Week 7 Fantasy Football Target Report
As we put Week 7 of the fantasy football season in the rearview mirror, the elite target magnets are beginning to separate from the pack. Michael Thomas and Cooper Kupp are the only two players averaging at least 11 targets per game, and neither disappointed this week. There were, however, some strange occurrences in Week 7, including a game in Washington D.C. that was essentially played on a slip-and-slide and an “Air Raid” offense that ran the ball 17 more times than it passed it. In any case, here are the most notable target performances from Week 7.
Allen Robinson: 16 targets, 10 rec
There were plenty of targets to go around for the Bears on Sunday as Mitch Trubisky put the ball in the air a career-high 54 times. Robinson was the main beneficiary as he secured ten receptions on his career-high 16 targets. He continues to be one of the most targeted players in the league, averaging 9.7 per game.
Alex Erickson: 14 targets, 8 rec
Tyler Boyd: 14 targets, 5 rec
It’s no shock to see Boyd, the third most targeted receiver in the NFL, in the target report again. The more stunning name here is Alex Erickson, who had never seen more than six targets in a game before Sunday’s 14 target explosion. He’s primarily been a return specialist to this point in his four-year career, but he saw the field on 79% of the Bengals offensive snaps in Week 6 before an impressive 94% of snaps in Week 7. He appears to be a viable PPR option, at least while A.J. Green and John Ross remain sidelined with injuries.
Marvin Jones: 13 targets, 10 rec
Jones blew up Sunday, turning 13 targets into a career-high ten catches and four touchdowns on the way to becoming the WR1 on the week. The notoriously “boom-or-bust” wideout definitely boomed this week after busting with just two catches on five targets in Week 6. He’ll remain a risky play that could hit big any week of the season. Alternatively, teammate Kenny Golladay only saw two targets this week. The teammates seem destined to negate each other, as our Editor-in-Chief Kyle Borgognoni pointed out on Twitter.
So far… it looks like Marv and Kenny G cannot coexist together as fantasy friends in 2019 pic.twitter.com/5fe45ud2ru
— Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg) October 21, 2019
Tarik Cohen: 12 targets, 9 rec
As mentioned early, the Bears were slinging the ball all over the field on Sunday afternoon, which led to Cohen seeing season-highs in both targets and receptions. If rookie running back David Montgomery and the Bears defense continue to struggle, Cohen will continue to gobble up targets out of the backfield.
DeAndre Hopkins: 12 targets, 9 rec
Hopkins finally looked like a player worthy of his first-round ADP again this week. He saw a massive 35% target share against the Colts and no other Texan saw more than five targets. Reports are that teammate Will Fuller will be sidelined for multiple weeks with his latest hamstring injury, further cementing Hopkins as the focal point of Houston’s offense.
Golden Tate: 11 targets, 6 rec
Tate’s targets have been rising each week since he returned from the four-game suspension to start the season. He’s enjoyed a 30% target share from Daniel Jones over the past two weeks, though that number could dip when Sterling Shephard is able to return from the concussion that’s kept him out over that same two-game stretch.
D.K Metcalf: 9 targets, 4 rec
Metcalf’s involvement in Seattle’s offense saw a nice bump in Week 7. The rookie wideout saw nine targets, the highest count of his young career. That equated to a ridiculous 34.6% target share on the game, twice as high as his season share of 17%. Given Metcalf’s team-high 575 air yards and his exceptional 14.4-yard average depth of target (aDOT), the increased target share could be a sign of a looming breakout.
Olabisi Johnson: 8 targets, 4 rec
When Adam Thielen went down with a hamstring injury, a little-known seventh-round draft pick stepped up and matched the target count of teammate Stefon Diggs. Those increased targets turned into a serviceable stat line of four catches for 40 yards and one touchdown. There’s a strong chance that Thielen doesn’t push the hamstring injury with the short turnaround this week. If he’s ruled out, it makes Johnson an intriguing option on Thursday night against Washington if you need receiver help in Week 8.
Corey Davis: 7 targets, 6 rec
The Titans gave the quarterback reins over to Ryan Tannehill this week and he immediately locked onto Corey Davis, targeting him a season-high seven times. Rookie teammate A.J. Brown actually saw one more target, but Davis produced more receiving yards and found the endzone. It’s only been one week, but there’s at least hope that the quarterback change could vault the former first-round receiver back to fantasy relevance.
Larry Fitzgerald: 3 targets, 1 rec
Fitzgerald was one of the biggest fantasy letdowns of the week. He came into the week averaging 8.7 targets per game and had a prime matchup with the Giants defense in what was expected to be a high-scoring affair. Instead of the air show that was predicted, we got Chase Edmonds running all over the Giants as the Cardinals only threw the ball 21 times.
Other notable target counts in Week 7
Julian Edelman – 12
Keenan Allen – 11
Danny Amendola – 11
T.Y. Hilton – 11
Gerald Everett – 10
Devante Parker – 10
Julio Jones – 9
Anthony Miller – 9
Dede Westbrook – 9
Chirs Conley – 8
Austin Ekeler 8
Ezekiel Eliott – 7
Jacob Hollister – 6
Mohamed Sanu – 2