Week 12 is always one of the best weeks of the year, especially for football fans. Not only are the fantasy playoffs now just a couple of weeks away, but Thanksgiving offers an entire day of family, food, and football. For pigskin fanatics, it’s truly a time to be thankful.

There are plenty of other reasons to rest and reflect this week. The fact that we can take the time to invest our time in reading about NFL passing targets speaks volumes to just how good we have it and how appreciative we should all be, not just for this wonderful hobby, but for all we have in our lives.

Here are the NFL passing target numbers from Week 11 and what they mean for this great Week 12 and for the remainder of the 2018 fantasy football season. Happy Thanksgiving and wishing nothing but the best for you and your family on this wonderful time of the year.

Week 11 byes: Buffalo, Cleveland, Miami, New England, New York Jets, San Francisco

Check out target data for the entire season

Arizona Cardinals

 
Josh Rosen’s Week 11 performance was a mixed bag. While Rosen set a career-high with his first three-score game, he also tossed two more picks and completed only 9-of-20 attempts for 136 yards–nearly half of which came on one throw.

Christian Kirk led Arizona in targets for the first time since Week 3 and did the majority of his damage on that 59-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Despite Josh Rosen‘s struggles, Kirk has recorded multiple receptions in every game since Week 2 and has flashed potential fantasy WR2 skills.

Rosen’s struggles led to a season-low two grabs for Larry Fitzgerald, but both receptions he snared for touchdowns. Fitzgerald now has four touchdowns in Arizona’s past four games. Fitzgerald faces a tough Week 12 matchup lined up against Los Angles slot corner Desmond King, who ranks as the league’s No. 3 cornerback in Pro Football Focus’s coverage grades.

Atlanta Falcons

 
After not seemingly not scoring since midway through the 2003 season, Julio Jones has now recorded a touchdown grab in three consecutive games. Jones is now second in the league with 111 targets and leads the NFL with 1,157 receiving yards. He’s on pace for 1,851 yards, which would be 20 fewer than his career-best total from 2015.

While Matt Ryan has generally played a lot better at home, Austin Hooper has thrived on team’s that rank average or below average against the pass and struggled against quality secondaries. Dallas ranks in the league’s top-10 versus the pass and Hooper struggled to make much of an impact. If that trend continues in Week 12, get Hooper back into your lineup against the Saints.

Week 11 was the quietest home outing of the year for Calvin Ridley, who caught 3-of-4 targets for just 32 yards. Ridley should rebound in Week 12 as the Falcons travel to New Orleans to face a New Orleans secondary that has allowed the most fantasy points to wide receivers this season.

Baltimore Ravens

 
The Ravens employed a run-heavy, conservative attack in Lamar Jackson‘s first start. Jackson completed 13-of-19 throws but the Ravens ran the ball 54 times for 260 yards.

Willie Snead led Baltimore in targets and now has recorded five-plus receptions in seven out of his last nine games. Snead has also topped 50 receiving yards in 6-of-7 but hasn’t scored since the season opener. Snead has been a solid weekly source of targets and catches but has limited upside, even with Baltimore’s outstanding schedule for the remainder of the season.

No running backs recorded a catch against the Bengals. Alex Collins started and punched in another touchdown but was severely outplayed by undrafted free agent rookie Gus Edwards, who ran 17 times for 115 yards and a touchdown. Edwards certainly made the case for an expanded role moving forward. Javorius Allen only got one touch and only has six rushing attempts since Week 5.

Carolina Panthers

 
Despite tying for the team lead with eight targets, Devin Funchess only hauled in two passes for 39 yards. Funchess hasn’t scored or topped 45 receiving yards since Week 7 and has been one of the least-productive No. 1 receivers in football over the past month.

While Funchess is spiraling, D.J. Moore is trending in the right direction. Moore set new career-bests in receptions (7) and receiving yards (157) and caught a red zone touchdown from Cam Newton. Even when Torrey Smith returns from his knee injury, Moore has moved ahead of the veteran, who is little more than a situational deep-threat.

Week 11 was only the second time of the season that Greg Olsen was held under 10 receiving yards but the veteran tight end has recorded a TD grab in four out of five games.

