Fantasy Football Target Report for Week 5
Through five weeks of the NFL season, it’s been a rotating carousel atop the target leaderboard. Not only have we seen a different weekly target leader in each of the first five weeks, but we’ve also seen a new player overtake the season-long target lead each week. Five players have seen at least 50 targets through five weeks; Allen Robinson, Amari Cooper, DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, and Keenan Allen. Stefon Diggs has a shot to get there if he sees at least 15 targets Tuesday night, a mark he’s hit four times in his career.
The target story of the week, however, could be that there were two players who saw more targets in Week 5 than the rest of their short careers combined. To learn more about them, and the rest of the compelling target performances of Week 5, please read on.
Allen Robinson – 16 targets, 10 rec
As hinted at in the opening, Robinson’s 16 targets helped him surpass Amari Cooper as the NFL’s most targeted player so far this season. At this point, it’s clear that Robinson will perform regardless of the quarterback throwing him the ball, but he’s seen a target uptick since Nick Foles took over in Chicago. He’s averaged 13 targets per game since Week 3 when Foles entered the Bears offense and won the starting job.
Travis Fulgham – 13 targets, 10 rec
If you watched last week’s Sunday Night Football game, you may have seen some guy name Travis Fulgham come down with a touchdown. If you’re like me, you brushed it off as an incidental event, especially since the undrafted practice squad call-up only saw three targets in the game. Apparently, it was anything but incidental as Fulgham’s 13 targets on Sunday accounted for a 37% target share from Carson Wentz in the game. He may not be a season-long play, but he’s worth a look in PPR formats as Philadelphia continues to search for healthy pass-catchers.
Adam Thielen – 13 targets, 9 rec
Don’t look now, but Thielen is currently the WR1 in fantasy football. He’s posted double-digit targets in back-to-back weeks and is sporting a 33% target share in Minnesota, which is nothing compared to his outrageous 48% Air Yard share. Even with the recent emergence of Justin Jefferson, Thielen is one of the most dominant target hogs in the NFL.
Robby Anderson – 13 targets, 8 rec
Anderson has been one of the most talked-about players in all of fantasy football so far during the 2020 season, and rightly so. Even with D.J. Moore finally coming through with a big touchdown catch and run, Anderson provided more evidence that he’s the clear number one receiver in Carolina. He’s out-targeted Moore in every game except Week 1 when Moore was a single target ahead of him.
Chase Claypool – 11 targets, 7 rec
Claypool was arguably the fantasy star of Week 5. The rookie saw more targets against the Eagles than the first four games of his career combined. His breakout game was enough to be WR1 for the week and it could’ve been even bigger. He hauled in what would’ve been a fourth touchdown on a play that was called back on a questionable offensive pass interference call. He may not see double-digit targets on a weekly basis but it’s safe to say he now comes with one of the higher ceilings in all of fantasy football.
Brandin Cooks – 12 targets, 8 rec
After a season-low three targets in Week 4, Cooks rejected his forced retirement and went off in Week 5. The 12 targets he saw Sunday were just one shy of his career-high and the most he’s seen since Week 3 of last season. The target volume may not be consistent week-to-week, but it’s fair to assume he has a few more big fantasy outings left in the tank this season.
DK Metcalf – 11 targets, 6 rec
In case you weren’t quite sure, Metcalf made a pretty convincing case Sunday night to be the alpha receiver in Seatle over Tyler Lockett. He has just one more target than Lockett on the season but has now out-targeted him in back-to-back weeks. Oh, and he also happens to have one more touchdown and 154 more receiving yards than Lockett on the season.
Jeff Smith – 11 targets, 3 rec
Jamison Crowder – 10 targets, 8 rec
While the Jets may be a complete trainwreck conducted by Adam Gase, Joe Flacco did manage to supply two wideouts with double-digit targets Sunday against the Cardinals. Smith was extremely inefficient, hauling in just three of his targets for receptions. He has, however, seen 20 targets since being activated off IR last week. Crowder, on the other hand, was extremely efficient with his target volume and has earned the right to be considered a weekly starter in any kind of PPR scoring format.
Austin Hooper – 10 targets, 5 rec
It had been a disappointing start to the season for the high-priced free-agent tight end, but Hooper has seen his role steadily grow in Cleveland’s offense in recent weeks. He saw seven targets in Week 4 before notching his season-high this week. Given the state of the tight end position in fantasy football, that kind of target trend can’t be ignored.
A.J. Green – 1 target, 0 rec
Despite the highest of hopes for an A.J. Green rejuvenation in 2020, it seems it just wasn’t meant to be. Green saw heavy target volume to open the season with 22 targets over the first two weeks. Since then he’s recorded six, five, and finally one lone target this week. It’s not trending well for Green to retain any significant role in Cincinnati.
Other notable target counts in Week 5:
Emmanuel Sanders – 14
Travis Kelce – 12
Darius Slayton – 11
CeeDee Lamb – 11
Alvin Kamara – 10
Marquise Brown – 10
Calvin Ridley – 10
T.Y. Hilton – 10
Mike Davis – 10
Odell Beckham Jr. – 9
Jarvis Landry – 9
Mike Evans – 9
Mark Andrews – 9
Mike Williams – 8
Hunter Henry – 8
Cooper Kupp – 8
J.D. McKissic – 8
Clyde Edwards-Helaire – 8
Laviska Shenault Jr. – 8
Will Fuller – 8
Tee Higgins – 8
Joe Mixon – 8
David Montgomery – 8
George Kittle – 8
Deebo Samuel – 8
DeAndre Hopkins – 7
Terry McLaurin – 7
Darren Waller – 7
James Robinson – 7
Chris Carson – 7
Amari Cooper – 4
Michael Gallup – 4
DJ Chark – 4
Tyler Higbee – 2
Evan Engram – 2
Le’Veon Bell – 1