Red Zone Report: Week 8 (Fantasy Football)
Welcome to the eighth Red Zone Report of 2024, where I dive into the important stats and information you need to know from 20 yards and in. It’s been a very interesting Week 8 up to this point, with plenty of new faces due to injuries from the last week. Let’s jump right into the action!
Check out the Red Zone Report tool as part of the Ultimate Draft Kit to look at every player’s usage in the red zone, 10-zone, and five-zone.
Let’s begin by taking a look at efficiency in and out of the red zone.
The Commanders continue to be incredibly efficient outside the red zone while maintaining their stature as an average red zone offense. The Cardinals are emerging as a top-five team in the red zone after a great win in Miami. After getting both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back from injury in the same week, the Los Angeles Rams improved drastically as an offense in all parts of the field. Kyren Williams should see a sizable bump in production when both are healthy.
Rushers
The graph below shows the relationship between rusher EPA per play and success rate in the red zone over the course of the season.
James Cook had himself a Sunday in Seattle, finishing as the RB1 on the week up to this point. Kareem Hunt continues to crush in the red zone and has assumed a powerful role in the Kansas City offense that may last past the return of Isiah Pacheco. Let’s take a look at some of the other players who showed out this week.
Bucky Irving
Bucky Irving is the top running back from our red zone rushing efficiency chart above. In a game where Rachaad White and Sean Tucker were both healthy, he led the pack with a ton of opportunities. Though he had a great overall day with 84 total yards and seven catches, he failed to score. Irving got one of his team’s two carries inside the red zone, taking the ball from the 15-yard line down to the seven. Without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for a significant amount of time, it can rightfully be assumed that the Buccaneers will be in the red zone less often. If the Bucs are able to get Irving more opportunities in the red zone, he can very quickly become one of fantasy’s best running backs.
Jalen Hurts
Another one of the names in the top-right corner of our efficiency graph is Jalen Hurts, who proved why in a big win over the Bengals yesterday. The Eagles had a massive 11 red zone carries, with five going to their franchise quarterback. Of his five carries, Hurts brought in three touchdowns — a scary sight for Saquon Barkley managers. Barkley, however, had his chances, getting four red zone carries — two of which came inside the five. Though Barkley didn’t put up huge fantasy numbers, he still had a very impressive 108 yards on 22 carries. He remains one of fantasy football’s best running backs, and the touchdowns will come back soon.
Raheem Mostert
Tua Tagovailoa is back, and so is Raheem Mostert! The Dolphins’ offense had struggled big time in the absence of their former fifth overall pick, but now with Tua back and leading the squad, they found themselves in the red zone at a much higher frequency. Potentially the biggest beneficiary from Tua’s return was Raheem Mostert, who got all five of his team’s carries inside the five-yard line. Mostert made these chances count, punching into the end zone twice. Now, back to a fully healthy quarterback, Raheem Mostert becomes a very startable option going forward, especially for fantasy teams ravaged by injuries.
Receivers
Similar to the previous one, the graph below shows receiver EPA per play against success rate in the red zone.
Plenty of stars showed out and won the week for fantasy managers like Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and Devonta Smith. While the wide receivers played well, the true stars of Week 8 were the tight ends. 13 different players at the position found themselves in the end zone at some point — even Kyle Pitts! Let’s finish up this week’s report by taking a better look at a couple of the tight ends who won the week.
Cade Otton
One of many players who made sure to make the most of National Tight Ends Day was Cade Otton of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A massive part of his nearly 30-point (PPR) day was accumulated in the red zone, where he was targeted three times. Otton caught two of these targets for touchdowns. As mentioned earlier, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are gone; because of this, Cade Otton’s red zone potential is skyrocketing. In a massive opportunity to step up, Cade Otton showed up more than any other Bucs receiver.
Travis Kelce
In the red zone, Travis Kelce caught all three of his targets, bringing one in for a touchdown. Totaling 10 catches for 90 yards in addition to his touchdown, he had his best fantasy performance since Week 7 of 2023. Many of Patrick Mahomes’ targets have become injured, leading to the addition of DeAndre Hopkins; however, this didn’t stop Travis Kelce from starting to show flashes of his former self with a now elevated role in the Kansas City offense. If the targets continue to follow as they have in the last four weeks, I believe Kelce will be a top-five tight end moving forward.
Conclusion
The 2024 fantasy season is now more than halfway through. Now, it is crunch time, where each win and loss means that much more. Be sure to follow along and check back each week for the Red Zone Report in order to stay informed on the information that can help you win your way into the playoffs.
For more insights and a full breakdown of red zone rush and target data, try using the Red Zone Report tool as part of the Ultimate Draft Kit