We saw some interesting names emerge in Week 5 in terms of targets and volume that you might want to acquire for your fantasy football rosters, whether it be on the waiver wire or through a trade.

Let's take a look at how things played out!

ARI

The train got back on the tracks as DeAndre Hopkins dominated the targets once again and found the end zone, putting up his first strong performance in a couple of weeks. What’s interesting is the decline of A.J. Green’s volume and increase in Rondale Moore’s. Green still played 20 more snaps than Moore but the route's run gap is closing with Moore running 20 and Green running 31. As we move forward, DeAndre Hopkins is the only reliable starter on a weekly basis.

Even though Edmonds had a very disappointing performance in Week 5, he continues to be peppered with targets. He’s fourth amongst all running backs with 26 targets through five weeks. That’s more than Alvin Kamara, Austin Ekeler, Kareem Hunt and Aaron Jones.

ATL

With Calvin Ridley out in Week 5, Cordarrelle Patterson stepped up -- which was expected -- but so did Tajae Sharpe. Sharpe was second amongst the receivers in targets, ahead of Olamide Zaccheaus, the guy most expected to shoulder the load Ridley left behind. None of these guys are fantasy viable when Ridley is out except for Patterson.

Say what you want about Mike Davis. Plenty of people are, but in PPR formats, Davis has yet to post a score below 10.2 fantasy points. The targets and receptions and a large reason as to why, but we saw he was capable of that all last year during his stint in Carolina. Davis has failed to play below 60% of the snaps in any game this year and that trend doesn’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. 

The alpha dog rose to the occasion with it’s team down two starting receivers and Kyle Pitts had a monster Week 5. He had career high’s in basically every statistical category, including targets with 10. They have a bye in Week 6 so Ridley could be back by the time Atlanta takes the field next, but there is no reason to think Pitts can’t thrive when they’re both on the field. 

It was interesting to see Hayden Hurst heavily involved too. If Ridley can’t make it back before Week 7 against the Dolphins, we could be looking at a cheap dart throw in DFS lineups. Hurst played 43 snaps and ran 26 routes, two solid numbers for the second tight end. Something to monitor.

BAL

It’s been the Marquise Brown show through five weeks as Brown has been tremendous, producing at an elite clip. He’s seen five or more targets in every game this season and has twice hit double figures in targets. The production has been there with the targets as well as he continues to score touchdowns. There shouldn’t be much of a fall off in his production when Rashod Bateman is eventually active and is playing. It’ll hurt all of the secondary pass catchers, however.

It was actually good to see Lamar Jackson checking the ball down in this game because that has not been in the cards in years past. Latavius Murray is really the only interesting name in this backfield right now.

It was a slow-ish start for Andrews who only saw 10 targets through the first two games of the year, but has been a consistent target of Lamar Jackson’s the past three contests as he’s put up 28 targets in that span. His 11 of 13 for 147 yards and two scores in Week 5 pushed him up to TE2 on the year. He’ll continue to be an elite option at the position even when Rashod Bateman returns.

BUF

I’m not hitting the panic button on Stefon Diggs yet, but I’ve looked to see where it is and it’s in arms length. The volume is still there and the only reason it wasn’t in Week 5 is because Josh Allen only threw 26 times. Outside of that game, Diggs hadn’t seen below eight targets in a game this year. He’s ninth in the league in that department, so the positive regression in the production department is coming.

If Emmanuel Sanders is being floated around in trade talks in your leagues, grab him. He’s been very good. He’s had five or more targets in every game this year, has scored four touchdowns and is playing 70% or more of the team's snaps every week. In this high octane aeriel attack, it’s not just one guy that’s going to be productive, it’s several.

Oh and Cole Beasley played a season low snapshare in Week 5 and has now seen four targets in two games, while Gabriel Davis has seen half those targets. Both guys can be dropped if you haven’t already.

It’s pretty good to see four targets for Moss or any Buffalo running back for that matter. The Buffalo backfield saw the sixth fewest targets in football last year. Slight improvement this year as Josh Allen has dumped it off the 11th fewest amount of times. Not holding my breath for four targets per game from either Moss or Singletary.

