Two Monday Night matchups are all that is left in week 7. As always there were eye-catching performances around the NFL for good and bad reasons in fantasy football. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from week 7 in fantasy football.
Week 7 Takeaways
The Impact of the Big Wide Receiver Trades
Both Davante Adams and Amari Cooper made debuts for their new teams this week changing the landscape of each team’s wide receiver rooms. Cooper was eased into the offense more than Adams as he played 19 snaps and ran 12 routes in his debut. Despite the limited workload, he finished with 4 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown on 5 targets. Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir benefited from the added attention to Cooper allowing them to combine for 11 catches and 190 yards against the best pass defense in the NFL. Cooper and Shakir are both valuable assets to own in PPR leagues down the stretch.
It was well known that Adams would have no limitations in his debut as he played 55 snaps and ran 39 routes. In his debut he finished with 3 catches for 30 yards on 9 targets as the Jets put up 0 points in the 2nd half. Rodgers still went to Garrett Wilson on key situations as he had 5 catches for 61 yards on 9 targets. Both Adams and Wilson are going to be WR2’s in PPR leagues the rest of the season. Allen Lazard saw a significant decrease in his snaps despite recording 58 receiving yards last night. If you can trade Lazard for any sort of value, now is the time.
Patrick Mahomes is Droppable
Mahomes is the 2nd quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to a 6-0 record while having a negative touchdown to interception ratio. The only other guy to do it was Peyton Manning in 2015 and they went on to win the Super Bowl. In 7 games this season, Mahomes has failed to reach 17 points in all of them and has scored fewer than 14 in four of his last five. It has been a combination of factors that have led Mahomes to an uncharacteristic start to 2024. Most notably the Chiefs are down Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice, Isiah Pacheco, and now Juju Smith-Shuster. On top of the injuries, Mahomes has just been inconsistent in 2024.
Despite the injuries at receiver, the Chiefs still manage to face one of the lightest boxes in the NFL with teams afraid of Mahomes beating them. Before this week, it was unlikely that the Chiefs would make a move at receiver according to general manager Brett Veach. It is hard to rely on the Chiefs potentially trading for a receiver to help Mahomes fantasy value and at this point he is not worth keeping on your roster in 12-man leagues.
Backfield Notes from Miami, Cleveland, and New York
Before their bye week, we saw the Miami Dolphins lean into their running game to help beat the Patriots for their 2nd win of the season. After De’Von Achane left the game with a concussion, rookie Jaylen Wright had a breakout performance potentially earning more snaps down the stretch. This week got a clear picture of how the backfield split could look going forward for the Dolphins. Achane operated as the primary running back in all situations, while Mostert played a significant number of snaps notably earning all the goal line work. Wright however had a small impact in the backfield and will continue to earn 10-15% of snaps down the stretch.
Nick Chubb returned to play after missing one year of football and led all of Browns running backs in touches. Chubb finished with 11 carries for 22 yards and a touchdown while catching 1 pass for 10 yards. He split time with Pierre Strong, their main back during passing situations. Before his injury, Chubb operated as an early down back while guys like Kareem Hunt or Jerome Ford played on 3rd down. Chubb will continue to play more snaps, but his ceiling is still limited without much upside in the passing game. The Browns are currently 1-6 and will manage the veteran running back’s workload down the stretch.
Brian Dabol mentioned that during Devin Singletary’s absence rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. earned more playing time but we were all unsure how that would look this week. In Singletary’s return, Tracy operated as the lead back for the Giants. Despite the encouraging playing time, he only had 6 carries for 23 yards while catching 3 passes. It is safe to assume that Tracy will be the starter, but it is worth monitoring if the Giants are easing Singletary back into the fold after his injury.
We Can Finally Trust Kyle Pitts in Fantasy
Pitts has been one of the hardest players to trust in fantasy football over the last few seasons, but that narrative is starting to change in 2024. Against the Seahawks, Pitts finished with 7 catches for 65 yards on 9 targets making it his 3rd straight game with at least 65 yards. In the Falcons offense, he is being tasked with being more of a vertical threat utilizing his speed against linebackers or safeties in favorable matchups. He currently ranks 7th in air yards, 7th in average target distance, and is 2nd in yards per reception. The weekly opportunities for Pitts rely on him being able to work vertical on opposing defenses.
With the inconsistency at tight end, Pitts has become a top 5 option heading into week 8. During his last three games, he has run 113 routes and had 22 targets, resulting in 223 receiving yards. Despite his strong play, he still has not reached the end zone since week 1 but the volume is there for him to continue the success down the stretch.
The Impact of Russell Wilson on the Steelers Offense
This week the Steelers benched Justin Fields to try and jumpstart their passing game with veteran Russell Wilson. One of the biggest takeaways from the game was the connection between George Pickens and Russell Wilson. Despite Pickens matchup between one of the league’s best in Sauce Gardner the duo connected on 5 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in the win. Pickens and Wilson’s strengths as players align, making their deep ball connection a new element for the Steelers offense. Pickens with Wilson at quarterback vaults into that mid to low-end WR2 range.
Tua Tagovailoa is Set to Return in Week 8
One of the biggest takeaways from Tua’s absence the last few weeks is the disappearances of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. On Sunday both star wide receivers combined for 2 catches for 19 yards on 4 targets. This season both receivers are under 300 receiving yards with only 1 touchdown. Tua Tagovailoa is set to resume practice this week and likely return against the Cardinals in week 8. The buy low period on Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and De’Von Achane is right now. When Tua comes back all three of these guys will perform better down the stretch.
Running Backs Shined in Week 7
With two games still left to play, we had the most 20-point scorers at the running back position of the season. There were many performances from RB1’s that solidified their status as one of the league’s best while some breakout candidates like Javonte Williams and Tank Bigsby had big weeks. Below are the top 10 scores from this week at RB (PPR)
- Jahmyr Gibbs: 32 points
- Saquon Barkley: 26.7 points
- Joe Mixon: 26.4 points
- Breece Hall: 26.1 points
- Javonte Williams: 26.1 points
- Tank Bigsby: 23.8 points
- Bijan Robinson: 23.3 points
- Kenneth Walker III: 23.3 points
- Kareem Hunt: 22.3 points
- Aaron Jones: 20.6 points
More Injuries to Big Contributors
Injuries have been a headline of the 2024 season and in week 7 it was no different. Both Deshaun Watson and Brandon Aiyuk likely suffered season ending injuries this week. It will be interesting to see where the Browns go at quarterback whether that is Jameis Winston or Dorian Thompson-Robinson. On the 49ers side of things Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are worth monitoring on the waiver wire. DK Metcalf reportedly avoided a major injury on his knee but still might miss some time. Jayden Daniels rib injury is worth monitoring but it appears as if the Commanders kept him out to avoid reinjuring his rib in a blowout win. Below are all of the injuries from this week.
Deshaun Watson: Achillies, out for the season
Juju Smith-Shuster: Hamstring, week to week
DeMario Douglas: Illness, day to day
Brandon Aiyuk: Knee, potential season ending injury
DK Metcalf: Knee, week to week
Jayden Daniels: Rib, week to week
Deebo Samuel: Illness, day to day
For all of the Week 7 Reactions in Fantasy Football check out this YouTube Video
[…] mentioned early this week that Kyle Pitts is starting to earn trust from fantasy managers after three straight performances over 10 points with no less than 65 receiving yards. He has […]