Week 5 saw bounce-back performances from players who started slow. DeVonta Smith, Josh Downs, David Njoku, Brian Thomas Jr., and Xavier Legette gave managers reasons to keep believing. Kendrick Bourne and Ryan Flournoy emerged from off the radar to deliver career-best days. We also saw our first complete look at the post-Tyreek Hill and Malik Nabers worlds for the Dolphins and Giants.
What other notable developments emerged? We take a look at the entire NFL receiving landscape.
The Target Report
I view target trees as "clean" or "dirty." Clean trees distill targets to their top options and give standout fantasy performances. Dirty trees are, well, a mess and rely on unpredictable possibilities. The chart below categorizes these offenses.
Offenses with Top 2 Options > 60% Target Share
| Team | Throws | Player | Targets | Stat Line | Target % | Snaps | Snap % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 28 | Ryan Flournoy | 9 | 6-114-0 | 32.14% | 34 | 57% |
| Jake Ferguson | 9 | 7-49-2 | 32.14% | 33 | 55% | ||
| George Pickens | 4 | 2-57-1 | 14.29% | 47 | 78% | ||
| Detroit | 23 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | 9 | 8-100-0 | 39.13% | 50 | 81% |
| Sam LaPorta | 6 | 5-92-1 | 26.09% | 58 | 94% | ||
| Brock Wright | 3 | 2-9-1 | 13.04% | 45 | 73% |
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Flournoy was the breakout star of the week. He played as the WR3 and was the beneficiary of KaVontae Turpin's absence due to injury. Turpin's absence is expected to be short, and Jonathan Mingo is ramping up activity. CeeDee Lamb will return eventually as well, making Flournoy a short-term value. Still, when a second-year player stands out, it is worth noting. Ferguson is pacing to a 139-924-10 line.
- Detroit had a significant shift in its personnel sets, playing much more two-tight-end sets. Isaac TeSlaa replaced Kalif Raymond as the WR3. TeSlaa is the type of player capable of scoring any week. LaPorta saw much more dedicated usage early in the game; Wright's presence in the lineup allowed him to play in more of a slot role. The loser, of course, is Jameson Williams. I had a lot of questions about Williams in a Reddit AMA. We know the talent is there. We see that the support environment is in place. But that argument has been made for players like Deebo Samuel Sr. or Jaylen Waddle in the past during disappointing seasons.
Offenses with Top 2 Options > 50% and Top 3 > 70% Target Share
| Team | Throws | Player | Targets | Stat Line | Target % | Snaps | Snap % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 30 | Khalil Shakir | 9 | 6-45-0 | 30.00% | 43 | 63% |
| Keon Coleman | 7 | 4-23-1 | 23.33% | 42 | 62% | ||
| Dalton Kincaid | 6 | 6-108-0 | 20.00% | 37 | 54% | ||
| LA Chargers | 32 | Keenan Allen | 9 | 5-58-0 | 28.13% | 39 | 58% |
| Ladd McConkey | 7 | 5-39-1 | 21.88% | 53 | 79% | ||
| Omarion Hampton | 6 | 6-26-0 | 18.75% | 39 | 58% | ||
| LA Rams | 43 | Puka Nacua | 12 | 10-85-1 | 27.91% | 63 | 93% |
| Davante Adams | 11 | 5-88-0 | 25.58% | 58 | 85% | ||
| Kyren Williams | 10 | 8-66-2 | 23.26% | 62 | 91% | ||
| Minnesota | 34 | Justin Jefferson | 11 | 7-123-0 | 32.35% | 65 | 100% |
| Jordan Addison | 6 | 5-41-1 | 17.65% | 49 | 75% | ||
| T.J. Hockenson | 6 | 6-38-0 | 17.65% | 55 | 85% | ||
| New Orleans | 31 | Chris Olave | 11 | 7-59-0 | 35.48% | 48 | 73% |
| Alvin Kamara | 6 | 4-28-0 | 19.35% | 37 | 56% | ||
| Rashid Shaheed | 5 | 4-114-1 | 16.13% | 44 | 67% | ||
| Philadelphia | 37 | DeVonta Smith | 10 | 8-114-0 | 27.03% | 60 | 98% |
| Dallas Goedert | 9 | 3-19-1 | 24.32% | 48 | 79% | ||
| A.J. Brown | 8 | 5-43-0 | 21.62% | 57 | 93% | ||
| Seattle | 34 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | 9 | 8-132-1 | 26.47% | 55 | 90% |
| Cooper Kupp | 9 | 6-59-0 | 26.47% | 54 | 89% | ||
| AJ Barner | 7 | 7-53-2 | 20.59% | 49 | 80% |
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The Patriots shut down the run and forced the Bills into a pass-heavy game. Kincaid became the first Bills tight end to top 100 yards since Dawson Knox in Week 5, 2021. Shakir saw heavy usage, and Coleman flashed on multiple moments late in the game. The consistency is difficult to trust, and the Bills can build significant leads by leaning on the run, but a decent fantasy performance from the receivers is also needed.
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Allen became the quickest receiver to hit 1,000 career receptions. McConkey showed signs of life, catching a touchdown and returning a punt for a touchdown that was ultimately overturned due to a penalty. Hampton hitting IR is the most significant news item. The team is likely to double down on the passing attack around its trio of talented receivers.
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Nacua made his usual appearance in Stats of the Week in The Roundup. Nacua dominated targets in Weeks 3 and 4, with 30 to Adams' 14. In the other three weeks, the top two receivers have 32 targets each. Williams tied a career high with 10 targets.
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Jefferson topped 123 yards in consecutive games for the fifth time in his career. Early 2023 was the last time he hit those marks. Addison was a curious early benching; the team said it was an internal matter. Addison came through when needed, catching the game-winning touchdown. He has made a meaningful impact in both games since returning from a three-game suspension.
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Olave is consistent. He has landed between 54 and 59 yards in four of five games, catching a touchdown in the only game he failed to top 20 receiving yards. Shaheed displayed similar usage consistency; his 87-yard touchdown catch in Week 5 was an outlier.
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Smith went 24 games between early 2023 and late 2024 with just one game over 100 yards. He has topped the mark in three of his last eight regular-season games. He has had two strong games and three completely unusable games. Once again, Brown could get nothing going. Once again, Goedert found the endzone.
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Smith-Njigba's 534 receiving yards are the 66th most through the first five games of a season. It is the most in Seahawks history through that span. Smith-Njigba ranks second in the NFC West in receiving yards, behind Nacua's 588. D.K. Metcalf is the only other Seahawks receiver to reach over 450 yards through five games in franchise history, posting 496 yards in 2020. The Seahawks have been pushed into two back-and-forth games in Week 2 and Week 5. In those games, Kupp has averaged 6.5 receptions and 74.5 yards, a 17-game pace of 110 catches and 1,266 yards. In the other three games, he has averaged 2.67 and 24, a 17-game pace of 45 receptions with 408 yards. Barner forced his way onto fantasy radars with a first touchdown scorer hit in Week 4. Attention for him will soar now. He's played nearly twice as many snaps as Dynasty Darling Elijah Arroyo and is a near every-down player. He has become Sam Darnold's answer for T.J. Hockenson.
Offenses with Top 1 Option > 25% and Top 3 < 70% Target Share