Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 6

Welcome to the target trends article for Week 6! The season is progressing, and we’re getting more data to help us find target trends. Bye weeks will start this week, which means we’ll want to start looking more at per-game stats, but for now, every NFL team has played five games. As usual, let’s begin by taking a glance at the season-long leaders.

Cooper Kupp continues to lead all players with 64 targets, nine more than the 55(!) for Marquise Brown and Justin Jefferson. Kupp is still on a record-setting pace, and at this rate, he would finish with 218 targets in 17 games. Fellow Ram Tyler Higbee still leads all tight ends, now with 48 targets. Kupp and Higbee have combined for a 59% team target share in Los Angeles. At running back, Christian McCaffrey has bypassed Austin Ekeler and now leads the position with 35 targets. Garrett Wilson maintains his target lead among rookies, now up to 43 on the season. 

I’ll continue to lead off this article with season-long target leaders but now, let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 6.

Randall Cobb: 13 targets, 7 rec

I didn’t expect to lead off any of this article series with Randall Cobb during the 2022 season, but here we are. His 13 targets in London are the most he’s seen since Week 14 of the 2017 season during his first stint with the Packers. He’s currently tied with Allen Lazard for the second-most targets in Green Bay, four behind rookie Romeo Doubs for the team lead at 29.

Justin Jefferson: 13 targets, 12 rec

Jefferson is going to continue showing up in this article series on a consistent basis. He’s been targeted at least 11 times in four of his five games played, putting him on pace for 187 targets this season. As impressive as that is, it would still fall short of Cris Carter’s team record of 197 during the 1995 season.

Diontae Johnson: 13 targets, 5 rec
Chase Claypool: 9 targets, 5 rec
George Pickens: 8 targets, 6 rec

Kenny Pickett attempted 52 passes in his first career start, 14 more than Mitch Trubisky had attempted in any game this season. While Diontae Johnson, who’s seen double-digit targets in four of the five games this season, was the team target leader yet again, Pickett supplied enough volume to put Claypool and Pickens on the fantasy radar, especially with bye weeks starting.

Mike Williams: 13 targets, 10 rec

Keenan Allen has missed four games this season, and Williams has seen at least ten targets in each of them. With 44 targets this year, he’s on pace for 150 on the season. Of course, that rate may dip whenever Allen is able to return to the field. Austin Ekeler is currently the second-most targeted Charger with 33.

Ja’Marr Chase: 12 targets, 7 rec

An ankle injury limited Tee Higgins to just ten snaps this week, opening up extra targets for Chase. He’s averaging 14 targets per game this season when Higgins leaves early but drops to 8.2 targets per game when both have played the whole game. Unfortunately for Chase and his fantasy managers, the additional targets against Baltimore didn’t turn into much production, as he averaged just 4.2 yards per target.

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Christian McCaffrey: 12 targets, 7 rec

This is the CMC we know and love! The 12 targets he saw against the Niners are his most since Week 15 of the 2019 season. As the league leader at the position, he’s now on pace for 119 on the season. His 23% team target share is encouraging, especially since he’s the only running back with a target share north of 20%. It remains to be seen if that will be impacted with P.J. Walker likely to start at quarterback for the injured Baker Mayfield, not to mention the change in coaching now that Matt Rhule has been shown the door. 

Leonard Fournette: 11 targets, 10 rec

Fournette’s target count has increased in each of the first five weeks, and the 11 that went his way against Atlanta are the most he’s seen in his three seasons as a Buccaneer. He’s currently on pace for 102 targets, which would top his career-high of 100 targets from his 2019 season in Jacksonville. He’s been good with the passing work, averaging 6.2 yards per target and scoring through the air twice already this season.

Josh Reynolds: 10 targets, 6 rec
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 6 targets, 3 rec

St. Brown returned from his ankle injury in Week 5 but only played 21 snaps in the game. Cue Reynolds, who’s quietly averaged 9.3 targets and 90 yards receiving over the past three games. That usage could evaporate once the Lions return from the bye in Week 7, but it’s worth remembering that Reynolds has some fantasy appeal if St. Brown misses any more time later this season.

Alec Pierce: 9 targets, 8 rec

Rookie Alec Pierce is another player that has seen his targets rise in each game played this season. Michael Pittman Jr. leads the Colts with 36 on the season, but Pierce bested him by one on Thursday night. His 22 targets on the season are good for second on the team, and his role should continue to increase as he progresses through his rookie season.

Drake London: 7 targets, 4 rec

With Kyle Pitts sidelined in Week 5, London now has 17 more targets than any other Falcon. His 39 targets are more than twice as many as the next closest Atlanta wideout, Olamide Zaccheaus. He has a dominant 33% team target share, but it won’t matter much if Marcus Mariota continues attempting fewer than 30 passes every game.

Jaylen Waddle: 3 targets, 3 rec

Waddle was targeted 19 times in Week 2, something that only he and Cooper Kupp have done this season. The problem is that he’s been targeted 19 times total in his other four games combined. His team target share still sits at a respectable 23%, but it has declined in three consecutive weeks. It didn’t help that it was third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson distributing the ball for Miami in Week 5. Things should get better for Waddle when starting quarterback and fellow Alabama alum Tua Tagovailoa clears the new concussion protocol and returns to the field.