Chances are that you saw all the highlights including Marvin Jones torching Xavier Rhodes for a big day and Chase Edmonds running wild on the Giants, but my goal today is to tell you about some tidbits you may have missed. I went back through and watched every play of every game. I saw the Thursday night game and three Sunday games live then used NFL Game Pass to see the other 8 contests this morning. Let’s do this!

Apologies for getting this week’s article out a day late. The start of fantasy basketball has set me behind this week.

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Chase Edmonds looked especially unimpressive
“Wait, he had 3 touchdowns, you fool”. Yeah, I saw, but you do realize we could have called Peyton Hillis out of retirement today and he would have ended up in the end zone on those carries, right? Edmonds ran into big holes, through weak arm tackles and avoided Giants defenders taking abysmal routes to the ball carrier. Every once in awhile a Bryce Brown or LenDale White, Beanie Wells or Artose Pinner, LaMont Jordan or Jonas Gray goes off for 100+ and 3 scores, but that doesn’t mean they are good. The fact of the matter is, Edmonds doesn’t run with authority or burst. He has stiff hips and can’t evade defenders. David Johnson may miss some time so they are bringing in Jay Ajayi and Spencer Ware for workouts. My advice is to sell Edmonds as soon as you can because he won’t be playing the Giants every week, nor will he continue to see this many touches.

Ryan Tannehill can be trusted as a Week 8 streamer
Let’s be clear: this isn’t saying much considering 18-20 QBs would be startable in a week where they played the Bucs. Going into the week, though, I never would have dreamed of telling you Tannehill would fit that description. Yes, he hangs onto the ball too long and no, this isn’t an especially exciting offensive scheme, but Tannehill was a monumental upgrade over Mariota, and as a result, we got a glimpse at who these receivers truly can be. Corey Davis isn’t just a guy. He is going to wreck this league if Tennessee can get their hands on Joe Burrow, Tua or Justin Herbert next spring. He has legitimate WR1 upside with similar skills to Brandon Marshall. A.J. Brown‘s ability, meanwhile, jumps off the film and the only reasons we haven’t noticed are Marcus Mariota and playing time. With both of those suddenly fixed, this passing unit will be competent enough to use in great matchups like we have this upcoming weekend.

The Dolphins have a potential star in the making
I raved about Preston Williams a few weeks ago and am actually fond of Devante Parker the football player (if you can separate him in your mind from Miami) but today I want to turn your attention to their teammate, Mike Gesicki. Remember when he broke the combine? It wasn’t all that long ago, after all. We know he has the size and athleticism, but his ball tracking, body control and awareness are all night and day better than they were this time last year. In Week 7 he made three plays that almost no tight end in football would have hauled in. It got to the point where Ryan Fitzpatrick was lobbing it up to him under pressure because he knew Gesicki would come down with it. In fact, linebackers were holding Gesicki left and right because they just can’t stick with him. One resulted in a penalty but several others should have been called too. Fantasy performance depends on opportunity and it hasn’t been there yet, but this game may have been the turning point.

While we are talking tight end, I should probably mention…
My favorite streamer of the week, assuming Delanie Walker ends up missing Week 8, will be Jonnu Smith. So I mentioned the Titans improved pass attack but left out Jonnu intentionally because I clearly would have had to explain myself. Remember when Marques Colston made the transition from a Hofstra tight end to an All-Pro wideout? Jonnu isn’t Colston, but he is small and quick like him, and frankly best fit for wide receiver. That doesn’t mean he has to make the transition, though, because the player Jonnu most reminds me of has already proved that a tight end of this mold can make it in the NFL; In fact, he proved it on this very team. It’s Delanie Walker, who was a wideout from Central Missouri. The Titans turned him into a tight end and the rest is history. Jonnu will finally get his chance versus the Bucs this weekend and what you can expect to see is a young Delanie who runs past defenders, is excellent after the catch, and can adjust to a poorly thrown ball mid-air to turn an interception into a 30-yard gain. Oh wait, we already saw all of that from him in Week 7.

Other notes

• The Vikings used Irv Smith Jr. in the slot once Thielen left the game
• The Rams offensive line is among the worst in all of football
• Allen Robinson is among the elite wide receivers if he can ever get a QB
• Tony Pollard is the best non-Chargers backup running back in football
• Ben Watson can still play football and is now a top 15 rest of season tight end
• Jakobi Meyers is the ultimate dynasty buy-low. He looked incredible again
• Tarik Cohen is essentially the Bears’ lead back and should breakout soon
• Matt Moore has enough strengths to perform like a fringe QB in this offense
• Since returning from his illness, Josh Jacobs looks like a full-on superstar
• Lamar Jackson is one of the worst passers in the NFL
• LeSean McCoy is playing his best football in years. Will take off when Mahomes is back
• NCAA BONUS – Jeff Okudah is the best college corner I’ve ever seen

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