Fantasy Football: Week 13 Target Report
Man, does anyone else feel like Week 13 was a weird week in fantasy football? Top options at the position severely underwhelmed. Hopefully you didn’t have big name guys like Julio Jones (2.8 points), Alvin Kamara (11.2 points), or Drew Brees (9.28 points) let you down and hold you out of the playoffs or have guys like A.J. Green (1.2 points) or Greg Olsen (1.8 points) who went down with injury keep you out of the playoffs! If you managed to make it into the big dance, congratulations and good luck in Week 14. Bring home that #FootClanTitle! Let’s break down how the targets were distributed in Week 13.
Keenan Allen: 19 targets, 14 rec
If you watched Sunday Night Football, you saw Keenan Allen on your TV screen a lot! Allen received a whopping 19 targets from Philip Rivers and turned these targets into 14 receptions for 148 yards, a receiving TD, and a 2-point conversion. How good was Allen on Sunday night? He finished as the top-scoring wide receiver in Week 13 and finished with more fantasy points than every quarterback except Patrick Mahomes. Stud.
Eric Ebron: 16 targets, 10 rec
With Jack Doyle now on injured reserve with a kidney injury, Eric Ebron has a massive opportunity ahead of him for the Colts. He didn’t disappoint in Week 13, catching 10 balls for 81 yards on 16 targets, which was a career high for the former Detroit Lion. With Andrew Luck playing some of the best football of his career, Ebron should continue to see a massive target share alongside fellow pass catcher, T.Y. Hilton, who also saw 13 targets on Sunday against the Jaguars. Ebron should continue to be peppered with targets next week when the Colts take on the Texans.
Tarik Cohen: 14 targets, 12 rec
Jay Griz would be proud of his fellow Bear, Tarik Cohen. He caught 12 of his 14 targets on Sunday on his way to a 30 point fantasy day, making him the RB2 overall in Week 13. Yes, his passing touchdown helped the stat line, but even without his passing contribution, Cohen was electric. His 12 targets were enough to finish ahead of Julio Jones, Allen Robinson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Michael Thomas on the target leader list for Week 13. If you just factor in only Cohen’s receiving stat line from Sunday against the Giants and exclude his passing and rushing, Cohen would have finished as the WR5 last week.
Michael Thomas: 8 targets, 5 rec
The Saints offense hit a wall on Thursday night last week against the Cowboys, and all of their offensive weapons struggled. Michael Thomas saw just 8 targets on his way to a very disappointing fantasy day in Week 13. His 8 targets in Week 13 brings his total from Weeks 10-13 to 26 targets. During that span, he’s averaged just 6.5 targets per game. From Weeks 1-9, Thomas averaged 9.9 targets per game. Is this a new trend for Thomas, or will he get more volume in Week 14?
Alshon Jeffery: 5 targets, 3 rec
Alshon Jeffery is irrelevant in fantasy football, which seems crazy given his performance in 2017. He saw just 5 targets on Monday night against the Redskins on his way to a measly three receptions for 31 yards. He hasn’t seen more than five targets from Carson Wentz in the past three weeks. During that timespan, Jeffery has been the WR66 in fantasy. Zach Ertz is clearly the alpha dog in that passing game, with Jeffery only getting the scraps.
Doug Baldwin: 4 targets, 2 rec
Baldwin saved his fantasy day with a receiving touchdown, but he did it with extremely low volume, getting just four targets from Russell Wilson. It’s been so difficult to trust Baldwin this season as he’s battled injury off and on while also receiving minimal volume in the passing game. Can Russell Wilson’s absurd efficiency continue in Week 14? Fantasy players who own his pass catchers sure hope so. He completed just 11 passes on Sunday…but threw for 4 touchdowns.
Trey Burton: 1 target, 0 rec
It’s hard to catch the ball when it doesn’t get thrown your way very much – ask Trey Burton. He didn’t catch his only target on Sunday, leaving fantasy owners extremely disappointed. While this may seem like an outlier given Burton’s name value and hype entering the season, it’s actually not that surprising. Burton has only gotten more than four targets in four games this season. He’s been a big disappointment in 2018, just like he was in Week 13.
Curtis Samuel: 11 targets, 6 rec
Samuel finished Week 13 as a WR2 in fantasy football on the back of an eleven target, six reception day through the air. His eleven targets were a team high on Sunday. With Greg Olsen out for the year, Devin Funchess banged up with a back injury, and Christian McCaffrey handling a heavy workload out of the backfield, the Panthers need a wide receiver to step up as a reliable receiving target for Cam Newton. Samuel and the Panthers have a fantastic remaining schedule, facing off against the Browns, Saints, and Falcons over the next three weeks.