Fantasy Football Red Zone Report: Jake Ferguson, Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs vs. David Montgomery
When you think of the red zone, you immediately think of the channel NFL RedZone, which shows every team’s red zone drives. Invariably, you see many of the usual suspects being targeted and scoring … names like Travis Kelce come to mind. Kelce has been targeted seven times in the red zone through the first four games of the season, which puts him in a tie for fourth with four other receivers.
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Fantasy Football Red Zone Report
Dallas Cowboys: Jake Ferguson, Tony Pollard, CeeDee Lamb
In total, through four weeks, eight receivers have been targeted in the red zone seven or more times. Of the seven other than Kelce, six of them are WRs. The only other TE is Cowboys’ Jake Ferguson. And of the eight, Ferguson actually leads all receivers with 11 red zone targets, although he only has six red zone receptions. Considering he only has one TD on the season, this may be one of the reasons the Cowboys have been so dreadful in the red zone thus far.
They rank 30th in the league in red zone efficiency, only scoring a TD 36.84% of the time they are inside the 20-yard line. They may want to consider someone other than Ferguson to try to feed the ball to. Ferguson has more red zone targets than CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Brandin Cooks ... combined.
It’s not all the poor play-calling to Ferguson. RB Tony Pollard has had 27 rushing attempts in the red zone, which leads all RBs, but he only has two TDs this season. One thing is clear: If the Cowboys don’t straighten out their red zone deficiencies, they will again fall short of their ultimate goal.
San Francisco 49ers: Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk
Someone who is absolutely killing it in the red zone is San Fransisco RB Christian McCaffrey. He’s had the second most red zone attempts, with 22, and he already has six rushing TDs and a receiving touchdown. He has been so hot that he is swallowing all the oxygen in the huddle. The team has had a total of 38 red zone snaps and McCaffrey has been involved in 57.9% of them. It’s not a surprise they are seventh in the league with a 66.6% TD rate in the red zone. However, CMC's huge usage does limit the upside of other 49ers players, especially Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, who may have previously seen more of those red zone touches.
Detroit Lions: Jahmyr Gibbs vs. David Montgomery
In the long run, Lions rookie Jahmyr Gibbs should get the lion's share of touches, but for now, David Montgomery is the leader of the den. He has 18 red zone attempts with five rushing TDs, while Gibbs only has six rushes in the red zone. Even as Gibbs' role expands, the larger Montgomery may continue to have the lead in the red zone.
Top Performers: Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen
The receivers who have been most efficient in the red zone so far this season through four weeks are Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs, who has seven red zone targets and six catches, and Keenan Allen, who has six red zone targets and five catches. With fellow WR Mike Williams out, Allen’s workload will have to increase, and both will continue to be among the top producing WRs.
