The season has enough sample size to draw conclusions about NFL offenses and player utilization. However, the fantasy season is barreling towards the business section of the calendar, where at least 2-3 teams in a league are looking toward 2025 already. Here are the key NFL and fantasy observations at the wide receiver position:

Atlanta

A slow start to the season for Drake London and the Atlanta offense has been corrected in recent weeks. London is checking all of the threshold boxes for an elite fantasy season with 2.07 yards-per-route-run (YPRR), 26% targets per route run (TPRR), and nearly 35 routes per game (RPG). This is with Darnell Mooney enjoying a quality season and Kyle Pitts (largely) left behind in the pecking order. London is a threat to post double-digit touchdowns as well.

Carolina

One exceptional trait of Diontae Johnson in his career has been earning targets. His 28% TPRR this season is the clear best among Carolina's pass catchers and even above Johnson's 25% career mark. The switch from Bryce Young to Andy Dalton saved Johnson's season and might have been the most impactful quarterback switch outside of Drake Maye and, if Cleveland pulls the trigger, Jameis Winston.

Chicago

Routes have not been a problem for rookie Rome Odunze, as he is running 35 per game. The issue has been earning targets with heavy competition from DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and Cole Kmet. Odunze feels like Jaxon Smith-Njigba's rookie season, where the expectations were high, but realistically siphoning targets away from a well-built passing game pecking order right away was a tall order. Odunze needs more efficiency to offer strong promise for 2025 and remains a wait-and-see proposition.

Cincinnati

Noteworthy is Tee Higgins' decided edge over Ja'Marr Chase in TPRR on the season (26% vs. 19%). Higgins is in a contract year, and this might be his last in Cincinnati. Higgins' return to the lineup has rendered the WR3+ portion of the depth chart fantasy irrelevant.

Cleveland

Amari Cooper's trade to Buffalo leaves a chasm for the already-struggling Browns' passing game. Jerry Jeudy is the assumed benefactor, but his 1.12 YPRR and 16% TPRR instill minimal confidence in an already pedestrian career profile. More than projecting one of the wide receivers to benefit most with Cooper's departure, the answer is more likely tight end David Njoku.

Detroit

Jameson Williams' 18% TPRR makes his early-season production tough to trust, considering his clear beta role to Amon-Ra St. Brown's alpha target magnet status. Williams is running 30.8 routes per game, but projects as an ancillary fantasy lineup option (or more ideally a best ball play) due to his lack of earning targets and without elite route numbers.

Houston

With Nico Collins out, Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell had a target funnel on Houston's offense with 24% and 28% TPRR, respectively. The WR3 spot looks like a black hole until Collins returns to reform the 'Big 3' in a few weeks.

Jacksonville

Brian Thomas Jr. enjoyed the opening games of the season, plus massive Week 4 and Week 5 performances without Evan Engram in the lineup. Week 6 was a big question mark to see how Thomas would perform with Engram back in the mix. Engram was the target vacuum as he was last year (3.19 YPRR, 31% TPRR), while Thomas sagged down to 0.77 and 17%. While a one-game sample size, it is worth tracking over the next few weeks as Thomas is on a high-end success track as a rookie.

LA Chargers

Ladd McConkey has been underrated by the dynasty market, considering his career start. McConkey has posted 1.90 YPRR and 27% TPRR. Considering Quentin Johnston is fading after his notable start and Joshua Palmer has been a non-factor, McConkey has a clear runway to continue his dominance of this passing game. The lone issue has been a low-volume offense where no wide receiver runs more than 22 routes per game.

LA Rams

Tutu Atwell and Jordan Whittington continue to thrive with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua out of the lineup. Both Atwell and Whittington are above 2.10 YPRR and 22% TPRR, a strong combination to point to WR24 or better historical production. The pair has combined for zero touchdowns, which is the main issue with not seeing the typical ceiling for their underlying numbers this season. Stick with them until Kupp (the most likely of the injured duo to return first) is back in the lineup.

