Best Ball Target Share Leaders: How to Draft High Target Share Players in Best Ball Fantasy Football
What constitutes elite target share: receivers holding 25%+ of their team’s total targets are considered target share leaders — WR1s and TE1s who are the primary option in the passing game. Receivers holding 15–24% are strong secondary options. Below 15% is where target share becomes a secondary consideration and other metrics (efficiency, touchdown rate, situation upside) matter more. In best ball, drafting 3–4 players with 20%+ target share across different teams provides a reliable base of weekly production.
Target Share Quick Reference
| Target share tier | What it signals | Best ball draft round | Mistake to avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25%+ target share (WR1 / TE1 leader) | Primary option in the passing game — consistent opportunity every week | Rounds 1–5 — these players anchor a best ball roster | Passing on a 25%+ target share player to take a boom WR with 14% share — volume is the foundation of consistent production |
| 18–24% target share (WR2 / TE2) | Consistent secondary option — not always the focal point but regular work | Rounds 4–8 | Undervaluing WR2 target share as irrelevant — 18–24% on a pass-heavy team (40+ attempts/game) is 7–10 targets per game, meaningful production |
| 12–17% target share (WR3 / deep target) | Situational — produces in big games, inconsistent in lower-volume games | Rounds 9–14 — ceiling plays when the team has a high-scoring week | Treating 15%-target-share WRs as WR2 equivalents — they’re not; they’re boom-or-bust based on game script |
| Pass-heavy team advantage (37+ attempts/game) | Raw target count is inflated — 20% on 40 attempts = 8 targets vs. 20% on 30 attempts = 6 targets | Prefer pass-heavy team leaders over equivalent-share players on run-heavy teams | Comparing target share percentages across teams without normalizing for team pass volume |
| Projected vs. historical target share | Last year’s share + situation change = forward projection | Identify WRs whose new situation projects higher share than market prices in | Blindly using last year’s historical share — a WR who just joined a higher-pass-volume team will outperform their old-team-based share |
| Target share leaders from lower-tier QBs | Volume with bad QB = inefficient target utilization | Discount 10–15% for receivers paired with bottom-10 QBs | Treating a 28%-share WR with a bad QB the same as a 28%-share WR with a top-5 QB — QB quality converts targets to production |
How to Find Target Share Data
In-season vs. pre-season targets. During the season, target share data updates weekly and is available on major analytics platforms (Fantasy Points, FantasyPros, ESPN, Yahoo). Pre-draft, managers use the previous season’s target share as a baseline and adjust for situation changes (new team, new coordinator, new WR added). A receiver who held 27% target share last season and returns to the same team with the same offensive coordinator and no major additions is projected to continue near that target rate.
Projected vs. historical. Pre-draft target share is estimated based on historical data plus situation analysis. When a WR changes teams or a new offensive coordinator installs a different system, historical target share becomes less predictive. Identifying WRs whose new situation is projected to produce higher target share than their old situation (undervalued by ADP because the market uses historical data) finds best ball value.
Round-by-Round Target Share Strategy
Early rounds (1–4). In the first four rounds of a best ball draft, the receivers available are typically the top target share leaders on their teams — confirmed WR1s and TE1s with 22–30% target share in established pass-heavy offenses. Drafting 2 of the first 4 picks at high-target-share skill positions provides a floor that anchors the rest of the draft.
Later rounds (8–15). In later rounds, target share leaders on lower-pass-volume teams or WR2s with 18–22% target share represent mid-tier value. These receivers are not weekly starters in best ball, but they produce enough to contribute in ceiling weeks when their team’s offense explodes.
For how target share fits into complete best ball player evaluation, see: Best Ball Draft Strategy: How to Build a Winning Best Ball Fantasy Football Roster.