Week 1 Target Watch: Receivers Lead The Way

Photo Credit: Erik Drost

Hello Fantasy friends and foes. Welcome to the SCFE Weekly Target Watch.

Targets are an opportunity indicator, it refers to the number of times a receiver is thrown the ball by the quarterback. The higher the targets, the more valuable the receiver is to the quarterback.

Let’s take a look at who had the most opportunities in Week 1 of the 2018 season. Above all, let’s see what it means for Fantasy owners.

Week 1 Target Watch

I will be reviewing and analyzing the targets weekly, looking for trends on who is rising and which players are falling.

Week 1 Target Watch – Double-Digit Targets

Player	Team	Position	Targets
Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	WR	19
Michael Thomas	New Orleans Saints	WR	17
A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals	WR	17
Michael Crabtree	Baltimore Ravens	WR	16
Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	WR	16
Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	WR	15
Odell Beckham Jr.	New York Giants	WR	15
Jarvis Landry	Cleveland Browns	WR	15
Willis Snead iV	Baltimore Ravens	WR	14
John Brown	Baltimore Ravens	WR	14
Tyler Boyd	Cincinnati Bengals	WR	14
Melvin Gordon	Los Angeles Chargers	RB	13
Javorious Allen	Baltimore Ravens	RB	13
Corey Davis	Tennessee Titans	WR	13
Alvin Kamara	New Orleans Saints	RB	12
Kenny Golladay	Detroit Lions	WR	12
Adam Thielen	Minnesota Vikings	WR	12
Jared Cook	Oakland Raiders	TE	12
DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	WR	11
Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	WR	11
T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	WR	11
Jalen Richard	Oakland Raiders	RB	11
Keenan Allen	Los Angeles Chargers	WR	11
Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	WR	10
Nick Boyle	Baltimore Ravens	TE	10
Jack Doyle	Indianapolis Colts	TE	10
Nelson Agholor	Philadelphia Eagles	WR	10
Quincy Enunwa	New York Jets	WR	10
Zach Ertz	Philadelphia Eagles	TE	10
Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	WR	10
Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	WR	10

Thankfully, the NFL is back! Obviously, the wide receivers led the way in targets with 23 wideouts in double-figures. We actually saw four Ravens players in double-digit targets with Michael Crabtree (16) with John Brown and Willie Snead each collecting 14 targets. Additionally, tight end Nick Boyle garnered 10 targets.I certainly doubt we will ever see anything close to those numbers again.

The surprises in Week 1 were that Randall Cobb (10) led the Packers in targets, most of that, of course, was due to the amazing comeback victory by Aaron Rodgers. We finally saw Andrew Luck show that he might be back with his performance in Week 1. He peppered newcomer WR Ryan Grant with nine targets.

Fantasy owners can’t be satisfied with the following players who were targeted less than five times in Week 1. Amari Cooper(3) was shut down by the Rams defense on Monday and will have to face the stout Broncos defense in Week 2. Josh Gordon was a hot Fantasy topic in the preseason. Gordon has boatloads of talent but how long will he be on the field? He only had three targets in Week 1 but he made one count with a great TD catch that helped the Browns tie the Steelers.

 

Top Wide Receiver Targets in Week 1

Player	Team	Targets
Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons	19
Michael Thomas	New Orleans Saints	17
Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	16
Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	15
Odell Beckham	New York Giants	15
Jarvis Landry	Cleveland Browns	15
Corey Davis	Tennessee Titans	13
Adam Thielen	Minnesota Vikings	12
Kenny Golladay	Detroit Lions	12
Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos	11
T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts	11
Keenan Allen	Los Angeles Chargers	11
DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	11
Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	10
Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos	10
Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers	10
Quincy Enunwa	New York Jets	10
Nelson Agholor	Philadelphia Eagles	10

Julio Jones was a monster in the first game of the season with 19 targets against the Eagles. It’s a shame that he can’t score touchdowns. Jarvis Landry made us all believers that he has a nice rapport with his new QB Tyrod Taylor with his 15 targets. The Broncos duo of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders showed they that will be a force this season. They combined for 21 targets with new QB Casey Keenum. It was also great to see the return of the Jets Quincy Enunwa. He had 10 targets from rookie QB Sam Darnold in his return after missing all of last season with a neck injury.

 

Top Tight End Targets in Week 1

Player	Team	Targets
Jared Cook	Oakland Raiders	12
Zach Ertz	Philadelphia Eagles	10
Jack Doyle	Indianapolis Colts	10
George Kittle	San Francisco 49ers	9
Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots	8
David Njoku	Cleveland Browns	7
Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs	6
Trey Burton	Chicago Bears	6
Nick Boyle	Baltimore Ravens	6
Ricky Seals-Jones	Arizona Cardinals	6

A tight end that I never thought I would see on top of any positive leaderboard. The Raiders’ Jared Cook has always been known to have loads of potential but has never exhibited consistently. Cook showed what he can do in Week 1 with an impressive performance. He racked up 12 targets, 9 catches, and 180 receiving yards. Cook is owned in approximately half of all Fantasy leagues. That number will shoot up significantly after this performance.

Fantasy owners have to be pleased regarding sleeper tight ends George Kittle and Trey Burton getting targets to start off the season. It looks like each player will play a big role in their respective offenses. Andrew Luck has brought the two tight end approach back to the NFL with peppering Jack Doyle and newcomer Eric Ebron with a combined 15 targets. Surprise! Surprise! Jordan Reed contributed with five targets and more importantly, he didn’t get hurt.

 

Top Running Back Targets in Week 1

Player	Team	Targets
Melvin Gordon	Los Angeles Chargers	13
Alvin Kamara	New Orleans Saints	12
Jalen Richard	Oakland Raiders	11
James White	New England Patriots	9
David Johnson	Arizona Cardinals	9
Christian McCaffrey	Carolina Panthers	9
Nyheim Hines	Indianapolis Colts	9
Dion Lewis	Tennessee Titan	8

First-round running backs Melvin Gordon (13) and Alvin Kamara  (12) showcased their dual-threat prowess by leading all running backs with targets. Both backs are in elite offenses and are fantasy gold. Furthermore, there were two surprise entries in Raiders running back Jalen Richard and Colts running back Nyheim Hines. Richard had a whopping 11 targets which were mostly the result of a negative game script. Also, Marshawn Lunch fell ill during the blowout loss. Hines of the Colts caught the eye of Andrew Luck nine times in Week 1. Furthermore, Hines might be a very sneaky pickup in PPR leagues.

 

Take a look which of the most targeted players are recommended by Jack Delaney to add to your rosters in his Week 2 Waiver Wire: Top Picks Include T.J. Yeldon and Austin Ekeler.