ARI
It is truly impossible to get a read on the Arizona passing game. We have seen some consistency out of Christian Kirk lately, notching 21 targets over the last two weeks, leading the way in both games. He has separated himself from the pack and should have no issue topping 100 on the year with two games to go and he’s sitting at 91. Antoine Wesley was targeted more than A.J. Green here and scored a touchdown. The end of Wesley’s 2021 is something worth noting for dynasty leagues.
With James Conner sidelined, Chase Edmonds was the player he was earlier in the year for us as he saw nine targets out of the backfield. Before his injury, sure Conner was poaching touchdowns, but Edmonds was a force out of the backfield and still has 49 targets on the year despite playing in just 10 games.
Talk about someone who’s liked a mid season trade. Zach Ertz has been rejuvenated in Arizona and after a season-high 11 targets in Week 15, how about besting that with 13 in Week 16. He’s at 93 for the year and is a TE1 heading into championship weekend.
ATL
The Falcons didn’t need to throw the ball all that much in Week 16 and their pass catchers took a hit because of it. Russell Gage, who’s been very reliable of late, had just five targets. It was the first time in six weeks he’s had under six, which is quite impressive. Hard to trust him in Week 17 against the Bills, however.
The Falcons have not used Cordarrelle Patterson in the passing game much lately, notching just four targets in the last two games, which has been a killer considering how much of a fantasy asset he’s been all year long.
It’s been a disappointing season considering what his ADP was, but Kyle Pitts had a really strong Week 16, catching all six of his targets for 102 yards. The 101 targets he has this year is the fourth most amongst all tight ends, despite how much it’s perceived he’s struggled. He has from a fantasy lens, but he’s been a vacuum for targets.
BAL
It hasn’t necessarily mattered who’s been at quarterback for Baltimore, it’s been the Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews show. They have sprinkled in Rashod Bateman lately as he’s had five or more targets in two of three games, but there’s no way you can trust him in your championship rounds.
BUF
Week 16 was the Isaiah McKenzie game and nobody can take that away from him. Sure he was out targeted by Stefon Diggs 13 to 12, but 12 targets is actually more than he had the entire year heading into Week 16. Unfortunately for him, the Bills are getting all the firepower back at the wide receiver position as Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis have been removed from the COVID-19 list.
On five separate occasions, Devin Singletary has seen five or more targets including Week 16 where he had six come his way. We’ve seen Zack Moss and Matt Breida bouncing between active and healthy scratch, but Singletary has remained the one constant in the Bills’ backfield. He’s not the worst FLEX option heading into championship weekend.
CAR
No matter who’s playing quarterback for Carolina, it’s a disaster, but the one thing they’re all doing is targeting DJ Moore and Robby Anderson. Moore has double-digit targets in four straight games and Anderson’s topped 10 in two of three, with eight targets in that third game. This is the most concentrated passing offense in the league right now.
CHI
With Allen Robinson still out and Nick Foles under center, they still found a way to get Darnell Mooney the rock a lot. He led the receivers with nine targets and the rest of the group had five total. Mooney hasn’t had less than five targets in a game since Week 3 and is up to 111. We saw the rapport he built with Justin Fields prior to Fields’ injury and if he returns this week, that could pay off in a big way for Mooney.
The checkdown has always been a big part of Nick Foles’ game and he utilized David Montgomery a lot out of the backfield here as Monty tied his season high with nine targets. He’s great out of the backfield and doesn’t get enough credit for that. He has 31 targets in his last four games alone.
Much like Darnell Mooney, you’d have to go back quite a ways to find the last time Cole Kmet had less than five targets. Week 11 to be exact and before that Week 5. He had another five targets here and has an outside chance at 100 for the year with two big games to finish his campaign. He’s a pretty solid streamer for Week 17 too.
CIN
With Joe Burrow throwing for 500 yards in this one, the receivers were bound to be loaded up with targets. Tee Higgins led the way with 13, Ja’Marr Chase had 10 and Tyler Boyd rounded out the pack with five. Higgins and Chase are already over 100 targets and Boyd needs 12 in the final two games to get there himself.
CLE
Cleveland finally had it’s full complement of receivers in Week 16 and the ball was distributed out pretty equally. Jarvis Landry had seven targets while Donovan Peoples-Jones and Rashard Higgins had six looks each. Even though it was that close, Higgins is the odd man out here. Landry has has seven or more targets in four straight games and DPJ has had six or more in three straight. If you’re desperate for a FLEX play, you could do worse than one of them.
I’m not going to say Nick Chubb has been a weapon out of the backfield lately, but he has seen four or more targets in three of his last four games. Does that have something to do with Kareem Hunt being in and out of the lineup? It may, but Hunt has only missed one of those three games.
The Browns situation is very hard to trust at the tight end position. Austin Hooper has been the top dog, but they all split up snap shares.
