Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 2
Welcome to the first edition of the 2025 Target Trends article. There are plenty of advanced receiving stats out there (target share, targets/route run, route participation, etc), and I’ll mention many of them throughout this article series, but it’s tough to beat pure target totals. They truly represent the number of opportunities a player gets to score fantasy points in the receiving game.
However, this article series will not just be a simple list of numbers ranking the most-targeted players of the week. Of course, the most targeted player each week will always be mentioned, but so will the surprisingly low-targeted players. To take it a step further, I aim to provide context for the target totals, in the effort to inform you as much as possible as you navigate the weekly routine of waivers, trades, and lineup decisions. That’s my goal here, and I hope you find it beneficial enough to incorporate this article into your weekly routine.
It’s tough to identify trends after just one week of data, but we need to consider what we saw, both on the field and in the box scores, during the 2025 season’s debut. Let’s dive into the target trends as we strap in and turn the page to Week 2.
Marquise Brown – 16 targets, 10 rec
Hollywood was the overall target leader in Week 1. Surprisingly, the 16 targets are one short of his career high, which he set with the Cardinals back in 2022. He was practically an afterthought most of draft season, but with Rashee Rice serving his suspension and Xavier Worthy exiting Week 1 early with a dislocated shoulder, he’s now the de facto WR1 for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for the time being.
Drake London – 15 targets, 8 rec
London picked up where he left off after seeing 18 targets in last year’s season finale. Unfortunately, he left the game late in the 4th quarter with a shoulder injury. You may know more about his status by the time you read this, but if he misses time, there will be a big target void to fill for the Falcons. Kyle Pitts was next in the pecking order with eight targets in Week 1, while Bijan Robinson saw seven. Darnell Mooney could return after sitting out Week 1, with Casey Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud up next in Atlanta’s WR hierarchy.
CeeDee Lamb – 13 targets, 7 rec
It’s no surprise that Lamb was a top target earner in Week 1, though the 13-target threshold is a mark that he only hit three times last season. Jake Ferguson was second on the team with six targets, fewer than half as many as Lamb. New addition George Pickens only saw four targets in his Dallas debut, five if you count a drawn pass interference early in the game. Lamb’s status as one of the biggest target hogs in the league looks safe this season.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 13 targets, 9 rec
JSN has seen 13+ targets twice before in his NFL career, but this is the first time he’s done it without overtime. It resulted in the highest yardage total of his career and a WR8 finish for Week 1. He won’t be able to maintain his absurd 59% target share, but considering nobody else on Seattle had more than three targets, he’s a top candidate to lead the league in target share this season.
Chris Olave – 13 targets, 7 rec
Juwan Johnson – 11 targets, 8 rec
There were plenty of targets to go around in New Orleans as Spencer Rattler attempted 46 passes, tied for the league lead in Week 1. The majority of them went Olave’s way, just as they did when Rattler targeted him 14 times the last time they played a healthy game together. Unfortunately, the meager 7.7 yards/rec left something to be desired. Meanwhile, Johnson racked up double-digit targets for the third time in his career and led all TEs in Week 1 targets.
Malik Nabers – 12 targets, 5 rec
I nearly left Nabers out of this article because his 12 targets aren’t that noteworthy for the stud WR who averaged 11.3 targets as a rookie last season. Ultimately, I thought it was important to highlight the low quality of the targets. His 41.7% catch rate in Week 1 was more than 20% lower than last season, and while it’s just one game, Russell Wilson’s abysmal 45.9% completion rate left a lot to be desired. Nabers will continue to dominate targets for the Giants, but his production will lag if he doesn’t get improved QB play.
Keon Coleman – 11 targets, 8 rec
Coleman was the most-targeted Bill in the wild Sunday night game against the Ravens. His previous high of ten targets came in Week 18 last season, and they all came from Mitchell Trubisky in a meaningless end-of-season game. He never topped four targets in Buffalo’s three playoff games, but it appears that his role will be expanded for 2025. He’s unlikely to lead the team in targets every week, as both Khalil Shakir and Joshua Palmer were right behind him with nine targets apiece, but Coleman looks ready to compete to be Josh Allen’s top target this season.
Keenan Allen – 10 targets, 7 rec
Allen hit the double-digit target threshold five times with the Bears last season but averaged just 8.1 targets/game, his lowest total since his rookie season in 2013. Now he’s back with Justin Herbert and the Chargers, where he averaged 11.5 targets/game in 2023. He has an established rapport with the stud QB and is in position to be the WR1 for Herbert once again in 2025.
