Welcome to the Target Trends article for Week 5! We now have enough data to start recognizing trends. Let’s start, as usual, by looking at the season-long target leaders to this point.
Puka Nacua leads all players with 50 targets. That includes 30 in the last two weeks! You will see more about him below. You will also see more about Christian McCaffrey, who not only leads all RBs, but is the second most targeted player in the NFL with 43 so far. He’s tied with Chris Olave, who also has 43 targets. No other player has seen 40 targets yet. However, Jake Ferguson is not far away with 39 targets to lead all TEs.
I’ll continue to lead off this article with season-long target leaders each week, but for now, let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 5.
Puka Nacua: 15 targets, 13 rec
As mentioned above, Nacua leads the league in targets. He’s on pace for 212 targets, which would be a new NFL record. He may not be able to keep up that pace….or maybe he can. Either way, he has yet to finish outside of the top six at the position in any week.
Quentin Johnston: 13 targets, eight rec
There was a time when the fantasy football community looked for third-year WR breakouts. While rookies have made more of an impact in recent years, we may be witnessing a renaissance with Quge. He’s seen his target rate rise year over year, up to 26% so far in 2025. He is currently the WR4 on the season and could be a league winner if he can keep it up.
Justin Jefferson: 11 targets, 10 rec
Jordan Addison: 8 targets, four rec
The Vikings’ season isn’t exactly going as planned, as Carson Wentz is leading the team on their European adventure. In Week 4, thankfully, he provided double-digit targets to Jefferson for the first time this season. Meanwhile, Jordan Addison was targeted eight times in his season debut. It’s tough to ascertain exactly how long Wentz will be starting, but it appears that he can sustain two WRs while he is under center for Minnesota.
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Christian McCaffrey: 11 targets, six rec
McCaffrey remains on pace to set a new NFL record for RB targets, currently projecting for 183. I’ll continue to update his progress in this article, likely on a weekly basis. If you took the jump and selected CMC with a high draft pick, he’s paying off so far.
Trey McBride: 11 targets, seven rec
McBride’s season-high 11 targets turned into a season-low 8.7 half PPR fantasy points. It was a disappointing result, though the target count should be encouraging for McBride fantasy managers. There should be better days ahead for Arizona TE, and you should consider buying low if possible.
George Pickens: 11 targets, eight rec
Pickens is the de facto number one WR in Dallas while CeeDee Lamb is sidelined. He’s seen his target share increase each week, from 12% in Week 1 all the way up to 29% in Week 4. It’s unlikely to go much higher, but Pickens can be considered a WR1 target hog while Lamb is out.
Michael Pittman Jr.: 10 targets, five rec
Pitman appears revitalized with Danny Dimes at QB. He’s the WR17 after four weeks and is on pace for 123 targets, which, surprisingly, would only be the fourth most in his career. Rookie phenom Tyler Warren has two fewer targets than Pittman, while no other Colt is above 19 targets.
Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Chris Godwin: 10 targets, three rec
Emeka Egbuka: 10 targets, four rec
Neither Tampa Bay WR was very productive, but they each saw double-digit targets in the absence of Mike Evans. It’s an especially encouraging target share for Godwin, who played in his first game since Week 7 of last season. Both Buccaneer WRs are viable fantasy options, though it will only get more complicated when Evans returns.
A.J. Brown: 9 targets, two rec
It doesn’t appear to be a target problem for AJB anymore. He’s averaged 9.0 targets/game over the last three weeks. The production has been hit or miss as he’s finished as the WR72, WR3, and WR98. It will be tough to trust him moving forward, though the targets are a good sign.
Cole Kmet: 9 targets, three rec
Colston Loveland has yet to make a fantasy impact, and then he sat out Week 4 with a hip injury. Cole Kmet has been the beneficiary, especially in Week 4, as he saw a season-high nine targets. He is a startable TE if Loveland remains sidelined.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 5 targets, four rec
Do we need to be worried about JSN? On the one hand, he’s seen his targets decline in four consecutive weeks. On the other hand, he still leads Seattle with a 35.4% target share, the third highest in the league. He remains a must-start fantasy asset, but it would be awfully nice to see him get back to double-digit targets.
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/84TS95H
No comments: