Tue Oct 22nd 2024

Week Seven Review

Surprise!

• Week seven was full of explosive games for running backs. The running out produced wide receivers and quarterbacks by far this week. Saquon Barkley scored 26 fantasy points, Joe Mixon 26, Kenneth Walker 22, Kareem Hunt 21, and Kyren Williams 20. They carried the day for most of their dynasty managers. Barkley's revenge game against his former squad was fun to watch. He ran for 176 yards and one touchdown, and he could have run for much more had the Eagles not pulled him from the game once their win was secure. The Eagles dominated the game on the run so severely that Hurts only attempted 14 passes. Joe Mixon was the only effective part of the Houston offense in Green Bay. He ran for 115 and two touchdowns while C.J. Stroud threw for just 86 yards. Kyren Williams scored twice this week and continued his consecutive touchdown streak to nine games in a row. The Rams's passing game struggled, but their defense and running game helped them win the game. Kareem Hunt also scored two touchdowns in a game where Patrick Mahomes was ineffective in the passing game. Kenneth Walker had a modest game as far as yards rushing and receiving, but he also scored two touchdowns, including one very difficult touchdown catch, giving Geno Smith his first game of the season with more than one touchdown pass. It was a great week for these top tier running backs who carried dynasty managers to many wins this week.

Oh, No!

• Two fantasy-producing passing games were surprisingly silent this week. C.J. Stroud and the Texans's passing game was stymied by the Packers's defense on Sunday, giving Stroud and his pass catchers the worst outing of the season. Stroud threw for just 86 yards, Tank Dell did not have a single catch, and Stefon Digg's five receptions totaled just 23 yards. Stroud was under pressure all day and was sacked four times. I'm sure the Texans passing game will bounce back from this, but the loss of Nico Collins affects the passing game more than dynasty managers thought it would. Similarly, the Chiefs's defense smothered the 49ers's passing game. Brock Purdy racked up yards late in garbage time, but his three interceptions put the team in a huge hole early, and they did not have the firepower to get back into the game. It did not help that Deebo Samuel left the game with an illness, Brandon Aiyuk left after injuring his knee, and Juwan Jennings was inactive. That left George Kittle as the only answer in the passing game. The Texans and 49ers passing games struggled this week, and dynasty managers should expect less production than they did earlier in the seasons, especially given their wide receiver injuries.

Ouch!

• Cleveland fans may have gotten their wish in a sad and terrible way. Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles on Sunday, will miss the rest of the season, and may be done for his career. Prior to the game, the team announced that Dorian Thompson-Robinson (DTR) moved ahead of Jameis Winston on the depth chart, and he was the next guy up. He got banged up, too, giving Winston some reps at the end of the game. To be honest, either of them is an improvement to Watson, so I think they will help Brown's players from a fantasy perspective for the rest of this season. Brandon Aiyuk likely tore his ACL, ending his season. His absence gives Juwan Jennings a significant boost for the rest of this season and opens the door for rookies Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing to see more playing time. George Kittle will be the biggest benefactor, though. Hopefully, D.K. Metcalf and Jayden Daniels's injuries appear to be minor, so they will not miss any time.

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Stock Up

Nick Chubb

• It was so fun to see Chubb back on the field and to see him score a touchdown in front of the home crowd. Chubb has long been one of my favorite players in the league, and I believe he can come back from this injury and become a reliable fantasy starter for a few more years. He led the team in carries in his first game back. While he had a minuscule 22 yards on 11 carries, it was still great to see that the team immediately treated him as their leading runner. He only played 36% of the snaps compared to Pierre Strong's 50%, but he got the ball more. His workload will only increase from there. His dynasty stock his rock bottom after his gruesome injury last year, but now it's back on the rise.

Kyren Williams

• If you followed me in the offseason, you know that Blake Corum was one of my favorite rookies in the class. I felt sure that he would cut into Williams's workload this season. Before Sunday's game, a reporter tweeted that coach McVay wanted to mix Corum in more this week, giving Williams two series and Corum one throughout the game. That was not the case this Sunday, as Williams received 89% of the snaps and Corum 11%. Williams is too productive and reliable to lose carries to Corum, and he continues to build upon his stellar breakout season last year. The fear of Corum cutting into his role has fully subsided. Williams's future is secure in LA, and his dynasty value should reflect it. He's now my #2 ranked running back behind only Bijan Robinson.