Las Vegas

Monitor Jakobi Meyers closely after Davante Adams' trade to the Jets. The tandem were both in the 20-21% TPRR range. With Adams gone, only Meyers and rookie tight end Brock Bowers are viable remaining targets. Seeing Meyers rise to the 23-25% TPRR range would not be a surprise.

New England

While just one game, the difference for the Patriots' passing game with Drake Maye starting instead of Jacoby Brissett was notable in Week 6. Demario Douglas was a significant benefactor, posting 3.29 YPRR and 32% TPRR. With Ja'Lynn Polk, Kayshon Boutte, and Kendrick Bourne yet to do much this season (regardless of quarterback), Douglas has easily been the most viable option for fantasy.

New Orleans

With Chris Olave almost assuredly missing Week 7 and Rashid Shaheed popping up with an injury from Week 6, Bub Means saw a significant increase in involvement with 34 routes, 1.32 YPRR, and 24% TPRR. Means, at a minimum, is a viable streaming option for Week 7 and, at a maximum, a hold for the next few weeks until both Olave and Shaheed return to the lineup.

NY Jets

With Davante Adams' addition, Mike Williams is the most significant loser (possibly released?), where his 26 routes per game will be drastically reduced. Allen Lazard might even be a value now as most will assume his involvement will be slashed to the bone. However, Lazard's 17% TPRR is a sustainable figure, even with Adams being added. Garrett Wilson's 27% TPRR is likely to drop, even if only 1-3%, which is enough to question if Wilson is more than a WR3 for lineup decisions once Adams is incorporated into the offense.

Seattle

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has surpassed Tyler Lockett in the pecking order (+5.5 routes per game, 19% vs. 16% TPRR), but Smith-Njigba is still lagging well behind DK Metcalf and the requisite thresholds to be overly interesting in fantasy terms. Smith-Njigba's 1.22 YPRR this season is below his career mark of 1.28, both middling levels.

Tampa Bay

Chris Godwin has been elite previously in his career (nearly 2.00 YPRR for his career), but his profile has been maximized with his move back to the slot. After a 37% slot rate in 2023, Godwin has surged back to 61%, more in line with his career marks. Godwin's 5.2 aDOT (average depth of target) has resulted in easy throws for Baker Mayfield and easy yards for the yards-after-catch maven in Godwin. Godwin has career-high marks in YPRR (2.55) and TPRR (26%) despite sharing the passing game with Mike Evans.

Tennessee

Considering the contract involved, Calvin Ridley has been beyond a disappointment this season. Ridley's 0.98 YPRR and 17% TPRR are horrible marks for even pedestrian WR3 types in NFL offenses, let alone the notable free-agent signing of the offseason. Ridley cratered to a new low point in Week 6 with six targets, all of which were incomplete. This is also a Will Levis blurb.

Washington

Olamide Zaccheaus and, to a stronger degree, Noah Brown are the exact types of ancillary wide receivers to take a shot on with bench roster spots. They are attached to a strong passing game, seeing enough routes to be interesting with an uptick (13.3 and 20.8), and both have performed well with their routes (22% or higher in TPRR, 1.98 or higher in YPRR). For the record, Tim Patrick and Kalif Raymond fit this criteria as well in Detroit.

Strength of Schedule

The Footballguys powerful strength of schedule tool is up and running now here.

Looking at the next four weeks, here are the notable wide receiver schedules:

Next Month's Best Schedules

• Vikings +27.9 PPG
• Packers +24.2 PPG
• Bengals +15.3 PPG
• Jaguars +13.6 PPG

All plus matchups, including two ideal spots for Justin Jefferson coming up. The same applies to the Packers with Jacksonville and Detroit over the next three weeks.

Next Month's Worst Schedules

• Commanders -20.7 PPG
• Cardinals -16.6 PPG
• Panthers -14.2 PPG
• Chiefs -12.3 PPG

Terry McLaurin and Co. have a neutral Carolina matchup this week before a tough stretch of CHI-NYG-PIT over the next month. 

Check out all of Chad Parsons' content at Footballguys.