DAL
Who freakin’ knows anymore, right? Dallas’ offense put a whooping on Washington, but we thought we had it all figured out. CeeDee Lamb had led the team in targets for three straight weeks and thennnnnnn…Amari Cooper has 11 targets in Week 16, six more than anyone else in the receiving core.
Despite Blake Jarwin returning for some of this year, it’s always been Dalton Schultz’s room. He’s been dominant with Jarwin, but especially without him. He had nine targets, which was the highest output he’s had all year long. Schultz needs nine more targets to hit 100 on the year.
DEN
This passing game STINKS. Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater. STINKS.
DET
Look, it’s been Amon-Ra St. Brown SZN the last four weeks, notching 11+ targets in each game. The problem is D’Andre Swift is practicing and is expected to return in Week 17. St. Brown was not having those games with Swift on the field earlier in the year. Hard to trust him in Week 17 considering this is championship week.
GB
With Marquez Valdes-Scantling out, it was all Davante Adams all the time. Allen Lazard did have five targets, but MVS is returning and we’re not sure if that’s going to be something that can be consistent.
The Packers were getting their running backs involved a lot in Week 16 with Aaron Jones notching six targets and AJ Dillon with three. The passing game has always been a part of his game, which is why he’s been such an early draft pick each of the last two seasons.
HOU
With Brandin Cooks out again, the ball was spread all around the receivers. Phillip Dorsett was the leader with six targets while Nico Collins and Chris Moore had four. The hope was Nico Collins would continue to pace this team in targets without Cooks, but that wasn’t the case. Even with Davis Mills playing so well, it’s hard to trust any of these guys in anything but DFS.
Entering 2021, we figured Jordan Akins had a stranglehold on the tight end position, but that hasn’t been the case at ALL. Brevin Jordan has become the go-to guy from the position and is coming off four targets last week, which is the third time in four games he’s done so.
IND
I think we were all getting a little worried for Michael Pittman there, weren’t we? Well, he shut that down real quick as he received 12 targets for the fourth time this year. Pittman’s 116 targets have been impressive and he has emerged as the team’s number one receiver in the blink of an eye. Carson Wentz could and should clear protocol in time to play Week 17’s game, which is a huge boost for Pittman’s fantasy relevance.
With Jack Doyle out and all banged up, Mo Alie-Cox played a bunch of snaps and notched four targets himself. He just needs opportunity and if Doyle were to sit out again in Week 17, there could be worse streaming options than Mo Alie-Cox.
JAX
It was cool to see a Jaguars receiver we figured we be productive, be productive for once. Marvin Jones’ 13 targets was easily a season high and the first time he’s had more than seven since Week 6. Despite the disappointing season, Jones still has 104 targets on the year. Everyone’s favorite waiver wire receiver, Laquon Treadwell, was third amongst receivers in targets with five. The volatility at the wide receiver position in Jacksonville makes me want to stay away during championship week.
With James Robinson out, Dare Ogunbowale had four targets, which isn’t a LOT, but we’ve seen the Jaguars running backs be heavily involved in the passing game all year long. Ogunbowale is a risky Week 17 start considering they face the Patriots.
KC
With Tyreek Hill huffing and puffing and no Travis Kelce, the Chiefs spread the ball around and Byron Pringle was the biggest beneficiary of that. He caught two touchdowns and led the receivers with seven targets. It was only the third time all year Pringle’s had at least six targets, which is par for the course for all guys not named Kelce or Hill.
No it was not Clyde Edwards-Helaire being peppered with targets out of the backfield, both Derrick Gore and Darrel Williams had three targets each. Patrick Mahomes isn’t scared of the checkdown and that’s evident in Williams’ 51 targets as mostly a part-time player.
LAR
I mean, Kupp is just 23 targets away from 200. 200! The pace he’s on should net him 200 EASY. He’s had 13+ targets in three straight weeks and has done so seven times this season alone. Outside of Kupp, the Rams have done a really good job feeding Odell Beckham Jr. as he’s entered weekly start territory. He’s scored four touchdowns in six games and has three games of seven or more targets over his last five games. The wild card of the group is Van Jefferson, who saw six targets in Week 16 and that was more than he had the last two weeks combined.
It’s almost shocking to see Sony Michel get four targets in a game after the type of involvement he had in that facet during his time with New England but hey, he’s now done it twice in four games and Darrell Henderson has been placed on IR. This is a big part of what the Rams do and there’s no reason to think Michel can’t see somewhere around four targets per game moving forward. Tyler Higbee had six targets too. Good for Tyler Higbee.
LAC
If your name wasn’t Justin Jackson it was an extremely disappointing week for the Chargers offense, especially their aerial attack. Keenan Allen only had six targets, which was his second lowest output of the year AND Mike Williams wasn’t even active for it! Everyone favorite Week 16 value receiver Josh Palmer did, however, come through with six targets and even scored a touchdown. Palmer would be back in play in your Week 17 match-up’s if Williams and Jaylen Guyton miss another game. Under the new vaccination policies, however, they both may return, which puts Palmer’s value in the toilet.
