Targets – 2020 Regular Season
4 min read
Super Bowl LV is in the books! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the champs with a pretty decisive win over the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9. Now what? Wait until the next NFL season? I am not one to sit around and wait for the next NFL Fantasy Football season because I enjoy learning! Why don’t we look back at the past to help prepare for the future. Initially, I would like to look back at the regular season stats that I utilize the most. True to the site name, my Targets and Touchdowns pages for the 2020 regular season. Statistics that in my view can be most beneficial in constructing a winning fantasy football team each season as they speak to the specific opportunity players see through the year. This week I start with Targets!
Feel free to reference the Targets and Touchdowns pages to see who has gotten the looks and end-zone appearances through the regular season. Targets are a great stat to keep track of to help find opportunities and the next players ready to score points in fantasy football!
Targets – Top 50
With Targets the majority of the players we will come across are going to be wide receivers since they are your primary pass catchers. Other positions do mix in and as the NFL becomes more and more friendly to those throwing passes, the more I value those pass catchers (especially if they aren’t a wide receiver by position) on the other end of those passes.
Of the Top 50 targeted players from the 2020 regular season the list includes: 2 running backs, 7 tight ends and 41 wide receivers. The scarcity in which you find those 9 non-wide receivers is an opportunity to get wide receiver production at another position. The 9 non-wide receivers on the list are below. It may be wise to keep these names at the ready come the 2021 Fantasy Football season if they find themselves with similar opportunities.
Targets – Running Backs
- J.D. McKissic
- Alvin Kamara X
Targets – Tight Ends
- Darren Waller X
- Travis Kelce X
- Logan Thomas
- Evan Engram
- T.J. Hockenson
- Hunter Henry
- Noah Fant
X. Top 50 in Targets in 2019 too!
The above names I would imagine were on many playoff and probably championship fantasy football teams in 2020 because they were so highly targeted. They were players that consistently saw Targets for their teams and you can’t have receptions without Targets! The list below were probably on some championship teams too, as they are your top 12 targeted wide receivers in 2020.
Targets – Wide Receivers
- Stefon Diggs
- DeAndre Hopkins X
- Allen Robinson X
- Davante Adams
- Keenan Allen X
- Diontae Johnson
- Calvin Ridley
- Robby Anderson
- Tyreek Hill
- Terry McLaurin
- Tyler Lockett
- Amari Cooper
X. Top 50 in Targets in 2019 too!
Targets – Top 100
Out of curiosity I looked at the players that fell in the 51-100 rankings of Targets in the 2020 regular season. This section of the list includes: 8 running backs, 13 tight ends and 29 wide receivers. Again, a majority of the players were wide receivers but I came across more running backs and tight ends that were getting wide receiver type production in 2020. The 21 non-wide receivers that were in the Top 100 of Targets are listed below.
Targets – Running Backs
- Nyheim Hines
- Ezekiel Elliott
- Mike Davis
- David Montgomery
- Chase Edmonds
- Austin Ekeler
- Aaron Jones
- James White
Targets – Tight Ends
- Eric Ebron
- Dalton Schultz
- Mark Andrews
- Hayden Hurst
- Mike Gesicki
- Rob Gronkowski
- Jimmy Graham
- Zach Ertz
- Austin Hooper
- Dallas Goedert
- Jonnu Smith
- George Kittle
- Gerald Everett
Below are the top 12 wide receivers of the 29 that are in the Top 100 of Targets in the 2020 regular season.
Targets – Wide Receivers
- Corey Davis
- Sterling Shepard
- Jamison Crowder
- Keelan Cole
- Mike Williams
- Chris Godwin
- Emmanuel Sanders
- Nelson Agholor
- Jakobi Meyers
- Josh Reynolds
- Christian Kirk
- Laviska Shenault
Always interesting how the Targets shake out each season. I feel like a lot more tight ends were represented within the Top 100 Targets than I had anticipated going in this year. I would imagine some of these players in the Top 100 could be knocking on the Top 50 list in 2021! Names to keep in mind as you do your offseason review, ramp up for drafting your 2021 team or for trades to make now as you prepare for next year’s fantasy football season!
Do you pick all these highlighted players in the first few rounds of your 2021 drafts? Probably not. Although when you get to comparing them to others around their average draft position, I would tend to lean towards the player that is getting more Targets than those players that are not.
Targets and TDs Fantasy Football
Find players that will have: Ability – Availability – Opportunity – Consistency – Advantage/Upside – Matchup
If your players are on an offensive team that can get many Targets and Touchdowns, you know I would be interested in them! Statistics courtesy of The Football Database , a great resource for your NFL players statistics. If you enjoyed the article please share it with others (via the social media links).
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Missed any recent posts?!, check them out below as you get your mind focused on fantasy football opportunities!
- Super Bowl LV – Chiefs at Bucs
- Conference Championship Round – Bucs at Packers
- Conference Championship Round – Bills at Chiefs
I hope everyone continues to stay safe and healthy! Enjoy the journey throughout the 2020 – 2021 Fantasy Football Season!
