Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 13

Welcome to the target trends article headed into Week 13! 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.

Cooper Kupp regained the overall target lead from Tyreek Hill while the Chiefs were on bye. His 126 targets on the season are four more than Hill’s, and he leads the league with 11.4 targets/game. Even while on bye, Travis Kelce kept his comfortable target lead among tight ends. His 97 on the season are eight more than current runner-up Mark Andrews. D’Ande Swift leads all running backs with 70, though that overall lead could be in jeopardy with him set to miss time due to a shoulder injury. He could still maintain his lead when it comes to average, currently at 6.4 targets/game.

But enough about the season-long leaders, let’s take a look at the most telling target performances from Week 12. It was a strange week for target volume. 13 players saw double-digit targets, but none of them had double-digit receptions. Here are the target performances that caught my eye.

Diontae Johnson – 14 targets, 9 rec

Johnson is a staple of this article, and he led all pass-catchers in targets for Week 12. He’s seen at least 13 in six of his ten games played this season, including the last three in a row. He’s pushing a 30% target share for the Steelers and continues to be one of the safest players to roll out in your fantasy lineups every week.

Cole Kmet – 11 targets, 8 rec

With his 11 targets, Kmet led all tight ends in Week 12. That’s the most the second-year tight end has seen in a single game over his young career. He has 57 targets on the season, more than Dallas Goedert, Jared Cook, and Tyler Higbee. He’s also produced two top-ten fantasy tight end performances over his last three games, each with a different starting quarterback. 

Cooper Kupp – 10 targets, 7 rec
Odell Beckham Jr. – 10 targets, 5 rec
Van Jefferson – 9 targets, 3 rec

Against Green Bay, Beckham saw double-digit targets for the first time since Week 1 of the 2020 season. Meanwhile, the nine targets to Jefferson are the most he’s ever seen in a single game. Kupp continues to lead the team, and the league, in targets, but it appears there are enough to go around for the Rams in the right game script.

Jarvis Landy – 10 targets, 6 rec

Double-digit target games used to be a regular occurrence for Landry, but this was just the second time it happened this season. He has a healthy 23.3% target share, but that hasn’t amounted to much in Cleveland’s low passing volume offense. He’s averaging 6.5 targets/game, the lowest rate of his eight-year career.

D.J. Moore – 10 targets, 4 rec

Moore has the fifth-most targets in the league, but this is the first time he’s seen double-digit targets since Week 7. Unfortunately, the targets came from Cam Newton, who completed just 23.8% of his passes in Week 12. There may not be a quarterback on Carolina’s roster capable of fully unleashing Moore this season, but at least the volume is there.

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Michael Pittman Jr. – 10 targets, 4 rec

It was a relative dud for Pity City in Week 12, but his ten targets were a silver lining that should give his fantasy managers hope. It was the fourth time he’s seen double-digit targets this season and the first time since Week 8. His 91 targets on the season lead the Colts, and he already has as many receptions this season, 61, as he had targets during his rookie campaign last year. 

Rob Gronkowski – 10 targets, 7 receptions

As good as Gronk has been when healthy this season, he hasn’t been a target hog. He hadn’t seen double-digit targets in a game since back in the 2018 playoffs. That changed in Week 12 when he led the Buccaneers in targets. Tampa Bay is loaded with talented pass-catchers, but Gronk has a little bit of history and rapport with the guy throwing the passes.

Five Cowboys Pass Catchers – 7-10 targets

Dak Prescott attempted 47 passes on Thanksgiving, and they were distributed remarkably evenly. Cedric Wilson and Noah Brown surprisingly led the way with ten and nine targets, respectively. Michale Gallup and Ezekiel Elliot weren’t far behind with eight apiece, and Dalton Schultz was just behind them with seven. Things will certainly change when Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb return, but Dak doesn’t appear to be playing favorites.

Antonio Gibson – 7 targets, 7 rec

J.D. McKissic stole the show with his two touchdowns on Monday night, but Gibson saw elite usage with 36 total opportunities in the game. Fantasy managers have been dreaming of passing-game work for him all season long, and it may finally be upon us. He tied his career-high with seven targets, which tied Terry McLaurin for most on the Football Team. 

13 Different Tight Ends – 3 targets

How unpredictable is the tight end position for fantasy football? In Week 12, 13 different tight ends saw exactly three targets. They each scored between 0 and 16.7 fantasy points. The group included the TE2 performance of the week and three tight ends that registered less than one fantasy point. You can peruse the names and numbers in the table below if you have the stomach for it. Yuck.

Check here for all the season-long target leaders.