Week 7 Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers: As the fantasy football season continues to roll on, player value will fluctuate week to week. Based on recent production, here are some running backs and wide receivers who are trending up and some heading in the other direction.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Risers: Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor (IND)
Frank Reich can be a frustrating coach with the usage that he gives Jonathan Taylor at times as he received only 2 carries for 6 yards and 1 reception in the 1st half of the Colts’ Week 6 matchup against the Texans. But his efficiency was insane as he received 12 more carries in the 2nd half that turned into 139 yards and 2 touchdowns.
A player with Taylor’s skillset should be getting more usage and that is what fantasy owners are hoping for as the season moves forward. After putting up 3 straight stellar games on limited usage, the sky is the limit for Taylor if Frank Reich decides to turn his way more often.
Nick Chubb (CLE)
Nick Chubb is injured and is going to miss the Browns Thursday night matchup against the Broncos. That might not be the kind of news that would dictate his value to increase but the injury to Kareem Hunt is what we’re really looking at here.
Chubb is one of the most productive runners in the league and his value has been constantly capped due to the presence of Kareem Hunt in this Browns backfield. But now, with Kareem Hunt supposedly missing several weeks with a calf injury, Chubb will have the backfield to himself upon his return.
With Chubb inheriting this workhorse type of role with D’Earnest Johnson and Demetric Felton being the only other options in this backfield, he could be a fantastic player for fantasy teams when he returns to action. If he returns in full health, expect Nick Chubb to be a stellar option for the rosters that are missing him this week.
Rhamondre Stevenson (NE)
After fumbling and being sent to the dreaded Belichick doghouse, Rhamondre Stevenson was given another opportunity to see the field in Week 6. He certainly made the most of it as he had 5 carries for 23 yards and a touchdown along with 3 receptions for 39 yards. Stevenson isn’t a groundbreaking player to have on your rosters but the potential for value is showing.
Damien Harris controls this backfield but he’s been playing through a recent rib injury over the past couple of weeks. If that injury worsens, then Stevenson would see an increased role. For now, Rhamondre should be seeing an uptick in usage going forward that could provide value for rosters in deeper leagues.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Fallers: Running Backs
Kareem Hunt (CLE)
Kareem Hunt was looking like a player that could see his value take-off coming into Week 6 as Nick Chubb was out with an injury for the Browns matchup against the undefeated Cardinals. Unfortunately, the injury bug found Kareem Hunt as he suffered a calf injury that landed him on IR for what could be several weeks. If there is an IR spot in your league then throw Hunt in that spot immediately. If not, then Kareem could be clogging up space on your roster for the time being.
Antonio Gibson (WAS)
It was recently released that Antonio Gibson has been battling a stress fracture in his shin for the past few weeks and he has been playing through it while providing decent fantasy production. Unfortunately, in this seemingly favorable matchup against the Chief’s struggling defense, Antonio Gibson was ailing as his shin was a little too much for him to play through.
Being a Gibson owner has been frustrating already this year as J.D. McKissic has consistently swiped his opportunities. Now it should get even more frustrating as Gibson seems to be more hobbled than drafters would’ve hoped coming into this season.
Myles Gaskin (MIA)
Myles Gaskin exploded for a massive, out of nowhere, performance against Tampa Bay in Week 5 that gave fantasy owners hope for his season-long usage. That hope came crashing back to earth with a measly 14 total yards on 5 carries and 2 receptions in Week 6. Gaskin just can’t be trusted from here on out for fantasy rosters.
The Dolphins just don’t really know what they want to do with their running back situation as they continuously involve Malcolm Brown, Myles Gaskin, and Salvon Ahmed in varying ways from week to week. If you can ship off Gaskin for another player of value, great, do that immediately. This backfield just screams avoid from here on out until we get some consistent usage from one of these running backs.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Risers: Wide Receivers
Antonio Brown (TB)
Antonio Brown is steadily proving that he should still be recognized as a top-tier wide receiver in the NFL. In two straight weeks, AB has been near the top of wide receiver production as he continuously builds a strong connection with Tom Brady. In 5 games this season, Antonio Brown leads the Buccaneers wideouts with a 19.8% target share even though he plays significantly fewer snaps than Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
AB also doesn’t draw the toughest cornerback matchup week to week due to the presence of Evans and Godwin which only boosts his value further. Any one of these three receivers could have a great game each week, but AB is seeing his opportunities increase further as he looks like a much more reliable option for Brady than the other two.
Jaylen Waddle (MIA)
After a couple of dud weeks in a row, Jaylen Waddle showed out in a great London game against the Jaguars. He finished the game with 10 receptions for 70 yards and also added 2 touchdowns to his total. With Tua returning to the team after being on IR for a few weeks, Waddle should be returning to relevancy as the lead receiver in Miami with a strong connection to Tagovailoa that dates back to college.
CeeDee Lamb (DAL)
Lamb exploded in Week 6 with a phenomenal 9 receptions for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns. CeeDee is leading the high-powered Dallas offense in targets per game this season with 8.2 and he should continue to be a major factor for them as the season progresses. Part of this large target share among the Dallas wide receivers might be due to the hamstring injury Amari Cooper has been playing through since Week 4.
However, that shouldn’t take away from what Lamb was able to accomplish against the Patriots. Don’t expect these kinds of blow-up performances on a consistent basis, mostly because of all the mouths to feed in this offense, but CeeDee Lamb is undoubtedly a riser heading into the Cowboys’ Week 7 bye.
Fantasy Football Fallers: Wide Receivers
Terry McLaurin (WAS)
Terry McLaurin has fallen victim to a multitude of unfortunate factors recently. For one, he is battling through a hamstring injury which is never a good sign. Second, he’s had to deal with the shortcomings of Taylor Heinicke over the past couple of weeks.
What seemed like a favorable matchup against the Chiefs’ less than spectacular defense turned into a failure as Heinicke was only able to pass for 182 yards that resulted in 4 catches for 28 on McLaurins’ end. Hopefully, Terry is able to take advantage of the hobbled Packers secondary in Week 7 but his own health and Heinicke’s inefficiency has held him back over Weeks 5 and 6.
Mike Williams (LAC)
Mike Williams is still 100% a top-tier wide receiver in fantasy but his knee injury is concerning. In a Week 6 game where the Chargers just fell apart, Williams managed to have 2 receptions for 27 yards on 5 total targets. Maybe the Chargers were just holding him back as a precaution for his injury, but the output was definitely disappointing.
Don’t view this as a panic for Mike Williams, who has proved to be a fantastic value this season. He is simply falling due to the injury concern with his knee, but the Chargers are on bye this week which should be great for Williams’ health. A week of rest could go a long way for this stud wide receiver but keep an eye on his injury going into Week 8.
Michael Pittman Jr. (IND)
The return of T.Y. Hilton to this Colts offense didn’t do Michael Pittman any favors. Hilton fell back into his WR1 role with the team as Pittman turned in a secondary role with a measly 2 receptions for 35 yards. This game against the Texans was not close at all which may be a reason for Pittman’s lack of usage. The Colts relied on the run game heavily as the game script dictated toward that outcome. Still, with Hilton returning to the lineup, Pittman might be seeing a decrease in overall usage going forward.