Chicago Bears

 
No surprise to see lesser numbers from Allen Robinson, who was shadowed by Minnesota’s Xavier Rhodes. Robinson’s lone 100-yard performance came during Week 10 and he’s caught more than five passes just twice all season. For Robinson to produce at a WR2/3 level he needs to get into the end zone. Fortunately, the Bears travel to Detroit on Thanksgiving to face a Lions’ secondary that has allowed the third-most touchdown receptions to wideouts.

Anthony Miller also saw a significant reduction in production but somewhat salvaged his day with a red zone touchdown grab. Miller put up a 5/122/1 line on six targets against Detroit in Week 10 but only caught 2-of-3 versus Minnesota.

With 43 rushing yards on a season-high 10 attempts, Mitchell Trubisky now leads all NFL signal-callers with 363 yards on the ground this season.

Cincinnati Bengals

 
A.J. Green has missed a pair of games with a toe injury but could be available to play versus the Browns this week. In his last four matchups against Cleveland, Green has averaged 5.75 receptions, 107 receiving yards, and scored three touchdowns.

Tyler Boyd was on the cusp of overall WR1 numbers with Green in the lineup but has struggled as Cincinnati’s No. 1 option. In those two games, Boyd has caught 7-of-15 targets and averaged just 68 receiving yards-per-game.

John Ross has been even less efficient but has managed to record a TD grab in back-to-back games to supplement his fantasy output. Since returning from a groin injury that cost him Week 8, Ross has caught 4-of-13 targets for just 66 total yards.

Dallas Cowboys

 
RB Ezekiel Elliott led Dallas in targets for the fourth time this season. Elliott has thrived since Amari Cooper arrived in Dallas. In his last three games, Elliott has racked up 500 total yards and scored three touchdowns as the Cowboys have closed the gap in the NFC East.

Cooper took a backseat in Atlanta, failing to lead the Cowboys in targets for the first time, which came as a surprise against an Atlanta secondary that had allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to wide receivers. This week, Cooper has another solid pairing at home against Washington, who has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to the position.

Denver Broncos

 
Courtland Sutton tied for the team lead in targets for the first time all season. Two of Sutton’s three grabs went for 30-plus yards. Sutton still hasn’t caught more than three passes in any game but he has managed to top 50 yards in four out of his past five.

Emmanuel Sanders has yet to top 57 receiving yards or score since the Broncos traded Demaryius Thomas to Houston. Perhaps he’ll bounce back in Week 12 against his former Steelers’ squad. The last time Sanders played Pittsburgh he caught 10-of-16 targets and generated 205 total yards and two touchdowns.

Denver’s backfield breakdown versus the Chargers: Phillip Lindsay 15 touches, 106 yards, two touchdowns, including four catches on five targets. Royce Freeman had eight touches for 30 yards and a score on one target. Devontae Booker only had one touch for four yards on his lone target.

Detroit Lions

 
Bruce Ellington had a strong debut with Detroit, catching six out of nine targets for 52 yards. Ellington commanded most of the playing time in place of Marvin Jones, who sat out Week 11 with a knee injury. If Jones returns, Ellington could kick inside to take over for Golden Tate.

For now, RB Theo Riddick is taking the majority of short passes formerly destined for Tate. With RB Kerryon Johnson potentially looking at a multi-week absence, Riddick should be a safe bet for plenty of snaps but the vast majority of those will come as a receiver.

Green Bay Packers

 
Davante Adams and Aaron Jones were about the only things that went well for Green Bay’s passing attack in Seattle. Adams accounted for nearly half of Aaron Rodgers‘s 21 completions and 332 passing yards. The 166 yards that Adams racked up were a career-high but he’s looking at a potential shadow situation against Xavier Rhodes in Week 12.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling actually led Green Bay with a 98% snap rate but only caught one pass for eight yards. Equanimeous St. Brown also played 88% of the Packers’ plays buy caught just 1-of-4 targets for 16 yards. Aaron Jones got a season-high 44 snaps and got 16 out of the 17 total running back touches.

