A Wide Receiver to Target in Each Round of Your Fantasy Football Draft
Round 5: Eric Decker, New York Jets
ADP: 54th overall (5.04)
Touchdowns tend to be a little random and fluky for almost all receivers not named Dez Bryant, but Eric Decker is a proven touchdown scorer. Heck, the guy found pay dirt eight times in 2011 with Tim Tebow as his quarterback for 11 games.
Decker has been a very consistent producer throughout his career regardless of his team or quarterback situation. In addition to serviceable production as a second-year player with Tebow under center, he also posted a WR28 finish in 2014 with Geno Smith starting 13 games for the New York Jets
| Year | Team | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | DEN | 44 | 612 | 8 |
| 2012 | DEN | 85 | 1,064 | 13 |
| 2013 | DEN | 87 | 1,288 | 11 |
| 2014 | NYJ | 74 | 962 | 5 |
| 2015 | NYJ | 80 | 1,027 | 12 |
For his career, Decker is scoring every 7.52 catches. His 49 receiving touchdowns since the start of 2011 ranks fifth among all players, trailing only Rob Gronkowski (55), Dez Bryant (53), Brandon Marshall (51) and Calvin Johnson (50).
Our advanced metrics adore him, too. In 2015, among wideouts with at least 80 targets, Decker checked in 11th in Reception NEP per target. Among the same subset, he ranked 17th in Reception Success Rate, which is the percentage of his receptions that went for positive NEP gains.
Decker -- the WR10 last season -- is one of the best receivers in the NFL, and now that Ryan Fitzpatrick is back in the fold, there are no reasons to question Decker's ability to continue to produce. We expect him to do just that, projecting him as the 22nd-best wideout.
