Mike Evans finally turned in the breakout performance owners had been expecting
With Week 7 nearly behind us, the NFL is reaching the stretch of the schedule where a majority of teams hit their bye weeks (22 of the 32 teams have their bye weeks spanning from Week 7 to Week 11). This is usually the trickiest part of any fantasy football season, as you’re forced to find replacements on a weekly basis. But bye weeks can also be a positive. The off weeks can allow your studs to get healthy and prepare for the long playoff run. So with bye weeks now in full force, here are five things we learned from Week 7.
Import your team for free to get lineup advice 
Stefon Diggs is the top wideout in Minnesota
Since joining the lineup in Week 4, Diggs has been the most targeted and most productive receiver for the Vikings. Diggs had another impressive day on Sunday, finishing with six catches for 108 yards and a spectacular diving catch for a touchdown. Over his three games, Diggs is averaging over six catches for 108 yards per game. With Mike Wallace still struggling and Charles Johnson recovering from a rib injury, it looks like Diggs is Teddy Bridgewater’s favorite target. He will remain the top receiver in Minnesota for the foreseeable future.
Darren McFadden will be a top waiver wire addition this week
Coming off their bye week, there were rumors floating around the Cowboys that Christine Michael would replace Joseph Randle as the starting back in Dallas (and was a hot waiver addition last week because of the speculation). Randle still started the game, but left early with a back injury. However, it was not Michael who replaced Randle following the injury. Darren McFadden carried the load for the Cowboys from that point on and finished Sunday’s game with 29 carries for 152 yards and one touchdown while adding two catches for 10 yards. With it being uncertain how long Randle will be out of the lineup, it looks like McFadden will be the starter in Dallas for the next several weeks. And with McFadden running behind that dominant Dallas offensive line, it’s likely he’ll have more productive days in his future. If McFadden is available in your league, add him immediately.
Lamar Miller lives up to his preseason hype
Heading into the season, many fantasy owners viewed Miller as a top running back and had him poised for a big season in Miami. However, that has not been the case with Miller averaging only 49 rushing yards per game through his first five games. Sunday was a different case. Miller exploded, as did the entire Dolphins offense, and he finished with 14 carries for 175 yards and one touchdown while adding three catches for 61 yards and another touchdown. Outside of this one-game sample, Miller’s production may continue on a positive trend going forward. Since changing up the coaching staff before their Week 5 bye, the Dolphins under Dan Campbell seem to be focused on running the ball and using Miller has their top offensive weapon. As a result, the Miami running back has had his two most productive games the past two weeks (Miller had 113 yards and one touchdown in Week 6). Hopefully you started Miller this week, but if not, definitely start him going forward. The Dolphins will continue to pound the rock with Miller as they look to build on their two-game winning streak.
Mike Evans is back to WR1 form
In a similar case to Miller, Evans came into the season with high expectations. Sadly, Evans also has not lived up to that hype so far in 2015. Coming into Week 7, Evans has only averaged just over three catches and 44 yards per game. And just like Miller, Evans exploded on Sunday and had his most productive game of the season. The Tampa Bay wide out finished Sunday with eight catches for 164 yards and one touchdown. On top of his big game, Sunday also saw Evans run away with the targets for Tampa Bay. Evans was targeted 12 times on Sunday while no other Buccaneer was targeted more than four times. This is great news for Evans, who is becoming Jameis Winston’s favorite target in the passing game. If Evans can keep getting a majority of Winston’s passes, he should be able to produce like the WR1 many owners envisioned coming into the season.
Owners will have a tough time replacing Arian Foster
The saddest news on Sunday comes out of Houston, where Arian Foster will likely miss the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles. In a blowout loss to the Dolphins, Foster was actually the lone bright spot for the Texans, as he finished the game with 18 carries for 59 yards and one touchdown while adding five catches for 66 yards and another touchdown. However, Foster limped off the field late in the game and rumors are he’ll miss the remainder of the season. This is rough news for Foster owners, who stashed the stud RB as he missed the first three games of the season while recovering from surgery. To make matters worse, none of the other Texans running backs were very productive with Foster on the sidelines early in the season. So, if you are a Foster owner and are now searching for a replacement, the outlook is not good. Chris Polk and Alfred Blue will likely split carries as they did early in the season for the Texans, but that was not overly promising. If worse comes to worst, keep your fingers crossed that Darren McFadden is still available in your league.
Get Start/Sit & Waiver Advice with My Playbook
Brad Behrens is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Brad, check out his archive or follow him @_BradBehrens.
