If Week 7’s target leaders featured some surprising names, Week 8 was largely a return to normalcy. Perhaps the most surprising thing is how many players had eight or more targets but caught fewer than 50 percent of those targets. Then again, when players like Jermaine Kearse and Willie Snead are getting double-digit targets, a large number of incompletions isn’t exactly shocking.

PlayerTeamGamesTargetsRecYardsTDsDropsCatch %ADoTYards Per ReceptionYards Per Target
Adam Thielen MIN8957492563789.712.59.7
Odell Beckham Jr.NYG88761785217011.412.99
Jarvis Landry CLV88549528245810.210.86.2
Zach Ertz PHI8826164433747.710.67.9
Antonio Brown PIT77946552815811.5127
Stefon Diggs MIN87858587407410.210.17.5
Julio Jones ATL77753812036914.915.310.5
DeAndre Hopkins HST87753789606913.314.910.2
A.J. Green CIN87645687655914.115.39
Davante Adams GB77252690647210.813.39.6
James White NE87055459627938.36.6
Michael Crabtree BLT86938440295511.511.66.4
Saquon Barkley NYG868584972285-0.28.67.3
Mike Evans TB76746770436916.116.711.5
JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT7664659422709.812.99
Emmanuel Sanders DEN8645065831789.613.210.3
Michael Thomas NO7645866943917.611.510.5
Tyreek Hill KC86444705746915.71611
Robert Woods LAR86346672317311.814.610.7
Travis Kelce KC8634464243709.914.610.2
Golden Tate DET7624451736716.211.88.3
Tyler Boyd CIN8614962051809.212.710.2
Eric Ebron IND86036394716010.510.96.6
Willie Snead IVBLT8573839014679.910.36.8
Sterling Shepard NYG8574054223701013.69.5
Alvin Kamara NO7574739322821.68.46.9
Demaryius Thomas DEN85636402366411.411.27.2
John Brown BLT85631586435520.418.910.5
Larry Fitzgerald ARZ8553435722629.910.56.5
Nelson Agholor PHI8554137913757.89.26.9
Corey Davis TEN7553039512559.713.27.2
George Kittle SF8553758424677.415.810.6
Donte Moncrief JAX85329383235513.313.27.2
Keenan Allen LAC7514150611808.812.39.9
Christian McCaffrey CAR7514430020860.86.85.9
Brandin Cooks LAR74935643217115.618.413.1
Devin Funchess CAR74932401336512.812.58.2
T.J. Yeldon JAX8483733646771.39.17
Jared Cook OAK7473647431777.513.210.1
Sammy Watkins KC8473445332728.913.39.6
David Njoku CLV7473129727668.69.66.3
Chester Rogers IND8463229516707.59.26.4
Keelan Cole JAX8462937516639.712.98.2
Marvin Jones Jr.DET74526387525817.114.98.6
Jimmy Graham GB74428370106410.213.28.4
T.Y. Hilton IND64426353425910.413.68
Dede Westbrook JAX8443343334758.713.19.8
Rob Gronkowski NE74329448116713.115.410.4
Alshon Jeffery PHI54329338416710.411.77.9
Allen Robinson IICHI64325285215812.611.46.6
Taylor Gabriel CHI74334381207911.811.28.9
Jalen Richard OAK7433930300910.87.87
Kenny Golladay DET74330477317010.615.911.1
Christian Kirk ARZ84331410227210.213.29.5
Antonio Callaway CLV84321236254914.811.25.5