Reserve tight end Robert Tonyan only played three snaps but made a big impact, catching his lone target for 54 yards and a touchdown. Jimmy Graham broke his thumb and will miss the rest of the fantasy season.

Houston Texans

 
Deshaun Watson had another subpar outing, completing just 16-of-24 passes for 208 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Watson also was limited to just seven rushing yards and hasn’t topped 300 total yards since Week 5.

Suiting up for the first time since Week 7, Keke Coutee led the Texans in targets, catches, and yards. Demaryius Thomas was unable to corral his only target but should bounce back in Week 12 against a Tennessee secondary that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to wide receivers.

DeAndre Hopkins got into the end zone for the fifth-straight game but otherwise was held in check by Washington. Hopkins has now caught five or more balls in nine of the Texans’ 10 games.

Indianapolis Colts

 
Adoree’ Jackson was no match for T.Y. Hilton, who caught all nine of his targets for a season-high 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns, which included a 68-yard bomb and a 14-yarder that was correctly reversed as Hilton avoided the sidelined and crossed the goal line.

Dontrelle Inman has been first or second in targets for three consecutive games but still isn’t playing an extensive number of snaps. Inman is only averaging 9.1 yards-per-target so he doesn’t offer a lot of ceiling, but it looks like he’s emerged as Indy’s No. 2 wideout, at least for now.

Eric Ebron was not targeted for the first time all season but did nearly throw a touchdown pass to Andrew Luck. Ebron’s throw was just over the outreached hands of his quarterback and would’ve given Ebron the rare feat of rushing, receiving, and tossing a touchdown in one season–an unheard of accomplishment for a tight end.

Jacksonville Jaguars

 
The Jaguars emerged from their bye with a clear plan: Do not let Blake Bortles throw the ball. It still didn’t work. A late collapse by the defense led to another loss for Jacksonville, who slid to 3-7. Less than a year after reaching the AFC title game, the Jaguars have fallen out of playoff contention and look like a team in need of a cultural turnover.

Keelan Cole was not targeted against Pittsburgh. Cole hasn’t recorded a catch in the past two games and only has 39 total receiving yards dating back to Week 6. He can be safely dropped in all but larger dynasty leagues.

Jacksonville ran the ball 43 times for 179 yards. Leonard Fournette dominated those carries with 28 totes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Carlos Hyde looked solid, rushing eight times for 44 yards. Fournette also led the team in receiving yards and catches.

Kansas City Chiefs

 
Patrick Mahomes accounted for 506 yards of offense and threw six touchdown passes in a game that the Chiefs wound up losing. Mahomes also turned the ball over five times but has now thrown 37 touchdowns through 11 games, putting him on pace to break the NFL record.

Tyreek Hill topped 200 receiving yards in a game for the first time in his career, including another two touchdown grabs. After Monday night’s outburst, Hill is now the top-scoring wide receiver in all of fantasy football and is tied with Antonio Brown for a league-leading 11 TD grabs.

Sammy Watkins was active but clearly not healthy. Watkins only played five snaps and caught a single reception for three yards. He’ll have the Week 12 bye to rest his foot and hopefully return fully healthy versus Oakland in Week 13.

Los Angeles Chargers

 
Keenan Allen‘s recent red-zone resurgence has been a welcomed addition to his 2018 fantasy output. After not scoring since Week 1, Allen has touchdowns in consecutive games, though his yards-per-catch average has been below double-digits in both weeks. Allen had seven 100-yard performances last season but enters Week 12 with only two.

Antonio Gates was listed as questionable all week but wound up producing his best game of the season. Gates caught five balls for 80 yards, both were easily his best figures of the season. Gates also scored his second touchdown of the season. Despite the solid outing versus Denver, Gates won’t be much more than a low-end TE2 in Week 12 as the Chargers host Arizona’s sixth-ranked fantasy tight end defense.

Philip Rivers has now thrown multiple touchdowns in all 10 of LA’s games. He’ll face a difficult time extending that streak to 11 games in Week 12 as the Chargers host an Arizona secondary that has allowed a league-low 12 touchdown passes and just 237.5 passing yards-per-game.

