Fantasy football target share for NFL Week 9

Target share can help give fantasy football managers an indication of potential breakout players or worrisome usage that could help make the right moves on waivers and in roster construction moving forward. Here are the target numbers from each NFL game so far of Week 9.

Unsurprisingly Davante Adams led the Packers in targets and target share. Disappointed to see so few targets for Robert Tonyan. Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s four targets and production is note worthy but Allen Lazard is returning. Breakout game for Richie James, however with the long week ahead, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk could be back for Week 10’s matchup against the Saints.

Jerry Jeudy has cemented himself as the Broncos top receiver and K.J. Hamler took a big jump from seeing three targets in Week 8 which is great to see for the rookie. Noah Fant got injured early and played on a bum ankle which might be reason for low target share (kinda upsetting for a top tight end in a terrific matchup). Without Calvin Ridley, it was Olamide Zaccheaus who benefited the most making big plays downfield. The Falcons are on their bye this week meaning Ridley will likely be ready to play in Week 11 against the Saints. Hayden Hurst has now seen at least seven targets in each of his last three games.

DK Metcalf is matchup proof while Tyler Lockett is a streaky producer on reliable targets. We know what the Seahawks offense looks like. The Bills passing game looked much better with a healthy John Brown. Terrific matchup for him and seeing 11 targets is highly encouraging for Brown managers. Two bad weeks in a row for Cole Beasley seeing under four targets for the first time this season.

Willie Snead has now seen at least four targets in the last two games and is emerging as a playmaker for the Ravens. Marquise Brown is still untrustworthy as a reliable fantasy producer. Mark Andrews has only seen over six targets twice this season. Michael Pittman leading the Colts in targets is terrific for the rookie recovering from injury, especially with matchups against the Titans, Packers, and Texans ahead. Zach Pascal has now seen at least six targets in his last three games.

Brandin Cooks is emerging as a reliable fantasy WR2 for the Texans, seeing at least nine targets in his last four games. Duke Johnson filled in for an injured David Johnson and saw work on the ground and passing game. Rookie quarterback Jake Luton was terrific for D.J. Chark, targeting him down the field. Laviska Shenault left the game early and that led to Chris Conley seeing a high target share.

Christian McCaffrey can back and immediately did what CMC has done all his career (and got injured again so that’s great). Curtis Samuel seems to have replaced D.J. Moore as the reliable number two receiver next to Ryan Anderson. The Chiefs passing game is Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

First Lions game without Kenny Golladay saw a big target share for Danny Amendola and T.J. Hockenson. Amendola is worth stashing in deeper leagues. The Vikings target share is how you’d expect it to be, but with Dalvin Cook running the ball so well, Kirk Cousins isn’t throwing the ball that much, only 20 attempts, leading to underperforming stats from Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.

Darnell Mooney and Jimmy Graham are worth rostering in fantasy leagues as they both are reliable parts of the Bears offense. A.J. Brown has returned to WR1 status in Tennessee seeing the bulk of the Titans passing game.

Seeing Evan Engram rack up 10 targets for the second week in a row is great for fantasy managers. Darius Slayton’s one target should be chalked up to a strong Washington secondary more than diminishing role in the Giants passing game. J.D. McKissic continues to cap Antonio Gibson as he has the passing game locked down. McKissic is a must add in fantasy, especially in PPR leagues.

The Raiders passing game is still built around Darren Waller with all three receivers only seeing three targets each. The Chargers passing game is on fire and playing out how we expect it to.

We’re starting to get a clearer view of the Steelers passing game. Diontae Johnson when healthy will always see double digit targets and Chase Claypool is starting to now be able to produce with Johnson on the field. JuJu Smith-Schuster took the biggest hit but still scored a touchdown saving his day. Under Garrett Gilbert, the Cowboys offense was better and even Michael Gallup was mildly involved seeing seven targets.

Preston Williams left the game with an injury, but while he was on the field, he was Tua Tagovailoa’s favorite target which is something to monitor as the season moves forward. Big game for Christian Kirk who has become a reliable WR2 in fantasy. Chalk this up to a bad game for DeAndre Hopkins.

Michael Thomas came back for the Saints and immediately was their leading target along with Alvin Kamara. Just as you’d expect. This was the first game with the Buccaneers passing game fully healthy and we saw even target distribution with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Rob Gronkowski all seeing six targets and new comer Antonio Brown seeing five. As fantasy managers, we’d love to see this predictable even target share moving on, but I doubt we’ll get something so clean.

For the second week in a row, Jakobi Meyers led the Patriots in targets. He should be a top waiver option this week given how involved he is in the passing game. Breshad Perriman had a great game scoring two touchdowns on a solid target share, but it’s very encouraging for Denzel Mims’ managers to see the rookie lead the team in targets. Clearly the Jets are trying to get the ball in his hands.