Whether you were a believer of Knox before, your mindset has to change if you want to be the best fantasy football gamer you can be. He’s playing all the snaps, he’s running routes, he’s seeing volume at a position not many are and he’s scoring touchdowns! We’re firing up Knox as a TE1 on a weekly basis right now.

CAR

DJ Moore is the alpha and then there's everyone else. He had a bad week, sure, but the Panthers passing game in general had a bad week, which was their first of the year. Moore will be just fine moving forward.

I’m still concerned about Robby Anderson, but I’m also encouraged by the 18 targets over his last two games. The thing about that though is that Christian McCaffrey is slated to return and we know how dominant he is in the volume department, Anderson and Terrace Marshall will quickly become afterthoughts here.

CHI

This is a messy situation. Darnell Mooney has clearly been the preferred target with Justin Fields under center and Allen Robinson’s fantasy value is plummeting. It’s time to move on from Robinson. No, don't outright cut him, but he’s not startable right now. Try packaging him in trades.

I fully expect, when a more demanding pass approach is needed, the running backs play a big role in the passing game. We’ve already seen multiple four target outings from the position this year and Williams is a very respected pass catcher out of the backfield. He’ll continue to see plenty of looks in the passing game, which is why he should be started as a RB2 on a week-to-week basis.

CIN

This is Ja’Marr Chase’s world and we’re just livin’ in it. He caught ANOTHER long touchdown pass in Week 5 and went over 100 yards while being peppered with over 10 targets for the first time in his career. That career mark in targets came WITH Tee Higgins back on the field after Higgins missed two weeks due to injury.

It’s hard to figure out this Cincinnati offense right now because it’s a completely different identity than it was a year ago when they were throwing 40 times a game. Last year two receivers comfortably thrived each week. With Burrow throwing it just around 30 times per game this year, we’re lucky if we get two and we saw that in Week 5. Yeah both Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd saw five or more targets, but neither turned them into much production. Higgins should be fine for the rest of the year, but I do worry about Boyd a bit as long as both Chase and Higgins are healthy.

CLE

We are seeing better volume for Rashard Higgins, but with Jarvis Landry’s return imminent, I’m not exactly sure what type of value he has outside of Week 6. Odell Beckham has the most value in this receiving corps, but with Baker Mayfield struggling with an injury himself, it’s hard to start of these guys on a weekly basis.

BOTH of these guys are RB1’s this year but for two completely different reasons. Hunt contributes as well as any running back in the league in the passing game and happens to be a fantastic runner as well. Chubb does not contribute in the passing game, not a lick, but he’s as good as any running back in the league between the tackles.

Although David Njoku had a career day, let’s not buy into things just yet. This was the first time over his last four games in which he’s secured more than three targets and still only ran 21 pass routes across 46 total snaps. There are a LOT of tight ends I’d rather use and pickup over Njoku.

DAL

Dallas’ high powered passing attack hasn’t necessarily been needed in recent weeks and they’ve dominated on the ground and turned to Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard early and often. Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb are still both WR2’s moving forward and they should be ranked that way.

Elliott is the alpha and there is no doubt about that. That said, with the way Dallas has been using their running backs, Pollard could potentially have bye week FLEX viability. There’s room to grow in this passing game for Elliott and Pollard both as both have shown capability of shouldering a heavy workload through the air.

Yeah, it’s officially Dalton Schultz season. Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb are both healthy and are being out targeted on a weekly basis by Schultz right now. He’s a top-five tight end until proven otherwise, especially with this type of volume he’s seeing.

DEN

While Jerry Jeudy is out, Courtland Sutton is definitely the alpha in this offense, but Tim Patrick has Teddy Bridgewater’s eye. He’s now had 15 targets in the last two games and actually played more snaps and ran more routes than Courtland Sutton last week. Sutton is a low-end WR2, high-end WR3 start each week while Patrick is solidifying himself as a WR3.

Denver is getting their running backs involved in the passing game, but they’re still splitting the work, which cuts into the other’s production. It’s been Williams edging out Melvin Gordon the last three weeks, leading Gordon with a 10-8 target edge.