Los Angeles Rams

 
Brandin Cooks heads into the bye on a hot streak. Cooks has recorded three-straight 100-yard games and now ranks fifth in the NFL with 964 receiving yards. Cooks is averaging 16.3 yards-per-catch but has seen that average dip slightly without Cooper Kupp in the slot.

Kupp’s role is being taken by Josh Reynolds, who caught 6-of-8 Jared Goff targets for 80 yards and another touchdown. The catch and yardage numbers were Reynolds’s best efforts of the year but he should remain a viable fantasy WR3 following the bye. Kupp has been placed on IR, assuring a solid role for Reynolds.

The Rams don’t incorporate their tight ends too frequently but when they do, Tyler Higee has become the go-t0 pass-catcher but Gerald Everett has emerged as the main red zone threat. Higbee has 11 grabs over the past three games, but Everett has three touchdowns in the past two.

Minnesota Vikings

 
While Adam Thielen has tailed off, Stefon Diggs is surging. Diggs has out-targeted Thielen in five out of the past six games that Diggs has been active. For the season, Thielen is averaging 11.7 targets-per-week while Diggs is just behind, at 11.4.

Diggs and Thielen combined to account for 30 of Kirk Cousins‘s 46 attempts. Laquon Treadwell, Aldrick Robinson, and Chad Beebe combined to catch only four passes for 49 yards.

The Vikings had little success on the ground against Chicago’s defense, running 14 times for just 22 yards. Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray combined to rush 13 times for just 17 yards, an average of only 1.3 yards-per-carry. Cook should be more productive next week as the Vikings host a Green Bay defense that has allowed the ninth-most rushing yards to running backs in 2018.

New Orleans Saints

 
One week after going un-targeted against Dallas, third-rounder Tre’Quan Smith hauled in a career-best 10 receptions for 157 yards and his fourth touchdown of the season. Week 11 was the first time that Smith has topped three receptions in a game but there’s a good a chance that Smith will have another solid performance on Thursday against Atlanta’s beleaguered secondary.

By catching all four of his targets for 92 yards and his eighth touchdown, Michael Thomas has now moved into the No. 2 spot among all fantasy wideouts in scoring. Thomas has caught 82 out of 91 targets on the season, an insane 90.1% catch rate.

Undrafted free agent Keith Kirkwood has caught five of his seven targets for 78 yards since making his debut in Week 10. While Austin Carr got into the end zone in the first quarter, Kirkwood has been playing more snaps and earning more targets.

New York Giants

 
Odell Beckham was the only Giant to record more than two receptions in a game where Eli Manning was extremely efficient. Manning completed 94.4% of his 18 pass attempts and threw for a pair of touchdowns. Manning also averaged a season-high 12.8 yards-per-attempt after being under seven yards in three of New York’s previous four games.

Even though the Giants put up 38 points behind a solid performance out of Manning, Saquon Barkley was the backbone of the club’s Week 10 victory. Barkley set new personal bests in carries (27), yards (142) and total touchdowns (3).

Oakland Raiders

 
Derek Carr was held under 200 passing yards for the third time in five games and things won’t get any easier after the loss of Brandon LaFell, who tore his Achilles. Jordy Nelson is also dealing with leg injuries and is considered questionable at best.

Considering the state of Oakland’s offense, avoiding Raiders’ in Baltimore in Week 12 seems like a good plan. Jared Cook can be a solid option at tight end and Jalen Richard has been a dependable source of targets out of the backfield. Other than that, playing an Oakland player against the Ravens offers little fantasy upside.

Philadelphia Eagles

 
Carson Wentz had a forgettable performance in New Orleans. Wentz was held to a season-low 156 passing yards and accumulated a horrid 4.7 yards-per-attempt. Wentz failed to throw a touchdown for the first time since Week 15 of the 2016 NFL season.

#Eagles Carson Wentz stats today: 19 for 33, 156 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs. Which is a 31.9 passer rating.

His passer rating would be 39.6 if he had just spiked the ball the entire game.

😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/3ljsDDLoyd

— Gridiron Experts (@GridironExperts) November 19, 2018

One positive to come out of Philly’s lackluster showing was Golden Tate leading the club in all receiving categories. If Week 11 is any indication, Tate is going to take a big bite out of Nelson Agholor‘s production. Agholor went without a catch in New Orleans a week after catching five passes for 83 yards.

Josh Adams rushed seven times for 53 yards and caught three out of six targets for 19 yards. All told, Adams accounted for 72 yards while Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement combined to account for only 11 yards on five touches.

Pittsburgh Steelers

 
The Jaguars completely shut down Pittsburgh’s offense in the first half. Entering the third quarter, Ben Roethlisberger had thrown for just 53 yards, tossed a pair of ugly interceptions and led the Steelers to zero points at halftime for the first time in 33 games. Fortunately, Roethlisberger rebounded in the second half to lead Pittsburgh to a last-second victory.

Antonio Brown led the way with 13 targets and 117 yards. The vast majority of Brown’s production came on a third-quarter, 78-yard touchdown reception on a blown coverage by Jacksonville’s secondary. Outside of that play, Brown only caught four out of 12 targets for 39 yards.

Juju Smith-Schuster produced his fifth 100-yard effort of the season. Smith-Schuster had a solid performance against Jacksonville nickel corner D.J. Hayden. Week 12 offers up more of a challenge for Smith-Schuster, who will square off with Chris Harris Jr.

Seattle Seahawks

 
It’s been a long time coming for that Doug Baldwin breakout game. Prior to last Thursday night’s game, I had a chance to join the Fantasy Football 24/7 podcast and told the guys to look for Baldwin to have a good game due to very favorable coverage against Bashaud Breeland, who was filling in for Kevin King.

Hopefully the lesson has been learned not to trust Pete Carroll when it comes to choosing a running back. One week after his own breakout showing, Rashaad Penny only got eight carries while Chris Carson resumed lead back duties. Expect this to be a real headache each week, but Carson is the guy to target, at least for now.

David Moore rebounded after consecutive games with 16 receiving yards. Week 11 was only the second time all season that Moore surpassed 50 yards, so he remains rather touchdown-dependant if he’s in fantasy lineups, especially with the Seahawks going so run-heavy.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 
The Bucs appear to be going back to Jameis Winston as their quarterback. That move will likely help the entire offense with the exception of DeSean Jackson, who hasn’t recorded a 100-yard game in the last 15 starts made by Winston.

Mike Evans‘s last three 100-yard games have all come in contests started by Jameis Winston. Evans also has 10 red zone targets this season but seven of them have come via Winston. Assuming Winston finishes the season as the starter, which isn’t the safest bet, Evans should be a weekly WR1.

O.J. Howard is dealing with an ankle injury that could limit him or even prevent him from playing in Week 12. Cameron Brate has fared better with Jameis Winston under center, so Brate could be a decent streaming option or temporary Howard replacement.

Tennessee Titans

 
Jonnu Smith got a career-high eight targets and topped three receptions for the first time in 2018. Only Corey Davis has played more snaps than Smith, who has logged more than 80% of Tennessee’s offensive plays this season.

Speaking of Davis, he generated just 29 yards of offense on three touches after his huge showing in Week 11 against New England. While Davis has flashed potential WR1 upside intermittently throughout 2018, he’s been maddingly inconsistent.

Washington Redskins

 
The Texans have been struggling against opposing tight ends over the past month and Washington took full advantage. Alex Smith and Colt McCoy targeted Reed a season-high 11 times. Reed’s seven receptions tied his most the year and his 71 yards were also his best outing of the season.

Maurice Harris moved outside and struggled to get open or make any kind of impact against the Texans. Trey Quinn acted as the slot receiver for the first time and caught all four of his targets for 49 yards. Neither player will have much fantasy significance if Jamison Crowder returns from his ankle injury.

Washington has a tough task in Week 12, traveling on a short week to take on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Washington also will be forced to play the remainder of the season with Colt McCoy as their starter after Alex Smith broke his leg and is done for the year. The NFC East division lead will be on the line in this game that features a homecoming of sorts for McCoy.

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Jody Smith is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jody, check out his archive and follow him @JodySmithNFL.