Fantasy Football Snap & Target Report Week 6: Adam Thielen, Puka Nacua, Alvin Kamara

We are a third of the way into the NFL season, which means we can really start to see some trends emerge. Playing time gets solidified, which allows fantasy players to more clearly make their choices regarding who to start and sit.

But, at this time of year, teams are getting their byes, which affects fantasy rosters. And injuries are starting to pile up. So having Kyren Williams, who currently has the most RB snaps with 337, or Christian McCaffrey, who is third with 301, is irrelevant for Week 7, because they each got banged up on Sunday. You can’t get snaps, targets, or touches from the bench or on the IR. 

Here is a cross-section of players who have recently been getting the lion's share of playing time, as well as players whose playing time may be diminishing in the weeks ahead.

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Wide Receiver Target Leaders

Over the past two weeks, there have only been four WRs who have been targeted at least 10 times each week:

Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals (32): Chase has the most targets among all WRs, and although he claims he is always open, he only has a 68% catch percentage. He’s tied with Rams rookie WR Puka Nacua with 50 receptions.

Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills (27): Diggs is one reception behind, with 49. However, he's sporting a far better catch percentage at 74%, and he has two more TDs than Chase, with five.

Adam Thielen, Carolina Panthers (26): Thielen is having a bit of a renaissance with the Panthers. He’s one of only 10 WRs with over 500 receiving yards. He’s sixth in snaps and is tied with Diggs with 49 catches. And he has an amazing 83% catch percentage and has found the end zone four times.

Marquise Brown, Arizona Cardinals (21): Brown is the No.1 receiving option in Arizona and is actually the only receiver in the league who has been targeted 10 or more times for each of the last three weeks. It is obvious Brown is the centerpiece of their offense. Unfortunately, his catch percentage is a low 55%. He only has 29 catches and 334 receiving yards, although he does have three TDs.

Wide Receivers On The Rise

There are five WRs who were targeted 10 or more times this week for the first time. It is amazing how similar the stats of these five players are this season:

Drake London, Atlanta Falcons (12): For the season, London has been targeted 43 times with 26 catches with a 60% catch percentage. He has 329 receiving yards with two TDs. He is the Falcons' No. 1 receiving target this season, which will continue moving forward.

DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles (11): Smith has been targeted an almost identical 45 times with 28 catches and a 62% catch percentage. He leads all receivers with 434 snaps but is second on his own team in targets. A.J. Brown has more overall targets with 60, more catches with 42, and over double the amount of yards with 672, second only to Tyreek Hill, who has 814 receiving yards.

Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots (11): If you were to ask 10 people out of 10 to compare Smith and Bourne, all 10 would say Smith is far better. All 10 would say they’d rather have Smith too, but their stats are eerily similar. Bourne has been targeted 44 times for 28 catches, a 64% catch percentage. The two each have two TDs, and Bourne has 307 receiving yards to Smith’s 334. The difference is that Bourne is emerging as New England’s No.1 target, while Smith is clearly Philadelphia’s No.2 option behind Brown.

Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (10): Of this group, Aiyuk has the best catch percentage with 68%. He also has the most receiving yards, with 454. And considering the 49ers have Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, it’s miraculous that Aiyuk has so many yards. He’s been targeted 37 times this season with 25 catches and two TDs. With McCaffrey and Samuel each banged up in Sunday’s game in Cleveland, look for Aiyuk to continue to put up impressive stats, especially in the short term.

Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys (10): Gallup has the lowest catch percentage of this group at only 56% and lowest receiving yards with only 204. He’s been targeted the least among this group on the season with only 32, and 18 catches. He has no TDs on the year and only three red zone targets. 

Wide Receivers Trending Down

Finally, there were three WRs who uncharacteristically fell below 10 targets this week:

Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams: After back-to-back weeks with double-digit targets, Nacua saw his looks diminish to seven on Sunday. He is still second in the league among WRs with 70 targets this year and still tied with Ja’Marr Chase with 50 catches. But Cooper Kupp is back, and over the last two weeks he has more targets than Nacua, 21-18. Kupp also leads Nacua in yards per catch, 17.7 to 11.9. It is clear that a healthy Kupp is the Rams' No.1 option. His return moves every receiver on the team down the depth chart.

Christian Kirk, Jacksonville Jaguars: Kirk is currently Trevor Lawrence’s No.1 option, but it’s close. For the second week in a row, Kirk has been under 10 targets. Fellow WR Calvin Ridley has actually played more snaps, 349 to 329. But Kirk has more receiving yards, a better catch percentage, and more catches than Ridley.

Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders: Similar to Kirk, Adams has now had back-to-back weeks with less than 10 targets. In fact, he hasn’t been targeted 10 times in the last two weeks combined. He still has the most targets on the team, the most catches, and the most receiving yards. And he leads the team with seven red zone targets. Usually, when elite WRs have a couple of off games, they explode. Look for Adams to have a monster game this week against the Bears in Chicago.

Fantasy Football Workhorse Running Backs

There have been three RBs with over 20 touches each of the last four weeks:

Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars: Etienne is second among RBs with 337 snaps played and is sixth with 451 rushing yards. He also has six TDs this season. Add to that, and even more impressive, he has been targeted 24 times this year for 21 catches and 172 receiving yards. 

Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders: Jacobs rushing average is still an abysmal 2.9. He’s fifth in the league among RBs with 297 snaps. Although his running hasn’t been up to his usual standards, he’s been very active catching passes out of the backfield. He’s been targeted 35 times, which leads all RBs. And he has 209 receiving yards, which also leads all RBs.

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints: I’m taking a bit of poetic license with Kamara. Technically, he’s only had 20 or more touches each of the last three weeks, but he’s only been back from his suspension for the last three weeks. He’s getting himself back into game shape, averaging 3.8 yards per rush, and has 199 yards in his three games. He has also averaged 53 snaps per game.

Atlanta Falcons Snap And Target Report: Bijan Robinson vs. Tyler Allgeier

One of the more interesting RB tandems in the league continues to be the Atlanta Falcons backfield. Bijan Robinson hasn’t had 20 or more touches in any of the last four weeks, yet is tied for 11th in total touches with 106 for the season. He’s been on the field for 301 snaps, which nearly doubles Tyler Allgeier’s 157 snaps. 

Yet, Robinson only has five more attempts than Allgeier, 80 to 75. Allgeier is clearly the team’s red zone back, with 14 red zone attempts to only seven for Robinson. Robinson’s main value so far has been his pass-catching ability out of the backfield. He has been targeted 32 times for 26 catches and 189 yards, with two receiving TDs.