Will consistency ever come from Fant? Who knows. It’s not exactly going to get any easier when Jerry Jeudy comes back. He’s still someone we are likely starting because the lack of legitimate options at the position are slim to none.

DET

This is the only name in the receiving corps worth mentioning right about now. With Quintez Cephus and Tyrell Williams on IR, St. Brown has been peppered with targets. He’s had 16 over the last two weeks and has become the de facto number one option amongst the receivers. St. Brown played the most snaps of any Lions’ wide receiver in Week 5.

Swift isn’t just dominating the pass work in this offense, he’s just dominating the pass work. He’s second in the league amongst all running backs with 35 targets thus far this season and has had less than five in any game this year. Swift ran 29 routes in Week 5 and that’s simply ELITE from the running back position.

HELLO? HOCK? YOU THERE? He’s still playing all the snaps he can handle. He should be fine, but the lack of production has been...not great, Bob. Not great.

GB

Look at those targets. LOOK AT THEM. Unreal. WR1.

We love the four targets Dillon saw, sure. Absolutely. The problem is he played just 21 snaps and ran routes on 10 of them. Seeing four targets again is going to be a hard pace to keep up with on a weekly basis.

HOU

Sure, Chris Moore and Chris Conley had a solid game. This receiving corps is about Brandin Cooks and Brandin Cooks only. Cooks is a very solid WR3 on a week-to-week basis, despite being game-planned out by Bill Belicheck in Week 5. Let’s not worry about him too much.

It’s probably worth mentioning that the Texans are using a guy who has had 30 or more receptions in every season he’s played double-digit games in. He maxed at 120 targets back in 2016, too. Johnson played the most snaps of any Texans running back in Week 5, with 31. He ran an impressive 24 routes in those 31 snaps. Johnson could be gaining some steam here in fantasy land.

IND

Through five games, Michael Pittman’s 43 targets are more than the likes of CeeDee Lamb, Adam Thielen, Robert Woods and a whole bunch of big time names. Pittman finally got into the end zone last week, which was capping his upside. A wrench could be thrown in here as T.Y. Hilton could return in Week 6 and is going to be back sooner rather than later.

As we saw in Week 5, getting Jonathan Taylor the football is a good strategy. He scampered for a BIG touchdown pass on a screen and the four targets were positive to see as it was the second time this year he’s done so. Taylor now led the Colts backfield in targets in back-to-back games, even ahead of pass catching specialist Nyheim Hines. Taylor’s ceiling is untapped if he continues to contribute in the passing game.

After looking like it was Jack Doyle that was building a rapport with Carson Wentz, Mo Alie-Cox has out targeted him nine to two in the last two games. They’ve flip flopped with who’s dominating the snaps, which makes it really hard to trust either in fantasy. In deeper formats, Cox has more upside.

JAC

Sad. This situation is just...sad. Urban Meyer’s offense is just sad. Why did Jamal Agnew run more routes than Laviska Shenault? Why is Tavon Austin so involved? Why has Marvin Jones disappeared from your gameplan? 

This situation is a nightmare as long as Urban Meyer is still around.

The highlighted portion are the games Arnold has played in Jacksonville since being traded there. Arnold not only tied for the team lead with eight targets, but played 52 snaps and ran 32 routes, which both ranked second on the team. We saw it with James O’Shaughnessy and we’re seeing it with Arnold. Urban Meyer loves his tight ends.

KC

We can buy into the double-digit targets for Tyreek Hill each and every time he steps onto the field, but buying into double-digit Mecole Hardman targets is tough to trust. We’ll see how the snaps are divided up when the Chiefs elect to get Josh Gordon more run as well. Only muddies up the waters even more.

The Chiefs aren’t a team that uses their running back in the passing game all that much, but we saw Williams with an outlier five target game in Week 5. We know he can catch passes out of the backfield, he’s good at it, but will the volume through the air be there for him to be a viable fantasy asset while CEH is on IR? That remains to be seen.

TE1 again. And again. And again. 

