After each week of the NFL season, we are going to take a look at the numbers from the prior week, and examine the red zone usage for players and teams! Red zone usage is vital to fantasy success and oftentimes is a great indicator of future touchdown production. This week, we’ll take a look at some recent performances in the red zone, including numbers from Bryce Young’s rookie season, a potential changing of the guard in Los Angeles, and the emergence of the newest [fantasy] superstar tight end! 

Regardless of whether it’s for your NFL DFS lineups or your seasonal teams that are fighting for a fantasy football championship, there’s key information for you in this article. From red zone passing to rushing, to receiving, we’ll take a look at some notable numbers from the first 15 weeks of the 2023 NFL season that can help your fantasy football teams. Using the red zone report here at Fantasy Alarm, here are the key numbers and notes to know for fantasy football in this week’s red zone report.

 

Red Zone Passing

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

We know the Ravens are a run-heavy team, and Lamar Jackson’s legs are just as valuable inside the red zone as his arm is. Over the last four weeks, he’s 8-for-14 with three passing scores, but interestingly enough, he has just four pass attempts inside the 10-yard line. Over Jackson’s last seven games, he has just one game with multiple pass attempts inside the 10-yard line! Through the first seven games of the year, he achieved that feat in six games! This isn’t a knock on Jackson, especially with how much he uses his legs, but it’s interesting to note his drop off in pass attempts as the team gets closer to pay dirt.

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

At this point, the season needs to end for Carolina so that Young can start fresh with a new coach and offensive regime. Despite constantly trailing, Carolina has been running the ball at one of the higher clips in the league. They are likely trying to protect Young and whatever confidence he has left, but they simply are not throwing the ball in the red zone. Over the last four weeks, the Panthers are running the ball at the sixth-highest rate when inside the 10-yard line, and they are tied for the highest rate inside the red zone overall! Young has completed just 45.9 percent of his passes in the red zone this season, and he’s 2-for-7 (28.6%) over the last three weeks.

Red Zone Rushing

Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks

Kenneth Walker hasn’t had a red zone carry in the last two weeks. Charbonnet has two. Charbonnet was the lead back in the red zone while Walker was out, and he’s gotten the work of late, too. Now, Walker has dominated the carries overall (27 to 13) over the last two weeks, but interesting that Walker hasn’t seen a red zone carry. 

Walker appears to be the 1A and Charbonnet the 1B overall in the offense, but Charbonnet has handled the red zone carries of late. Am I knocking Walker because of this? No, but it’s worth noting. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if they get Walker more involved, because Charbonnet has just one yard on his seven red zone carries, and for the 2023 season as a whole, his 19 red zone carries have resulted in just 15 rushing yards. Inside the 10-yard line, his 11 carries have resulted in one touchdown and zero yards!

Isaiah Spiller, Los Angeles Chargers

With Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco out of the building, could the Chargers look to a bit of a youth movement the rest of the season? Spiller has 22 carries over the last two weeks, and it would behoove the team to see what they have in the 22-year-old Spiller. Everyone knows what Austin Ekeler is, but Spiller and his 52 career carries in the NFL are a relative unknown. He saw three red zone carries in the shellacking of the Raiders last week, and I wouldn’t be surprised for the Chargers to audition him down the stretch. This is a bit speculative, but he could be worthy of a flier in deeper leagues, especially if they give him the reins to the backfield.

Red Zone Receiving

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

If you were hoping to get McBride cheap in drafts in 2024, that ship has sailed. He’s receiving incredible volume, and he’s seen five red zone targets over the last three weeks, including three targets inside the 10-yard line! He’s the team’s best offensive weapon at the moment, and there’s no stopping his 7+ targets and one to two red zone looks per week the rest of the way. He’s one of the best tight ends in fantasy football right now, and if he scores touchdowns consistently the next two weeks, he’s going to win people fantasy football titles.

Curtis Samuel, Washington Commanders

Sure, Samuel found the end zone twice last week against the Commanders, but here’s what matters: Samuel has led the Commanders in red zone targets over the last six weeks! Yes, passing volume is down in Washington, but that makes Samuel’s usage in the red zone appealing because it can sustain his fantasy production! He draws the best matchup for the Commanders this week against the Jets, as slot receivers have had the best luck against the Jets, albeit not that great overall. Oh, last week against the Rams, he had five red zone targets. Love that.