What can we expect this week in fantasy football from some of the game’s top-pass catchers? See how the latest trends with fantasy football targets are having an impact on your players.
Tyler Boyd (CIN) vs. TB – SUN 10:00 AM PT
Tyler Boyd is coming off his worst target total of the season (4). With the Bengals truly struggling against the Chiefs, Andy Dalton threw to A.J. Green 14 times. This game was a bit of an anomaly, as the Chiefs defense played surprisingly well and held the Bengals to only 10 points. This week, Boyd is in a great bounce back spot. He gets to face a torched Bucs secondary and draws an incredible matchup against M.J. Stewart in the slot. This is the same matchup that just allowed Jarvis Landry and David Njoku to have 10 / 97 / 1 and 4 / 52 / 1 stat lines. Having seen 8.7 targets per game up to last week, Boyd should progress towards his mean.
For more Week 8 coverage, see our fantasy football rankings, weekly NFL picks, sleepers and streaming defenses.
Sterling Shepard (NYG) vs. WAS – SUN 10:00 AM PT
Sterling Shepard found great success last week even after Evan Engram re-joined the Giants starting lineup. Garnering 8 targets, Shepard has now seen 7.8 targets per game through the past five weeks. While Shepard is a piece of the Giants offense, he has never been a focal point or even an important factor within it. Given recent injuries and offensive struggles, his statistics have been positively skewed over the first half of the season. Unfortunately for Shepard, his outlook is far less favorable this week. The Redskins-Giants game is tied for the lowest implied total of the week at 42 points. The Redskins have been playing admirable defense as of late and just shut down Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys. While Shepard still could see 4-6 targets, the quality of them will likely be poor in a bad game environment. Look elsewhere in playing your WR-2 and WR-3 this week, as Shepard’s success should dwindle.
Christian Kirk (ARI) vs. SF – SUN 1:25 PM PT
A repeat from last week, however, with much more upside: Christian Kirk will face the 49ers secondary who currently ranks bottom 5 in deep passes allowed. We’ve already seen Kirk’s big play ability in Week 3 when he broke off a 75 yard touchdown pass. Ironically enough, that was against 49ers. This week, he has a great opportunity to repeat past success. With the Cardinals firing their offensive coordinator last week, much will be undetermined going into this game. While that may be scary from a fantasy perspective, Kirk will undoubtedly remain a focal point for Josh Rosen. Given their recent success playing together, now in a great matchup, Kirk could very sneakily post a breakout game. Expect a favorable amount of targets coming his way this Sunday.
Jarvis Landry (CLE) at PIT – SUN 10:00 AM PT
This should come as no surprise, but Jarvis Landry’s target total should remain well intact against the Steelers. Something of importance to note, Landry is tied for third in red zone targets this season (13) among all active players this week. The Steelers are one of the league’s worst passing defenses in terms of passing touchdowns allowed. While Landry will see his usual 10+ targets, the value of them are much higher than normal this week. Just two weeks ago, Tyler Boyd caught 2 touchdowns against the Steelers from the slot. There’s great reason to believe that Landry can replicate this success and find the end zone come Sunday. Expect a handful of red zone targets for Landry in this one.
Danny Amendola (MIA) at HOU – THU 5:20 PM PT
Danny Amendola is coming off a great week. Having just posted a 6 / 84 / 1 stat line off 11 targets, Amendola looks to continue his forward trend. The Dolphins receiving core will be without Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson this week. With Brock Osweiler already developing an affinity for Amendola, because of his short and over the middle routes, Amendola should see another large target total. The Dolphins don’t pass the ball at a high percentage compared to the rest of the league, but Amendola will still have a small monopoly come Thursday.
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