LAR

Head coach Sean McVay came out and said they were gonna feed Robert Woods and then fed Robert Woods, who had his best game. Cooper Kupp continues to be spoon fed targets as he’s seen double-digit looks in all five games this year. Kupp is a WR1 every week while Woods and his 39 targets -- despite everyone being worried before Week 5 -- is a WR2.

Van Jefferson and DeSean Jackson are too inconsistent to roster in many leagues. If you snagged shares in bestball drafts, they’ll pay off here and there.

LAC

Has Mike Williams overthrown Keenan Allen as the number one option? Whether he has or not, there is a case to be made for both receivers as WR1’s. No other receiver in this passing game is worth rostering.

Who else remembers that Ekeler didn’t have a single target in Week 1? Nobody else, OK, let’s move on from the overall RB2 right now. He’s as elite as it gets each and every week.

LV

It continues to be the Hunter Renfrow show, at least in terms of volume. He’s YET to see less than six targets in a game through five weeks and he continues to see his snaps right there with Henry Ruggs’ and Bryan Edwards’. If I’m ranking them in terms of priority, it’s Renfrow, Ruggs and then Edwards.

Just look at these numbers. It’s all you need to know about how Las Vegas values their running backs in the passing game. They’ve thrown the ball to the RB the fifth most in the league and even Josh Jacobs, someone nobody views as a pass catcher, has been heavily involved the last two weeks notching 10 looks through the air. Jacobs’ value skyrockets if this is something he can consistently put together.

The volume really hasn’t slowed down at all. The production will follow. Trust the process as long as Waller’s volume is sitting where it is.

MIA

Miami’s aerial attack is a disaster. Their receivers are not healthy and those that are (Jaylen Waddle) aren’t getting fed the ball the way they should. Insert Myles Gaskin’s 10 targets in Week 5. Yes, 10. He caught two of them for touchdowns, too, and Gaskin has really been heavily involved in the passing game all year long, but the volume turned to production in Week 5. We’ll see if that continues moving forward.

The question on everyone’s mind when talking about Gesicki is can we trust him when Tua Tagovailoa is under center? With DeVante Parker and Will Fuller down and out, Gesicki should continue to be considered a TE1 until further notice.

MIN

Outside of knowing Justin Jefferson is a weekly WR1 and one of the best receivers in the league already, what the heck is going on with Adam Thielen? Three targets? Sheesh. Not great. He has just five receptions over the last two games too. The volume has been there in every game other than Week 5, but you don’t love the production that has come from him the last two games.

The running back position is heavily involved in the passing game in Minnesota as they’ve targeted an RB six or more times in four of five games this year. Both backs are elite pass catchers when they get the opportunity.

NE

It wasn’t a great game for any one Patriots receivers but they’ve been fairly productive this year, mainly Jakobi Meyers. He had 26 targets over weeks three and four, but finished with just five in this spot. A positive for all three of these guys is that they face Dallas this year and that should be a positive game script for the NE passing game.

I’m not going to call him James White, but I’ll call him James Light. He’s notched 14 targets in the last three games as New England continues to use the running back in the passing game. Bolden has deep league appeal because of his usage in the passing game right now.

The emergence of Hunter Henry has been tremendous the last few games as he’s vaulted himself into TE1 territory. They paid both he and Jonnu Smith a ton of money in the offseason and it’s been Henry dominating the volume and production as well.

NO

Both Callaway and Harris capitalized on big touchdown passes in Week 5, but unfortunately for Harris he was forced out of the game early with an injury. While Michael Thomas is out, Callaway is the only wideout worth owning in New Orleans. He’s more of a WR4 on a weekly basis than a WR3.

After not throwing Kamara the ball at all in Week 4, the Saints made it a point to feed their best weapon offensively and threw him the rock eight times. Kamara is one of the best fantasy assets in the league and has 80+ receptions in every single year he’s been in the league so getting him the football as much as he can.

NYG

The Giants are banged up at receiver. We saw Kenny Golladay leave early in Week 5 while Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard didn’t play. That leaves Kadarius Toney, John Ross and Collin Johnson unless Shepard or Slayton return to action. But speaking about Kadarius Toney, wow he’s been good the last two weeks. After a career-high nine targets in Week 4, he topped that and saw 13 targets in Week 5 and almost notched 200 yards. He’s going to be a big part of the Giants gameplan moving forward regardless who’s healthy and who’s not.

