INSIDE THE NUMBERS: In the Red Zone Welker Leads Patriots Receivers

Ian Logue

Dec 7, 2011 at 10:10am ET

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In the red zone Rob Gronkowski may be getting all the glory scoring touchdowns and finishing with his signature spike, but after taking a look at the numbers through the first twelve games, he's actually not New England's leading receiver.

Wes Welker currently leads the team in red zone receptions with 16 catches, including 6 touchdowns, which puts him 3 catches ahead of Gronkowski. However, Gronk's got him by 3 touchdowns, with the tight end currently having 13 catches and 9 touchdowns inside the 20.

Doing even a little more digging, it's Welker and Gronkowski doing all the heavy lifting inside the 20 down to the 5 yard line, with both seeing the majority of targets when the Patriots reach that part of the field (17 each).  However, when New England gets inside the 5 yard line, it's Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez who have been targeted the most in the passing game on that part of the field.

Here's a look at how each category broke down:

You can also view more numbers in our stats database, which includes more red zone numbers that are sortable by down, quarter, home, away, and more. You can also find links to each individual game which include these same breakdowns in the upper navbar.