Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 9
Welcome to the Target Trends article for Week 9! Another fantasy week is in the books and as we look ahead, bye weeks are back. Thankfully only two teams, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, get a break in Week 9. Once again, the injuries also continue to pile up. It’s time to examine the target trends to see what kind of value we can identify for the week ahead. As usual, let’s begin this article by looking at the overall target leaders so far this season.
Target Trends
Garrett Wilson maintains his status as the top total target earner with 83 on the season. Malik Nabers has played two fewer games than Wilson but is next with 73 targets. Nabers leads all players on average with 12.2 targets/game. Wan’Dale Robinson and CeeDee Lamb are right behind him with 72 targets. They are the only four players to top 70 targets.
Brock Bowers continues to lead all tight ends, now up to 65 targets. He has the highest average at the position, commanding 8.1 targets/game. Trey McBride is next with 56 total targets and just slightly behind on average with 8.0 targets/game. Cade Otton is rising up the leaderboard and comes in next at the position with 51 targets.
It’s more of the same at running back, where Alvin Kamara leads the way with 54 targets. He’s the only back above 50 so far this season. Breece Hall is next with 46. After him, the next most targeted running backs are DeVon Achane, Bijan Robinson, and Javonte Williams, who each have 34.
I’ll continue to lead off this article with season-long target leaders each week but for now, let’s check out the weekly target trends heading into Week 9.
CeeDee Lamb – 17 targets, 13 rec
Lamb has seen a target increase for four consecutive weeks, including 31 over the last two. That includes the 17 he saw Sunday night, tying his career high and accounting for an absurd 46% target share in the game, which he turned into the WR1 performance of Week 8. His target share is up to 27% on the season, including 33% over the last four weeks.
Calvin Ridley – 15 targets, 10 rec
Ridley has been getting targets, they just weren’t turning into fantasy points. That changed in Week 8 as he turned his season-high 15 targets into his second top 10 fantasy performance this season. The problem has been that he has been outside of the top 48 in his other five games. The targets in Tennessee should continue to funnel in his direction, however, as he saw a season-high 39% target share in the first game without DeAndre Hopkins on the roster.
Chris Olave – 14 targets, 8 rec
Alvin Kamara – 11 targets, 6 rec
Olave returned from his concussion and resumed his role as the target hog in New Orleans, logging a season-high 14. It was also a season-high target total for Alvin Kamara, who has seen at least seven targets in five straight games. These two should continue to dominate the targets for the Saints with Rashid Shaheed out for the season and they could be more valuable once Derek Carr returns.
Zay Flowers – 12 targets, 7 rec
Flowers had just one target in Week 7 after suffering but playing through what looked like a painful ankle injury. That didn’t appear to hinder him in Week 8 as he earned a season-high 12 targets. That brings his total up to 61 on the season, well ahead of the next most targeted Raven, Rashod Bateman with 35.
Kansas City Chiefs Pass Catchers
Patrick Mahomes has targeted 16 different players this season. Travis Kelce leads the way with 48 after a season-high 12 in Week 8, which led to his best fantasy output of the season. Xavier Worthy is second with 37 after seeing exactly eight targets in back-to-back weeks. DeAndre Hopkins, the newest Kansas City pass catcher, debuted with two receptions on three targets.
Cleveland Browns Pass Catchers
Let’s check in on Cleveland following Jameis Winston’s first game as the starter. Elijah Moore led the team with 12 targets and it’s easy to forget that he had 77 targets in 11 games as a rookie and topped 100 last season. Cedric Tillman has seen 21 targets over the last two weeks and in Week 8 he turned nine targets into 99 yards and two touchdowns. Jerry Jeudy leads the team with 50 targets on the season and hung around with eight in Week 8. Finally, we can’t forget about David Njoku, who has compiled 28 targets over the past three weeks. The Browns appear to have four viable fantasy options earning targets from Jameis.
Trey McBride – 11 targets, 9 rec
McBride is the most targeted tight end in the league. He is also the most targeted Arizona Cardinal with six more than Marvin Harrison Jr, despite playing one fewer game. The problem has been that he hasn’t found the end zone. He should be in store for some positive regression, as his 56 targets are the most for any player without a touchdown.
Zach Ertz – 11 targets, 7 rec
Ertz is currently the TE11 halfway through his 12th season. That’s in large part thanks to a 20% target share, his highest mark since 2019. On the other end of the spectrum, rookie Ben Sinnott went untargeted after seeing his first and only two targets of the season in Week 7.
Courtland Sutton – 11 targets, 8 rec
Sutton tied his season high a week after going untargeted. It equated to a 29% target share, his highest mark since Week 4. Not only that, but he turned those targets into 100 receiving yards, his first time hitting the century mark since Week 2 of the 2022 season.
Cade Otton – 10 targets, 9 rec
Otton led the way in the passing game for Tampa Bay in the absence of Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, who had combined for 107 targets before going down to injuries last week. Otton is currently the third most targeted tight end in the league and is on pace for 108 on the season, significantly higher than the career-best 67 he posted last season.
Los Angeles Rams Pass Catchers
The Rams got their star duo back in Week 8, and while neither Cooper Kupp nor Puka Nacua topped a 60% snap share, they led the way in targets with nine and eight respectively. Demarcus Robinson led the way in routes run but only saw three targets, though two of them turned into touchdowns. It’s also noteworthy that Kyren Williams saw a season-high seven targets, which accounted for his first 20% target share of the season.
Amari Cooper – 2 targets, 1 rec
The Bills appear to be working in Cooper slowly. He ran more routes in his second game for Buffalo but only caught one of two targets for three yards. He will likely become more involved as he continues to acclimate to the team but he is a risky fantasy play until we see a consistent target share for him with the Bills.