Kevin Szafraniec uses RotoViz’s Advanced Stats Explorer to uncover under-the-radar trends at the wide receiver position from the first eight weeks of the 2025 NFL season.
It is never easy to predict how a quarterback change will affect an offense, especially when the player coming in hasn’t seen extended NFL action. We do not need to look too far back in time to be reminded of the effects that J.J. McCarthy had on the Vikings’ offense. And that is just one example of how quickly things can turn south for a high-octane passing game operating with a new starter.
Absolutely no one will be describing the Saints’ passing attack as “high octane,” but New Orleans does have one of the highest passing volumes in the league. So far this year, Spencer Rattler has been able to hold up the fantasy value of New Orleans’ receiving weapons. But on the flip side, he has failed to deliver much real-life success to the franchise.
As a football fan, it is understandable that Kellen Moore has decided to make the switch to Tyler Shough. However, Shough’s college profile featured enough red flags to make fantasy managers skeptical of his ability to continue to keep the Saints receivers afloat. Should we be looking to dump our pieces of the Saints’ passing game before it’s too late, or is there a possibility that Shough can add a new dimension to New Orleans’ offense?
Before we get into the latest information available in the Advanced Stats Explorer, just a few quick reminders about the article.
- Early in the offseason, I updated my deep dive into the past six years of wide receiver data available in the Advanced Stats Explorer and broke it down into four separate articles: Routes and Targets, Intended Air Yards, Yards After the Catch and Evasion, and Catchable Targets, Drops, First Downs, and Touchdowns.
- When working through the six-year sample, I found that the 90th percentile and above generally included most of the top 24 wide receivers for each metric in any given season. The 75th percentile and above included the top 55 to 60 WRs in any given metric per season. Given that these two cohorts easily apply to a normal 12-team fantasy league, they will be referenced often throughout the article.
Our current sample of wide receivers to earn a target in 2025 rose to 185 in Week 8, up from 178 in Week 7.
