NFL Target Analysis Week 7

 Now is the part of the season where the byes start to make the target leaderboard interesting. The first 13 players have all played six games, so be sure to keep an eye on the games played column when assessing this list. Someone like Evan Engram who has 33 receptions on 48 targets looks even more impressive when you realize he’s played one game fewer than the three tight ends ahead of him on the list. We have a lot of good receivers on bye this week, so looking at the games played will be even more important moving forward.

• Kenny Golladay came into Week 7 with at least eight targets in every game this season, but he was targeted just twice Sunday. The knock against Golladay last season was that he would sometimes allow himself to be taken out of games, and it certainly seemed like that was the case Sunday. I still think he’s a buy, especially in standard leagues, but this performance is worrisome.
• I was wary of playing Will Fuller in Week 7 after he had taken advantage of Kenny Stills injury the last two weeks. On Sunday, roles were reversed, with Stills taking advantage of Fuller’s hamstring injury to catch four of five targets for 105 yards against Indianapolis.
• I have a feeling we’re going to keep talking about Zach Ertz every week until he scores a couple more touchdowns. Ertz is sixth among tight ends in fantasy points but first in targets, fifth in receptions and fifth in yards.  For the second week in a row, Ertz had more targets than Dallas Goedert but fewer receptions and yards. Both tight ends are playable until DeSean Jackson returns, though I still prefer Ertz, and I would probably try to buy low if I could.
• Irv Smith and Kyle Rudolph both caught five of six passes Sunday, mostly due to Adam Thielen ’s injury. Smith finished with 60 yards while Rudolph had 58 and a touchdown. We know exactly what Rudolph is at this point, but he probably has a better chance at touchdowns than Smith. Smith is more of an upside play both for Week 8 and going forward, though we obviously cannot count on him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kirk Cousins goes back to throwing as few passes as possible while Thielen is out.
• Gerald Everett actually led all tight ends with nine targets in Week 7. He only caught four of them but finished with 50 yards and a touchdown. He’ll probably never be super-efficient with Jared Goff throwing to him, but he’ll be startable most weeks.
• Jacob Hollister had six targets on Sunday compared to just one for Luke Willson . Hollister only caught three for 20 yards, and he’s not playable even in super deep leagues, but he’s someone to keep an eye on with Will Dissly out. There could be a role for Hollister, especially in the red zone.
• Where does Andy Dalton keep finding these receivers? First, it was Auden Tate who no one had ever heard of. Last week, Alex Erickson came out of nowhere to catch eight of 14 targets for 137 yards and a touchdown. Tate still caught three of six targets for 65 yards, but that’s a lot less impressive when you see Tyler Boyd had 13 targets as well. Boyd only caught five of them for 55 yards, and this is a good time to point out that while he will almost certainly see fewer targets if A.J. Green returns, Boyd was much more efficient last season when Green played.
• The Chargers are a hot mess. Keenan Allen is tied for fifth in targets this season, but Zach Ertz and Dede Westbrook are the only players in the top 15 in targets with lower catch rates. Allen caught just four of 11 targets Sunday, while Austin Ekeler caught seven of eight for 118 yards and a touchdown. Most of Ekeler’s work came with the Chargers down in the fourth quarter, and while I would rather start Ekeler these days, don’t let anyone tell you he’s a better running back than Melvin Gordon .