The Chargers turned to Justin Jackson with Austin Ekeler out and although Jackson is no Ekeler, he had a great performance in every facet of the game, including in the passing game where he had nine targets, more than anyone else on the team. This comes as no surprise considering how many targets Austin Ekeler has this year.
LV
What is happening in Las Vegas? Hunter Renfrow has taken a massive hit in volume lately, seeing just eight targets over the last two weeks, and Zay Jones had eight just this past week. As a matter of fact, he’s had eight and nine the last two weeks respectively. In each of those games Jones has scored double-digit fantasy points, which is pretty solid. In deeper formatted leagues, 14 teams or more, Jones could be a FLEX option.
This is pretty crazy, but Josh Jacobs’ three targets in Week 16 was his lowest total since…Week 7. He’s become a force in the passing game and that’s going to set him up nicely come 2022 draft season. After two weeks of solid output for Foster Moreau, he came back to earth with four targets. He’s no Darren Waller. That’s for sure.
MIA
It’s the Jaylen Waddle show down their in Miami and everyone needs to get in line. We all liked DeVante Parker heading into Week 16 and he put up a goose egg in terms of targets. Waddle had 12.
MIN
Adam Thielen returned to action but got hurt again and since then has been placed on IR, ending his 2021 season. Justin Jefferson has just been that dude. If Cooper Kupp didn’t exist Jefferson would be ALL the rage because all he’s done is notch 51 targets over his last four games and put up 149 looks through 16 games. No big deal. What is a big deal, however, is that K.J. Osborn is a guy when Thielen’s out or limited. He’s had seven or more targets in three of his last four games, two of which Thielen has left and one he didn’t play in. Osborn has some WR3/FLEX appeal, but the weather in Green Bay is going to be BRUTAL this week.
NE
Whether Nelson Agholor has been in or out this year, Jakobi Meyers has been the targets leader. That was no different in Week 16 as he had eight, but Agholor being out allowed some other guys the opportunity to sit at the adult table. That would be N’Keal Harry I was referring to as he had a season high six targets. He had five targets the week before too, so maybe New England is trying to work him into the fray more. Something to note for 2022 if he’s still around.
NO
I mean, this was an abomination with Ian Book under center. It wasn’t the pass catchers fault that he couldn’t deliver them the football and it’s a tough spot to be in if you’re Ian Book as well. Taysom Hill has cleared protocols, so he’ll be back for Week 17.
NYG
Rinse and repeat, right? Same thing as the Saints. Tough for Giants pass catchers to do much of anything with Jake Fromm and Mike Glennon delivering them the football. It’s been BRUTAL to watch.
NYJ
I’m not going to say I fully trust Braxton Berrios for championship week, but also, he’s been kinda…good lately. The targets have been sporadic, notching 10, one and six over his last three games, but he’s scoring a rushing touchdown and kick return touchdown over that span. Plus, averaging over six targets per game over a three game span isn’t too shabby either. It's obviously risky, but in the COVID era, we’ve rostered some names we would never use in other circumstances.
On the other end of the spectrum, it continues to be the sad truth that Zach Wilson just doesn’t check the ball down. Michael Carter, a guy with a 14 target game in his back pocket, has had five in two games with Wilson under center.
PHI
It’s been an underwhelming season for all pass catchers in Philly, but DeVonta Smith has had some solid weeks, including Week 16 in which he had seven targets and a touchdown to go with them. Although we like Dallas Goedert with no Zach Ertz and like Miles Sanders’ ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, there’s no consistency with Jalen Hurts under center.
PIT
Pittsburgh had hoped someone would step up and replace JuJu Smith-Schuster in the slot when he went down and they simply haven’t gotten enough from that position until recently. Ray-Ray McCloud has had eight targets twice in three games.
We all thought Najee Harris would have blown past 100 targets after how his first six weeks of the season went, but he hadn't seen targets in a game since Week 6 until this past game. He’s 13 away from 100 with two games to go.
SEA
Seattle’s identity lately has been run first, second and third down. Maybe we’ll mix in a pass play here and there. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett disappointed with five and six targets respectively. This concentrated passing offense has largely been a disappointment all year long.
SF
Running back Deebo Samuel got back to his receiving ways in Week 16 as he had 11 targets, his most since Week 7 and more than his last three games combined. Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings chipped in in moderation with five a piece, but both are very hard to trust in fantasy right now, especially with San Fran having questions at quarterback and their run-first approach.
With the 49ers running the ball so much, George Kittle has been phased out the last two weeks. Only nine targets over that span for a guy picked in the second round of drafts this year is not going to cut it, especially when he missed time earlier this season as well.
TEN
AJ Brown SZN is BACK and it was beautiful. 16 targets! He’s a special talent that just needs to stay healthy, man.
WFT
With Terry McLaurin still not 100% and Curtis Samuel having not played since December 12th, Adam Humphries has assumed a prominent role within the offense, notching six or more targets in three straight games. Is he someone I’m targeting in fantasy leagues, no. Not one bit.