Breakdowns

  • Mike Evans had the most targets of the week (13), but still finished tied for 17th in receptions (6). Evans is tied for sixth in targets over the last three weeks, all Jameis Winston starts, but he was tied for 11th in targets in the four weeks Ryan Fitzpatrick started. Evans had a 74 percent catch rate Weeks 1-4 compared to 61 percent since then, and there is little reason for concern moving forward.
  • I think I’m with the growing number of fantasy analysts who think Tyler Boyd isn’t a particularly special receiver, though there is a decent chance I am just being stubborn. I suspect he would turn into a pumpkin if anything ever happened to A.J. Green or Andy Dalton , but it is nearly impossible to bench him in the meantime.
  • I don’t know if the Browns’ head coaching change will help Cleveland’s passing game in general and Jarvis Landry in particular, but it probably can’t hurt.  Landry caught eight of 12 targets for 39 yards Sunday. He isn’t being used like Golden Tate , which is a good thing, but he isn’t being used particularly effectively, either. His 58 percent catch rate is within shouting distance of Michael Crabtree , and the only players on our leaderboard to average fewer yards per target than Landry are Christian McCaffrey and Antonio Callaway . Here’s hoping Hue Jackson’s dismissal can jumpstart Cleveland’s passing attack.
  • Larry Fitzgerald was back to his old tricks in Week 8, catching eight of 12 targets for 102 yards and a touchdown. Arizona managed just 18 points Sunday, their second-highest total of the season, but it was the first game all season they topped 300 yards on offense. After watching all of his targets, I think Fitzgerald’s success had more to do with San Francisco’s poor defense than anything else. Fitz made a couple of nice contested catches, but he cannot get any separation against man coverage. I’m not sure why the 49ers ever bothered playing zone, and while Fitz did find the soft spot in the zone a couple of times, I don’t trust that to continue. At this point, what’s the difference between Larry Fitzgerald and Jermaine Kearse ? Fitz has better hands, but that’s about it.
  • Two members of the target leaderboard were traded this week, and those trades will almost certainly affect their targets going forward. Golden Tate was never the most exciting player for fantasy, but with the Lions, he had a guaranteed workload every week. His floor is almost certainly lower with the Eagles. Who knows how often Carson Wentz will look Tate’s way when he has Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz getting open down the field? At the same time, Tate’s ceiling is probably higher with the Eagles as well. Tate’s 6.2 average depth of target is the lowest of any receiver on our leaderboard. He is probably capable of going downfield more often, but he was never used that way in Detroit. He also wasn’t targeted much in the red zone, and he never scored more than six touchdowns in a season with the Lions. Tate could score that many touchdowns the rest of the season with Philadelphia, but I would need to see him used differently before I would believe it.
  • Demaryius Thomas ’s situation is much less straightforward. The Texans obviously needed someone to take some defensive attention away from DeAndre Hopkins , and take advantage of one-on-one looks when safeties shade towards Hopkins. Thomas is capable of doing that, but I don’t think anyone knows if he can do it consistently. Thomas’s catch rate rose to 64 percent in recent weeks, and while some of that low number can be blamed on his quarterback, Thomas’s effort and hands come and go play to play. Unlike Golden Tate , I’m not sure Demaryius Thomas ’s downside is any greater than it was in Denver, and if Deshaun Watson plays the way he did Sunday, Thomas could have top-10 upside the rest of the way.
  • Time has probably run out on your opportunity to buy low on Stefon Diggs after he caught 10 of 11 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown Sunday. He is back up to sixth in the NFL in targets this season, and it was nice to see him turn his targets into production after a couple of down weeks.
  • D.J. Moore showed up on the fantasy radar in Week 8 with five catches for 90 yards, and while he is certainly worth owning, especially in deep leagues, I would want to see him get a few more targets before I would consider him startable in a non-bye week. Moore had a season-high six targets Sunday, and that isn’t enough to make him anything more than a dart throw. That being said, he had five targets in each of the two games before that, so at least he is consistent. Moore has probably earned more playing time and more targets, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he will get them. I think it’s great that Moore has caught 75 percent of his targets this season, but I’m not convinced it is sustainable.
  • Jack Doyle led the Colts in targets and receptions in his first game back from a hip injury. He is officially startable in all leagues, even though Eric Ebron may continue to cut into his work, especially in the red zone. Doyle actually tied with Dontrelle Inman in targets and receptions. Inman is no better or worse than Chester Rogers , Ryan Grant and Zach Pascal . If any one of those players was ever able to secure a role opposite T.Y. Hilton , they could be the next Tyler Boyd . Unfortunately, that seems extremely unlikely.
  • DeVante Parker is almost as annoying for fantasy as Cole Beasley . Parker had six receptions on nine targets for 134 yards Thursday, and it would be pretty shocking if that production continued, especially once Kenny Stills returns. That being said, Parker’s size and speed have never been in question, so he would be interesting if he keeps getting targets.