It was tempting to list Mother Nature as one of the 10 most intriguing players of fantasy football Week 7.
Sunday’s Dolphins-Browns game in Cleveland could be paradise for anemophiles — people who love wind. The forecast calls for sustained winds of 25 mph with gusts up to 44 mph. There’s also rain in the forecast.
Luckily, that game will feature rocket-armed QBs Tua Tagovailoa and Dillon Gabriel, whose piercing spirals can knife through the gales.
It could be breezy for the Saints-Bears game in Chicago, too, with sustained winds of 18 mph and gusts up to 39 mph.
Football weather! Best of luck to fantasy managers planning to start any quarterbacks or pass catchers from those two games.
Let’s get to this week’s list.
- Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
The 10 Most Intriguing Players of Week 7
1. Rashee Rice (WR – KC)
Rice returns to the Chiefs after serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The suspension was for Rice’s role in a multi-car crash in Dallas in March 2024 that left several people injured. Rice pleaded guilty to felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury.
There’s no denying the severity of the offense, but please forgive me for doing my job and focusing on the fantasy angle of Rice’s return to action.
Rice surged late in his rookie year in 2023, averaging 7.2 catches and 86.3 receiving yards over his last six regular-season games. He was WR6 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring over that stretch.
He picked up where he left off early in the 2024 season, with 24 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns in his first three games. However, Rice tore the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee in Week 4 and missed the rest of the season. Sunday’s game against the Raiders will be Rice’s first NFL action in more than a year.
Even without Rice, the Kansas City passing game has been humming. Patrick Mahomes is QB1 in fantasy scoring with 24.8 points per game. The Chiefs have a league-high pass rate over expected of +9.7%.
And now, here comes Rice, the master of the wide receiver screen. His average depth of target for his career is only 4.9 yards. Still, the quick-hitting stuff to Rice is some of the most creative and most effective material in Andy Reid’s playbook.
Mahomes is already the favorite for MVP honors, with odds of +190 on Hard Rock Bets as of Thursday. He could be a fantasy monster the rest of the way.
It will be fascinating to see how Rice’s return affects the fantasy output of other teammates.
WR Xavier Worthy was terrific for the Chiefs late last season in Rice’s absence. Worthy figures to lose target share upon Rice’s return, but it’s possible that Rice’s presence boosts Worthy’s efficiency, as defenses will have to pay heed to Rice.
The target share of TE Travis Kelce could suffer. WR Hollywood Brown probably becomes a fantasy afterthought. And how much will the pass-heavy Chiefs bother running the ball with the passing attack now fully staffed?
Fantasy managers who waited six long weeks for Rice to return are about to be rewarded for their patience. From the looks of it, a lot of those managers badly need Rice’s help.
Fantasy records of Yahoo teams with Rashee Rice:
0-6: 15.6%
1-5: 28.4%
2-4: 24.1%
3-3: 17.5%
4-2: 9.9%
5-1: 3.8%
6-0: 0.7%Almost 70% of Yahoo teams with Rashee Rice are 2-4 or worse ???? pic.twitter.com/zBopduYY2T
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) October 14, 2025
2. Cam Skattebo (RB – NYG)
A star is born!
For casual football fans who weren’t paying attention when Skattebo racked up 2,316 yards from scrimmage and 24 touchdowns for Arizona State in his final college season, capped off by a 242-yard, two-TD performance in a near-upset of Texas in the College Football Playoff, last week’s Eagles-Giants game might have been an introduction to Skattebo.
And what an introduction it was. Skattebo ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns in the Giants’ 34-17 upset of the defending champs.
Fantasy managers were already familiar with Skattebo, of course, and those who had the foresight to invest in him are being handsomely rewarded.
Skattebo barely played in Week 1. He shared work with second-year RB Tyrone Tracy in Weeks 2-3. However, when Tracy sustained a shoulder injury that sidelined him for Week 4, Skattebo took on a leading role, and you can bet he isn’t going to relinquish it.
Skattebo is a throwback. He’s a hammerhead who would rather run over a defender than try to avoid him. You’ve watched him play. Is this guy fun or what?
He’s pretty entertaining in his media interactions, too.
We've lost contain ???? @nflonprime pic.twitter.com/kLSaXi8Y4T
— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2025
The Giants will have to lean hard on Skattebo with rookie QB Jaxson Dart learning the ropes and with star WR Malik Nabers out for the season with a torn ACL. Then again, hey, Skattebo catches passes too. He’s had 16 receptions in his last four games and has had at least two receptions in every contest.
Skattebo has a tough Week 7 against the Broncos in Denver. However, with Skattebo a near lock to get a smorgasbord of touches, benching him is out of the question. Let’s see if he can help the Giants spring another upset and add to his growing mythology.
3. Davante Adams (WR – LAR)
It’s still unclear whether Puka Nacua will play in Week 7 after sustaining an ankle injury last Sunday. But with the Rams playing the Jaguars in London and then going on bye, it seems like a good bet Nacua will be held out. (He wasn’t practicing as of Thursday.)
If Nacua is sidelined, will Adams be peppered with targets from Matthew Stafford and have a big day in London?
Adams has been a solid fantasy performer in his first season with the Rams. He has 26-396-3 and ranks WR18 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. Not bad, considering that Adams is playing with Nacua, who leads the league in targets and receptions.
But Adams is only averaging 7.2 yards per target. He’s averaged 7.8 yards per target for his career, and in his heyday with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, he had two consecutive seasons in which he averaged 9.2 yards per target.
Adams was the Packers’ alpha receiver for years. If Nacua is out this week, can Adams step up and play the alpha role once again at age 32?
