Week 9 Target Report (Fantasy Football)
The list of target leaders for Week 9 is littered with some of the heavy-hitting receivers we expect to see there, but there were also a few surprises. We saw the highest targeted player in a single game on the season, a recently acquired wideout post a career-high target count in just the second game with his new team, and a back up running that was targeted on more than half of his offensive snaps. For the full details on these, and the rest of the notable Week 9 target performances, you’ll have to read on below.
Tyler Lockett: 18 targets, 13 rec
Lockett didn’t only put up the best target performance of the week, his 18 targets were the most any player has seen in a game this season. The last time any player saw that amount of targets was Week 16 of last season when Davante Adams saw 18 and Antonio Brown saw 19. He’s unlikely to draw that many targets again this season with the emergence of D.K. Metcalf and the addition of Josh Gordon, but he should remain Russell Wilson’s top option.
Mike Evans: 16 targets, 12 rec
Evans has now averaged a ridiculous 15 targets over his past three games. His 10.4 targets per game are the third most on the season thus far, which is especially impressive considering he saw a meager three targets in Week 5. He’s currently the WR1 in standard and .5 PPR formats after getting off to a slow start to the season.
Mohamed Sanu: 14 targets, 10 rec
It doesn’t appear to have taken long for Sanu and Tom Brady to get on the same page. The 14 targets and ten catches he logged Sunday both tied his career-highs. He can safely be picked up and played moving forward.
Zach Ertz: 11 targets, 9 rec
After being overshadowed by teammate Dallas Goedert the previous two weeks, Ertz reminded us all that he’s still an elite tight end in this league. He’s now tied with Travis Kelce for most total targets with 74, while his 8.2 targets per game are just behind Evan Engram and his 8.5.
Jaylen Samuels: 13 targets, 13 rec
Samuels started in place of the injured James Conner this week, and while he didn’t have success on the ground, he did come up big for fantasy owners through the air. He saw the second-most targets in a game by any running back this season behind Austin Ekeler‘s 16 target game in Week 5. He may be in store for more in the coming weeks with Mason Rudolph’s tendency to throw shorter passes.
DeAndre Hopkins: 11 targets, 8 rec
Much like Mike Evans, Hopkins has been on a roll lately after a relatively slow start to the season. The 11 targets in Week 9 were actually the fewest he’s seen over the past four games. He currently leads the NFL with 92 targets on the season.
Davante Adams: 11 targets, 7 rec
The Packers top receiver returned from his foot injury after missing the last four games and immediately saw a 31% target share. They didn’t turn into as much fantasy production as you’d like, but the fact that no other wideout for Green Bay saw more than four targets shows just how much of the passing game focuses around Adams. He makes an intriguing buy-low candidate (again).
D.J. Moore: 10 targets, 7 rec
Moore notched his third double-digit target outing of the season in Week 9 and turned it into his first 100-yard performance this year. He only has one touchdown on the season but he leads Carolina with a 24% target share on the season. It’s only a matter of time before he finds the endzone again.
Ryquell Armstead: 5 targets, 5 rec
The Jaguars backup running back only played nine snaps in London, but he was targeted on over half of them. He caught all five of the targets for 65 yards. He isn’t somebody you can start next week, but this performance helped cement Armstead as one of the must-own handcuff running backs down the back half of the fantasy season.
Keenan Allen: 4 targets, 3 rec
After starting out the season red hot, I think it’s safe to say Allen is currently ice cold. He averaged 14 targets and 24.4 fantasy points over the first three weeks, compared to seven targets and 6.3 fantasy points over the past six. He has a history of going on hot and cold streaks, so it may just be a matter of time before he heats back up.
Other notable target counts in Week 9
Jarvis Landry – 13
Hunter Henry – 10
Sammy Watkins – 10
Marvin Jones – 10
Emmanuel Sanders – 9
D.J. Chark – 9
Chris Godwin – 9
Jason Witten – 9
Breshad Perriman – 8
Vance McDonald – 7
Hunter Renfrow – 7
Keelan Cole – 6
Allen Robinson – 5
Christian McCaffrey – 3