Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 3 (Fantasy Football)
Welcome to the Target Trends article for Week 3! Do two weeks make a trend? That’s debatable, but the important thing is that we now have more information than we did one week ago. Now that we are multiple weeks in, we can start examining the season-long target leaders to kick off each week’s article and track trends as they evolve throughout the season.
- Amon-Ra St. Brown leads the league with 27 targets after two weeks, putting him on pace for 230 targets this season. That may be unsustainable, but it’s clear that ARSB will continue to be a target hog.
- Chris Olave and Trey McBride check in next with 23 targets, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba is just behind them with 22.
- McBride’s 23 targets lead all TEs, though Dalton Schultz is right behind him with 22. They are the only two at the position over 20 targets through two games.
- Out of the backfield, Kenneth Walker leads the way with 16 targets. Bijan Robinson is next at 14, with Jahmyr Gibbs and Christian McCaffrey next with 13 apiece.
I’ll continue to lead off this article with season-long target leaders. Now let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 3.
Target Trends
Dalton Schultz – 14 targets, 12 rec
With Nico Collins sidelined, it was Schultz who led the Texans, and the entire league, in targets for Week 2. It marks a new career-high for the nine-year veteran, even if nine of them came in the fourth quarter. Dr. Schultz will likely have usable fantasy games throughout the season, but they may be difficult to predict once Collins returns.
DeVonta Smith – 13 targets, 10 rec
DeVonta got off to a slow start with just six targets in Week 1, so it’s nice for his fantasy managers to see him more than double that number in Week 2. Now serving as Philly’s undisputed WR1, Smith has seen a 34% target share through two games.
Amon-Ra St. Brown – 13 targets, 9 rec
Jahmyr Gibbs – 8 targets, 6 rec
Both of these Lions were mentioned in the opening, so I don’t need to go into detail here. They are both on pace for huge seasons through the air, especially if Detroit’s defense continues to struggle.
Parker Washington – 12 targets, 7 rec
It’s just two weeks in, but it’s looking like Parker Washington is indeed the WR1 in Jacksonville. His 18 targets so far account for a 37% target share, significantly ahead of Brian Thomas Jr. (22%). Meanwhile, Jakobi Meyers has only seen three targets through two games.
Adonai Mitchell – 12 targets, 6 rec
Mitchell’s 12 targets tied his career high, which he set in Week 13 last season after being traded to the Jets. He never saw more than five targets in a single game while he was on the Colts, but it’s been a different story with the Jets, where he’s averaged 7.3 targets/game over ten games. Garrett Wilson still projects to be their WR1, but with first-round pick Omar Cooper likely to miss some time, there should continue to be plenty of opportunities for Mitchell.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 11 targets, 9 rec
Much like ARSB, I don’t need to go into much detail for JSN. He was drafted to be a stud and is paying off through two weeks. He has seen over a 40% target share in both games so far, and there’s no reason to believe that will come crashing down anytime soon, if at all.
Travis Kelce – 11 targets, 9 rec
Kenneth Walker – 10 targets, 6 rec
Kelce turned his 11 targets on Sunday night into his first overall TE1 finish since Week 10 of 2024. He only topped double-digit targets once last season, so it’s a positive sign for the future Hall of Famer to hit the mark already in Week 2. As for Walker, he saw double-digit targets in a game for the first time in his career in just his second game with the Chiefs.
Christian Watson – 11 targets, 4 rec
Watson has averaged just 4.9 targets/game over his career and played just 12 games per season over his first four seasons. At his current rate, he’s on pace for 162 targets in 17 games. Even if he does play the full allotment of games, that target total is probably a bit unrealistic, though he is clearly Green Bay’s alpha WR through two games.
Davante Adams – 10 targets, 8 rec
Terrance Ferguson – 9 targets, 6 rec
The Rams bounced back on Monday night after their dud in Australia. Adams posted double-digit targets for the first time since Week 5 of last season and turned them into two TDs and nearly 200 yards. As for Ferguson, the second-year TE more than doubled his highest single-game target output from last season, when he never saw more than four. It is worth noting that this occurred while Puka Nacua was sidelined with an injury.
