Fantasy Football: 5 Takeaways From Week 7
Fantasy Football Reaction: 5 Takeaways from Week 7
This NFL season is flying by. With one game left in Week 7, it has been a newsworthy season to say the least.
After the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs are the only undefeated team left. The season-long discussion on Rob Gronkowski's return is finally over as he played against the New York Jets and played well. Without Michael Vick, the Eagles offense is a completely different offense, scoring only three points against the Dallas Cowboys.
The biggest news items from Week 7 were the abundance of injuries that took place. If your fantasy team exited this week unscathed, you are very lucky. Starting quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers went down and could miss multiple weeks. I'll get into the specifics later.
If your team did suffer an injury, good luck next week. The waiver wire at this point in the season is pretty shallow. It will be hard to find a replacement starting quarterback without trading away a top-tier player. As for running backs and wide receivers, there are more players available, including the backups for each player.
To expand on that point, running backs Roy Helu and Mike Tolbert continue to take touchdowns away from their team's starters. If you are thin at the running back position, Helu and Tolbert could be worth a roster spot. With six teams on a bye next week, everyone will be rushing to the waiver wire to find replacements.
With that being said, here are my five biggest takeaways from an eventful Week 7.
Bill Pivetz is a fantasy football writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Mr_Piv1127.
Quarterback Injuries Happen in Threes
Well, here's where the injury talk begins. The first being St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. He tore his ACL with five minutes left in the game on Sunday and will miss the rest of the season. Next, Jay Cutler injured his groin after being sacked. It's been reported that he will miss "at least four weeks." The third quarterback injury was to Philadelphia Eagles starter Nick Foles, who suffered a head injury.
The Eagles may in the best shape as Mike Vick should be ready to return next week. As for the Bears, Brandon Marshall's and Alshon Jeffery's values drop a lot. Matt Forte will see even more carries. All Rams players are now droppable in 10-team leagues.
Other Star Players Out for Year
Continuing with the injury theme, quarterbacks weren't the only ones hurt. Doug Martin tore his labrum and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Longtime Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne twisted his knee reaching for a under-thrown pass. He was diagnosed with a torn ACL and will be out for the rest of the year. Arian Foster left Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, but it doesn't sound too serious.
From a fantasy standpoint, Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup Mike James should be added by Martin owners or anyone in a 16-team league. With Wayne's injury, Darrius Heyward-Bey is now a must-own wide receiver. The Houston Texans are on a bye, so Foster should be fine for Week 9.
Broncos' Defense Struggles
Despite entering Sunday night's game 6-0, the Denver Broncos defense was struggling. They are ranked as the 17th-best fantasy defense, only scoring 41 points in seven weeks. To make matters worse, they allow 28.1 points per game, sixth-highest in the league.
From a fantasy perspective, quarterbacks have a field day against the Broncos. They allow the highest amount of passing yards per game, 319.9 to be exact. The defense has also allowed seven rushing touchdowns (sixth) and 14 receiving touchdowns (third) in seven games. They've only scored double-digit fantasy points twice and are no longer a top-tier defense.
Third-String Wide Receivers Step Up
As a result of some injuries from Week 6, Harry Douglas, Terrance Williams and Jarrett Boykin were forced to step up for their respective teams.
For the Atlanta Falcons, Julio Jones is done for the year and Roddy White missed his first game ever. As a result, Harry Douglas had 149 yards and a touchdown. Miles Austin was active, but Williams had six catches for 71 yards and a score. Boykin benefited from Joe Haden covering Jordy Nelson and had eight catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.
All three of these receivers are worth adding. Douglas will be the No. 2 guy in Atlanta, Williams is a better player than Miles Austin, and Boykin will be the slot receiver in Green Bay when James Jones returns.
Highly-Drafted Receivers Remain at Top
With all of these running backs and wide receivers going down with injury, it's a relief to find a player you can rely on every week. Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant and A.J. Green were ranked as three of the top four wide receivers heading into most drafts.
Green and Johnson each had 155 receiving yards. Green also had a touchdown, while Megatron had two. Johnson finished as the league's best fantasy wideout, and Green was not too far behind at No. 3. Bryant had the seventh-most yardage on Sunday with 110 yards.
All three wide receivers have favorable matchups in Week 8. Green and the Cincinnati Bengals take on the New York Jets. Bryant and Johnson face one another, and we could see them trying to one-up each other. They can easily finish in the top-five in scoring again next week.
