Week 1 Target Leaders: Veteran Leadership
It’s time to start breaking down the good, bad and ugly coming out of Week 1 of the NFL season. As always, we here Inside The Dome like to highlight the leading targets and monitor pass distribution to note trends. And, while we can make a judgment and perhaps draw a distinction between the second and third options in a team’s receiving corps, it’s important not to overreact to the early data points. Remember, the NFL scheduling mechanism puts a load of top-notch games on the board early.
Let’s take a look at the Week 1 Target Leaders as we get out of the gate in 2013. For all of the hype about speed receivers and new impact options, note that the top three players on the board have been NFL staples for years.
| Rank | Player | Team | Targets | Completion |
| 1. | Anquan Boldin | SF | 16 | 13 |
| 2. | Andre Johnson | HOU | 15 | 12 |
| 3. | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | 14 | 8 |
| 3. | Brian Hartline | MIA | 14 | 9 |
| 3. | Danny Amendola | NE | 14 | 10 |
| 6. | Vincent Jackson | TB | 13 | 7 |
| 6. | A.J. Green | CIN | 13 | 9 |
| 6. | Kenbrell Thompkins | NE | 13 | 4 |
| 9. | Emmanuel Sanders | PIT | 12 | 7 |
| 10. | Wes Welker | DEN | 11 | 9 |
| 10. | Pierre Garcon | WAS | 11 | 7 |
| 10. | Miles Austin | DAL | 11 | 10 |
| 13. | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | 10 | 5 |
| 13. | Cecil Shorts III | JAX | 10 | 3 |
| 13. | Brandon Gibson | MIA | 10 | 7 |
| 13. | Jordy Nelson | GB | 10 | 7 |
| 13. | Brandon Marshall | CHI | 10 | 8 |
| 18. | Julian Edelman | NE | 9 | 7 |
| 18. | Santana Moss | WAS | 9 | 5 |
| 18. | Andre Roberts | ARI | 9 | 8 |
| 18. | Torrey Smith | BAL | 9 | 4 |
| 18. | DeSean Jackson | PHI | 9 | 7 |
| 18. | Davone Bess | CLE | 9 | 5 |
| 24. | Jerome Simpson | MIN | 8 | 7 |
| 24. | Calvin Johnson | DET | 8 | |
| 24. | Mike Williams | TB | 8 | 4 |
| 24. | Dez Bryant | DAL | 8 | 4 |
| 24. | Hakeem Nicks | NYG | 8 | 5 |
| 24. | Travis Benjamin | CLE | 8 | 3 |
| 24. | Rod Streater | OAK | 8 | 5 |
| 24. | Brandon Stokley | BAL | 8 | 4 |
| 24. | Greg Little | CLE | 8 | 4 |
| 24. | Julio Jones | ATL | 8 | 7 |
| 24. | Reggie Wayne | IND | 8 | 8 |
| 24. | Doug Baldwin | SEA | 8 | 7 |
| 36. | Randall Cobb | GB | 7 | 7 |
| 36. | Ace Sanders | JAX | 7 | 3 |
| 36. | Alshon Jeffery | CHI | 7 | 5 |
| 36. | Victor Cruz | NYG | 7 | 5 |
| 36. | Tavon Austin | STL | 7 | 6 |
| 36. | Steve Smith | CAR | 7 | 6 |
| 36. | Denarius Moore | OAK | 7 | 5 |
| 36. | Eric Decker | DEN | 7 | 2 |
| 36. | Jerricho Cotchery | PIT | 7 | 4 |