Brock Bowers

• I'm not alone in having Brock Bowers as my #1 ranked dynasty tight end. Everyone has him ranked first. Even so, I had to comment on how incredible he looked on Sunday. He lined up all over the place and was the offense's focal point, albeit a lousy offense. He was targeted 14 times and had ten catches for 93 yards. He's the only weapon the Raiders have, and he's hard to scheme against since they line him up in so many different places. If he's doing this in his rookie season with two terrible quarterbacks throwing him passes, imagine what he will look like when the Raiders draft a promising young quarterback. His future is even brighter than what we're seeing this year when he's already the second-highest-scoring tight end in the league behind George Kittle.

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Stock Down

Sam Laporta

• As for the man who once flirted with being the top tight end in the dynasty, his stock continues to fall after another terrible outing on Sunday. He's fallen down to 13th in my tight-end rankings. He's simply not a focal point of Detroit's passing game anymore and cannot remain in starting dynasty lineups anymore. He's getting less than three targets per game and has had just one catch in each of the last two games. Touchdowns are flukey, especially for tight ends. Dynasty managers want targets and catches, but LaPorta is not getting them.

Anthony Richardson

• I get a lot of things wrong when evaluating players, but every week I see Richardson play and am more confident in my early evaluation of him. Though drafted highly, I did not believe in him like other dynasty managers did. His lack of college experience and inaccuracy passing the ball were my chief concerns, and they revealed themselves again on Sunday when he completed just 42% of his passes. He may be great in the running game, but if that's all he's got, he's headed down the Tim Tebow road. He may flash for a moment, but it will be short-lived. His falling dynasty stock is dragging Josh Downs and Michael Pittman down with him.

Tank Dell

• This pains me to write, but it's time to move Dell's stock down. Nico Collin's rise and Stefon Diggs's excellent start to the season have caused Dell to be a clear third fiddle in the passing game. Mixon's outstanding play in the running game has also contributed to fewer chances to touch the ball. Diggs's stay with the Texans may be short-lived, which would allow Dell's involvement and dynasty stock to rise again in the future, but every evaluation point this season has given reason to drop him. If he can't capitalize in the weeks while Nico Collins is on IR, he will continue to fall down my rankings.

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Young Guns

Tank Bigsby

• Bigsby finally got to start when Travis Etienne was injured, and he took full advantage of his opportunity. The team fed him 26 carries, which he turned into 118 yards and two touchdowns. He looked decisive and powerful on his runs. Both touchdown runs were in the red zone. When the Jaguars drafted him, I thought he would be their short-yardage back, but he flubbed on his chances in his rookie season. This second year, he has not. He proved this week that he needs more touches than Etienne, and while his head coach insists it's Etienne's job to lose, Bigsby can force his hand if he keeps playing like this.

Bijan Robinson

• It's wonderful to see Bijan stack back-to-back 20+ fantasy point games. He's averaged more than 100 yards from scrimmage and 1.5 touchdowns over the last two weeks and has made some fantastic runs and catches along the way. The Falcons continue to use a two-headed backfield, and Tyler Allgeier has earned his role, but Bijan is getting 71% of the snaps this season, and that's enough to help him live up to his status as the top-ranked dynasty running back.

Brian Robinson

• Robinson is doing his own Kyren Williams impersonation. He's scoring in almost every game. He did not play last week because of an injury, but in his other six games, he scored six touchdowns. The surprisingly successful Commander's offense simply gives him goal-line carries every week, and he's had touchdown runs of 7, 1, 6, 4, 1, and 8 yards. He's had six green-zone touchdowns this season, and there is no reason to believe he will not continue to get more chances at the goal line. Austin Ekeler has looked better than I thought he would this season, and he's eating into Robinson's workload. Still, Robinson securely holds the short-yardage and goal-line role, making him an every-week starter in dynasty lineups.

