Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 5 (Fantasy Football)
Welcome to the Target Trends article for Week 5! We now have enough data to start recognizing trends. Let’s start, as usual, by looking at the season-long target leaders so far.
- After another double-digit target outing on Monday night, Chris Olave leads the league with 48 targets. There is a trio of pass catchers just behind him. Amon-Ra St. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, and Trey McBride each have 46 targets through four games. Michael Wilson checks in next with 44, followed by Jaxon Smith-Njigba with 42.
- Behind McBride at TE, we find Isaiah Likely with 35 targets and Sam LaPorta with 32. They are the only three at the position with at least 30 targets through the first four weeks.
- At RB, Jahmyr Gibbs leads with 28 targets. Next up is Kyren Williams with 25. Chase Brown and Ashton Jeanty check in next with 24 apiece. Christian McCaffrey rounds out the top five at the position with 22.
Now let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 5.
CeeDee Lamb – 21 targets, 17 rec
George Pickens – 3 targets, 2 rec
For the first time in his career, Lamb topped the 20-target threshold. It resulted in a 49% target share for the game, raising his season-long target share to 32%. Lamb’s big day came largely at the expense of Pickens, who saw a season-low three targets, though he somewhat salvaged it with 75 receiving yards. The disparity will not be this large all season, but Lamb certainly appears to be the clear WR1 in Dallas at the moment.
Tee Higgins – 16 targets, 11 rec
Chase Brown – 11 targets, 11 rec
Dohnte Meyers – 9 targets, 7 rec
Ja’Marr Chase played just 20% of the offensive snaps in Week 4 after leaving with a concussion. It’s no surprise to see Tee Higgins lead the way in Chase’s absence, and Chase Brown has also seen double-digit targets in the past. Dohnte Meyers, however, may be the most intriguing name here. With Higgins also suffering a late-game injury, both starting WRs for Cincy could miss time. That makes Grey Cup champion Dohnte Meyers a name worth monitoring.
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Tetairoa McMillan – 16 targets, 14 rec
McMillan set a new career-high in Week 4, bumping his average up to 9.8 targets/game this season. The 16 targets accounted for a 41% target share in Jalen Coker’s absence and turned into the WR1 performance of Week 4. If Bryce Young continues to lead the NFL in passing, McMillan could be one of the biggest breakout WRs of the season.
Michael Wilson – 13 targets, 7 rec
Marvin Harrison – 4 targets, 1 rec
The target pecking order in Arizona has become abundantly clear. While Trey McBride and his 46 targets lead the way, Wilson is only two behind. Meanwhile, Harrison’s 13 targets on the season match what Wilson saw in Week 4 and account for just a 9% target share.
T.J. Hockenson – 13 targets, 13 rec
Jordan Addison was expected to see an increased role in the absence of Justin Jefferson. Instead, he saw just six targets while Hockenson hauled in all 13 of his. Those 13 targets matched his total through the first three games. He’s worth considering at TE as long as Jefferson is sidelined.
Kyren Williams – 13 targets, 10 rec
Puka Nacua – 12 targets, 9 rec
It is no shock that Nacua saw a full target allotment in his first game back since Week 1. It is more unusual to see Williams set a new career-high in targets and reach double digits for just the third time in his career. He is currently on pace for 106 targets this season, which would more than double his career high of 50 targets from last season.
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Carnell Tate – 12 targets, 9 rec
Tate was the first WR selected in this year’s NFL Draft, and the 12 targets he saw in Week 4 are the most so far in his young career. His 32 targets so far this season not only lead the Titans, but all rookies through four weeks.
Isaiah Likely – 12 targets, 7 rec
With 35 targets through four weeks, Likely is already more than halfway to the career-high 60 targets he saw as a rookie with the Ravens in 2022. His 31.5% target share leads the Giants, with Malik Nabers next at 23.4%. That differential may not hold up over the full season, but regardless, Likely is on pace for a career year in his first season as a Giant.
Brock Bowers – 11 targets, 6 rec
Michael Mayer – 10 targets, 8 rec
Bowers has now seen 25 targets and is the overall TE8 on the season, and he’s only played two games in the first four weeks. Given his history, that isn’t a huge surprise. More unexpected is the fact that Mayer has been even more fantasy relevant since Bowers made his season debut. He has seen 13 targets over the last two games and has finished as a top-12 fantasy TE each week with Bowers in the lineup. Mayer is the rare TE2 on his own team that warrants consideration in fantasy lineups.
