Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 15
Welcome to the target trends article for Week 15! As we enter the fantasy playoffs, target trends are more important than ever. As usual, this article will start with the overall target trends for the season.
Keenan Allen continues to lead the way, now up to 150 targets on the season. That’s just nine away from his career-high, though he’s already turned them into a new career-high 108 receptions. Michael Pittman Jr. comes in second with 138 targets, just three away from his career-high. Garrett Wilson checks in third overall with 134 targets. His 31.8% team target share is second in the NFL, trailing only Allen (32.1%)
T.J. Hockenson is maintaining his lead at tight end with 116 targets, 13 more than the next closest, Evan Engram. Travis Kelce checks in third with 102. No other tight end has reached triple-digit targets yet.
Despite logging negative receiving yardage in Week 14, Alvin Kamara still leads all running backs with 74 targets. Breece Hall is up to second at the position with 66 targets, and Christian McCaffrey checks in third with 63. CMC has had 100 or more targets every year that he plays at least 16 games, but is on pace for just 82 this season.
Target Trends
I’ll continue leading off this article with season-long target leaders, but for now, let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 15. Last week, 21 players saw double-digit targets. I won’t cover them all here, but by now, you should be well aware of the usual target hogs like Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, etc. I’ll focus this article on target trends that may sway your lineup decisions in the fantasy playoffs.
Garrett Wilson – 14 targets, 9 rec
Breece Hall – 9 targets, 8 rec
At this point, these two second-year players account for nearly all of the Jets’ offense. They combined for a massive 66% target share against Houston in Week 14. That included a season-high 40% share for Wilson. As for Hall, he’s seen at least 22% of his team targets in four consecutive games and is averaging 8.0 targets/game over that span.
Zay Jones – 14 targets, 5 rec
Calvin Ridley – 13 targets, 4 rec
Evan Engram – 12 targets, 11 rec
With Christian Kirk and his 21% team target share sidelined, there are targets to go around in Jacksonville. Jones was the target leader in Week 14, tying his career-high. Ridley was right behind him with a season-high 13 targets. Neither was as productive as Engram, who also saw a season-high target total in Week 14. All three Jacksonville pass catchers are viable options in the fantasy playoffs.
Amari Cooper – 14 targets, 7 rec
David Njoku – 8 targets, 6 rec
Cooper was questionable to play headed into Week 14, but he played and proceeded to see a season-high in targets. Njoku is averaging 8.8 targets/game since Week 7 and has been a TE1 in all but one game over that span. Joe Flacco has attempted 89 passes in his two starts with the Browns, and it appears to be an upgrade for all of Cleveland’s pass-catchers.
DeAndre Hopkins – 12 targets, 7 rec
Don’t look now, but we could be seeing vintage Nuk. He’s seen 12 targets in consecutive games, good enough for a 35% team target share. He has 47 more targets than his next closest teammate this season, Chigoziem Okonkwo. Rookie Will Levis will likely continue to lean on the veteran wideout down the home stretch of the season.
Drake London – 11 targets, 10 rec
Bijan Robinson, 7 targets, 5 rec
London exploded for a career-best 172 receiving yards against Tampa Bay in Week 14 on the back of 11 targets. It was just the second time this season that he saw double-digit targets and the first time since Week 6. Robinson is getting more consistent usage through the air since Atlanta’s Week 11 bye, averaging 6.0 targets/game and a 21% team target share over the last three games.
Chris Godwin – 11 targets, 5 rec
Mike Evans – 6 targets, 1 rec
Godwin out-targeted Evans in Week 14 and is averaging just one fewer target than him per game on the season. The production, however, is heavily skewed towards Evans. He has just four more receptions but 361 more yards and nine more touchdowns than Godwin. Despite the down game, Evans remains a must-start wide receiver in the fantasy playoffs.
DJ Moore – 10 targets, 6 rec
The Fields-Moore connection is turning into one of the best in the league. DJM is averaging 10.7 targets/game and a 38% team target share since Fields returned from injury in Week 11. He has already tied his career-high with seven receiving touchdowns with four weeks remaining.
Rashee Rice – 10 targets, 7 rec
Travis Kelce – 10 targets, 6 rec
Do we have a changing of the guard in the Kansas City passing game?
So uh… Rashee Rice. pic.twitter.com/7YJND5ufBZ
— Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg) December 11, 2023
Of course, Kelce remains a must-start at tight end, but Rice might be entering that territory at wide receiver. His 75 targets this season are as many as Skyy Moore (38) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (37) combined.
Cooper Kupp – 10 targets, 8 rec
Demarcus Robinson – 10 targets, 3 rec
It’s been an up-and-down season for Kupp, but he may be peaking as we enter the fantasy playoffs. He’s seen 18 targets, two touchdowns, and played 98% of the offensive snaps over the last two weeks. As for Demarcus Robinson, his 10 targets in Week 14 tied his career high. He’s been a top-20 fantasy wideout in consecutive weeks.
Odell Beckham Jr. – 10 targets, 4 rec
Zay Flowers – 10 targets, 6 rec
OBJ saw double-digit targets for the first time since Week 11 of the 2021 season. He’s only played 50% of the offensive snaps for Baltimore this season but is commanding an impressive 23.13% TPPR. Rookie Zay Flowers, on the other hand, is playing nearly all of the offensive snaps for the Ravens. He’s seen double-digit targets four times this season, but this was the first time since Week 5.
Amon-Ra St. Brown – 9 targets, 3 rec
ARSB continues to see a healthy target share, at least 21% in every game this season, but it hasn’t turned into much production lately. He’s turned 15 targets into just five receptions for 60 yards over the past two weeks. He’s too good to bench in the fantasy playoffs, but it’s tough to have confidence in him given his recent performances.
Jonathan Mingo – 9 targets, 2 rec
Mingo has seen 25 targets and a 30% team target share over the past three weeks. That’s nine more targets and 10% higher than Adam Thielen. The usage is encouraging, but the targets haven’t exactly been great coming from Bryce Young.
Bryce Young to Jonathan Mingo sheesh pic.twitter.com/9kTrUJQKY5
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) December 10, 2023
The potential is there for Mingo, but the questionable target quality makes him difficult to trust in playoff lineups.
Ezekiel Elliott – 8 targets, 7 rec
Elliott finishing as the RB1 in Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season as a New England Patriot is not something anybody could have predicted a year ago. Yet, here we are, with Zeke as a potential league-winner. His eight targets led New England and accounted for a 31% target share. That kind of usage could become the norm with Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined and Bailey at quarterback.
Ja’Marr Chase – 4 targets, 3 rec
Tee Higgins – 4 targets, 2 rec
Joe Mixon – 4 targets, 3 rec
Jake Browning may have had a huge fantasy week, but he wasn’t much help for his pass-catchers. Chase, Higgins, and Mixon actually led the Bengals with just four targets apiece. Meanwhile, his two touchdown passes went to Chase Brown and Tanner Hudson, which helped approximately zero fantasy teams. Still, it’s encouraging to see Browning is a capable quarterback, and Chase remains a must-start in the fantasy playoffs.