Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 8
Welcome to the target trends article for Week 8! As we continue to navigate injuries and bye weeks in the heart of the NFL season, target trends become more important than ever. Let’s start, as usual, by checking in on the overall target landscape in the league.
Tyreek Hill has overtaken Cooper Kupp as the overall target leader with 78 on the season. Of course, Hill has played an additional game since Kupp was on bye this week. Kupp is still being targeted at the highest rate in the league at 12 targets/game, comfortably ahead of Hill’s 11.1 targets/game. Austin Ekeler is way out in front when it comes to running backs. His 61 targets on the season are 16 ahead of the next closest running back Christian McCaffrey. Ekeler is on a 17-game pace for 148 targets, which would beat the record set by CMC of 142 back in 2019. At tight end, Travis Kelce is back in front of Mark Andrews by one with 60 targets. Andrews, who will be detailed further below, saw just two targets this week.
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 8.
Mike Evans: 15 targets, 9 rec
Chris Godwin: 13 targets, 7 rec
Things didn’t go as expected for the heavily favored Buccaneers in Week 7, and it led to high target totals for both Evans and Godwin. The 15 targets to Evans were the most he’s seen since Week 8 of the 2019 season, but the one burned into his fantasy manager’s memory is the wide-open bomb that inexplicably bounced off his hands. As for Godwin, he’s now seen double-digit targets in three of the last four weeks since returning from his hamstring injury. The targets from Tom Brady will likely remain concentrated on Evans and Godwin and better fantasy days are likely ahead for the duo.
DeAndre Hopkins: 14 targets, 10 rec
In his first game back from suspension, Hopkins saw the most targets since his Cardinals debut in Week 1 of the 2020 season. He was the top target in the offense, as Zach Ertz saw his fewest targets since Week 1 with just four. Marquise Brown will be back later in the season to carry some of the receiving load, but until then, Hopkins looks primed to be a target hog in Arizona.
Chris Olave: 14 targets, 7 rec
Olave didn’t immediately burst onto the scene, earning just three targets in Week 1. Since then, however, he’s averaged an impressive 10.6 targets per game. His 56 targets on the season lead all rookies, despite the fact that he missed Week 6 with a concussion. He’s producing with the targets, finishing as a top-16 fantasy wideout in each of his past four games.
Tyreek Hill: 13 targets, 7 rec
Hill is thriving with a 31% team target share on the season in Miami. He’s been targeted 28 times over the past two weeks, tied for the most by any player over that span. Spoiler alert, another player a little farther down in this article joined him with the exact same number of targets over the past two weeks. Hill is currently on a 17-game pace for 189 targets, which would smash his career high of 159 set in 2021.
Parris Campbell: 12 targets, 10 rec
In the first 20 games of his career, which spanned more than three seasons due to injuries, Campbell never saw double-digit targets in a single game. He’s now been targeted 23 times over the past two weeks, just two fewer than Michael Pittman and more than twice as many as Alec Pierce. As I mentioned in the Week 7 WR/CB article for the DFS pass, we may have to remove the “awful tower” moniker if Campbell keeps this up.
Austin Ekeler: 12 targets, 12 rec
With 16 targets last week and 12 this week, Ekeler joins Tyreek Hill with 28 targets over the past two weeks. Fun fact, Brandon Marshall holds the record for most targets in a single game at 28. Ekeler’s 20% target share has been inflated by injuries to Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Joshua Palmer. The Chargers are on bye in Week 8, so we have to wait and see how many healthy pass-catchers Los Angeles has when they return to action in Week 9, though Ekeler is an auto-start regardless.
Aaron Jones: 10 targets, 9 rec
Jones led Green Bay with his season-high ten targets in Week 7. Two of those targets resulted in touchdowns. He hasn’t been able to get much going on the ground, but the lack of weapons at wide receiver in Green Bay is leading to opportunities through the air for Jones. He has three receiving touchdowns on the season, compared to just one on the ground.
D.J. Moore: 10 targets, 7 rec
In his first game without Christian McCaffrey this season, Moore had by far his best game of 2022. He’s averaged 7.7 targets per game this season and is clearly the top offensive option now that CMC is gone. Quarterback PJ Walker has done enough to earn a third consecutive start against Atlanta in Week 8, and as scary as it is, it feels safe to once again insert Moore into your fantasy lineups.
Greg Dulcich: 9 targets, 6 rec
Denver’s rookie tight end debuted with three targets and a touchdown last week and followed it up with nine targets this week. Meanwhile, Albert Okwuegbunam has been a healthy scratch for the past two weeks. It’s unclear when Russell Wilson will return, and whether or not that’s a good thing for the Bronco’s offense, but Dulcich has taken over as the top tight end in Denver.
Mark Andrews: 2 targets, 0 rec
It was a dud for Mark Andrews, who saw the fewest targets in a game since Week 15 of 2018, his rookie season. It was an odd game for Andrews, who still played 88% of the snaps and lined up all over the offensive formation, including when he took the snap from center and pitched the ball to Lamar Jackson. He’s still a must-start every week moving forward, despite the off game in Week 7.
Drake London: 1 target, 1 rec
Last week I highlighted that a healthy target share in Atlanta’s low passing volume offense doesn’t amount to much. This week, London didn’t even get that, as his lone target accounted for just an 8% target share. The talented rookie just isn’t getting opportunities in this offense and can not be trusted in fantasy lineups.