a pass-catching tight end and Lewis should fit the bill here. He’s probably sitting on your waiver wire right now, so take a look.

Week 12 Match-Up to Watch

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears – This one has targets galore written all over it and while the Bears have Matt Forte to grind it out on the ground, he’s been much more exciting in the passing attack. The Bucs may have stifled the Redskins last week, but that offense is nothing compared to what they’re going to see with Jeffery, Marshall, Forte and Martellus Bennett. If Jay Cutler can keep from making too many stupid mistakes, he could post career-best number in this one. I don’t need to repeat the numbers of the woeful Tampa pass defense, do I? And on the other side, the Bears’ 28th-ranked pass defense isn’t looking much better, is it? They’re giving up an average of 256 passing yards per game and have allowed a whopping 24 passing touchdowns this year. The only team to have allowed more is the Jets and 90-percent of their secondary is using crutches to walk. Josh McCown should connect with Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson early and often in this one.