Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 12
Welcome to the target trends article headed into Week 12! In this weekly article, I take a look at the season-long target trends before recapping the most fantasy-relevant target performances of the previous week, all to give you an edge in your leagues.
For the first time since Week 6, Cooper Kupp doesn’t lead the league in targets. Of course, that’s because he was on bye this week. Tyreek Hill now leads the way with 122, but Kupp has the highest average with 11.6 targets/game.
It’s a similar story at the other pass-catching positions. Travis Kelce continues to lead all tight ends with 97 targets, but Darren Waller is getting targeted at the same rate of 8.8 targets/game. D’Andre Swift also continues leading running backs with 67 targets, but Christian McCaffrey is seeing the same rate of 6.7 targets/game.
But enough about the season-long leaders, let’s take a look at the most telling target performances from Week 11.
Darnell Mooney – 16 targets, 5 rec
Marquise Goodwin – 8 targets, 4 rec
Allen Robinson has had a disappointing season, but his absence in Week 11 seems to have opened up opportunities for the other wideouts in Chicago. Both Mooney and Goodwin saw season-high target totals. The 16 targets for Mooney are the most of his young career, and the eight for Goodwin are the most he’s seen in a game since 2018. Their increased roles could continue if Robinson can’t get back on the field in time for the Thanksgiving Day matchup with Detroit.
Keenan Allen – 13 targets, 9 rec
Allen’s target dominance comes as no surprise. He’s the most-targeted player since the beginning of the 2019 season, averaging over 10 targets/game over that span. He’s been even better lately, averaging 12 targets/game over the last four. His 106 targets on the season trail only Cooper Kupp and Tyreek Hill.
Kadarius Toney – 12 targets, 7 rec
It’s been a target roller coaster for Toney recently. He broke out with 13 targets in Week 5, then missed most of the next two weeks with an ankle injury. He returned to see just six targets over the next two games before doubling that and getting 12 on Monday night. Unfortunately, none of those targets resulted in more than eight yards and he totaled just 40 on the night.
Elijah Moore – 11 targets, 8 rec
It doesn’t seem to matter who’s throwing him the ball, Moore is seeing consistent targets. He’s seen at least six targets in seven of his nine games played this season, including the last five in a row. The 11 he saw in Week 11 are the most that have gone his way so far in his rookie season, and he turned them into the first 100-yard receiving performance of his career.
Rondale Moore – 11 targets, 11 rec
Rondale, the other rookie wideout named Moore, also set a new career-best with his 11 targets in Week 11. He was nowhere near as productive as Elijah, totaling 90 fewer receiving yards. He averaged just 4.6 yards/reception this week and hasn’t topped 6.0 yards/reception since Week 5.
Michael Gallup – 10 targets, 5 rec
Gallup led the short-handed Dallas receiving corps with his season-high ten targets in Week 11. With Amari Cooper ruled out and CeeDee Lamb in the concussion protocol, Gallup looks to be the de facto number one wideout for the Cowboys in the Thanksgiving game against the Raiders. Hopefully, for his fantasy managers, he can be more productive with the targets than he was against Kansas City.
Mark Andrews – 10 targets, 8 rec
Andrews didn’t miss a beat with Tyler Huntley stepping in to start for Lamar Jackson this week. He saw a 28% target share in the game and was one of just two tight ends to see double-digit targets in Week 11. He’s tied with Darren Waller for the second-most targets (79) among tight ends this season.
Dawson Knox – 10 targets, 6 rec
After seeing just one target in his Week 10 return from a broken hand, Knox joined Andrews as the only other tight end to see ten targets in Week 11. Those ten targets were a career-high for the third-year tight end. He’s averaging 4.75 targets/game for the Bills this season, an uptick compared to the 3.48 targets/game he averaged over his first two years.
Dontrell Hilliard – 10 targets, 8 rec
Hilliard came from seemingly nowhere to lead all running backs in targets for Week 11. It was a sloppy game against the Texans, and Jeremy McNichols could be returning next week, so it’s hard to have any faith in Hilliard repeating this performance. One thing appears obvious, the Tennesse backfield is an unpredictable mess without Derrick Henry.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling – 10 targets, 4 rec
It’s not rare to see a Packer wideout featured in this article, but, strangely, it isn’t Davante Adams this week. Instead, Valdes-Scantling led the way for Green Bay with his first double-digit target performance since Week 3 of 2019. Adams managers don’t need to be worried about him losing any significant target share, but MVS could be a viable fantasy option himself moving forward.
Brandin Cooks – 3 targets, 2 rec
The weather was a factor in Tennessee, but it was still disappointing for Cooks to see a season-low three targets. He also saw a season-low 13% target share, less than half of the 28.6% target share he’s seen for the season. He’ll look to get back on track in a plus matchup with the Jets in Week 12
Tee Higgins – 3 targets, 2 rec
Higgins had been averaging 8.4 targets/game over his previous five, so needless to say, his season-low three targets against the Raiders was a disappointment. Conversely, his teammate Tyler Boyd was targeted eight times after seeing just two in their last game. Ja’Marr Chase is the WR1 in Cincy, and it looks like the WR2 may be a rotation between Higgins and Boyd that will be difficult to project week-to-week..
Deebo Samuel – 2 targets, 1 rec
You’d think seeing a season-low two targets would bode poorly for Deebo, but he still got his touches with a career-high eight rushing attempts. Even with just one catch for 15 yards, he still has the second-most receiving yards in the league, only trailing Cooper Kupp. One way or another, San Fransisco gets him the ball, and he produces.
Check here for all the season-long target leaders.