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 have started, so we’ll start looking more at per-game stats. As usual, let’s begin by glancing at the season-long leaders.
Target Trends
Even with Cooper Kupp‘s return to the field, Puka Nacua maintained his overall target lead. He also leads with 12.6 targets/game, though the rate seems destined to fall if Kupp stays healthy. Ja’Marr Chase is up to second at 60 targets on the season, and Davante Adams sits at 54 after just four targets Monday night.
T.J. Hockenson leads all tight ends with 39 targets, which breaks down to 7.8 targets/game. Travis Kelce’s 37 targets in just four games put him ahead at 9.3 targets/game, though he may be in jeopardy of playing again this week on Thursday night.
Josh Jacobs had the running back target lead wrapped up before he even stepped on the field Monday night. He entered the game tied with Jaylen Warren at 25 targets. Add on the five that went his way Monday night and he now sits at 30 on the season.
I’ll continue to lead off this article with season-long target leaders, but for now, let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 6.
Ja’Marr Chase: 19 targets, 15 rec
Trenton Irwin: 10 targets, 8 rec
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati offense came alive in Week 5. It’s amazing what happens when a team targets their best player at a 43% rate. Chase’s 19 targets were a new career high, and he’s now on pace for a ridiculous 204 on the season. Meanwhile, Irwin benefited more than Tyler Boyd in the absence of Tee Higgins. His ten targets this week account for nearly 25% of the targets he’s seen over his 4+ year career.
Adam Thielen: 13 targets, 11 rec
Thielen is experiencing a career rejuvenation in Carolina. He’s currently on pace for 156 targets, which would break his career-high of 153 targets from 2108. It’s unlikely that Thielen keeps this up, but he’s a must-start until he starts to falter.
Cooper Kupp: 12 targets, 8 rec
Puka Nacua: 11 targets, 7 rec
It’s just a one-week sample size, but it appears Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua can coexist in the same offense. Puka is still on pace for a would-be NFL record of 214 targets this season. That’s unlikely to come to fruition with Kupp around, but topping Terry Glenn’s rookie record of 167 targets is squarely in play.
Stefon Diggs: 11 targets, 8 rec
Diggs has been one of the most consistent target earners since landing in Buffalo 3+ years ago. He’s averaged 10 targets/game since joining the Bills and is enjoying that exact rate with 50 targets through the first five games in 2023. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more consistently targeted player than Diggs.
Zay Flowers: 11 targets, 5 rec
Mark Andrews: 10 targets, 6 rec
A season-high for Andrews and a new career-high for the rookie Flowers are both good signs, but it could have been so much better. These two, along with the rest of the Ravens pass-catchers, accounted for seven drops in Week 5. Andrews is a must-start in the desolate tight-end landscape, and Flowers is making a case to be a weekly starter as well with a 29% target share in Baltimore’s offense.
De’Andre Hopkins: 11 targets, 8 rec
Hopkins put up a classic performance in Week 5. The veteran wideout is showing that he still has some gas in the tank. They may not be ideal targets coming from Ryan Tannehill, but a healthy Hopkins will continue to demand targets in Tennessee.
Kyle Pitts: 11 targets, 7 rec
Is it finally happening? Is Pitts breaking out? Maybe that’s hyperbolic, but Pitts did see a career-high 11 targets in Week 5. It coincided with 38 pass attempts from Desmond Ridder. That might not be the norm, but it’s encouraging to see Arthur Smith and Atlanta focus on Pitts in the passing game.
Darren Waller: 11 targets, 8 rec
The Giants finally utilized their big free-agent acquisition. It could’ve been a huge day for Waller as he fell just short of hauling in two deep balls, including one potential touchdown. It’s going to be tough to trust Waller if Daniel Jones misses time with his neck injury, but there aren’t any other pass-catchers stepping up for the Giants.
Logan Thomas: 11 targets, 9 rec
Thomas is the TE9 on the season despite missing a game. The 11 targets in Week 5 were more than Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson combined. He should absolutely be rostered in every fantasy football league that requires you to start a tight end.
Dalton Schultz: 10 targets, 7 rec
Dr. Schultz will wrap up the tight-end portion of this article. The ten targets that went his way in Week 5 set a new career-high. Meanwhile, wideouts Nico Collins and Tank Dell each saw just five targets this week. It’s going to be tough to trust from week to week, but Schultz can be considered as a tight-end streaming option moving forward.
Jordan Addison: 9 targets, 6 rec
Justin Jefferson: 6 targets, 3 rec
After just one target last week, Addison set a new season-high with nine targets in Week 5. Justin Jefferson was essentially shut out before exiting with a hamstring injury late in the game. With Jefferson’s status very much in question heading into Week 6, Addison could be in store for even more targets moving forward.
Calvin Ridley: 8 targets. 7 rec
Christian Kirk: 8 targets, 6 rec
Evan Engram: 8 targets, 4 rec
The Jaguars’ target distribution has been all over the place over the first quarter of the season, so of course, all the pass catchers saw equal targets in Week 5. From a season-long viewpoint, Kirk leads the team with a 24% target share, followed closely by Engram with 21% and Ridley with 20%. Ridley does lead the way in fantasy points with 2.6 more than Kirk so far.
Jameson Williams: 3 targets, 2 rec
After getting a late start to his rookie season while recovering from a torn ACL and sitting out the first four games of his second season due to a gambling suspension, Williams’ season debut left a lot to be desired. He only ran 15 routes on 47% of the snaps, so there’s room for his role to increase in the upcoming weeks.
Alvin Kamara: 3 targets, 3 rec
It’s impossible to expect Kamara to see 14 targets every game as he did in his season debut last week. Three targets this week aren’t great, but he more than made up for it with 22 carries in the blowout win over New England. No matter the game script, Kamara is looking extremely safe this season.