Week 2 provided correlation between the leading receiver and passer.
Malik Nabers led the field with 167 receiving yards, and Giants teammate Wan’Dale Robinson was third with 142 yards.
As with the quarterbacks, wide receivers had a much improved Week 2.
11 wide receivers hit the 100-yard mark along with a single tight end, Tucker Kraft.
Target rates among positions and completion rate to wide receivers remained static from Week 1, but this will be something to monitor as quarterback injuries add up early in the season.
NFL Weekly Receiving Leaders, 2025:
| Week | Wide Receiver | Receiving Yards | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zay Flowers | 140 | Buffalo Bills |
| 2 | Malik Nabers | 167 | Dallas Cowboys |
Most Week 3 Receiving Yards Prediction (Sunday): A.J. Brown (+2500)
The Philadelphia Eagles are 2-0 despite averaging less than 120 passing yards per game.
Sean McVay was Vic Fangio’s kryptonite last season, torching the Eagles for 37 points in the regular season and scoring 22 points in a January snow game, which potentially forces the Eagles to figure out the passing game in short order.
The Eagles organization allocates significant resources to analytics, and some of Kevin Patullo’s stagnant passing game can be fixed with self scouting.
Saquon Barkley and the tush push came to town, and it’s as if everyone forgets that this offense with Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown has had success passing in the past.
Before the arrival of Barkley, Brown averaged 86.8 yards receiving per game as an Eagle and finished fourth and fifth in the league in yardage in consecutive years.
The Hurts/Brown connection needs a little magic from the past to restore their confidence, and Emmanuel Forbes is potentially that magic.
Brown got off to a slow start in 2023, as well, until a Week 4 175-yard performance against the Washington Commanders, who rolled out Forbes to cover Brown.
Brown gashed Forbes and the Commanders again four weeks later, racking up 130 yards in the second meeting.
The Los Angeles Rams placed Ahkello Witherspoon on the injured reserve and are suddenly thin at the outside corner position, which provides an advantage for Brown.
As mentioned in Rich Hribar’s Worksheet, with Witherspoon off the field last season, Brown caught 4 targets for 69 yards and a touchdown against the Rams.
Brown has not been the focal point of the Eagles offense and has not registered a 100-yard receiving game in 8 straight games (including playoffs), the longest drought of his career.
That streak potentially ends on Sunday.
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Week 3 Receiving Yards Longshot Bet: Dontayvion Wicks Most Receiving Yards Packers @ Browns (+750)
The Dontayvion Wicks year three breakout will take full ascent on Sunday as the 2024 leading Packers target earner should have an increased role with injuries to Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft.
Wicks ran a route on 55.9% of Packers dropbacks last season and led the team in targets.
However, his reception rate was at 51%, which sort of unsold Wicks’ ability.
Context is important.
Jordan Love was dealing with multiple injuries last year that potentially affected the success of a wide receiver who averages more than 11 air yards per target.
Adding to that, Wicks had 8 drops.
In terms of predicting future outcomes, drops are much less sticky than the ability to earn targets, which is an area Wicks has proven to be elite.
In his first 34 games of his career, Wicks has been targeted on 23.4% of his routes.
Removing last year, he has caught 68% of his targets.
Wicks is presented with an ideal matchup this week.
The Browns have a dominant run defense and play a ton of man coverage, which Wicks has had a 33% target rate on in his career.
If Matt LaFleur abandons the run, similar to what the Ravens did last week, Wicks is in store for plenty of pass catching opportunities.
