2019 Targets by Position : the Fantasy Fellowship

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK-sD-dhN3o%5D

The data below shows the number of targets to each position by team, helping us see which teams are better at targeting specific positions.

You can check out my 2020 Projected Target Share by Player here.

RBs WRs TEs

Rank	Team	Targets	RB	%
1	LAC	597	182	30.49%
2	NE	620	166	26.77%
3	NO	581	154	26.51%
4	CAR	633	153	24.17%
5	CHI	580	147	25.34%
6	GB	573	133	23.21%
7	JAX	589	129	21.90%
8	MIN	466	126	27.04%
9	MIA	615	120	19.51%
10	LV	523	117	22.37%
11	CLE	539	115	21.34%
12	TB	630	113	17.94%
13	PHI	613	113	18.43%
14	DEN	504	112	22.22%
15	ATL	685	111	16.20%
16	PIT	510	110	21.57%
17	KC	558	110	19.71%
18	NYJ	521	107	20.54%
19	ARI	554	104	18.77%
20	WAS	479	103	21.50%
21	SF	478	103	21.55%
22	DET	547	101	18.46%
23	NYG	588	98	16.67%
24	DAL	597	91	15.24%
25	IND	513	91	17.74%
26	CIN	616	88	14.29%
27	SEA	517	85	16.44%
28	BUF	513	80	15.59%
29	HOU	534	79	14.79%
30	BAL	440	62	14.09%
31	LAR	632	61	9.65%
32	TEN	448	61	13.62%

In PPR leagues, we want running backs who are involved in the passing game.

The chart above shows the teams who attempted the most passes to RBs in 2019. Most of the teams at the top make sense, but then you have teams like Miami and Las Vegas creeping into the top 10 in pass attempts to RBs. This makes me interested in Matt Breida now that he’s a Dolphin. Breida has 67 career receptions through three seasons and is set up to reach career highs in receiving with Miami. We know Jordan Howard is not a pass catching back, so the majority of this work should go Breida’s way, perhaps making him a sleeper pick as your RB3 with upside.

In Las Vegas, Jalen Richard has been Jon Gruden’s preferred pass catching back for the last couple of years. Richard finished with 43 targets in 2019, DeAndre Washington earned 41 targets, and rookie Josh Jacobs earned 27. With Washington now in Kansas City, this leaves potentially 41 targets up for grabs between Jacobs, Richard and rookie Lynn Bowden. I would expect Josh Jacobs to get more looks in the passing game in 2020, as it is one of his best assets of his game. They simply just didn’t use him enough last year. We should see Richard get a boost in targets as well, making both Raiders backs intriguing PPR options in 2020, with Jacobs getting the biggest boost in value if he gets more work.

RBS 1

RB 2

The best running backs offer a large amount of target opportunities as well as carries in the run game. Some of the best teams at targeting the RBs allow their top ball carrier to be their preferred receiving back. These are players we want to target in PPR leagues and include guys like Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Dalvin Cook, Leonard Fournette (maybe), Alvin Kamara, Le’Veon Bell (maybe), Ezekiel Elliott, Aaron Jones, Miles Sanders, Melvin Gordon, Nick Chubb and Todd Gurley now that he’s in Atlanta. Josh Jacobs as mentioned above could fall into this group in 2020.

Nick Chubb’s value took a hit when Kareem Hunt got on the field, but he still managed 49 targets in 2019. The 2020 Browns will be committing to a more run heavy approach, so there’s room for Chubb to earn more work as a runner with a likely decrease in targets. Chubb saw just 17 targets in the final 8 games of 2019 with Kareem Hunt on the field, so we should expect him in the 30-40 range for targets in 2020. There has also been some rumblings about getting Kareem Hunt more involved in the slot as the 3rd WR, which could get both RBs on the field together more often in 2020.

On the other hand, some 2nd or 3rd running backs on the depth chart get a significant boost in PPR leagues because of their pass catching abilities. These are players like Austin Ekeler, Tarik Cohen, James White, Duke Johnson, Nyheim Hines, Chris Thompson, Kareem Hunt and Jaylen Samuels. These type of scat backs are the ones we are looking for in the middle or end of our drafts, as they present RB2 upside on most weeks due to their volume of receptions.

Austin Ekeler may have moved out of this scat back tier and should be viewed similarly to Alvin Kamara for 2020. The biggest differences between the two will be the success of the Saints offense vs. the Chargers. Ekeler has the chance to lead his team in carries and should be the 2nd most targeted player behind Keenan Allen, making him a solid RB2 this year and a fringe RB1 most weeks.

RB Leaders in Targets:

Rank	Year	Team	Player	Rec	Targets
1	2019	CAR	McCaffrey	116	142
2	2019	LAC	Ekeler	92	108
3	2019	CHI	Cohen	79	104
4	2019	JAX	Fournette	76	100
5	2019	NO	Kamara	81	97
6	2019	NE	White	72	95
7	2019	NYJ	Bell	66	78
8	2019	NYG	Barkley	52	73
9	2019	DAL	Elliott	54	71
10	2019	ATL	Freeman	59	70
11	2019	GB	Jones	49	68
12	2019	MIN	Cook	53	63
13	2019	PHI	Sanders	50	63
14	2019	HOU	Johnson	44	62
15	2019	IND	Hines	44	58
16	2019	WAS	Thompson	42	58
17	2019	PIT	Samuels	47	57
18	2019	LAC	Gordon	42	55
19	2019	DEN	Freeman	43	50
20	2019	CLE	Chubb	36	49