Welcome to the Target Trends article for Week 10! We’re headed into the double-digit weeks of the season and targets are becoming more valuable than ever. As usual, let’s begin this article by looking at the overall target leaders so far this season.

Target Trends

Garrett Wilson continues to lead the league with 93 targets, despite the addition of Davante Adams. CeeDee Lamb and Malik Nabers are tied for second with 84, though Nabers and his 12.0 targets/game are outpacing Lamb’s 10.5. Cooper Kupp leads the league with 12.3 targets/game, though he’s only played four games. Nobody else has more than 80 targets, with Wan’Dale Robinson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba checking in with 76 and 75 targets respectively. 

Brock Bowers is still running away with the tight end target lead with 73, though Travis Kelce is doing his best to catch up with 64. Bowers is on pace for 138 targets, which would easily surpass the rookie record of 128 set by Jeremy Shockey in 2002. Cade Otton and Trey McBride narrowly trail him with 64 and 62 apiece. No other tight end has more than 60 with Dalton Kincaid the closest at 54.

Alvin Kamara easily leads the way at running back with 63 targets, 13 more than current runner-up Breece Hall. Kamara is on pace for 119 targets. For reference, Hall led the position with 95 targets last season. De’Von Achane and Bijan Robinson are tied for third but are significantly lower at 42 targets.

I’ll continue to lead off this article with season-long target leaders each week but for now, let’s check out the weekly target trends heading into Week 10.

Travis Kelce – 16 targets, 14 rec

Kelce was peppered with targets on Monday night as he fell one short of his career-high. He has seen a whopping 32% target share since Kansas City’s Week 6 bye, more than doubling the 14% target share that went his way over the first three weeks of the season. It’s also worth noting that DeAndre Hopkins saw his snaps nearly double and his targets triple in his second game as a Chief.

Los Angeles Rams Pass Catchers

Tracking Puka Nacua’s availability has been a tricky task all season. Last week he tweaked his injured knee in practice but was considered a “full go” for the game before throwing a punch and getting ejected after just one target. That meant more targets for Kupp, who has a 32% target share on the season and hasn’t fallen below 20% in any of his four games played. Demarcus Robinson was likely the biggest beneficiary from the Nacua ejection as he saw nine targets and turned two of them into touchdowns for the second consecutive week.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba – 13 targets, 7 rec

JSN dominated the target share with DK Metcalf sidelined. The 13 targets were not a season-high, though the 38% target share was. It led to him finishing as the fantasy WR1 in Week 9. He and the Seahawks head into Week 10 on bye and Metcalf, who was not traded at the deadline, is expected to return in Week 11.

Dallas Cowboys Pass Catchers

It’s no surprise that Lamb and Ferguson once again led the way in the passing game for Dallas. Lamb saw 12 targets, putting him at double digits for three consecutive weeks. As for Ferguson, it’s the second time this season that he has seen double-digit targets and the second straight week that he’s earned over a 20% target share. 

Malik Nabers – 11 targets, 9 rec

Nabers hasn’t been racking up fantasy points at the same pace as earlier in the season but his usage remains elite. He has seen at least 11 targets in five of his seven games played this season and has posted a league-high 37.2% target share. At this rate, the fantasy points are bound to bounce back eventually.

Jakobi Meyers – 11 targets, 8 rec

Meyers saw a season-high 11 targets in Week 9 and turned them into his first 100-yard receiving game of the season. He has averaged 9.3 targets/game, good for a 31% target share, since Davante Adams’ last game with the Raiders. Brock Bowers still leads the team with 73 targets on the season but Meyers comes in next with 54 in just seven games. 

Cade Otton – 11 targets, 8 rec

Otton is on fire, seeing at least 10 targets in three consecutive games. His 31 targets trail only Travis Kelce for the most at the position over the past three weeks. He has more than twice as many targets as any other Buccaneer over that span, with Rachaad White coming in next with 15.

Davante Adams – 11 targets, 7 rec
Garrett Wilson – 10 targets, 9 rec

Wilson’s 29.9% target share on the season is the highest among players who have played nine games and it’s been north of 30% for two consecutive weeks, even with Adams joining the team. As for Adams, he finally clicked with his former Packer teammate at quarterback, racking up the most targets, receptions, and yards as a Jet while also notching his first touchdown with the team. The two wideouts have been nearly even since joining forces, seeing a 28% and 27% target share respectively over the last three weeks.

Cleveland Browns Pass Catchers

There were plenty of targets to go around for the Browns in Week 9 as Jameis Winston attempted 46 passes. Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman led the way with 11 apiece while Elijah Moore wasn’t far behind with nine. David Njoku was fourth on the team with seven targets, a respectable number at the tight end position. He has seen at least seven targets in four consecutive games.

Dalton Kincaid – 10 targets, 4 rec

There were some people, myself included, who thought Kincaid would be in line for a hefty target share this season. His 6.0 targets/game don’t exactly make him a traditional target hog but his 54 total targets on the season lead the Bills. Khalil Shakir is next on the team with 45 and Keon Coleman is at 36. No other Bill is above 30 targets.

Alvin Kamara – 9 targets, 6 rec

Kamara started the season slowly, at least through the air, averaging 3.3 targets/game over the first three weeks. Over the next six games that number has skyrocketed to 8.7 targets/game, good for a 26% target share over that span. He will likely continue to be a key part of the passing game with Chris Olave in line to miss time with his latest concussion.

Trey McBride – 4 targets, 3 rec

McBride’s four targets in Week 9 were his lowest total since Week 5 of last season. Thankfully for McBride’s fantasy managers, he found the end zone on the ground to save his week. He has now scored two touchdowns on the season but despite receiving 60 targets, he’s yet to catch a touchdown pass.

Terry McLaurin – 3 targets, 2 rec

McLaurin was incredibly efficient, scoring two touchdowns on just three targets in Week 9. It was his lowest target total since Week 13 of last season but still accounted for a 16% target share as Jayden Daniels attempted just 22 passes. He’s on pace for 113 targets, which would be his career low, but he already has six receiving touchdowns, just one away from his career high.

Jaylen Waddle – 2 targets, 2 rec

Waddle put up a strange stat line in Week 9, compiling negative yardage on a fluky final play. What’s more concerning is that he has only totaled eight targets in the two games since Tua Tagovailoa’s return. That’s fourth on the Dolphins over that span behind De’Von Achane (16), Tyreek Hill (14), and Jonnu Smith (12).

Kyle Pitts – 1 target, 1 rec

It’s been a rollercoaster season for Pitts and he hit a new low in Week 9, at least when it comes to targets. In fact, he set a new career low with his single target. There will be an opportunity to see more targets if Drake London misses time but it isn’t encouraging that he didn’t command more against the Cowboys.