Week 6 brought a welcome revival to the passing game. NFL passing numbers have trended downward since 2020. Through five weeks, we sat at 214.1, the lowest number since 2008. Week 6 showed the tide may be changing.
In 1994, we saw the first meaningful spike in passing game production, with the league average jumping from 200.6 per game to 213.6 per game. Between 1994 and 2010, numbers stayed relatively static, averaging 210.0 per team game. That leaped in 2011 to 229.7 and continued at that rate until a drop from 240.2 in 2020 to 228.3 in 2021 to 218.5 in 2022. The league average from 2011 until 2021 was 234.9 per game.
Multiple players delivered their best performance of the season in Week 6. We break down the whole league.
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 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 31 | Drake London | 16 | 10-158-1 | 43.24% | 68 | 97% |
| Bijan Robinson | 8 | 6-68-0 | 21.62% | 52 | 74% | ||
| Kyle Pitts Sr. | 4 | 3-18-0 | 10.81% | 65 | 93% | ||
| Detroit | 27 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | 10 | 9-45-0 | 37.04% | 48 | 89% |
| Jameson Williams | 7 | 6-66-1 | 25.93% | 46 | 85% | ||
| Sam LaPorta | 6 | 5-55-1 | 22.22% | 52 | 96% | ||
| New Orleans | 26 | Chris Olave | 10 | 6-98-0 | 38.46% | 49 | 88% |
| Rashid Shaheed | 6 | 4-28-0 | 23.08% | 34 | 61% | ||
| Alvin Kamara | 4 | 5-45-0 | 15.38% | 35 | 63% | ||
| New York Jets | 16 | Garrett Wilson | 8 | 3-13-0 | 50.00% | 48 | 84% |
| Josh Reynolds | 3 | 3-25-0 | 18.75% | 50 | 88% | ||
| Andrew Beck | 1 | 1-6-0 | 6.25% | 3 | 5% | ||
| Philadelphia | 32 | Dallas Goedert | 11 | 9-110-1 | 34.38% | 51 | 89% |
| A.J. Brown | 9 | 6-80-0 | 28.13% | 55 | 96% | ||
| DeVonta Smith | 5 | 4-49-0 | 15.63% | 55 | 96% | ||
| Seattle | 24 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | 13 | 8-162-1 | 54.17% | 45 | 82% |
| AJ Barner | 3 | 3-71-0 | 12.50% | 43 | 78% | ||
| Cooper Kupp | 3 | 2-40-1 | 12.50% | 39 | 71% |
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London has double-digit targets in five of the eight games he has played with Michael Penix Jr.. His 17-game pace in those games is 146 receptions, 2,091 yards, and 13.6 touchdowns. Since Zac Robinson moved to the sidelines following the shutout loss to the Panthers, the Falcons' offense has hyper-targeted their three best players, London, Robinson, and Pitts. The environment is a fantasy dream.
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The Lions were very intentional with their targets, which helped Williams achieve his best game of the season. A floor game from St. Brown, but the production from LaPorta in the last two games and Williams' best game in weeks gives hope of all pieces delivering on high ADPs.
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Olave's 64 targets trail only Puka Nacua's 65 for most in the NFL. He's WR26. Something has to give here; if he is continually targeted at this level, the points will come. His 98 yards in Week 5 were a season high by 39. After a hot start, Juwan Johnson has tailed off dramatically, and his fumble killed the Saints' attempt to pull the Patriots' upset. Consensus ranks seem to have finally caught on after valuing him close to Top 12 tight end status.
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Wilson suffered a knee injury toward the end of this game. Initial reports suggest he avoided a season-ending injury, but any missed time would make an already terrible passing attack the worst in the league by far. There was nothing here, and it's difficult to see this situation improving, except for Mason Taylor (one target) or Breece Hall (no targets), offering minimal fantasy utility with a scary floor.
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Goedert has blossomed as a star in Kevin Patullo's offense. He has scored in four straight, sitting behind a group of Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, and James Thrash, who each have five games for the Eagles. Mike Quick has the team record streak at six. Goedert's nine catches were the second most of his career, and he had his first 100-yard game since Week 3 of 2024. He had a quiet Week 1 and missed Week 2, but has been the overall TE2 since Week 3, trailing Jake Ferguson by just one point in half PPR scoring. Goedert needs two touchdowns to tie Brent Celek's 31 for the second-most touchdowns by an Eagles tight end. Zach Ertz has the most in team history, with 38.
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Smith-Njigba's exploits were detailed in The Round Up. It took a 61-yard catch late, but Barner continued his hot start with a season-high 71 yards. After one catch for zero yards in Week 1, he has averaged 3.2 - 41 - 0.8 over the last five weeks, a 17-game pace of 54 - 697 - 13.6. The touchdowns are not sustainable, but 12 tight ends had 50+ receptions and 650+ yards in 2024, and they are all names you are familiar with in your fantasy lineups. If a player does something labeled a fluke every week, at some point, it stops being a fluke and is just fantasy-relevant production. Kupp found the endzone for the first time in 2025.
Offenses with Top 2 Options > 50% and Top 3 > 70% Target Share