NFL

​Week 9 Fantasy Football Market Share Report: Josh Jacobs Is Hogging the Red Zone Carries for the Raiders

It was a week of unexpected performances from both rookies and players we hadn’t thought about in a long time.

But that in itself is a good reminder. Taking stock, looking at snap counts, and tracking market shares are things you need to be doing on a regular basis. They can help you stay a step ahead and find a breakout player before he blows up the box score.

This week, we will take a look at some unique players who saw their opportunities rise this past week, and we'll investigate whether or not they'll have any staying power.

Rushing Market Shares

Kalen Ballage, Chargers

Without Austin Ekeler, the Los Angeles Chargers' backfield had been a mixed bag of Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley. And now there's Kalen Ballage.

This past Sunday, Ballage catapulted himself to lead back with 15 rushes for 69 yards and a touchdown -- good enough for a 62.5 percent share of the Chargers’ running back carries. Kelley handled 37.5 percent. Ballage was also targeted 3 times and hauled in 2 receptions for 15 yards.

Of course Ballage's emergence was aided by Jackson getting injured on the Chargers' first series, but it's pretty clear the Bolts don't want to give Kelley a workhorse role.

If Jackson is out, Ballage is the running back to own for the Chargers, and it may stay that way until Ekeler returns to muddy the waters. He's one of the week's better waiver adds.

Salvon Ahmed, Dolphins

It seems everyone is going crazy for the Miami Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa. It's hard not to. They are exciting. Not that Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn’t.

But on Sunday, undrafted rookie Salvon Ahmed raised some eyebrows, too. On 7 carries he ran for 38 yards, he led the team in rushing and showed a lot more juice than Jordan Howard did. Ahmed outgained Howard by 19 yards on 3 fewer carries.

Ahmed is worth a stash in deeper leagues and may have a role until Myles Gaskin comes back. But be mindful of the practice reports this week as DeAndre Washington and Matt Breida could join the fray, which may put Ahmed back on the pine.

Receiving Market Shares

Denzel Mims, Jets

The New York Jets are a rough watch. But Denzel Mims has been intriguing since coming back from injury. Despite the dominant game from Breshad Perriman (5 receptions for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns), Mims led the Jets in targets with 8 -- which was good enough for a 32.0 percent target share.

Even if Mims is the third wide receiver right now behind Perriman and Jamison Crowder, he's someone to keep an eye on, especially if this kind of usage continues. And it might since Gang Green should want to see what they have in Mims as they look ahead to the future.

Michael Pittman Jr., Colts

Michael Pittman Jr. has been a hot name since the NFL Draft, but injuries have limited his role this season. He was a big factor in Week 9, though. Pittman led the Indianapolis Colts in targets (8) and receiving yards (56).

The Colts normally spread around the football quite a bit, but Pittman’s 18.4 percent target share is worth noting. Pittman may be the Colts' number-one receiver until T.Y. Hilton comes back. And with Hilton looking to be on the decline in 2020, the rookie could continue to be a key cog even when T.Y. is healthy.

Red Zone Market Shares

Josh Jacobs, Raiders

Now seems like a perfectly good time to see if you can trade for Josh Jacobs in your league. His value has been slightly depressed recently. Jacobs keeps missing practices, signaling that me may be at less than 100%, and Devontae Booker keeps stealing carries. But Jacobs is a stud, and Booker isn't eating into Jacobs' red zone work.

Jacobs is third in the NFL with 33 red zone rushes. He has 6 touchdowns on those red zone carries, and he's accounting for 75 percent of the Las Vegas Raiders' red zone rushing attempts. He hogs even more work inside the 10, gobbling up 94.4 percent of Vegas' carries in that area.

With Jacobs underwhelming a bit of late, he makes for a good trade target -- although it's always hard to acquire a top back at any sort of discount -- as he's bound to start cashing in with this kind of red zone usage.

Tyler Boyd, Bengals

Tyler Boyd isn’t flashy, and that’s good. Because he’s perfectly stashed away on the Cincinnati Bengals while getting 11 red zone receiving targets, the third-most among wideouts. On those 11 targets, Boyd has 3 touchdowns, and the workload adds up to 24 percent of the Bengals’ red zone targets.

Playing in an offense that's tossing it around the yard a bunch this year (seventh-highest pass rate), Boyd has a steady floor, and the red zone targets give him access to a sweet ceiling, as well.