Analyzing Available Targets For 2026
What Do We Mean by “Available Targets”?
It’s simple: take a team’s offseason departures at the skill positions and total up the number of targets and air yards those players received last season. Fortunately, our friends at 4for4 have already done this legwork—if you’re not subscribed, we highly recommend checking them out. (We don’t receive any affiliate fees; they’re just consistently one of the most accurate and useful fantasy resources around.)
One key caveat with available targets: don’t assume teams will throw at the same rate as the previous season. Coaching changes, quarterback turnover, and roster reshaping all impact pass volume. We’ll highlight those contextual factors throughout this article.
Below are the teams entering 2026 with over 33.3% of their 2025 targets now available (plus air yards and inside-the-10 targets for context) and what that could mean for fantasy managers:
| Team | Available Targets | Available Target % | Available Air Yards % | Available Targets Inside 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 240 | 47.1% | 41.9% | 16 |
| Miami Dolphins | 240 | 53.1% | 77.9% | 15 |
| Washington Commanders | 222 | 52.4% | 48.1% | 12 |
| Green Bay Packers | 167 | 37% | 40.9% | 13 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 167 | 36.5% | 47.6% | 6 |
Pittsburgh Steelers
Notable Additions: WR Michael Pittman Jr., RB Rico Dowdle, WR Germie Bernard
Notable Departures: TE Jonnu Smith, RB Kenneth Gainwell, WR Calvin Austin III
The surface-level read here is straightforward: last year’s Steelers offense was one of the more painful fantasy passing games of 2025. But the addition of Mike McCarthy’s play-calling over Arthur Smith and a more legitimate supporting cast around Aaron Rodgers should make 2026 more palatable. But the real story isn’t the offense as a whole — it’s Michael Pittman Jr., who arrives as a quietly undervalued player in 2026 fantasy drafts.
This season’s ADP may have you think otherwise, but Metcalf (WR38 ADP) only finished as the WR26 last year, while Pittman (WR47 ADP) finished as the WR18 despite playing through a slew of injuries. While the Colts offense was humming and before the injuries took their toll, Pittman was on a top-10 WR pace (per RotoViz):
Rodgers’ return bodes much better for Pittman’s style than it does for Metcalf’s downfield game:
Rodgers was last in completed air yards per attempt (3.3) in 2025 — a number that’s only going to tick up modestly with McCarthy’s scheme, not balloon overnight. Pittman, who wins in the intermediate and underneath areas of the field, is precisely the kind of receiver that Rodgers can still feed efficiently.
Gainwell’s departure looms large here as well. He had the 5th-most RB targets in the NFL last season and was the engine of the passing game in multiple contests. Jaylen Warren could finally break through as a consistent PPR option if Rodgers continues to check down at a similar pace.
On the subject of pace, it’s important to be mindful of Rodgers’ penchant for running down the clock and lack of pace. Last year, only 4 teams ran fewer plays than the Steelers. It was even worse in 2024 when he was a member of the Jets, when only 2 teams ran fewer plays.
Still, there’s a strong case that Rodgers finishes his career on a high note in a system tailored to his current skill set. After all, he did spend his glory days running Mike McCarthy’s three-receiver set pass attack:
If he does rewind the clock a bit, Pittman — at his current mid-round price — may be the biggest beneficiary on the entire roster.
Miami Dolphins
Notable Additions: WR Jalen Tolbert, WR Tutu Atwell, WR Caleb Douglas, WR Chris Bell, QB Malik Willis
Notable Departures: QB Tua Tagovailoa, WR Jaylen Waddle, WR Tyreek Hill, TE Darren Waller
Goodbye McDaniel/Tua/Waddle/Hill era. Hello, ground-and-pound rebuild. Malik Willis is going to lead a whole new kind of offense in Miami – take a look at how Green Bay’s offense changed whenever he saw significant playing time in the past two years:
We’re talking a 27% reduction in pass attempts, a 29% increase in rush attempts, and a 16% decrease in scoring.
The available targets and air yards numbers here are staggering — 53.1% of targets and a jaw-dropping 77.9% of air yards vacated. As noted by the metrics above, those targets and air yards are simply not being replicated by Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, and a group of developmental rookies. This is an example where the vacated volume stat is almost entirely misleading. Those targets and air yards aren’t being redistributed so much as they’re evaporating.
De’Von Achane is the obvious focal point here and will get as many rush attempts as he can handle after a sublime 2025 campaign. His fresh four-year, $68 million extension signals Miami’s commitment to him as their multi-year offensive centerpiece. The concern here is that his pass-game usage almost certainly decreases under Willis.
Where Tua checked down, Willis runs — his scramble rate was the highest in the NFL during his time in Green Bay. Achane won’t be a zero in the passing game, but the 85 targets he saw a year ago may be closer to his ceiling, not floor.
The situation is dire enough elsewhere that arguably the most interesting receiving piece is Broncos castoff TE Greg Dulcich, who flashed in the second half of 2025:
Overall, this is the clearest example in this year’s piece of a situation where the available targets metric demands heavy context. The offense has transformed so drastically that many of these vacated targets simply won’t exist in 2026. Achane is still a strong RB1, but the red flags are legitimate enough to reasonably scare owners off of a pick at the 1st/2nd turn.
Washington Commanders
Notable Additions: WR Antonio Williams, RB Rachaad White, TE Chig Okonkwo
Notable Departures: WR Deebo Samuel, TE Zach Ertz
New OC David Blough has said publicly that his goal is to get McLaurin 10 targets per game and move him around the formation to make life harder on opposing defensive coordinators — a notable departure from Kliff Kingsbury, who lined McLaurin up on the outside left on 73% of snaps in both 2024 and 2025.
