Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 15
Welcome to the target trends article for Week 15! Bye weeks are done, the fantasy playoffs are here, and target trends are more important than ever. As usual, let’s start by checking in on the overall target landscape in the league.
Justin Jefferson has pulled even with Davante Adams for the season-long target lead with 142 apiece, three ahead of Tyreek Hill. Travis Kelce continues to dominate targets at the tight end position with 117. That’s 25 more than the next closest, Mark Andrews. At running back Austin Ekeler leads the way with 112 targets, 26 ahead of Christian McCaffrey. He remains on pace to top CMC’s 2019 running back record of 142 targets.
I’ll continue to lead off this article with season-long target leaders for the rest of the season, but for now, let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 14.
Justin Jefferson: 15 targets, 11 rec
Jefferson became the league’s target co-leader on the back of 15 targets, the third time in his three-year career that he’s hit that mark. He’s now hit double-digit targets in 9-of-13 games this season, including five of his last six. It’s no surprise that he is currently the WR1 for the season.
Ja’Marr Chase: 15 targets, 10 rec
Chase nearly matched the career-high 16 targets he set back in Week 1. It makes sense, considering both Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd exited early with injuries against the Browns. Chase missed four games mid-season with a hip injury but has been a target hog when on the field. His 10.8 targets/game is just slightly behind Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams, who are each averaging 10.9 targets/game.
Evan Engram: 15 targets, 11 rec
Zay Jones: 12 targets, 8 rec
It was a career day for Engram, who broke his previous high of 14 targets from back in Week 1 of 2019. He’s on pace for 97 targets in his first season in Jacksonville, which would be the most since he saw 109 with the Giants in 2020. Meanwhile, Zay Jones has seen double-digit targets in three of his last four games and is averaging 10.8 targets/game over that span. At 98 targets on the season, he’s just four shy of his career-high with four games left in the season.
Keenan Allen: 14 targets, 12 rec
Allen has now seen 14 targets in back-to-back weeks, which amounts to the most total targets by any player over the past two weeks. He was much more efficient against Miami, doubling his reception total from last week. He only has a 19% team target share on the season, though that number is up to 30% over the last two weeks.
Donovan Peoples-Jones: 12 targets, 8 rec
DPJ logged double-digit targets for the second time in his career, with the first coming back in Week 1 this season. It’s quite the turnaround, considering he was only targeted three times in Deshaun Watson’s first start in Week 13. In two starts, Watson has targeted Amari Cooper 16 times and Peoples-Jones 15 times.
Chris Moore: 11 targets, 10 rec
Moore thrived with Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins sidelined in Week 14. His 11 targets were a huge career-high. He had never seen more than five targets in a single game over his first six seasons but has now seen six or more in three of the last five weeks. He may have a low ceiling in the abysmal Houston offense, but his floor will be safe if Cooks and/or Collins remain out.
JuJu Smith-Schuster: 11 targets, 9 rec
It had been a few down weeks for Juju, but he bounced back in a big way in Week 14. After exiting early in Week 10 and missing Week 11 with a concussion, Smith-Schuster had just 11 combined targets in three games in Weeks 10-13. The 11 targets he saw in Week 14 equated to a 26% target share, his highest of the season.
Elijah Moore: 10 targets, 6 rec
It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for Moore, who saw double-digit targets for the first time since Week 3. It translated to a 23% target share, his highest of the season. Moore has been trending in the right direction recently and could be in store for even more work with Corey Davis currently in concussion protocol.
Tutu Atwell: 9 targets, 5 rec
Cooper Kupp? Allen Robinson? No, it appears that Tutu Atwell could be the WR1 for the Rams down the homestretch of the season. While he only had 17 targets over the first 12 weeks of the season, he’s now seen 14 over the last two. He’s led the Rams in targets over the last two weeks and set a career-high with Baker Mayfield playing the majority of snaps last week, which is not something I envisioned writing during the 2022 NFL season.
Jerick McKinnon: 9 targets, 7 rec
Even before exploding for two receiving touchdowns in Week 14, McKinnon had been putting up strong underlying numbers. He’s seen at least six targets in 4-of-6 games since Kansas City’s bye week. That translates to a 15% team target share, which is extremely valuable coming from Partick Mahomes.
Chigoziem Okonkwo: 6 targets, 6 rec
Okonkwo is a tight end that is coming on strong in recent weeks, something we rarely see from a rookie at the position. The six targets were a season-high, and they came on just 24 routes run. He’s now seen at least five targets in three consecutive games, which shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to tight ends.
Stefon Diggs: 5 targets, 3 rec
It was rough all around for Buffalo’s offensive weapons in Week 14, including Diggs. His five targets tied his season low and accounted for just a 19% target share, considerably lower than his 29% share on the season. Nobody is considering benching Diggs in fantasy lineups, but it is encouraging to know that the last time he saw this few targets he bounced back with 15 the next week.
Jameson Williams: 2 targets, 1 rec
A two-target game isn’t typically something to celebrate, but it’s a little different in the case of Jameson Williams, especially when one of them turns into a 41-yard touchdown. The first-round rookie has been slowly working his way back from the torn ACL he suffered last January. It’s easier to get excited about him in dynasty and keeper leagues, but I’m stashing him in redraft leagues just in case his usage climbs enough to make him a league winner in 2022.