Which wide receivers get the most targets while trailing?
Chris Olave leads all NFL wide receivers with 115 targets while trailing, on 79 receptions and 7 receiving touchdowns across 16 games.
NFL Wide Receiver Targets While Trailing
Ranked by TGT · 2025 regular season| # | Player | TGT | REC | YDS | TD | CTH% | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Olave New Orleans Saints · #12 | 115 | 79 | 854 | 7 | 68.7% | 16 |
| 2 | Ja'Marr Chase Cincinnati Bengals · #1 | 105 | 72 | 923 | 6 | 68.6% | 15 |
| 3 | Michael Wilson Arizona Cardinals · #14 | 93 | 59 | 767 | 4 | 63.4% | 14 |
| 4 | George Pickens Dallas Cowboys · #3 | 89 | 61 | 918 | 7 | 68.5% | 16 |
| 5 | Tetairoa McMillan Carolina Panthers · #4 | 82 | 50 | 776 | 6 | 61.0% | 15 |
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Open this in the Stat Explorer →Why this matters
Trailing does not just raise how often a team throws; it changes where the ball tends to go once it does. Defenses sitting back to protect against the deep shot leave short and intermediate routes open, so offenses spread throws across multiple options rather than forcing every snap through a single primary target.
Spreading the ball this way makes the list trickier to read than the quarterback version of the same split. A receiver near the top can be the clear preferred option in a pass-heavy script, or he can simply be catching his share of a much wider net being cast, with volume distributed further down the depth chart than a tight game would ever allow.
Check how concentrated the target total is before crediting a receiver with alpha status. A player who dominates this list while teammates barely register is being trusted the way a true primary read is trusted; a player who merely keeps pace with several others is benefiting from circumstance more than standing out as the focal point of the game plan.