Fantasy Football Target Trends for Week 7

Welcome to the target trends article headed into Week 7! It was a high-volume week for targets in Week 6, with 21 different players getting targeted double-digit times. I’ll cover all of the most important target performances that you should be aware of and, with so many this week, it may be a bit more quick-hitting than usual. First, however, let’s step back and take a look at the season-long leaders.

Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams have been leapfrogging each other for the target lead all season and with the dust settled on Week 6, Kupp is two targets ahead of Adams with 68. Darren Waller has led tight ends in targets all season, but Travis Kelce has pulled even with him at 53. Najee Harris continues to lead all running backs with 46 targets on the season.

But enough about the season-long leaders, let’s take a look at the most telling target performances from Week 6.

Cortland Sutton – 14 targets, 8 rec
Noah Fant – 11 targets, 9 rec

Sutton has seen 25 targets over the past two weeks and leads Denver with 53 on the season. Fant, who is 11 behind Sutton on the season, was one of three tight ends to see 11 targets in Week 6. The two Bronco pass-catchers should continue to see the majority of the targets in Denver until Jerry Jeudy can return from the high ankle sprain that’s kept him sidelined since Week 1.

Justin Jefferson – 14 targets, 8 rec
Adam Thielen – 13 targets, 11 rec

Kirk Cousins threw the ball a season-high 48 times in Minnesota’s overtime win Sunday, and more than half of those attempts were directed towards either Jefferson or Thielen. The 14 for Jefferson were the most of his young career, while Thielen’s 13 were his most this season. The Vikings wideout duo accounts for a 47.6% combined target share this season.

Sterling Shepard – 14 targets, 10 rec
Dante Pettis – 11 targets, 5 rec

Shepard didn’t miss a beat after returning from the hamstring injury that cost him two games. He’s averaging 11 targets/game in the three healthy games he’s played this season. Meanwhile, the 11 targets that Pettis saw marked his career-high. The former second-round pick saw just nine targets all of last season but was forced into action due to the plethora of injuries on the offensive side of the ball for New York.

D.J. Moore – 13 targets, 5 rec
Robby Anderson – 11 targets, 3 rec

Both Moore and Anderson saw season-high target totals in Week 6, though neither were very efficient with them. Moore is pacing for just over 179 targets this season, which would smash his career-high a 135 from 2019. Anderson has seen 29 targets over the past three weeks but has only reeled in 10 of them for a lowly 34% catch rate. 

Diontae Johnson – 13 targets, 9 rec

After a rare low-volume outing in Week 5, Johnson was back with double-digit targets in Week 6. He’s averaging 10 targets/game this season, even with the two-target-game outlier. Keep him in your lineup and carry on.

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Brandin Cooks – 13 targets, 9 rec

Sunday was the first time Cooks has seen double-digit targets since Week 3. He has a commanding 32.8% target share in Houston, with his next closest teammates being Jordan Akins and David Johnson, who each have a 10.3% share.

Jaylen Waddle – 13 targets, 10 rec

Waddle has been the only Dolphin widout to stay healthy this season, and it’s led to him being the team target leader. His 49 targets also lead all rookies through six weeks, three in front of Najee Harris and five ahead of Devonta Smith.

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Antonio Brown – 13 targets, 9 rec

The Tampa Bay wideouts have been thriving with Tom Brady, and each of the big three has between 74-82 fantasy points this season. Brown led the way in Week 6 with a season-high 13 targets. He’s seen the most targets on the team over the past three weeks but is still the third-most targeted Buccaneer on the season.

Cooper Kupp – 12 targets, 9 rec

After Week 5, Kupp was the only player to see double-digit targets in every game. He continued that streak through Week 6 and overtook Davante Adams to regain the target crown for the season. He remains the WR1 in all of fantasy football.  

Tyreek Hill – 12 targets, 9 rec
Travis Kelce – 11 targets, 8 rec

Hill doesn’t always come to mind when you think of target hogs, but he’s now seen at least 12 targets in three straight weeks. He’s efficient with them too, he’s tied for the most overall receptions in the league on the third-most targets. Meanwhile, Kelce’s third double-digit target performance in the last four weeks was enough to draw him even with Darren Waller for the season lead among tight ends.  

CeeDee Lamb – 11 targets, 9 rec
Ezekiel Elliot – 9 targets, 7 rec

Lamb cracked double-digit targets for the first time since Week 1 and turned them into the WR1 performance on the week. His 23.1% target share leads the Cowboys, with Amari Cooper checking in next at 19.8%. Out of the backfield, Elliot had only seen eleven targets combined over the first five weeks of the season, nearly as many as the nine he saw in Week 6.

T.J. Hockenson – 11 targets, 8 rec

After three straight down weeks, Hockenson bounced back for his first double-digit target outing since Week 1. He’s been battling a knee injury, so it was nice to see him more involved again in Week 6. He continues to lead Detroit in targets with 44 on the season, just two ahead of D’Andre Swift.

J.D. McKissic – 10 targets, 8 rec

Smooches led all running backs with his ten targets in Week 6. He also saw more opportunities and played more snaps than banged up teammate Antonio Gibson. McKissic is the second-most targeted player on the Football Team, though his 28 targets are still less than half of the 57 seen by Terry McLaurin.

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Rashod Bateman – 6 targets, 4 rec

Six targets don’t jump off the screen, but they’re notable here because it was Bateman’s NFL debut. The first-round rookie wideout saw one more target than teammate Marquise Brown in Week 6. Brown’s status as Baltimore’s top wideout isn’t in question yet, but it’s a situation to monitor moving forward.

T.Y. Hilton – 4 targets, 4 rec

Hilton didn’t see a massive target load in his season debut, but his four targets did lead the team. He got the targets on just 50% of snaps and was able to turn them into 80 yards receiving. If he can stay healthy, which is already in question, he’ll be another receiving weapon for Carson Wentz and the Colts.

Check here for all the season-long target leaders.