NFL Vacated Targets

NFL vacated targets by team

How much receiving work each team lost and gained through roster turnover. Positive net vacated targets mean opportunity opening up for the players who remain. Negative means a team added competition and the returning pass catchers are likely to see less.

Why vacated targets are a starting point and not an answer

Targets do not redistribute evenly. When a team loses a 120-target receiver, that work does not split neatly across the roster. It tends to concentrate on whoever inherits the same role, and a slot receiver leaving usually means the next slot receiver eats rather than the outside receivers gaining.

Coaching matters as much as personnel. A new coordinator who throws at a different rate can add or remove more targets than any single departure, which is why vacated target totals should be read next to what changed on the staff.

Some vacated targets are not worth inheriting. A departing receiver who was inefficient on a high volume of low-value looks leaves behind targets that will not produce for whoever takes them either.

Using turnover in drafts

The most reliable version of this signal is a team with a large positive net and a clear returning player already established in that role. That combination is where target share jumps tend to actually happen.

The trap is drafting an unproven player purely because his team vacated a lot of work. Opportunity without an established role is a coin flip, and those players are usually priced as though the coin has already landed.

Frequently asked questions