Team’s have weeded out their liabilities through the air and are finally targeting the go-to players on their respective rosters. It’s always interesting to see the new faces join our list, but the names near the top haven’t changed in a couple of weeks now. Let’s dive in!

 

Player NameTeamPass AttRecTargetsYdsTDRZ TgtsRZ Tgt %DropsTgt %
Antonio BrownPIT22048747002650%033.63%
DeAndre HopkinsHOU18737653826875%134.75%
Larry FitzgeraldARI249426246531258.33%124.89%
Keenan AllenLAC23033604461812.50%626.08%
Jarvis LandryMIA16738572722580%434.13%
Pierre GarconSF24133564340560%023.23%
Zach ErtzPHI20734534054875%125.06%
Adam ThielenMIN2033853488040%026.10%
A.J. GreenCIN15932515043475%132.07%
Christian McCaffreyCAR20437502932785.71%124.50%
Dez BryantDAL17921482643933.33%326.81%
Alshon JefferyPHI20724483172475%126.81%
Davante AdamsGB227284833951266.67%221.14%
Golden TateDET225364736324100%020.88%
Mike EvansTB19727473713825%123.85%
Demaryius ThomasDEN18028443800425%224.44%
Travis KelceKC19233443902650%022.91%
Devin FunchessCAR20427443053560%121.56%
Michael ThomasNO18228433531560%223.62%
Rishard MatthewsTEN18424422520425%022.82%
James WhiteNE2333342321200%118.02%
Rob GronkowskiNE23326414014933.33%217.59%
Emmanuel SandersDEN18025412662683.33%222.77%
Chris HoganNE23324413075955.56%217.59%
Andre EllingtonARI24928412570450%016.46%
Brandin CooksNE2332441472200%517.59%
Odell Beckham Jr.NYG221254130234100%618.55%
Robby AndersonNYJ1951841296130%321.02%
Evan EngramNYG221244128223100%318.55%
Tyreek HillKC192304139021100%221.35%
T.Y. HiltonIND18225404851633.33%121.97%
Marvin JonesDET22520402803333.33%217.78%
Marqise LeeJAX1722040291020%423.25%
Delanie WalkerTEN1842539261020%021.19%
Doug BaldwinSEA17927392841450%021.78%
Le'Veon BellPIT22030391560560%117.72%
Melvin GordonLAC23028392224875%316.95%
Amari CooperOAK18218391461616.67%721.42%
Jason WittenDAL17927382292666.67%121.22%
Jordy NelsonGB22725382906977.78%116.74%
Kelvin BenjaminCAR20426383711425%218.62%
Julio JonesATL1702637367010%121.76%
Robert WoodsLAR18725373220333.33%219.78%
DeSean JacksonTB197173628721100%018.27%
Jaron BrownARI24918362741633.33%014.45%
Duke Johnson CLE2342636269100%015.38%
Stefon DiggsMIN203233639544100%217.73%
Martellus BennettGB22722352160366.67%315.41%
Jimmy GrahamSEA17921351791540%219.55%
Eric DeckerTEN18423352260450%119.02%
Marquise GoodwinSF24116352690714.29%314.52%
Ricardo LouisCLE23418352290250%314.95%

Target Leaders

After his fifth 10-target game in six contests, Antonio Brown has taken a commanding league lead in targets over DeAndre Hopkins and the rest of the field. He sits atop the league in targets, receptions, yards and yards per game. Martavis Bryant continues to be somewhat useless in the passing game, so Brown has been and will continue to be fed the rock constantly.

It’s amazing and no surprise at the same time to see four Patriots in the top-23 in the league, all within one target of one another. James White leads the Pats with 42 targets while Rob Gronkowski, Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan have 41. White has been the most efficient pass catcher on New England catching 33-of-42 passes while both Cooks and Hogan have the lowest catch percentage amongst the bunch catching 24 each of their possible 41 targets.

We have eight tight ends and six running backs on our list, which is a dip of one and two from each position respectively. Christian McCaffrey has made a serious leap taking the reigns as the leading target man at the RB position. His 50 targets this season not only is eight more than James White who’s in second, but it’s the 10th-most targets in all of football. Zach Ertz continues to be best the best tight end in football as he’s been targeted the most, caught the passes and has just as many touchdowns as Rob Gronkowski.

Target Percentage

The same four players that have been the only players in the league with a target percentage over 30-percent over the past few weeks continue to pace the league. Jarvis Landry has made the biggest climb amongst all of them in terms of targets, slotting in fifth in the league and yet has only played five games.

Unfortunately, it’s harder for someone such as Larry Fitzgerald to ever have a really high target percentage because of the high volume Carson Palmer pumps out each week. Fitz is third in targets in the league but the Cards have thrown the ball more than anyone else in the league, which is the primary reason we see his target percentage at 24.89-percent, so there are definitely some outliers in this category.
 

Red Zone Targets

Even though Jordy Nelson has more touchdowns, let’s continue to talk about the fact that Davante Adams is still being relied upon in the red zone more. He’s tied for the league lead in red zone targets with Larry Fitzgerald as both receivers have had 12 looks inside the 20. Things are going to get pretty suspect, however, now that Aaron Rodgers is likely going to miss the remainder of the season. It’s something worth noting we probably need to play the wait and see game with who Brett Hundley, new starting QB for Green Bay, targets more in the RZ.

It really does go to show you how QBs begin trusting you less and less the more you drop the ball. Amari Cooper had five red zone targets after three weeks. This article seems as if we’re picking on him but it’s been warranted. After six games, Cooper has six RZ targets. He’s still averaged one per game, which is statically proven, but he’s only had one measly RZ target over his latest three-game stretch.

There are only three guys on our spreadsheet who haven’t seen a look inside of the 20-yard line. Two are running backs in James White and Duke Johnson and two are Patriots with the aforementioned White being one and Brandin Cooks being the other.

Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams are the duo with the most red zone looks with 21 and we have two duos tied for second in Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan and Larry Fitzgerald and Jaron Brown all with 18.

Drops

Amari Cooper has to be sick and tired of being the league leader in drops you would think, right? Well, he hasn’t done anything about it and he seems destined to run the table throughout the entire regular season. The player in second place — Odell Beckham Jr. — is out for the year, so he doesn’t have much competition at the top if he continues dropping over a pass per game.

We’re down to just 12 names on our list of 52 who haven’t dropped a pass all season long. What’s most impressive about the drops category is the fact that the league leader in targets, receptions and yards hasn’t dropped a single ball. You may have seen him on Dancing With the Stars recently. Antonio Brown is still the best in the league and he has all the numbers to support him.