Every Monday of the NFL regular season, we will showcase exceptional player performances from the weekend and analyze their potential for sustained success in fantasy football. We will rank these performances from 🔥 to 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 based on whether we believe they are momentary or long-term options for your fantasy teams.

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Fantasy Football Heat Index

Quarterback

Gardner Minshew (QB – IND)

Stats: 15/23, 305 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 3 rushes, 29 rushing yards, 2 rushing TD

Position Rank (pre-MNF): QB3 (27.1 points)

Analysis: Quarterback Gardner Minshew is the current QB3 on the week, thanks to a favorable game script in Indianapolis. In Indy’s 39-38 back-and-forth defeat to the Cleveland Browns, Minshew reached 300+ passing yards for the second consecutive week and had his first multiple-touchdown game this season.

Unfortunately, Minshew also threw an interception and lost three fumbles. That’s the give-and-take with Minshew. If the touchdowns are there, you’ll survive the turnovers. If they’re not, your week is basically doomed. There are certainly worse quarterback options out there, but I still have difficulty trusting Minshew in 1QB leagues.

Heat Index: 🔥

Running Back

D’Onta Foreman (RB – CHI)

Stats: 16 att, 89 rushing yards, 2 TD, 3 receptions, 31 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 5 targets

Position Rank (pre-MNF): RB1 (31.5 points)

Analysis: After being inactive for much of the season, Bears running back D’Onta Foreman has been temporarily promoted to RB1 in Chicago. With Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson nursing injuries, Foreman flourished in that role in Chicago’s shocking 30-12 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent was surprisingly effective in place of Justin Fields, which put Foreman in a place to succeed all day. Foreman finished with 120 total yards and three touchdowns. He’s the current RB1 on the week.

Foreman’s position atop the RB depth chart might not last forever, but the situation is murky enough that he’s a must-add if available. Herbert will remain on IR for at least two more weeks, and it’s taken Johnson longer than usual to return from his concussion.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥

Wide Receiver

Josh Downs (WR – IND)

Stats: 5 receptions, 125 receiving yards, 1 TD, 6 targets

Position Rank (pre-MNF): WR2 (21 points)

Analysis: The drumbeat for Colts rookie wide receiver Josh Downs grows louder every week. After hauling in a career-high 125 receiving yards and a touchdown on Sunday, that drumbeat might reach a crescendo this week.

Michael Pittman Jr. remains the WR1 in Indianapolis, but Downs has clearly overtaken Alec Pierce in the WR pecking order. Downs has five-plus receptions in three consecutive contests and has five or more targets in all but one game this season.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA)

Stats: 4 receptions, 63 receiving yards, 1 TD, 7 targets

Position Rank (pre-MNF): WR15 (14.3 points)

Analysis: You can’t hold down a talented player like Jaxon Smith-Njigba forever. It’s been a slower-than-expected start to JSN’s career, but he’s been on the cusp of breaking out over the past few weeks. Smith-Njigba has five-plus targets in five of six games this season, and he’s just barely missed a couple of big plays that would have dramatically shifted the narrative around him.

With DK Metcalf sidelined with hip and rib injuries, the rookie wide receiver stepped up with the best performance of his young career. Smith-Njigba finished with four receptions, 63 receiving yards and a touchdown in Metcalf’s absence. He’s the current WR15 on the week.

The big caveat here is it took Metcalf missing action for Smith-Njigba to break out. That’s a bit of a red flag moving forward, but you take the victories when they come. With Seattle utilizing more three WR sets lately, Smith-Njigba remains in flex consideration moving forward.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥

Tight End

Dalton Kincaid (TE – BUF)

Stats: 8 receptions, 75 receiving yards, 0 TD

Position Rank (pre-MNF): TE6 (11.5 points)

Analysis: Is it finally that time? Have we reached the Dalton Kincaid breakout portion of the 2023 NFL regular season? That’s too early to say, but Week 7 was an encouraging sign for Kincaid fantasy managers.

In Buffalo’s 29-25 loss to New England, Kincaid had a team-high eight receptions and 75 receiving yards. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs led the Bills with 12 targets, but Kincaid out-targeted fellow tight end Dawson Knox eight to three on the day. On Kincaid’s career day, Knox matched his season-lows in both receptions and receiving yards.

Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