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We’re getting down to the nitty gritty of the fantasy football season, and if you have made it this far, the odds are you more or less know which receivers you can trust for your fantasy playoffs. That being said, there were still some noteworthy performances we should consider for this season, as well as a number of players who should be on our radars for 2021.
We had a new name lead the way in targets in Week 14, as Brandon Aiyuk took advantage of Deebo Samuel’s injury to pull in 10 of 16 targets for 119 yards. Aiyuk has at least nine targets in four straight games, including two games Samuel missed completely. He looks like a solid starter the rest of the way, and he’ll be an interesting play for 2021 depending on who San Francisco’s quarterback is.
Lynn Bowden Jr. and Mack Hollins each led the Dolphins with nine targets Sunday. Bowden caught seven for 82 yards while Hollins caught five for 66. I don’t love the matchup against New England Week 15, but if DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki are out, Bowden, Hollins and Adam Shaheen would all be worth a look if you’re desperate.
Calvin Ridley caught eight of 12 targets for 124 yards and a touchdown Sunday. It was his third time with 100+ yards in the four Julio Jones has missed. I still think Calvin Ridley is best cast as a WR2, but we have mounting evidence from this season that suggests otherwise.
Robbie Anderson is eighth in the NFL in targets after looking like just another guy for years with the Jets. It makes me wonder just how much untapped potential Denzel Mims possesses. Injuries and a weird preseason likely would have sabotaged his season anyway, but I’m even more willing to take a chance on Mims’s upside next season knowing that he won’t be handcuffed by Adam Gase.
D.J. Chark has 16 targets and four receptions over his last two games, and while I’m not terrified of Baltimore or Chicago’s defense, I do not think there is any reason to mess around with Chark this season. Jacksonville’s passing offense will almost certainly be better in 2021, and while that isn’t to say it will be good, it could make Chark a value in fantasy drafts if fantasy players are scared away. Leviska Shenault and Keelan Cole were both reasonably productive on double-digit targets, but I still wouldn’t play either of them above Chark.
It was nice to see Alvin Kamara finally get double-digit targets from Taysom Hill , even if most of them were due to the Saints falling behind big early. Kamara remains a must-start this season, and we’ll just have to hope Sean Payton has finally realized Taysom Hill is not the quarterback of the future. If Hill is the starter next season, I don’t think it would be crazy to bump Kamara to the second round on your draft board.
It is kind of crazy Dionte Johnson tied for the team lead in targets despite sitting out for about half the game after yet another crushing drop. I think Johnson’s talent is too undeniable for the Steelers to get away from throwing him the ball long term, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get benched for good if he has another glaring drop Sunday. I would still be willing to roll the dice with him in Week 15, especially against the hapless Bengals, but I get it if you don’t want to put your playoff life in his hands.
We got the good Nelson Agholor against Indianapolis, catching five of nine targets for 100 yards and a touchdown. He’ll likely never be trustable for fantasy, but he’s as good a bet as any to catch a long pass and score a touchdown, especially against the Chargers Week 15.
Curtis Samuel ’s final numbers (seven receptions for 68 yards on nine targets) are respectable, but he was shut out at halftime even with D.J. Moore out. Moore is expected back in Week 15, and while Samuel might actually be better with someone else on the outside to take the attention of the defense, I won’t feel good about using him.
Gabriel Davis only caught three of eight targets for 19 yards, but he did manage to find the end zone. He will likely turn into a pumpkin if John Brown returns this week, but he could be worth targeting in 2021.
Jimmy Graham caught the touchdown, but Cole Kmet had seven targets for the second consecutive game. Rookie tight ends are notoriously bad for fantasy, but Kmet appears to be the one offensive draft pick Bears GM Ryan Pace has not managed to get wrong. Kmet will likely be worth taking at the end of drafts next year, though it will be impossible to trust him, especially since the Bears will presumably have a new quarterback and hopefully a new coach as well.
Stefon Diggs is fourth in fantasy points among wide receivers, and I am awfully curious to see where he will be drafted next year. I think he’ll be a top-five receiver for me, but I could go lower. It seems obvious now that he was held back by Kirk Cousins and Minnesota’s devotion to the run, but I also think he’s benefitted from the fact Buffalo’s running game has been completely ineffectual. Diggs probably won’t be second in targets next season, but he could offset that with better touchdown luck. I don’t think I could justify drafting him ahead of Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill , but I think Diggs belongs in the next tier of receivers with D.K. Metcalf, Kenny Golladay and DeAndre Hopkins .