Now that Week 1 is in the books, it’s time to talk all things targets! We’re going to take a look at targets, target share, receptions, looks inside the red zone and more. This isn’t just information for wide outs either, it’s EVERYONE who’s out there being targeted. Let’s dive in.

Top Dogs

There were 13 total pass catchers that saw double-digit targets in Week 1. 11 were receivers, one was a running back and one was a super human disguised as a tight end. 

The super human disguised as a tight end, Darren Waller, led the entire NFL with 19 targets. Waller caught 10 of them for 105 yards and a touchdown. Anyone who’s surprised that Waller leads the NFL in targets after one week should take a look at what he did last year. He was fourth in the entire league with a 27.9% target share. He trailed only Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs. Pretty damn good company. The next highest number of targets anyone on this Raiders offense saw was nine, and that was Hunter Renfrow. We shouldn’t expect Waller to continue to see THAT many targets each week, but he’ll be one of the highest targeted players in the game once again and keep him as a top two tight end in Fantasy Football.

Three others saw at least 15 targets and two of them were from the same team. We should start calling them the “Bash Brothers” from the Mighty Ducks. I’m talking about Amari Cooper, who saw 16 looks from Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb who ONLY saw 15. That Tyreek Hill guy saw 15 too, so he figures to be, ya know, pretty good once again this year, but let’s touch on the Cowboys’ again.

It’s well documented how much the Cowboys were throwing last year before Prescott’s injury. The answer? A lot. 50 times per game over the first four weeks a lot. That has seemingly not changed a lick with Kellen Moore still calling the plays. Prescott threw 58 times in Week 1 coming off a bad shoulder and torn ACL. Not to mention Michael Gallup has been placed on IR following his Week 1 calf injury, meaning he can’t return until Week 5 at the earliest. If both of them are consistently seeing double-digit targets, they both have WR1 upside.

If anyone was surprised to see Chris Godwin pace the Bucs receivers in targets, you haven’t been watching how good he’s been when healthy. He battled multiple injuries in 2020 and STILL finished WR31 despite missing four games and playing with an injury in most of the ones he did suit up for. Last year, Godwin’s 2.27 FP/target was the ninth best mark in the league and Brady’s QB rating when targeting him was 131, which was the 10th best mark in football. He’s the alpha male whether you believe Mike Evans’ first game was a fluke and Antonio Brown can’t keep up with that type of production or not.

Some other team’s top options that led the way with double-digit targets include Stefon Diggs (14), Keenan Allen (13), Deebo Samuel (12), and Allen Robinson (11).

Pleasant Surprises

Cole Beasley, BUF (13 targets) - You apparently don’t have to be vaccinated to be good at football, so dislike him or not, the dude is a target machine. He trailed Stefon Diggs be only one target in this game and is in line for more of that when you consider Josh Allen attempted 572 passes last season. He ran routes on 43 of the 51 pass plays Buffalo attempted and his 58 slot snaps were the most in football after one week.

D.J. Chark, JAX (12 targets) - It was always going to be interesting to see how the targets were distributed in Jacksonville with No.1 overall pick, Trevor Lawrence, coming to town. Chark led the team in targets, but was out snapped and ran the second most routes of the receiving corps behind Marvin Jones. Where Chark is clearly going to make his mark this year is in the vertical passing game. He saw four deep targets in this one, which is the second most in the league, and his 197 air yards was second too.

Mike Williams, LAC (12 targets) - Although Keenan Allen outpacEd Williams in snaps and targets but Williams actually participated in more routes. It was a small margin, but still extremely noteworthy. Between Williams and Allen, the duo soaked up 54% of the target share, which competes with all of the best duo’s in the league from a year ago. Joe Lombardi, Chargers OC, has had one previous stint in an OC role and he finished 11th and fourth in pass attempts.

Out of the Backfield

The Lions - It’s wild to see both D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams see nine or more targets, but it’s the world we live in right now. This backfield has been the talk of the town after their Week 1’s, but how sustainable is it? I believe Jared Goff is going to throw the ball a lot, but will he check down 20 times a game? Only Alex Smith does that and he is in the broadcasters booth these days. It was a perfect storm and while I DO think both have value, we should expect these numbers to come back to earth when teams aren’t resting six defensive starters in the second half of their match-up’s.

Austin Ekeler, LAC (0 targets) - Yeah. I didn’t miss a one next to the zero. Ekeler did not have a single target in a game Justin Herbert threw 47 times in. What’s encouraging is that he rushed the ball 15 times, but for a guy who’s had a 100 target, 90 catch season, this was head scratching. He did participate on 26 routes (47% route participation) and was only blocking on five passing snaps. Positive regression is on the way.

Jonathan Taylor = Nyheim Hines? - They’re not equal, obviously, but in the passing game, Hines saw just one target more than Taylor and most were checkdowns at the end of the game. Hines had eight targets to Taylor’s seven. Hines ran more routes but again, the game script was perfect for him considering they were trailing from start to finish. They paid Hines a lot of money and he’s going to see plenty of passing work, but if Taylor runs nearly 20 routes per game, his pass catching game becomes a very big X-factor.

Targets + Routes Run - The five that stand out are Ezekiel Elliott, the aforementioned D’Andre Swift, James Robinson, Devin Singletary and Mike Davis. Elliott ran the MOST routes of any running back in football, yet had three targets. Positive regression en route. For all those worried about James Robinson in PPR, you shouldn’t just yet. If he’s running this many routes and is consistently seeing six or more targets, we’re talking about a guy who has 15+ touch upside each week. He won’t get game scripted out every time out because Jacksonville has to be a little more competitive than Week 1, right? Singletary saw Zack Moss listed as inactive and then went out and saw six targets and ran 37 routes! I know Josh Allen hates the check down, but that is a staggering number. We knew Mike Davis was going to be a factor in the passing game and considering how often Atlanta will be trailing, that won’t change a lick.

Red Zone Looks

There were FOUR receivers who saw at least three targets in the red zone. Keenan Allen and Chris Godwin paved the way with four, while Amari Cooper and Marvin Jones had three.

It’s interesting to see Jones’ name show up here because we’ve grown accustomed to him getting the end zone. He’s scored nine touchdowns three times over his last four seasons and in the one he didn’t, he had five across nine games. Trevor Lawrence is going to throw a LOT this year if anything was apparent in Week 1 and Jones, who was a favorite of his during the preseason, could find himself scoring a LOT. Touchdowns aren’t always something you can rely on, but if a guy who is consistently scoring is getting three looks inside the 20 per game, there’s something there you can roll with.

Phony or Pho-Real

Hunter Renfrow, LV (9 targets): PHONY - He only plays the slot, so when LV isn’t in a game script that requires them to throw as much as they did, his already mediocre 65% route participation will drop thus, less targets.

KJ Osborn, MIN (9 targets): PHONY - Minnesota’s offense is one of the more consolidated passing games in the league. After Jefferson and Thielen last year, Dalvin Cook was the third most targeted player in the offense with 54 targets. Maybe the absence of Irv Smith Jr. opens the door for him, but I’m not ready to deem him viable.

Jakobi Meyers (9 targets): PHO-REAL - 100% route participation and 95.7% snap share. Meyers isn’t coming off the field, not even if there’s a fire.

Darnell Mooney (7 targets): PHO-REAL - There were eight players that participated on 100% of the pass plays in their respective offenses that also saw seven or more targets. Mooney was one of them. Those targets came against a top-five defensive unit across the entire NFL. Sky’s the limit for him.

Big shout out to Matt Selz and the rest of the tech department for putting together this amazing targets table below. Here, you can find the number of targets, target share and much much more!