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Old-Man Strength

Russell Wilson

• Wilson got his first start of the year Sunday night and led the Steelers to a win while scoring the most fantasy points he's scored (25) since week two of last season. Though several guys dropped passes, he only completed 55% of his passes, but he accumulated 264 passing yards and threw two touchdown passes. He helped George Pickens have a great night, with 111 yards receiving and a touchdown. He left no doubt that going forward, the job is his ahead of Justin Fields.

David Njoku

• With Amari Copper gone, Njoku became the team's top target. He was targeted 14 times and caught ten passes for 76 yards, including a touchdown. Each of the Browns's three quarterbacks that played targeted Njoku, and Jameis Winston threw him a touchdown. Njoku is a must-start in dynasty lineups if he becomes the team's top target in the passing game. As I wrote above, the Browns offense will get better no matter which quarterback they name their starter, giving Njoku a chance to be more productive like he was in this game, half of which was played without Deshaun Watson.

Hunter Henry

• After Demario Douglas left the game injured, Henry became Drake Maye's favorite target, earning him nine targets, which he turned into eight catches and 92 yards. As I've written about before, he's the team's most experienced pass catcher. His age and experience make him a prime candidate to lead the team in targets. Maye played well for the second game of his career, and he can keep the offense moving even though the team is so young and their offensive line is terrible. He threw for 276 yards this week and 243 last week. Hunter will continue to get a large share of Maye's targets and yards this season.

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Waiver Watch

Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Jameis Winston

• As mentioned above, the Browns named DTR as Watson's backup, and he was the next man up. Then he was injured, and Winston came in to close the game and lead them on a scoring drive. I wish the Browns would name a starter before dynasty managers have to put in their waiver claims. If they do, the Cleveland starter would be my top priority in superflex leagues.

Cedric Tillman

• Tillman was second on the Brown's team in receiver snap count with 82% of the snaps behind Jerry Jeudy's 95%. More than that, he had a great game with 12 targets, eight catches, and 81 yards. He's the new WR-2 in Cleveland. He was drafted by the Brown in the third round in 2023 and was viewed by many dynasty managers as a sleeper in that year's class. Cleveland's trading for receivers left him buried on the depth chart. Now he has a chance to prove himself again. He's the player I most want to add to my roster this week.

Jacob Cowing

• Cowing saw the field a lot on Sunday after Aiyuk was injured. He had two catches for 50 yards in the game on Sunday. He had a very productive college career, was drafted by the 49ers in the fourth round last year, and was thought by a lot of dynasty managers to be a deep sleeper. He's rostered in many of my leagues already, but not all. He still has competition for playing time now that Ricky Pearsall is back, so I'd only try to add him in very deep leagues. Still, he's worth considering this week.

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Dynasty Trades

Tucker Kraft and Audric Estime <=======> Mark Andrews

• Last week, I was offered Kraft and Estime for Mark Andrews. I accepted right away. I've seen enough this year to make me believe Andrews will never return to his former high-scoring self. His snap counts and targets have plummeted this season, and I see no reason why they would change. Baltimore is simply not using him like they used to use him. I'm excited to add a young and improving tight end to my roster instead, and I am still hopeful that Estime can become the RB-1 in Denver next year, if not by the end of this season.

Chuba Hubbard <=======> 2026 1st round pick

• I find this trade to be very one-sided. Hubbard has absolutely played great this year. He's played so well that he will likely cut into Jonathan Brooks's workload next season, but that's the last year of his contract. Carolina's future backfield belongs to Brooks. That said, the context of the trade is this. The team that gave up the first-round pick for Hubbard is tied for first place at 5-1. They must have felt that Hubbard was the piece that could help keep him on top of the league. We'll have to see how that plays out. I'd give away any first-round pick for a championship, but we know how hard that is to count on in this game.

Ja’Lynn Polk <=======> Romeo Doubs

• This one is a fair trade between two managers who have different values on these young receivers. One wanted the proven flex-worthy player like Doubs. The other wanted the yet-to-be-seen upside of Polk, who has struggled in his first two games with Drake Maye. After last week's games, this trade was made as a classic sale high on Doubs and buy low on Polk. We'll see how it works out. There's a chance Polk could develop into a true WR-1, but there is also a chance that he's a complete bust. I don't think Doubs will ever become the true WR-1 in Green Bay, but he's already proven to be a productive depth piece on dynasty rosters who have a solid floor when in starting lineups.

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