Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 14
Welcome to the target trends article headed into Week 14! 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.
The beginning of this paragraph is becoming a broken record, but Cooper Kupp remains atop the target leaderboard with 136 on the season. Tyreek Hill was keeping it close for a while, but after getting targeted just five times in Week 13, he’s now nine behind Kupp on the season. Travis Kelce continues leading tight ends with 105 targets, but Mark Andrews is slowly gaining ground and is up to 98 on the season. It’s a log jam among the running back target leaders. Najee Harris is back in front with 72 targets, Austin Ekeler is right behind with 71, and both Leonard Fournette and D’Andre Swift have 70.
But enough about the season-long leaders, let’s take a look at the most telling target performances from Week 13.
Chris Godwin – 17 targets, 15 rec
There are plenty of targets to go around in Tampa Bay, where they throw a league-high 43 pass attempts/game. A career-high 17 of them went to Godwin against Atlanta, making him the target king of Week 13 and smashing his previous high of 14 from back in Week 4 of 2019. He’s on pace for 150 targets on the season, which would easily top his career-best 121, also set in 2019.
Justin Jefferson – 14 targets, 11 rec
Jefferson has been nearly unstoppable recently, averaging 11 targets and 23.2 fantasy points/game over the last four weeks. Against Detroit, he turned 14 targets into 182 yards and the WR1 performance of Week 13. Jefferson is averaging 9.3 targets/game on the season, and that number should only increase with the absence of Adam Thielen over the next few weeks.
Tee Higgins – 14 targets, 9 rec
Higgins was practically left for dead after a slow start to the season and a three-target dud in Week 11. Since then, he’s put up back-to-back monster games, averaging 11 targets/game and finishing as a top-4 fantasy wideout each week. He leads the Bengals with a 25.5% target share, averaging nearly one more target/game than his rookie teammate Ja’Marr Chase. Over the last two games, he’s finally started turning those targets into big-time fantasy production.
CeeDee Lamb – 13 targets, 7 rec
Lamb returned in Week 13 and reclaimed his status as the alpha wideout in Dallas, even with their receiving corps at full strength for the first time since Week 1. It was his third double-digit target game of the season, but the first since Week 6. He leads the Cowboys with 90 targets on the season, 19 more than current runner-up Dalton Schultz.
Russell Gage – 12 targets, 11 rec
Gage saw double-digit targets in four games last season, but this is the first time he’s hit that benchmark in 2021. His 53 targets on the season are one more than Calvin Ridley, who hasn’t taken the field science Week 7. However, 27 of those targets have come over the past three weeks, and Gage has now put up WR1 fantasy numbers in back-to-back games.
Amon-Ra St. Brown – 12 targets, 10 rec
You could say it was a breakout week for St. Brown. Not only did he see the most targets of his young career, but he also caught the thrilling walk-off touchdown to give Detroit their first victory of the season. He became the seventh wideout from the strong 2021 rookie class to notch at least 20 PPR fantasy points in a game this season.
George Kittle – 12 targets, 9 rec
Kittle exploded for one of the best fantasy tight end performances of the season against Seattle, and he did it on the back of his season-high 12 targets. Two of those targets turned into touchdowns, giving him the first multi-touchdown game of his career. The increased volume may have been due, in part, to the absence of Deebo Samuel. Either way, Kittle just reminded everybody how effective he is when he’s the focal point of the passing game.
Elijah Moore – 12 targets, 6 rec
Moore is another member of the strong rookie receiver class. He’s been gaining momentum recently, as 31 of his team-leading 77 targets have come over the last three games. The 12 targets that went his way in Week 13 were the most of his rookie season and the second time he’s seen double-digit targets in the last three games.
Josh Jacobs – 9 targets, 9 rec
Headed into the 2021 season, Jacobs had never seen more than six targets in a single game. He topped that with seven targets in Week 11 and then blew it away with nine targets in Week 13. He’s now seen 20 targets over the last three weeks and should be in line for even more work through the air with Kenyan Drake sidelined for the season with a broken ankle.
Javonte Williams – 9 targets, 6 rec
Denver’s rookie running back was the most-hyped fantasy player heading into Week 13, and he delivered with the RB1 performance of the week. While he was impressive on the ground, he also did plenty of damage through the air. He became the first Bronco running back to see at least nine targets in a game since Royce Freeman way back in Week 17 of the 2018 season. As long as Melvin Gordon is out, Williams is a must-play fantasy back.
Michael Pittman – 8 targets, 6 rec
Eight targets don’t pop off the stat sheet, but with the Colts attempting just 22 passes in the route over Houston, they equated to a 36% target share on the game. Indy even manufactured two carries for Pittman in the game. Jonathan Taylor is a superstar and fantasy MVP, but Pittman is squarely next in the pecking order for the Colts.
Devonta Smith – 4 targets, 2 rec
Smith’s 6.3 targets/game are fourth-most among rookies this season, but he’s now seen just four targets in consecutive weeks. He easily leads Philly with 82 targets on the season, but the problem is Philly’s recent offensive playcalling. Over the past seven weeks, the Eagles have averaged 24.3 pass attempts and 40 rushing attempts per game. The passing pie just may not be large enough to count on Smith down the home stretch of the season.
Laquon Treadwell – 5 targets, 4 rec
Marvin Jones Jr. – 3 targets, 2 rec
Jones leads Jacksonville with 82 targets on the season, but he’s been out-targeted by Treadwell for consecutive weeks. Over the last two games, Jones has totaled just ten targets, while former first-round bust Treadwell has seen 13. In case you’re wondering, Laviska Shenault has seen 14 targets over that span. It’s simply impossible to trust any Jaguar wideout in your fantasy lineups right now.
Check here for all the season-long target leaders.