Shane Vereen

Targets have been compiled by the NFL since the start of the 2009 season, and while it remains an imperfect stat — a badly thrown ball from a quarterback can often go against the record of the receiver as opposed to the quarterback — it remains a good indication of the confidence level a passer might have in his pass catcher. Here’s a look at the target breakdown for the New England passing game to this point in the 2012 preseason:

RB Shane Vereen: Six catches on eight targets
TE Aaron Hernandez: Six catches on eight targets
WR Julian Edelman: Six catches on 10 targets
WR Jeremy Ebert: Five catches on 11 targets
WR Donte’ Stallworth: Five catches on 12 targets
WR Deion Branch: Four catches on five targets
TE Rob Gronkowski: Four catches on five targets
RB Danny Woodhead: Four catches on seven targets
RB Stevan Ridley: Three catches on five targets
TE Alex Silvestro: Three catches on six targets
WR Jabar Gaffney: Two catches on three targets
RB Eric Kettani: Two catches on three targets
TE Tyler Urban: One catch on two targets
WR Brandon Lloyd: One catch on four targets
WR Britt Davis: One catch on four targets
WR Jesse Holley: One catch on four targets
RB Brandon Bolden: One catches on six targets
WR Matthew Slater: Zero catches on two targets
RB Jeff Demps: Zero catches on three targets

By position:
Wide receiver: 25 catches on 55 targets
Running back: 16 catches on 32 targets
Tight end: 14 catches on 21 targets