Christian McCaffrey – 10 targets, 9 rec
CMC is back and in Week 1, he totaled double-digit targets for the first time since Christmas Day of 2023. That’s more than double the 4.8 targets/game he averaged in just four games last season and still significantly higher than the 5.5 targets/game he’s averaged since joining the 49ers. He may not see double-digit targets every game, but it’s always possible with CMC, and even more probable if George Kittle and/or Jauan Jennings miss time with injuries.
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Jahmyr Gibbs – 10 targets, 10 rec
Gibbs tied CMC for the RB target lead in Week 1 and caught all ten of the targets that went his way. The problem, however, is that he averaged a dreadful 3.1 yards/rec. Some of this should be chalked up to Green Bay’s defense, which was quick to close on Gibbs every time he caught a check-down. While the total yardage was disappointing, the usage was encouraging. This is not the time to panic; there are brighter days ahead for Gibbs.
Deebo Samuel – 10 targets, 7 rec
Deebo led the way in his Commanders debut, earning ten targets for the first time since Week 2 of last season. He also scored his TD on a classic Deebo-style carry out of the backfield. There’s a strong chance that Terry McLaurin rounds into form and regains his status as the WR1 in Washington, but it looks like Deebo still has something left in the tank and will fit right in with the Jayden Daniels-led offense.
Tyler Warren – 9 targets, 7 rec
Harold Fannin – 9 targets, 7 rec
I’m putting these two together as they are both rookie TEs who led their team in targets in Week 1. It isn’t shocking for Warren, the Mackey Award winner, who the Colts drafted in the first round. It was a bit more unexpected for Fannin, who the Browns took in the third round despite already having David Njoku at the position. Rookie TEs have had plenty of success in recent years, and these two got off to strong starts in 2025.
Travis Hunter – 8 targets, 6 rec
Hunter played 64% of the offensive snaps in his NFL debut, but maybe more importantly, the rookie led the Jaguars with eight targets. It was only one more than teammate Brian Thomas Jr., though Hunter caught six passes while Thomas only hauled in one. His 5.5 yards/rec leaves something to be desired, but it appears Hunter was a big part of the game plan in Week 1. He will be somebody worth monitoring in this article series throughout the season.
Dylan Sampson – 8 targets, 8 rec
I almost included Sampson in the Harold Fannin Jr. write-up, but decided that the rookie RB deserved his own piece. He was right behind Fannin with eight targets, tied with Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman. He saw 50 targets over his three collegiate seasons at Tennessee and could certainly maintain the pass-catching role out of the backfield for the Browns, even with the looming arrival of Quinson Judkins.
Elic Ayomanor – 7 targets, 2 rec
Ayomanor didn’t blow the doors off in Week 1. In fact, five other rookies out-targeted him. However, he was just one target behind Calvin Ridley for the Titans’ team lead. He is somebody to keep on your radar, especially if Cam Ward can develop into a competent QB and the two rookies can build a rapport.
Ja’Marr Chase – 5 targets, 2 rec
The disappointing involvement from Chase in Week 1 is less than ideal for those who spent a high first-round fantasy draft pick on him, but it’s not time to panic. He saw seven or fewer targets in six of the first seven games to start the 2024 season before averaging 12.7 targets/game the rest of the way. Hopefully, it doesn’t take that long for him to get going this season, but there are better days ahead for Chase.
Nico Collins – 5 targets, 3 rec
It’s nearly the inverse situation for Nico Collins, who saw seven or fewer targets in three of the final four regular-season games to end the 2024 season. However, he put up 203 receiving yards on 16 targets in two playoff games. Much like Ja’Marr Chase, Brian Thomas Jr., and Amon-Ra St. Brown, this is not the time to panic with Collins.
Alvin Kamara – 2 targets, 2 rec
Kamara’s low target total may be the most concerning of Week 1, especially considering how often Spencer Rattler was dropping back to pass.. It’s his lowest target count since Week 18 of the 2023 season, when he only played 33% of the offensive snaps. Much of Kamara’s fantasy value comes through the air, so it will be worrisome if he doesn’t see an uptick in targets over the coming weeks.
A.J. Brown – 1 targets, 1 rec
Brown has nowhere to go but up after seeing just a single target in the season opener. AJB is typically regarded as a target hog, though it’s worth noting that he averaged just 5.8 targets/game in Philly’s four-game playoff run to a Super Bowl victory last year. He’ll see more targets moving forward, but after averaging just 7.5 targets/game last season, he may not see the elite volume we are looking for in fantasy football.