With Saquon Barkley leaving early in the first quarter, Devontae Booker stepped in and played 88% of the offensive snaps, saw four targets and scored twice. The Giants offense needs it’s running back to absorb a lot of touches, so expect Booker to be heavily involved early and often.

The volume has been OK. The snaps have been great. The production has been subpar. He’s on the field, he just needs to garner more targets on a weekly basis.

NYJ

I mentioned last week I was interested to see how the volume was distributed when Elijah Moore returned and nothing really changed. Corey Davis and Jamison Crowder remained the alpha’s. Moore only played 23 snaps and was severely outpaced by Crowder and Davis. 

Johnson played a role in the passing game on a couple occasions this year but nothing more than a role. He did score a touchdown in Week 5, but is a reliable weekly starter? Not at all.

PHI

DeVonta Smith is the REAL DEAL. Jalen Reagor looks like he can be something special. The problem is, can Jalen Hurts deliver them the football enough to be fantasy relevant at the same time? Smith has been the clear cut number one option, and Reagor has limited value in fantasy formats right now. It’s not necessarily his fault.

Although Kenneth Gainwell saw all the looks in Week 4, Miles Sanders was the one playing all the snaps and was targeted five times to Gainwell’s three. Sanders is a talented back, but Philly game scripts themselves out of using him.

Whether or not Dallas Goedert is actually the better pass catcher or playmaker, that’s not how they’re using him. Zach Ertz is running all the rounds and seeing the targets, out pacing Goedert 21 to 12 over the last three weeks. Both are TE2 options.

PIT

Why did Diontae Johnson see two targets in a game that he played fully in? That can never happen. EVER! With JuJu Smith-Schuster out for the year, expect a heavy dose of Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. Johnson is a borderline WR1 and Claypool can be treated as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3.

It’s in large part due to the 19 targets Harris saw in Week 3, but he’s the league leader in targets amongst all running backs. He is a volume machine both on the ground and through the air. He’s an elite fantasy option.

SEA

There are two members of this passing game that matter and they are DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Both guys could take a big hit in production with Geno Smith under center for the next month or so.

SF

With George Kittle on IR and Brandon Aiyuk nowhere to be found, Deebo Samuel continues to absolutely dominate this receiving corps in targets. He’s yet to see less than eight in any game this year and not ONE other San Fran receiver has a game with more than six.

TB

I mean, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Antonio Brown is eating into Godwin and Evans’ production. There has been much said about the relationship between Brady and Brown and it shows. Is Antonio Brown becoming the alpha here? He’s surpassed Chris Godwin’s targets the last two weeks.

Leonard Fournette has become such an alpha in this offense he’s basically lapping the other running backs. He’s had back-to-back games with five targets while also dominating the touches on the ground. The only game in which Giovani Bernard made a difference in was the perfect storm and perfect game script with Tampa Bay trailing against the Rams.

TEN

Brown has been disappointing and there is no way around that, but in the three games he’s been able to finish, he’s seen six or more targets in each. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. As long as Julio Jones continues to miss time, Brown should dominate the target share. Even when Jones is healthy he should dominate the target share.

Although Geoff Swaim out snapped him 36 to 27, Firkser ran 14 routes and Swaim ran seven. He’s now seen nine targets in two games and is starting to play the offensive role we thought he may in the offseason. In all three games he’s played in this year he’s had four or more targets. Still just a TE2, but someone to keep our eye on.

WAS

With Curtis Samuel injuring his hamstring, the same one he hurt in the offseason, DeAndre Carter stepped up and saw eight targets in Week 5, which was second on the team. He had two targets prior to Week 5, which isn’t great, so don’t expect much from him moving forward, but keep your eye on how Samuel’s position is filled.

We liked Logan Thomas because of how much route participation he saw last year. The tight end is heavily utilized in the passing game in Washington and we saw that with Seals-Jones’ in Week 5. Seals-Jones literally played in 82 of 83 snaps and ran 46 routes in Week 5. He’s a very sneaky option moving forward.