Fantasy Football Reaction: 5 Takeaways from Week 7
This NFL season is flying by. With one game left in Week 7, it has been a newsworthy season to say the least.
After the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Denver Broncos, the Kansas City Chiefs are the only undefeated team left. The season-long discussion on Rob Gronkowski's return is finally over as he played against the New York Jets and played well. Without Michael Vick, the Eagles offense is a completely different offense, scoring only three points against the Dallas Cowboys.
The biggest news items from Week 7 were the abundance of injuries that took place. If your fantasy team exited this week unscathed, you are very lucky. Starting quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers went down and could miss multiple weeks. I'll get into the specifics later.
If your team did suffer an injury, good luck next week. The waiver wire at this point in the season is pretty shallow. It will be hard to find a replacement starting quarterback without trading away a top-tier player. As for running backs and wide receivers, there are more players available, including the backups for each player.
To expand on that point, running backs Roy Helu and Mike Tolbert continue to take touchdowns away from their team's starters. If you are thin at the running back position, Helu and Tolbert could be worth a roster spot. With six teams on a bye next week, everyone will be rushing to the waiver wire to find replacements.
With that being said, here are my five biggest takeaways from an eventful Week 7.
Bill Pivetz is a fantasy football writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Mr_Piv1127.
Quarterback Injuries Happen in Threes
Well, here's where the injury talk begins. The first being St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. He tore his ACL with five minutes left in the game on Sunday and will miss the rest of the season. Next, Jay Cutler injured his groin after being sacked. It's been reported that he will miss "at least four weeks." The third quarterback injury was to Philadelphia Eagles starter Nick Foles, who suffered a head injury.
The Eagles may in the best shape as Mike Vick should be ready to return next week. As for the Bears, Brandon Marshall's and Alshon Jeffery's values drop a lot. Matt Forte will see even more carries. All Rams players are now droppable in 10-team leagues.
Other Star Players Out for Year
Continuing with the injury theme, quarterbacks weren't the only ones hurt. Doug Martin tore his labrum and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Longtime Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne twisted his knee reaching for a under-thrown pass. He was diagnosed with a torn ACL and will be out for the rest of the year. Arian Foster left Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, but it doesn't sound too serious.
From a fantasy standpoint, Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup Mike James should be added by Martin owners or anyone in a 16-team league. With Wayne's injury, Darrius Heyward-Bey is now a must-own wide receiver. The Houston Texans are on a bye, so Foster should be fine for Week 9.
Broncos' Defense Struggles
Despite entering Sunday night's game 6-0, the Denver Broncos defense was struggling. They are ranked as the 17th-best fantasy defense, only scoring 41 points in seven weeks. To make matters worse, they allow 28.1 points per game, sixth-highest in the league.
From a fantasy perspective, quarterbacks have a field day against the Broncos. They allow the highest amount of passing yards per game, 319.9 to be exact. The defense has also allowed seven rushing touchdowns (sixth) and 14 receiving touchdowns (third) in seven games. They've only scored double-digit fantasy points twice and are no longer a top-tier defense.
Third-String Wide Receivers Step Up
As a result of some injuries from Week 6, Harry Douglas, Terrance Williams and Jarrett Boykin were forced to step up for their respective teams.
For the Atlanta Falcons, Julio Jones is done for the year and Roddy White missed his first game ever. As a result, Harry Douglas had 149 yards and a touchdown. Miles Austin was active, but Williams had six catches for 71 yards and a score. Boykin benefited from Joe Haden covering Jordy Nelson and had eight catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.
All three of these receivers are worth adding. Douglas will be the No. 2 guy in Atlanta, Williams is a better player than Miles Austin, and Boykin will be the slot receiver in Green Bay when James Jones returns.
Highly-Drafted Receivers Remain at Top
With all of these running backs and wide receivers going down with injury, it's a relief to find a player you can rely on every week. Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant and A.J. Green were ranked as three of the top four wide receivers heading into most drafts.
Green and Johnson each had 155 receiving yards. Green also had a touchdown, while Megatron had two. Johnson finished as the league's best fantasy wideout, and Green was not too far behind at No. 3. Bryant had the seventh-most yardage on Sunday with 110 yards.
All three wide receivers have favorable matchups in Week 8. Green and the Cincinnati Bengals take on the New York Jets. Bryant and Johnson face one another, and we could see them trying to one-up each other. They can easily finish in the top-five in scoring again next week.
