Left-Aligned Targets | NFL Advanced Stats

	Player	Position
1	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	WR	39	8	18	29	-	18	21
2	Malik Nabers	WR	37	5	21	28	-	21	16
3	Matthew Golden	WR	36	-	16	25	-	18	18
3	Chris Olave	WR	36	4	11	22	-	19	17
5	Davante Adams	WR	35	-	-	-	-	19	16

Connect your AI to statrankings

Already subscribed? Just sign in.

What Are Left-Aligned Targets?

Left-aligned targets count how many passes were thrown to a receiver on plays where he lined up on the offense's left -- the side determined by where the quarterback is looking downfield, not by which sideline is physically closer to either broadcast camera. Side of field is a real, checkable tendency: roughly a third of NFL outside corners are true left/right players who travel to a side rather than following one receiver, so a heavy left-side target share can point straight at a favorable or unfavorable weekly matchup. This is a volume number, so read it beside Left-Aligned Target Rate, which controls for how many left-side routes he actually ran. Left and right are derived from the charted formation order rather than read from a labeled field, and resolve on about 98% of WR/slot routes; they are an independent split from Slot & Perimeter+ next door and do not sum with it, or on their own, to a receiver's full route total.

Who has the most left-aligned targets in the NFL in 2026?

The top player in left-aligned targets is Jaxon Smith-Njigba of Seattle, at 39 through games played October 30, 2026. Malik Nabers of the New York Giants ranks second at 37, with Matthew Golden of Green Bay & Chris Olave of New Orleans tied for third at 36. Smith-Njigba's total puts him 2 targets clear of second place & 16 ahead of the 25th-ranked player.

Dallas, Green Bay & New Orleans each have two players inside the top ten. Davante Adams of the Los Angeles Rams ranks fifth at 35, with CeeDee Lamb of Dallas sixth at 34, Devaughn Vele of New Orleans, Christian Watson of Green Bay & George Pickens of Dallas are tied for seventh at 32 & Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets ranks tenth at 31.

Malik Nabers of the New York Giants ranks second on the season at 37 but has led the league in left-aligned targets over the last three weeks at 21. Amon-Ra St. Brown of Detroit ranks 11th at 30, with Carnell Tate of Tennessee & Kendrick Bourne of Arizona tied 12th at 29, Drake London of Atlanta ranks 14th at 28, Parker Washington of Jacksonville 15th at 27 and Tetairoa McMillan of Carolina & Denzel Boston of Cleveland are tied 16th at 26.

Ten players sit inside 3 targets of each other from 16th to 25th, the tightest stretch of the ranking. Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams, Tre Tucker of Las Vegas & DK Metcalf of Pittsburgh are tied 18th at 25, with Josh Downs of Indianapolis, Michael Wilson of Arizona, Mike Evans of San Francisco & Jaylen Waddle of Denver tied 21st at 24 & Keenan Allen of Indianapolis ranks 25th at 23. Arizona, Dallas, Green Bay, Indianapolis, New Orleans & the Los Angeles Rams are the only teams with two players in the top 25. Six ranks inside the top 25 are shared by more than one player.

How this ranking is measured

119 NFL players are ranked for the 2026 regular season. The top 25 appear above. A minimum of 30 routes is applied. Left-aligned targets count how many passes were thrown to a receiver on plays where he lined up on the offense's left -- the side determined by where the quarterback is looking downfield, not by which sideline is physically closer to either broadcast camera. Figures are as of October 30, 2026 & are recalculated on StatRankings after each game's play-by-play is processed.