What did we miss? Deep reception fantasy surprises

Most of the teams that lost significant deep threats after 2016 saw their overall reliance on deep throws decrease this season. That suggests that the talent of the skill players themselves dictates the fantasy potential teams could have on deep throws. Fortunately, a few teams did have some internal candidates with the talent to replace the deep threats who left in free agency, and a two in particular became big hits as sleepers.

Teams that needed a deep target

PPR Points Lost on Deep Passes, 2016 to 2017
Team	Points Lost	Notable Players Lost
WAS	142.4	DeSean Jackson (91.9), Pierre Garcon (46.4)
BUF	117.5	Marquise Goodwin (29.1), Sammy Watkins (27.3)
CHI	112.0	Cameron Meredith (51.5), Alshon Jeffery (33.3)
PIT	111.9	Sammie Coates (49.1), Cobi Hamilton (36.9)
NO	104.9	Brandin Cooks (89.4)
IND	84.8	Phillip Dorsett (42.9)
NYJ	81.5	Quincy Enunwa (41.8)
LAR	74.8	Kenny Britt (37.0)
CAR	69.8	Ted Ginn (66.1)
SF	66.9
CLV	62.4	Terrelle Pryor (36.1)

Washington Redskins

I mentioned in my most recent article that Josh Doctson was the closest thing the Redskins had to a breakout player on deep passes. He produced 44.4 PPR points on deep throws, and while that was just barely ahead of his teammate Vernon Davis’s total (44.3), its timing foreshadows a further increase in 2018. He saw nearly half (20.2) of those points over the final month as his overall target volume spiked to 7 per game. With Chris Thompson and Jordan Reed crowding Jamison Crowder on short and medium passes next season, Doctson could become the fantasy standout as the team’s only vertical threat.