Week 6 was a somewhat weird week. The top three players in targets each had seven receptions, but they combined for 167 yards and zero touchdowns. Justin Jefferson had 166 yards and two touchdowns on 11 targets, and while Will Fuller , George Kittle and Julio Jones all made the most of their double-digit targets, more players did not, or had their day salvaged by a touchdown like Robert Woods .

As for the season-long target leaders, it is surprising to me how many of the names at the top of the list have bad quarterbacks. Amari Cooper , Allen Robinson , Terry McLaurin and CeeDee Lamb are all stuck with below-average quarterbacks, and it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that Robinson, McLaurin and Lamb are the only receivers in the top 10 in targets with fewer than 100 fantasy points. That should serve as a stark reminder that while targets are very important, the quality of those targets is equally important. 

PlayerTeamGamesPositionTargetsReceptionsYardsTDsDropsCatch %ADoTYards Per TargetYards Per ReceptionRed Zone TargetsRed Zone ReceptionsFantasy Points
Allen Robinson CHI6WR65404742061.510.667.2911.8513499.3
Amari Cooper DAL6WR634650321738.987.9810.93116108.1
DeAndre Hopkins ARZ6WR59476012179.78.2510.1912.7986119.1
Stefon Diggs BUF6WR58425553672.411.249.5713.21149115.5
Terry McLaurin WAS6WR55364871165.510.498.8513.538491
Calvin Ridley ATL6WR52355465267.316.110.515.61711121
Robby Anderson CAR6WR52405671376.910.0810.914.18126103
Travis Kelce KC6TE51374705072.58.659.2212.797114
CeeDee LambDAL6WR49364972273.51010.1413.8110599
Adam Thielen MIN6WR48324157166.715.048.6512.971613117
D.J. Moore CAR6WR47274741657.412.4310.0917.567180.4
Tyler Boyd CIN6WR47374161178.79.578.8511.249487.5
Keenan Allen LAC5WR47343562072.39.237.5710.4710681.6
Darren Waller LV5TE45342932075.666.518.6210575.3
A.J. Green CIN6WR4422215025014.324.899.7710043.5
Alvin Kamara NO5RB44383953386.41.668.9810.3966147.6
Cooper Kupp LA6WR43313742372.17.428.712.066382.1
Jamison Crowder NYJ4WR43293832167.48.128.9113.215379.3
Zach Ertz PHI6TE43241781255.87.124.147.426447.8
Darius SlaytonNYG6WR42254063359.513.679.6716.2414683.3
Odell Beckham  CLV6WR42233193154.813.627.613.8715786.1
Will Fuller  HST6WR42284554166.715.0710.8316.2512697.5
Marquise Brown BLT6WR4026376126516.69.414.4612569.7
DeVante Parker MIA6WR39293642374.410.219.3312.553277.4
Brandin Cooks HST6WR39273672169.212.059.4113.599475.7
Ezekiel Elliott DAL6RB39322041482.1-0.875.236.3811129.7
Tyreek Hill KC6WR38253844265.815.6310.1115.3612898.8
Tyler Lockett SEA5WR38303424478.99.53911.47488.2
George Kittle SF4TE38303802478.97.741012.674281.7
T.Y. Hilton IND6WR37202420354.111.226.5412.19244.2
Mike Evans TB6WR37232816362.212.037.5912.2211887.1
Justin JeffersonMIN6WR36285373277.813.1914.9219.186599.7
Keelan Cole JAX6WR3627362317512.3910.0613.4111881.4
Tee HigginsCIN6WR36223392161.114.649.4215.418369.4
DK MetcalfSEA5WR36224965561.116.8613.7822.55127101.6
Cole Beasley BUF6WR352835821808.210.2312.7911975.8
Russell Gage ATL6WR35252891371.48.948.2611.568559.7
Robert Woods LA6WR35273283277.18.29.3712.159791.4
Emmanuel Sanders NO5WR35263042174.39.948.6911.6911868.4
Mike Davis CAR6RB35322092191.4-0.85.976.5386104.1
Dalton Schultz DAL6TE35232602265.76.87.4311.38461
D.J. Chark  JAX5WR34252653073.513.267.7910.69569.5
Greg Ward PHI6WR34241912270.65.915.627.966554.5
Laviska Shenault JAX6WR34262801276.55.918.2410.774365.4
Mark Andrews BLT6TE33202435360.612.427.3612.1514974.3
Evan Engram NYG6TE33201770260.64.915.368.856444.6
Hunter Henry LAC5TE33222681266.78.488.1212.185154.8
Logan Thomas WAS6TE33171482151.58.884.488.719543.8
Jimmy Graham CHI6TE33222034066.77.676.159.2312766.3
Jerry JeudyDEN5WR32172661453.114.848.3115.658449.6
Julian Edelman NE5WR32203020562.511.419.4415.17352.4
Jarvis Landry CLV6WR3224319027510.199.9713.297455.9

