Without the injuries of Week 2, Week 3 showed a lot of players with a lot of targets. Many wide receivers and tight ends saw double-digit targets, and even if they didn’t catch all of them, seeing the volume of passes was reassuring to Fantasy owners.

When looking over the waiver wire to find players to pick up, do not just look at the total Fantasy points (or the projected Fantasy points). Many times these statistics are inflated by touchdowns, which can be fluky.

With three weeks of data now, trends are beginning to emerge in terms of which players are consistently seeing a lot of targets. These are the players to look at as their quarterbacks are looking for them. Sure, there may be players that have one big week, but an increase or consistent target number is key.

Targets simply mean the player is part of the offensive scheme for that week. Once a quarterback finds a player he can trust, the targets usually increase (taking into account defensive match-ups and game flow).

None of the charts below show total receptions or total Fantasy points. Touchdowns are ignored for this analysis as well. Just targets.

Week 3 Target Watch

Week 3 Targets

Unlike Weeks 1 and 2, which had 20 different players with double-digit targets, Week 3 had 25 different players. Some patterns are starting to emerge, however.

Marvin Jones Jr. has had more targets than Golden Tate for three weeks in a row. Emmanuel Sanders has had more targets than Demaryius Thomas for three weeks in a row. Quincy Enunwa has had more targets than Eric Decker over three games. Kevin White saw twice as many targets in Week 3 than Alshon Jeffery (after both having 13 total targets in the first two games). Jamison Crowder has the same number of targets as Jordan Reed (25), both leading the team, through three weeks.

Fantasy owners should look at the targets and the patterns and see who on their team may be droppable (Devin Funchess, as an example) and who might be worth picking up (Jamison Crowder, 39 percent owned).

Top 9 Target Leaders This Season

When comparing Week 1 to Week 2, only five players had double-digit targets in both weeks. Four of those five remain with double-digit targets for three weeks. (Marvin Jones Jr. is the one that fell off the list with eight targets in Week 3, which as Fantasy owners know, he only converted into six receptions for 205 yards and two touchdowns. He has 29 total targets on the year, which would have him tied for 10th place).

A players to keep an eye on is Terrelle Pryor, who has seen an increase in targets over the past three weeks. He’s jumped to 67 percent owned (after Wednesday waivers ran), but if he is still available, grab him.

Week 3 Tight End Targets

Coby Fleener has grown since Week  1, at least in terms of targets. He jumped from four targets in Week 1, eight in Week 2 and 11 in Week 3. Drew Brees is finally starting to trust him, and the Saints love using the tight end. If he was dropped after a rough Week 1 performance, he should be owned now.

Kyle Rudolph had had eight targets in the first two games and increased to 10 in the third game. Sam Bradford is making him a part of the offense, and with the Vikings lacking other playmakers, Rudolph is slowly creeping into TE1 value. He is now 67 percent owned as well, but if he’s still available, he is worth picking up.

Week 3 Running Back Targets

More running backs had receptions in Week 3 than in Week 2, although there aren’t many surprises on this list. Justin Forsett caught six of his seven targets but only managed 12 yards on them. Since he also isn’t producing in the running game, this is a case of a running back that may have some value in PPR leagues (if he’s going to be targeted like that), but not in standard leagues.

DeAngelo Williams has been great, however, Le’Veon Bell returns from suspension this week. While it is likely to be the Bell show, Williams owners should hang on to him, Just in case something happens to Bell or the Steelers decide to let Williams come in for passing downs.

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Sarah Lewis

Editor at socalledfantasyexperts.com

Sarah Lewis (formerly Sarah Bojarski) once spent an entire cocktail hour at a wedding reception answering Fantasy Football start/sit questions on Twitter. She has been writing about Fantasy Football for five seasons now, and is always willing to talk draft strategy with anyone looking to win their league. Follow her on Twitter @Sarah_Lewis32

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