Age is the main concern — he’ll turn 31 in September — and Blough is a first-year play-caller with zero prior OC experience. The Commanders also ran one of the fastest offenses in football under Kingsbury, always among the league leaders in plays per game and miles ahead of every other team in no-huddle rate; a philosophical shift under Blough could reduce total volume even as target share improves.
To supplement the youth movement, Washington drafted WR Antonio Williams in the 3rd round — his size (6’0″, 187 lbs), speed (4.41 40-yard dash), and breakout age (89th percentile) check real boxes, though he wasn’t overly productive outside of a standout junior year at Clemson and profiles more as a depth piece than an immediate contributor.
The more interesting name at another position is TE Chig Okonkwo, who joins as the Zach Ertz replacement after an up-and-down run in Tennessee. But he showed real flashes — which is, arguably, the best you can expect from a Titan pass-catcher since A.J. Brown left years ago. Jayden Daniels can elevate Okonkwo’s game to new heights, and you can do considerably worse as a late-round dart throw at tight end:
Green Bay Packers
Notable Additions: N/A
Notable Departures: WR Romeo Doubs, WR Dontayvion Wicks
The Packers didn’t add anything notable this offseason — and they didn’t have to, because their best pass-catcher is coming back from the dead.
Tucker Kraft’s pace before his ACL tear in Week 9 last year (73 rec/1,139 yds/15 TDs) would have been a TE2 finish at 16.2 PPG, and he’ll be 10 months removed from his injury by Week 1. He was the best tight end in the league at turning short targets into huge gains while he was healthy and will be given all that he can handle:
Christian Watson’s performance (60/10,39/10 pace) after returning from his own ACL tear surpassed all but the most optimistic of expectations. He’ll serve as the preeminent deep threat and will likely push 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden even further down the pecking order.
A sophomore breakout for the latter is technically possible, but the outlook is, well…bleak. Here are all first-round receivers since 2005 who played 11+ games with under 500 yards, under 35 catches, and under 2 TDs:
| Player | Year | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Golden | 2025 | 14 | 29 | 361 | 0 |
| Treylon Burks | 2022 | 11 | 33 | 444 | 1 |
| Jalen Reagor | 2020 | 11 | 31 | 396 | 1 |
| Henry Ruggs III | 2020 | 13 | 26 | 452 | 2 |
| Corey Davis | 2017 | 11 | 34 | 375 | 0 |
| Nelson Agholor | 2015 | 13 | 23 | 283 | 1 |
| Phillip Dorsett | 2015 | 11 | 18 | 225 | 1 |
| Jonathan Baldwin | 2011 | 11 | 21 | 254 | 1 |
| Darrius Heyward-Bey | 2009 | 11 | 9 | 124 | 1 |
| Ted Ginn Jr. | 2007 | 16 | 34 | 420 | 2 |
| Craig Davis | 2007 | 13 | 20 | 188 | 1 |
| Mike Williams | 2005 | 14 | 29 | 350 | 1 |
| Troy Williamson | 2005 | 14 | 24 | 372 | 2 |
That being said, the Packers have an incentive to make their 2025 first-rounder a contributor, and it’s unlikely that Matt LaFleur suddenly changes his philosophy of heavily rotating receivers. For what it’s worth, Jayden Reed is optimistic about Golden’s prospects for this upcoming season.
Speaking of Jayden Reed, it’s been a bit of a struggle for him after his awesome rookie year. Since his rookie season ended, he’s had only one game with over 6 targets and has only surpassed 55 yards once since Week 9…of 2024. But fully healthy and handed a new contract, he’s the best bet at ADP among their receivers: Watson goes at the 5th/6th turn while Reed slips to the mid-9th.
The age-old question for Reed: will he finally play in 2-WR sets? If so, he’s firmly in play to be the target leader for an annually strong passing attack and party like it’s 2023.
With so many available targets, will these pass-catchers finally consolidate the volume that fantasy managers have long hoped for? Time will tell, but it may simply be Tucker Kraft eating up even more targets while the receivers continue their usual fluctuation in usage.
Philadelphia Eagles
Notable Additions: Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown, Eli Stowers
Notable Departures: A.J. Brown, Jahan Dotson
The trade that fantasy managers had been circling for months finally happened on June 1st: A.J. Brown was shipped to the Patriots, and DeVonta Smith is officially the unquestioned WR1 in Philadelphia.
The sample is small — Smith has appeared in just five games without Brown as an Eagle — but the results have been unambiguous every single time:
For example, in his 2024 missed games in Weeks 2-4, Smith commanded a 31% target share on his routes, was Hurts’ first-read target on 40% of pass plays, and accounted for 59% of the team’s air yards. He led the team in red zone and end zone targets in those stretches, too.
It’s not a case of a WR2 getting more looks by default — it’s a legitimate WR1 taking over an offense. His current WR16 ADP (3rd/4th turn) already reflects some of this, but the upside is real if Jalen Hurts and new OC Sean Mannion can return the Eagles’ offense to its previous elite form.
That last part is the linchpin. Whether we see 2025 Jalen Hurts — who led a middling offense (19th in points, 22nd in passing yards) that limped into the playoffs — or his former MVP-candidate self is going to determine both the amount and the quality of these vacated targets. The floor for Smith is solid, but the ceiling is a function of Hurts.
The 6 vacated inside-the-10 targets are the lowest on this list, which explains why Smith’s target share is the bigger story than the touchdown upside. First-round rookie Makai Lemon, second-round TE Eli Stowers, and 2025 TD maven Dallas Goedert will absorb the remaining volume. Again, Lemon and Co.’s success will entirely be determined by Hurts and his ability to rewind the clock to 2024 (1st in accuracy in 1-10 yard passes) instead of repeating his 2025 performance (14th in short-yardage accuracy).
