Week 9 Target Watch: DeAndre Hopkins Leads The Way

Similar to Week 8, six teams are on a bye this past week. The Week 9 target watch was about the same as Week 8, given that six teams weren’t playing. The double-digit target leaders were primarily wide receivers. However, some tight ends and a running back are mixed in.

Fantasy owners should keep an eye on all players receiving targets, especially when a new quarterback takes over. This has been the case for many teams this season, as the starting quarterback has gotten injured.

Often a quarterback feels comfortable with certain players on his team and will find them on the field. Tony Romo loved his tight end, Jason Witten. Dak Prescott doesn’t use him nearly as much. Jacoby Brissett loves using Jack Doyle (both Doyle and T.Y. Hilton had nine targets in Week 9).

These are the trends to monitor when looking at who to start and even who to pick up from the waiver wire.

Please note none of the charts below show total receptions, total fantasy points or touchdowns. The sole purpose of this analysis is to look at targets.

Week 9 Target Watch

Each week I will be reviewing the targets from the past week, the season and even digging deeper by running back and tight end. I will also be analyzing any trends I find along the way.

Week 9 Double-Digit Targets

Despite Tom Savage at quarterback, DeAndre Hopkins managed the most targets out of all players in the league for Week 9. Savage actually threw the ball 44 times and 16 of those passes were intended for Hopkins. He only caught six of them for 86 yards and a touchdown, but Savage knows to look for his best pass-catcher on the field.

Deonte Thompson makes the list this week, but remember newly-acquired Kelvin Benjamin was inactive for this game. In addition, Charles Clay was still out. Both pass-catchers are expected to return this week, which will cut into Thompson’s value. Don’t chase his stats on the waiver wire.

Top 10 Target Leaders

A lot of movement occurred with the target leaders this week. First, it had to expand to Top 12, rather than Top 10 because of ties. Second, both Christian McCaffrey and Pierre Garcon fell off the list, despite the expansion to 12. New additions include Dez Bryant, Alshon Jeffrey, Michael Thomas and Doug Baldwin.

Note that Mike Evans is suspended for Week 10, so that will cut into his target totals. Antonio Brown stays on the top of this list, despite not playing in Week 9. Keep an eye on Alshon Jeffrey. He is on a bye this week, but with the Eagles offense looking strong all the way around, he’s going to have borderline WR1 value for the rest of the season.

Top Tight End Targets In Week 9

Jack Doyle repeatedly makes this list as Jacoby Brissett looks for him on the field. He’s become a consistent TE1 for fantasy purposes.

Jared Cook has had over 50 yards in the past three games. Two of those games he had over 100 yards. Derek Carr is having difficulty finding his receivers, and it seems he’s looking toward his tight end. Out of his nine targets in Week 9, he caught eight of them. He’s on a bye this week but is on the TE1 radar for Week 11.

Top Running Back Targets In Week 9

For the third week in a row, Carlos Hyde has had some of the most targets out of all running backs. With Pierre Garcon on the I.R., Trent Taylor and George Kittle injured and likely out for Week 10, Hyde should be the primary source of offense against the Giants. He’s an RB1 in all formats.

The list is longer this week because five running backs had six targets. Included in that group are both Miami Dolphins backs. Both have RB2 fantasy value if they are going to continue to see a number of targets. They split carries on the ground as well, providing no clarity to fantasy owners on which is the back to own.