Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 14
Welcome to the target trends article for Week 14! Whether you’re looking ahead to playoff matchups or battling for that last playoff bid, target trends are more important than ever. As usual, let’s start by checking in on the overall target landscape in the league.
Davante Adams maintained his total target lead with 135 on the season, followed by Tyreek Hill at 129. He’s on pace for 191 over 17 games, the same number Cooper Kupp saw when he led the league last season. Travis Kelce has a dominant lead at tight end with 108 targets, 22 more than the next closest at the position, Mark Andrews. At running back, Austin Ekeler is the undisputed leader with 104 targets, and he remains on pace to top Christian McCaffrey’s record of 142 in 2019.
I’ll continue to lead off this article with season-long target leaders all year, but for now, let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 14.
Garrett Wilson: 15 targets, 8 rec
Wilson is the first rookie this season to lead the league in targets for a week. He set a career-high with the 15 targets, though they “only” translated to a 27% target share thanks to Mike White’s ridiculous 57 pass attempts. By comparison, Wilson has posted a higher target share in four other games this season. He’s second among all rookies with 94 targets, trailing only Chris Olave.
Keenan Allen: 14 targets, 6 rec
Josh Palmer: 11 targets, 7 rec
Finally, this is the Keenan Allen we all know and love! It would have been nice if he converted a few more into receptions, but the 14 targets are the most he’s seen since Week 11 of 2020. He seems to be back in his role as target hog in the Chargers’ offense. Meanwhile, Palmer has averaged 9.7 targets per game over his last six and is second on the team in targets with 86, trailing only Austin Ekeler.
Tyreek Hill: 14 targets, 9 rec
Hill is the second-most targeted player in the league, though this is the first time he’s seen double-digit targets since Week 8. They translated to a 41% target share against the 49ers, which ties his single-game season high. It also boosts his season-long target share to 30.9%, second to only Davante Adams.
Tyler Lockett: 12 targets, 9 rec
DK Metcalf: 8 targets, 8 rec
Seattle has two fantasy-relevant wideouts this season in Lockett (WR12) and Metcalf (WR15). Lockett topped Metcalf in targets for Week 13, but Metcalf has a ten-target lead on him for the season. Lockett is, however, ahead in fantasy points thanks to his two-touchdown lead. Perhaps the most surprising part of it all is the fact that Geno Smith is the quarterback supporting their fantasy success.
Davante Adams: 12 targets, 8 rec
Adams is the target king and WR1 on the season, so once again, I don’t need to write much here. He has been targeted at least 11 times in five consecutive games and averaged 13.4 targets per game over that span. He’s seen a target share of 40% or higher in four games this season and leads the league with a 32.8% team share on the season.
Drake London: 12 targets, 6 rec
London tied his season high with 12 targets, which he last saw all the way back in Week 2. His 50% team target share in the game was the highest rate in the league for Week 13. His 81 targets are far and away the most for the Falcons, with Kyle Pitts still in second at 59 despite not playing since Week 11. Olamide Zaccheaus is the only other Falcon with at least 20 targets this season.
Terry McLaurin: 12 targets, 8 rec
McLaurin has seen a healthy target share since Taylor Heinicke took over at quarterback for the Commanders, peaking with his season-high 12 targets in Week 13. He only saw a target share higher than 20% once through the first six games of the season but has now topped 25% in seven consecutive games.
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 12 targets, 11 rec
D’Andre Swift: 6 targets, 4 rec
St. Brown is averaging 10.0 targets per game since returning to full health in Week 8. The only players with more targets than him over that span are Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, and Stefon Diggs. As for Swift, he put up his best fantasy performance since Week 1 and has seen 14 targets over his last two games.
Nico Collins: 10 targets, 3 rec
Collins has seen 9.0 targets per game and a 25% target share since he returned from injury four weeks ago. He already has six more targets this season than he saw in his rookie campaign last year. The targets won’t be great coming from Kyle Allen or Davis Mills, but Collins should at least see volume through the air for the rest of the season.
Christian McCaffrey: 10 targets, 8 rec
Deebo Samuel: 10 targets, 6 rec
Brandon Aiyuk: 9 targets, 5 rec
Brock Purdy replaced the injured Jimmy Garoppolo on Sunday and provided relatively equal target distribution to the San Fransisco pass-catchers. It was the first double-digit target game for McCaffrey since Week 5 against the 49ers. Deebo also tied his season high with ten targets, with Aiyuk just one behind. George Kittle, on the other hand, was only targeted three times.
Cade Otton: 10 targets, 6 rec
Tampa Bay’s rookie tight end set a new season high Monday night, logging double-digit targets for the first time in his career. That’s more targets than Cameron Brate, who was inactive against the Saints, has seen in any game this season. With the tight end landscape as ugly as ever, the potential volume for Otton makes him worthy of consideration at the position moving forward.
Ja’Marr Chase: 8 targets, 7 rec
Chase didn’t miss a beat in his first game back from the hip injury. An eight-target game doesn’t jump off the stat sheet, but it accounted for a 26% target share. That’s right in line with his 27.5% share on the season, even though he played a season-low 82% of snaps. That should ramp up next week, which should only lead to more targets for the stud wideout.
Travis Kelce: 6 targets, 4 rec
Kelce’s season-low target total won’t stop you from starting him moving forward, but it certainly didn’t feel good in Week 13. He didn’t see a single target in the first half, so it’s encouraging that he was once again the focal point of the passing game in the second half.
Michael Pittman Jr.: 4 targets, 2 rec
The streets of Pitty City are depressing these days. His performance in Week 13 was the worst of his disappointing season, with season lows in targets, receptions, and yards. Pittman is a talented receiver, but it will continue to be tough for him to overcome the broken Indianapolis offense, especially if he’s only seeing an 11% target share as he did against the Cowboys Sunday night.