Jaylen Waddle – 10 targets, 8 rec
Waddle’s big Week 2 outing is more in line with the expectations headed into his first season in Denver. He went up from an 11% target share in Week 1 to a 34% share in Week 2. It’s also worth noting that Pat Bryant, who led the Broncos with six targets in Week 1, saw just one target in Week 2.
Tee Higgins – 10 targets, 5 rec
Ja’Marr Chase – 9 targets, 7 rec
The Bengals WR duo also doesn’t need much examination. Through two weeks, Higgins holds a slight 16-13 advantage in total targets. They will each have big games this season, and Joe Burrow will be the biggest beneficiary if both star WRs stay healthy.
Tetairoa McMillan – 10 targets, 5 rec
Jalen Coker – 9 targets, 8 rec
McMillan was drafted to be great, while Coker has gone from UDFA to a must-start fantasy WR. If they can both keep up this production, they need to enter the discussion of best WR duos in the league.
Rashod Bateman – 9 targets, 7 rec
Bateman was the top candidate to step up with Zay Flowers sidelined, but we have a long history of him failing to meet expectations. He appears to be the Ravens’ top target if Flowers has to miss any more time. The former first-round pick will remain worth monitoring when Flowers returns, but we’ll need to see some consistency before considering him an automatic fantasy starter.
Josh Downs – 9 targets, 7 rec
The nine targets for Downs on Sunday night equated to a 30% target share. With Alec Pierce banged up and Keenan Allen clearly past his prime, Downs projects to be Indy’s top target for the time being.
Germie Bernard – 8 targets, 4 rec
Bernard didn’t see a single target on just seven snaps in Week 1. However, with Michael Pittman Jr. sidelined in Week 2, the Pittsburgh rookie got on the field for 79% of the offensive snaps. He’s far from a fantasy starter in most formats, especially with the lackluster QB play from Aaron Rodgers, but Bernard is worth keeping on the fantasy radar.
Ted Hurst III – 7 targets, 2 rec
Hurst hasn’t translated his targets into any significant fantasy points yet. However, his ten targets through the first two games are just one behind Emeka Egbuka, Cade Otton, and Bucky Irving. He has three more targets this season than Chris Godwin. Ted “Fred Durst” Hurst is another rookie that can be stashed, or at least monitored, as the season progresses.
Alvin Kamara – 6 targets, 5 rec
Kamara made his season debut in Week 2 and immediately saw six targets. That is exactly in line with the 6.1 targets/game he’s averaged over his first nine seasons. He may not be as fantasy-relevant as he used to be, but his usage may end up limiting Travis Etienne’s upside.
Drake London – 5 targets, 4 rec
London has averaged 124.3 targets/season over his career, but is only on pace for 77 at this point. Of course, that has been with Cooper Rush and Jack Strand at QB. Things should improve with Michael Penix set to start in Week 3.
Carnell Tate – 5 targets, 3 rec
The Titans drafted Tate fourth overall in the NFL Draft, but through the first two weeks, they aren’t deploying him as an alpha. To be fair, his 11 targets this season account for a 24% target share. He’ll need improved QB play from Cam Ward and a better offensive environment all around to reach his potential for fantasy.
Jerry Jeudy – 1 target, 0 rec
While the Browns insist on starting Deshaun Watson at QB, they appear focused on throwing to the younger WRs. Jeudy is 27 years old and saw 145 targets as recently as 2024, but he’s clearly behind Denzel Boston, KC Concepcion, and Harold Fannin Jr. in Cleveland’s target pecking order right now.
Marvin Harrison Jr. – 1 target, 0 rec
Despite some offseason optimism, this feels like a new low for Harrison. He also posted a goose egg in Week 17 of last season, but he only played 33% of the offensive snaps in that game while dealing with a heel injury. He’s unstartable in most leagues and borderline dropable at this point.