Welcome to the Target Trends article for Week 17! Hopefully, you are moving on to your league championship in pursuit of a #FootClan title! If not, you can still get something out of this article as you look ahead to better days next season. Either way, we’ll start as usual, by looking at the overall target leaders so far this season.
Ja’Marr Chase continues to lead the way with 166 targets. That averages out to 11.9 targets/game, which would be a 17-game pace of 202 targets. However, since he missed one game due to suspension, his 16-game pace is 190 targets, which is still more than the 175 he had to lead the league last season. Trey McBride is the second most targeted player with 148 targets, while Puka Nacua (145), Chris Olave (145), Amon-Ra St. Brown (144), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (143) round out the 140-target club.
If you have been following along this season, you know that McBride is on pace to break the all-time target record for TEs. He needs nine targets in Week 16 to break Zach Ertz’s 2018 record. After McBride, we find Kyle Pitts (106) and Harold Fannin (105) as the only other TEs with triple-digit targets. Tyler Warren (99) and Jake Ferguson (98) are almost there.
At RB, we find Christian McCaffrey on top with 116 targets. After him, there are several dropoffs, starting with Bijan Robinson at 92 targets. Jahmyr Gibbs is next with 86, followed by De’Von Achane with 82 and Chase Brown with 79 to round out the top five. Kenneth Gainwell is close behind with 72.
Now, let’s check out this week’s target trends heading into Week 17, championship week!
Puka Nacua – 16 targets, 12 rec
It’s not shocking to find Puka at the top after he went nuclear for the WR1 performance of Week 16. His 16 targets were a new season high and the second most of his career. I don’t need to spend much time here; you are starting the guy who carried you to the title game after finishing as a top two fantasy WR in three consecutive weeks.
Chris Olave – 16 targets, 10 rec
Olave set a new career-high with his 16 targets in Week 16. He has already set a new career-high with 145 targets this season and is currently the WR6 on the season. He was one of the best values in fantasy drafts this August after a concussion-riddled 2024. He’s having a career season after seriously contemplating his future in the NFL, and it’s hard not to root for this kind of success story.
"I was only 24 years old contemplating retirement,"#Saints WR Chris Olave opens up about coming back from 2024 concussions after setting career highs for single-game receptions and yards against the #Jets. pic.twitter.com/Aqls4l43AI
— NOF (@nofnetwork) December 21, 2025
Jahmyr Gibbs – 13 targets, 10 rec
Gibbs didn’t do much on the ground against Pittsburgh, but his work through the air was enough to salvage his week for any fantasy managers who were counting on him. His 13 targets marked a new career-high, and his 86 targets on the season have already surpassed his previous career-high of 71 as a rookie in 2023.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 13 targets, 8 rec
Week 16 marked JSN’s eighth double-digit target outing of the season. His 143 targets so far already mark a new career-high for the third-year WR as he clings to the overall WR1 spot, only one point ahead of Puka. His 35.5% target share continues to lead the entire league.
Amber Searls-Imagn Images
A.J. Brown – 12 targets, 9 rec
Brown bounced back from his two-target performance in Week 15 to log his fifth double-digit target game over the last six weeks. He has a 34% target share over that span, including three games over 40%. He has been one of the most reliable fantasy WRs over the second half of the season and is up to the WR9 overall.
Courtland Sutton – 12 rec, 6 targets
Sutton has been a staple of this article recently while earning double-digit targets in three consecutive weeks. Over that span, he’s seen a healthy 28% target share, which is considerably higher than his season-long rate of 21%. He is up to WR11 on the season, which will be the best fantasy finish of his career if he can hold on.
Bijan Robinson – 11 targets, 7 rec
Robinson’s 11 targets in Week 16 tied his season-high, which he first set in Week 15. He’s been above a 20% target share in three of his last four games, and his 19.6% target share is the third best among RBs, trailing only De’Von Achane (19.7%) and Christian McCaffrey (23.7%).
Stefon Diggs – 10 targets, 9 rec
Diggs had been in the midst of a cold streak, failing to top four targets for three consecutive games. He was back to his double-digit target ways in Week 16, but his inconsistency made him a difficult WR to trust. He has now seen double-digit targets in three games this season, but also been under five targets six times.
Tetairoa McMillan – 10 targets, 6 rec
McMillan had also been on a target drought, totalling just six targets combined over his previous two games. Week 16 marked his third time earning double-digit targets in a game this season. He is now up to 112 targets on the season, which leads the Panthers and is only seven behind Emeka Egbuka among all rookies.
Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
Parker Washington – 10 targets, 6 rec
Jakobi Meyers – 8 targets, 4 rec
Brian Thomas Jr. – 3 targets, 2 rec
The Jaguars are arguably the most surprising team in the NFL right now. Not only are they in contention for the number one overall seed in the AFC, but they are distributing the ball much differently than most projected leading into the season. Washington has seen double-digit targets three times this season, which is once more than Thomas. With him missing time and Meyers joining the team via trade mid-season, the three WRs have all played a different number of games, so let’s compare target share with the team. Meyers leads since joining with a 24% target share, BTJ is next with 20%, and Washington isn’t far behind with 17%. It will be interesting to see if Thomas gets moved this offseason, but for now, Jacksonville will focus on a playoff run.
Trey McBride – 8 targets, 4 rec
Elijah Higgins – 8 targets, 7 rec
McBride’s eight targets weren’t far off his season average of 9.9 targets/game, but they resulted in his lowest fantasy output of the season. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Higgins matched him with eight targets, as many as he had in his previous five games combined, and outproduced him to finish as the TE8 on the week. If you survived the semifinals with McBride, you should remain confident in him in Week 17 against the Bengals. If you need a desperation TE or are looking for a fun DFS dart throw, Higgins is in play against the Cincinnati team that has been thrashed by TEs all season.
Drake London – 8 targets, 3 rec
London returned from his four-week injury absence and saw a nice 69% snap rate in Week 16. His eight targets tied his second-lowest total of the season, and his three catches tied for his lowest output. Fantasy managers with London probably struggled while he was out, and his return didn’t bail them out, as he finished as the WR70 on the week. It will be important to remember his 32% target rate when we begin prepping for fantasy drafts in 2026.
Terry McLaurin – 4 targets, 3 rec
It’s been a tough season for McLaurin, and it didn’t get any better in Week 16. It was the second consecutive week of him seeing just four targets, but unlike Week 15, he failed to find the end zone. Between injuries to both Jayden Daniels and himself, McLaurin is in the midst of the worst statistical season of his career, just one year after his best.
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/mA059Nz
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