NFL Air Yards Report For Week 3 Fantasy Football: Jaylen Waddle Bounces Back

There’s perhaps nothing more tilting in fantasy football than unrealized air yards, but they do help paint a picture. Every Wednesday here at Fantasy Life, I’ll be highlighting some pass catchers who stood out in the NFL air yards department for the given week.

Let’s take a look at Week 3.

NFL Air Yards Standouts Ahead Of Week 3 Fantasy Football

Jaylen Waddle | WR | Broncos

Week 2 air yards: 153 (6th)

Now that’s much better, Broncos.

Following a disastrous Week 1, we desperately needed Jaylen Waddle to bounce back this past weekend. And after Sean Payton promised that his top wideout would get his touches, he delivered. Waddle got back on track in Week 2, hauling in 8 of 10 targets for 138 yards. He just missed a touchdown, getting tackled at the 1-yard line on a 49-yard catch. Waddle saw three targets from motion, including a beautiful double move down the sideline that could have turned into much more if Bo Nix threw a better ball. Nearly 60% of his routes were either go or outs, allowing him to set up defenders all day long. Overall, it was a very encouraging outing for Waddle, who saw nearly 35% of Denver’s targets.

Adonai Mitchell | WR | Jets

Week 2 air yards: 178 (3rd)

During Jets training camp, there were multiple reports suggesting Geno Smith and Adonai Mitchell were developing a strong rapport, with Mitchell really impressing.

Through the first two weeks of the season, it appears that was legitimate.

Mitchell was targeted 12 times in Week 2, converting half of them for 63 yards. His 178 air yards were the third-most in football this week, now ranking 12th in the league so far this season. The Mitchell/Geno pairing works, as Mitchell has always been a very good separator, especially on deeper routes, while Smith loves to take shots downfield. Mitchell has run go routes 24.6% of the time this season, while accounting for a whopping 54% of the Jets' air yards, the third-highest rate in the NFL. With injuries not slowing down across the league, Mitchell is a viable start in Week 3 against a Detroit Lions pass defense that is allowing 8.6 air yards per target (10th-most).

Matthew Golden | WR | Packers

Week 2 air yards: 80 (27th)

Golden’s Week 2 stat line (4-58-0) isn’t anything to write home about, but the usage and involvement were once again encouraging. The six targets weren’t incredible, but Golden ran a route on 91% of dropbacks, while accounting for 35% of Green Bay’s air yards. Golden was close to a much, much better day, but instead drew a league-high 61 yards of pass interference. He’s running a ton of go and post routes, giving him plenty of upside each week, especially with Green Bay’s sudden spike in both pace and passing volume to start the season.

Ted Hurst | WR | Bucs

Week 2 air yards: 145 (8th)

It was pretty surprising to see Hurst lead Tampa Bay in targets this past weekend, especially with Jalen McMillan active. Of course, McMillan, who still isn’t 100% healthy, ran just 5% of the routes to Hurst’s 73%. Most of Hurst’s looks were prayers, as he posted a 19.6-yard aDOT. Baker Mayfield is just chucking right now, as a league-high 20% of his pass attempts have traveled 20-plus yards down the field. Hurst converted just 2 of 7 targets into receptions, and with McMillan set to see more playing time going forward, it’s pretty easy to overlook this random spike in usage from Week 2.