Draft prep: Be right on target in 2008

Lee Evans would like to develop a better rapport with Trent Edwards in 2008. Last year, the two had trouble connecting.

Evans is used to seeing a certain number of passes in his direction. When J.P. Losman was the starting quarterback last year, he threw in Evans' direction 7.7 times a game. Edwards replaced Losman in 2007 and will be the starter this year, but Edwards only threw at Evans 6.7 time a game.

Even though Evans was still thrown at 113 times in 2007, the lack of attempts is part of the reason he struggled. Evans went from 82 catches for 1,292 yards and eight touchdowns in 2006 to only 55 catches for 849 yards and five touchdowns last year. Evans is hoping his stats will improve this season, and he knows having Edwards throw more in his direction will help.

As a Fantasy owner, you want to know who is catching the most passes and touchdowns, whether it's a wide receiver, tight end or running back, to determine their draft value. But another example of who is getting the ball from the quarterback is a new statistic Fantasy owners can count on -- targets.

A target is how many times a quarterback attempted a pass in the direction of his teammate. For example, Brandon Marshall was the most targeted player in 2007 with 170 passes thrown his way (he finished with 102 catches for 1,325 yards and seven touchdowns). Quarterback Jay Cutler attempted 467 passes last year, so 36 percent of his throws went toward Marshall. The other 68 passes Marshall didn't catch were from good coverage, bad throws or drops -- he had eight according to STATS, Inc.

Now, Marshall didn't finish as the best wide receiver in the NFL last year. Randy Moss set the NFL record for touchdown catches with 23, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Wes Welker tied for the most receptions with 112 and Reggie Wayne had the most receiving yards with 1,510. But Marshall was a big part of Denver's offense, and that's something Fantasy owners can look into when making a decision to draft a wide receiver.

At running back, you wouldn't think of Earnest Graham as a receiver, but he was the fourth-most targeted running back in 2007 at 70 targets, with Kenny Watson (67) a surprising sixth and Chicago's Adrian Peterson (65) seventh. Tony Gonzalez (155) also was a surprise as the most-targeted tight end in 2007, ahead of Kellen Winslow (148), Jason Witten (142) and Antonio Gates (117), who are considered the three best at their position.

As part of the targets stat, we also looked into who were the most productive players in the red zone, which is the area inside the opponents' 20-yard line. This is helpful for Fantasy owners, especially in touchdown-only leagues, to know who a quarterback is looking for when they are trying to throw a touchdown.

For example, nine of tight end Dallas Clark's 11 touchdowns in 2007 came in the red zone, with 22 passes thrown in his direction. Wayne, by comparison, only had four red zone touchdowns with the same number of targets. That shows how much faith Peyton Manning has in Clark.

We also examined touches for running backs in the red zone, which will help Fantasy owners determine the players coaches trust when they get close to the end zone. LenDale White scored all seven of his touchdowns in 2007 inside the red zone. Clinton Portis also scored 10 off his 11 touchdowns inside the 20.

Targets and red-zone touches might not be the best way to draft your Fantasy team. But when choosing between players, especially in leagues where receptions count, it could be a deciding factor. Remember, you want players who are productive, but you also want players who are involved in the game plan.

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