RJ Harvey – 10 targets, 10 rec
Harvey has seen a 25% target share out of Denver’s backfield over the last two weeks, despite playing fewer than 50% of the offensive snaps in each game. He isn’t likely to take over the Broncos’ backfield anytime soon, but his work in the passing game makes him a viable fantasy option in PPR formats.
Zay Flowers – 10 targets, 8 rec
Flowers played just 31% of the offensive snaps over his first two games and missed another game in between. In Week 4, he played on 73% of them and saw a season-high 10 targets. He should continue to command targets at an elite rate, though they won’t be as valuable if they aren’t coming from Lamar Jackson.
Romeo Doubs – 9 targets, 5 rec
Doubs got off to a disappointing start to his career in New England, especially considering A.J. Brown’s absence due to an ankle injury since Week 1. That changed in Week 4, when his season-high nine targets, good for a 25% target share, resulted in his first two TDs as a Patriot.
Colston Loveland – 9 targets, 6 rec
Loveland entered Week 4 with just nine targets through the first three games, so it is encouraging to see him match that total in just one game. Widely considered one of the biggest early-season fantasy busts, Loveland’s increased role is a positive sign, even if it didn’t result in a big fantasy outing. He remains a buy-low candidate, and it feels like just a matter of time before his season turns around.
Nico Collins – 8 targets, 7 rec
After missing two games with a hamstring injury, Collins returned and reminded everyone that he is a true alpha WR. The eight targets don’t jump off the screen, but they came on just 69% of the offensive snaps, which should only increase as he returns to full health.
![Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (85) canít hold onto a pass in the first quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://s26212.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/26brentonstrangewk4-1024x532.jpg)
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Strange saw his highest target total of the season against Cincinnati. He is not the only TE to see an increased workload against the Bengals this season. TEs have seen 39 targets against the Bengals through four weeks, or 9.8 per game. More importantly, opposing TEs have reached at least nine targets in three of Cincinnati’s four games. Unfortunately, unless Dallas Goedert is healthy enough to return in Week 5, the Eagles will likely use some combination of Zach Ertz and Johnny Mundt at TE.
Antonio Williams – 8 targets, 3 rec
Terry McLaurin was a late scratch in London, opening the door for rookie Antonio Williams. However, his season-high eight targets only amounted to three catches for 21 yards. He could see a better overall output if Jayden Daniels returns in Week 5 and McLaurin remains sidelined.
Oronde Gadsden – 8 targets, 5 rec
Gadsden was optimistically inserted into fantasy lineups in Week 3 as the last TE left standing for the Chargers, only to go catchless on three targets. Things were slightly better in Week 4, as he led the team with his eight targets. They still only amounted to 36 yards, and with the way the Chargers have looked thus far, there are probably better TE options than Gadsden available in most leagues.
Tyquan Thornton – 8 targets, 5 rec
Xavier Worthy – 7 targets, 4 rec
It was exciting to see Thornton show out in the first multi-receiving-TD game of his career. Unfortunately, we will not be seeing him again this season after a brutal ankle injury. Rashee Rice also injured a hamstring in Week 4, so Xavier Worthy may become the de facto WR1 in Kansas City if Rice isn’t ready to go after their Week 5 bye.
Garrett Wilson – 4 targets, 3 rec
Kenyon Sadiq – 4 targets, 0 rec
Wilson’s four targets are the fewest since Week 10 of last season, when he played just 39% of the offensive snaps before suffering a season-ending injury. The four raw targets are a bit deceiving, because they accounted for a 27% target share in a game where Geno Smith attempted just 15 passes, and the Jets barely possessed the ball. Wilson remains a must-start fantasy WR. Sadiq’s final box score is even worse, but he saw the same 27% target share as Wilson, so now is not the time to panic on the talented rookie TE.
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Christian Watson – 3 targets, 3 rec
Watson was running red hot over the first three weeks, but he cooled off in Week 4. Even with the dud, he is currently the WR4 this season. His targets may fluctuate from week to week, but with Green Bay lacking depth at the position, we should expect more than three targets in most games.
Parker Washington – 3 targets, 1 rec
Brian Thomas – 2 targets, 2 rec
Washington produced double-digit fantasy points in each of his first three weeks of the season, but only saw more than six targets in one of those games. He looks like the WR1 in Jacksonville, but he may not put up true target-hog volume all season long. It definitely doesn’t look like BTJ is a candidate to lead the Jags’ WR room, as he has seen over three targets in just one of four games so far.