NFL Week 7 saw eight of the 13 road teams emerge victorious, five running backs score at least two touchdowns, Adam Thielen record his seventh straight 100-yard receiving game, and the Browns play their league-leading fourth overtime game. After another wild (Thursday and) Sunday, here are my risers and fallers after Week 7.
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Risers
Kerryon Johnson (RB – DET)
I listed Johnson here a few weeks ago, but this was indeed his breakout game. Johnson was the clear focal point of the Lions’ offense on Sunday, turning his team-leading 21 touches into 179 total yards. With Theo Riddick inactive, he was able to play a few more passing game snaps, but he did most of his damage on the ground. Ameer Abdullah is an afterthought at this point, and LeGarrette Blount is the only thorn left in Johnson’s side. Blount will remain the Lions’ goal-line back (for this year at least), but Johnson’s value continues to rise every week.
Jarvis Landry (WR – CLE)
Finally, Baker Mayfield and Landry made an impactful connection. Mayfield has heavily targeted Landry since he became the starter, but in his first three starts, Landry only caught 11 of the 30 passes thrown his way. Yesterday, Landry was able to corral 10 of his 15 targets for 97 yards and a touchdown. He’s commanding a 26% target share from Mayfield and is about to face the Steelers, Chiefs, and Falcons before the Browns’ bye, who have given up the third, 16th, and fourth most fantasy points to wide receivers this season, respectively.
Marlon Mack (RB – IND)
While Mack may never get a juicier matchup and game script than he had on Sunday against the Bills, he established himself as the lead back for an Andrew Luck-led offense. Mack exploded Sunday for 126 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and added two catches for 33 yards and another touchdown. The only remaining opponents the Colts face who currently have a record above .500 are the Dolphins and the Texans. This should mean a heavy dosage of Mack, as the Colts don’t figure to be playing from behind very often.
Dion Lewis (RB – TEN)
Last week, I wrote that there was no one on the Titans offense worth having on your fantasy team. I may have been a bit too quick to cast Lewis aside. Lewis has had three games this season with over 15 points in PPR formats, and he’s clearly outplayed Derrick Henry in every facet of the game.
Sure, he’s a boom or bust flex play who will only be valuable if Marcus Mariota can move the ball. Well, Mariota played some of his best football this season in the second half against the Chargers in London, and Lewis shined bright as a result. If Mariota can sustain any kind of consistent play, consistency from Lewis should follow.
Latavius Murray (RB – MIN)
Murray looked like a non-factor in the beginning of the season when he couldn’t even come through with Dalvin Cook out. His last two games have been a completely different story, though. Murray has put up 224 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries (5.7 yards per carry) over the last two weeks against the Cardinals and Jets and should have a role going forward even if Cook comes back in some capacity. With the dual threat of Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, the Vikings, behind an atrocious offensive line, have finally established a run game.
Fallers
Andy Dalton (QB – CIN)
If Dalton was going to disappoint his fantasy owners, you just knew he was going to do it on primetime television against the defense that gives up the second-most passing yards per game in the league. This was the “bad Dalton,” but this is what he has always been. He’s an inconsistent fantasy option who has a tendency to throw out a complete dud in front of a national audience. He should return to his usual spot on your waiver wire and be used in stream scenarios only.
Leonard Fournette (RB – JAC)
Really, the entire Jacksonville offense is a mess, and there’s a hardly a player there you can trust going forward. The Friday trade for Carlos Hyde leads us to believe that Fournette is in danger of missing more time than we initially thought and that they will probably take it easy with him even when he returns. Additionally, T.J. Yeldon and Jamaal Charles are in the mix now, so none of these running backs are a confident start anymore, and the value of each one of them has gone down.
Demaryius Thomas (WR – DEN)
The Broncos scored 45 points on Thursday night, but Thomas only had five catches for 42 yards. With Courtland Sutton developing rather quickly, the Broncos are trying to trade Thomas away, which is usually bad news for a player’s fantasy stock, unless it’s an “X” receiver being traded to the Patriots. Thomas is commanding only a 19% target share from Case Keenum, his lowest mark since 2011, his second year in the league.
Matt Breida/Alfred Morris (RB – SF)
Raheem Mostert has appeared out of nowhere to make the 49ers backfield even more confusing. Over the last two games, Mostert has 23 total touches, compared to Breida’s 19 and Morris’ nine. You can blame yesterday’s workload on game script, but the 49ers were in it for most of the game against the Packers, and Mostert was the clear choice over Morris. If Breida continues to miss time with his ankle injury, Mostert is starting to look like the guy you want out of that backfield.
Allen Robinson (WR – CHI)
Robinson is almost droppable. He’s only had one game this season with double-digit targets, and if it weren’t for a couple of touchdowns that saved his fantasy production last week and the week before, his statline this season would be downright ugly. Since his big 10-catch game in Week 2, Robinson only has 11 catches on 22 targets in his last four games. He always draws the opposition’s best cornerback, and Mitch Trubisky simply has so many other places he can throw the ball. Why would he force it into Robinson when Tarik Cohen, Trey Burton, Taylor Gabriel, and Anthony Miller are all there?
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Sam Schlesinger is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Sam, check out his archive and follow him @avishai41.