John Brown was held without a catch for the second time in three games Monday, but I’m not ready to give up on him. I still think Josh Allen will be somewhere between the MVP candidate of the first four weeks and the slightly better version of 2019 we’ve seen the last two weeks. On top of that, we don’t know how much the knee injury that kept Brown out in Week 5 was affecting him in Week 6. If Brown and Allen do not bounce back against the Jets Sunday, I will consider dropping Brown at that point. Even then, I might wait until after the Bills face Seattle in Week 9.

Jamison Crowder had double-digit targets for the fourth straight game Sunday, but unlike those previous games, he was held to just 48 yards. If 11.8 ppr fantasy points represent his floor, you’ll probably take that, but this was a good reminder that volume isn’t everything.

Like Jamison Crowder , D.J. Chark got a ton of targets and caught half of them, but failed to do a whole lot for fantasy. Both players are hampered by poor quarterback play, but I think Chark is far more likely to bust big plays or find the end zone. Chark may have a lower week-to-week floor, but I would much rather have him the rest of the season.

Ezekiel Elliott is second in the league in targets among running backs, two behind Alvin Kamara . That buoys Elliott’s weekly floor, especially in a week when the offensive line was decimated and Elliott lost two fumbles. I think if Elliott’s owner is panicking after Monday night, you can make a strong trade offer confident in the knowledge Elliott should rack up receptions, even if he doesn’t gain a ton of receiving yards in the process.

So far Justin Jefferson has been rather boom-or-bust, but I don’t think there is anything about his game that dictates it will always be thus. Stefon Diggs was usually somewhat volatile week-to-week, so maybe that’s just a part of lining up opposite Adam Thielen in this offense. Minnesota’s bye is this week, so perhaps we will see more consistent play after the bye. It is admittedly difficult to trust Jefferson after he has scored fewer than 7.5 fantasy points in three of his six games this season, but I think we will be ranking Jefferson right around where we had Diggs last season before much longer.

My baseline assumption is that the Cowboys’ receivers will all be okay, though they will probably all be less consistent than they were before Dak’s injury. If Ezekiel Elliot holds onto the ball and the refs call the most blatant pass interference you’ll ever see, we might be talking about how the Cowboys kept the game close and Andy Dalton was fine.

The problem I have with actually trusting Dallas is that the upcoming schedule is scary. Washington and Philadelphia are strong enough up front that Dalton probably won’t have time to exploit the secondaries, and Pittsburgh might have the best defense in the league. After the bye, Dallas gets a reprieve at Minnesota before facing Washington again and Baltimore. Things can change between now and then, but it’s hard to feel good about that schedule. 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is tied for seventh in running back targets, but I think anyone who says they know for sure how he and Le’Veon Bell will be used going forward is either delusional or lying. I think Edwards-Helaire is basically Devin Singletary in a better offense, and now that the Chiefs have a big back who is probably better than Darrel Williams , I suspect Edwards-Helaire will be used similarly to Singletary. 

Andy Reid rotated his backs heavily at the start of last season and didn’t really lean on Damien Williams until the end of the regular season and especially in the playoffs. Unless it becomes clear that Bell can’t play anymore, or Edwards-Helaire is so undeniable that they just cannot keep him off the field, I am guessing we get a fairly even split in touches for Edwards-Helaire and Bell. If someone is willing to give up on Bell, I’ll take a chance on him, but I don’t think you can start him until we see him get at least one game with the Chiefs under his belt.

Zach Ertz is tied with Hunter Henry for second among tight ends in targets with 33, but he is 20th in receiving yards. Whenever Goedert returns, I think the expectation is that he’ll get at least as many targets as Ertz was, and likely do a lot more with them. That’s not guaranteed obviously, but I think Goedert should be 100 percent owned, even if you have to stash him on your bench for a couple of weeks. 

At this point, it’s beginning to look like Chase Claypool is real, no matter how good Diontae Johnson is. I still like Johnson, and he might be someone you can trade for, but most of the doubts I had about Claypool were answered last week.

Speaking of players who erased our doubts, Julio Jones certainly looked like himself last week, catching eight of 10 targets for 137 yards and two touchdowns. He could easily get held to four targets in any given week because Matt Ryan is content to check down to receivers who will be coaching high school football in two years, but I doubt Detroit can slow Julio down in Week 7.