NFL Air Yards Report For Week 5: Expect Big Games From DK Metcalf

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

Let’s take a look at what happened in Week 4.

Week 5 NFL Air Yards Report For Fantasy Football

DK Metcalf | WR | Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 4 air yards: 155 (5th)

It was a quiet game for much of Thursday, but Metcalf got going late, connecting with Aaron Rodgers on a few deep balls in the fourth quarter. Those passes pushed him over the century mark for the first time this season, as his 155 air yards ranked fifth among all players in Week 4.

Against a man-heavy Cleveland defense that deploys a ton of single-high, the Steelers were more aggressive with their usage of Metcalf. He ran go routes a season-high 34% of the time in this game, trying to take advantage of the Browns not having safety help over the top. We have seen the Steelers use Metcalf a lot more on crossing routes over the course of the season, but in the right matchup, Pittsburgh will still try to create explosive plays down the field.

Mike Evans | WR | San Francisco 49ers

Week 4 air yards: 140 (8th)

Going into Sunday, I was a little worried about just how much Evans would play following last week’s scary rib injury. And yet, Evans ran 74% of the routes, his highest rate in a game this season, catching 5 of 8 targets for 76 yards. Evans ranked top-10 in air yards on the week, and while watching the start of this game, I’ll be honest. I thought a lot of his routes were either as a decoy or simply to clear out space for Deebo Samuel. He did run go routes a season-high 20% of the time, but there’s a good chance San Francisco wasn’t looking to subject Evans to taking shots over the middle of the field. If you started Evans, you got a solid game, but more importantly, he reportedly didn’t suffer any setbacks throughout the day.

Trey McBride | TE | Arizona Cardinals

Week 4 air yards: 70 (36th)

Anyone with McBride on their fantasy teams this past week must really love PPR formats.

Once again, the All-Pro tight end saw immense volume on Sunday (12 targets), but turned it into just seven catches for 31 yards. McBride is currently averaging the fewest air yards per target of his career (5.41), while his 4.8 yards before the catch per reception are also a career-low. His vertical routes are currently down in Mike LaFleur’s offense, while his slant routes have climbed to a whopping 15.3% rate. Obviously, this isn’t a concern for McBride going forward, especially considering this role has helped him see double-digit targets in all four games. But perhaps it could be what gives Brock Bowers a slightly higher ceiling.

Carnell Tate | WR | Tennessee Titans

Week 4 air yards: 160 (2nd)

Tate enjoyed his breakout game in the NFL on Sunday, catching 9 of 12 targets for 145 yards. Only Tee Higgins saw more air yards than Tate this past week, though Tate accounted for a whopping 73.1% of Tennessee’s total air yards, the highest rate in the NFL. And considering his only other real competition for targets is Wan’Dale Robinson and his 6.6 aDOT, it isn’t really shocking to see Tate absolutely dominate the air yards.

On the season, Tate ranks top-five in air yards share, giving him plenty of upside each week, though the floor in one of the league’s worst offenses remains pretty low.