4. Kimani Vidal (RB – LAC)
After veteran Najee Harris ruptured his Achilles in Week 3 and rookie Omarion Hampton went on IR after sustaining a foot injury in Week 5, the Chargers’ RB situation was murky.
The two leading fill-in candidates were Hassan Haskins, who had played for Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh at the University of Michigan, and second-year man Kimani Vidal, who had some fantasy buzz last summer but couldn’t get any traction as a rookie.
It turned out that Vidal was the leading man, cranking out 18-124-0 rushing and 3-14-1 receiving to finish with 21.3 half-point PPR fantasy points.
Vidal was a hot knife cutting through the Dolphins’ butter-soft run defense in Week 6. It will be interesting to see what he can do for an encore this week against a more respectable Colts defense that’s playing well under defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
5. CeeDee Lamb (WR – DAL)
Lamb returns to action after missing three games with a high-ankle sprain. He was off to a torrid start, with 7-110-0 against the Eagles and 9-112-0 against the Giants before getting hurt on his seventh snap of a Week 3 game against the Bears.
Lamb is one of the best receivers in the game — a fantasy cornerstone. His investors are no doubt delighted to have him for a potential Week 7 shootout against the archrival Commanders. That game has a Vegas total of 52.5 points.
Dak Prescott stakeholders are delighted about Lamb’s return, too. Dak has been terrific, ranking second in the NFL in passing yardage and touchdown passes, and third in fantasy scoring. Now, his pass-catching group will be at full capacity. And with the Dallas defense a sieve, Dak and Co. are going to be playing in O.K. Corral game scripts most weeks.
Less delighted: George Pickens investors. In the three games Lamb missed, Pickens had 19 catches for 359 yards and four touchdowns, making him the WR1 in fantasy scoring over that span. Pickens won’t vanish upon Lamb’s return, but it stands to reason his fantasy impact will be lessened.
6. Baker Mayfield (QB – TB)
If Patrick Mahomes doesn’t win MVP, maybe Mayfield will. Mayfield has been sensational in leading the Buccaneers to a 5-1 record, overcoming injuries to key receivers and offensive linemen. He’s tied with Dak Prescott for QB4 in fantasy points per game.
Unfortunately for him, Mayfield keeps losing pass catchers. Mike Evans has missed time with a hamstring injury. Chris Godwin came back from the gruesome leg injury he sustained last season but is now back on the shelf after just two games. Plus, rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka is dealing with a hamstring injury that’s going to keep him out in Week 7.
The good news is that Evans is back at practice and has a good chance to play this week.
Mayfield has a Monday-night matchup against the Lions in Detroit, and the Lions are undermanned in the secondary. Cornerback D.J. Reed is out with a hamstring injury. Cornerback Terrion Arnold has missed time with a shoulder injury. Safety Brian Branch will serve a one-game suspension for slugging JuJu Smith-Schuster in the moments after the Lions’ Week 6 loss to the Chiefs.
A shorthanded Baker vs. a shorthanded Lions defense? The smart money is on Baker.
7. Justin Fields (QB – NYJ)
The Jets entered the season with exactly one good wide receiver: Garrett Wilson. And, yeah, Wilson is really good.
Now, Wilson is going to miss Week 7 with a knee injury. Fields isn’t exactly an elite passer to begin with. What are his passing numbers going to look like this week against the Panthers with Wilson out? Hard Rock Bets had the prop on Fields’ passing yardage set at 173.5 yards. The under looks awfully tempting.
With Wilson out, the Jets’ top receivers are veteran journeyman Josh Reynolds, who’s dealing with a hip injury, rookie Arian Smith, who has blazing speed but dropped nearly 12% of his targets in his final college season at Georgia, and Tyler Johnson, who has 80 receptions in 54 NFL games.
Fields is a terrific runner, but man, if he can’t churn out 10 or more fantasy points with his legs, he’s probably going to have a rough day for his fantasy managers, because the passing outlook is bleak.
8. Drake London (WR – ATL)
There have been three games that London has played with Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback and with fellow WR Darnell Mooney out of action due to injury. In those three games, London has 28 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns.
Last week against the Bills, with Mooney sidelined by a hamstring injury, London had 10 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons’ 24-14 victory, making London the fantasy WR3 for the week.
Mooney practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s unclear whether he’ll be able to return for the Falcons’ game against the 49ers on Sunday in San Francisco.
Even if Mooney is back, London will be facing a 49ers defense that has been decimated by injuries, with its two biggest stars — edge rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner — out with season-ending injuries.
Love the Drake!
9. Tyjae Spears (RB – TEN)
Throughout the offseason, Titans head coach Brian Callahan talked about wanting to get Spears more involved in the offense.
Spears began the season on IR with an ankle injury. He came back in Week 5 and played 17 snaps against the Cardinals, carrying four times for 14 yards. Then, last week against the Raiders, Spears played 36 snaps — 10 more than starter Tony Pollard — and had 5-31-0 rushing and 4-19-0 receiving.
Is Spears taking over the Titans’ backfield, or will he merely split work with Pollard? And even if Spears does take over the backfield, will he have fantasy relevance as the primary back in one of the league’s most impotent offenses?
Callahan was fired earlier this week. Offensive assistant Mike McCoy is stepping in as the Titans’ interim head coach. It will ultimately be McCoy’s decision on how snaps and carries are divided between Pollard and Spears.
We’ll get more intel on this situation when the Titans host the Patriots on Sunday.
10. Harold Fannin Jr. (TE – CLE)
Browns tight ends have 29 targets and 20 catches in QB Dillon Gabriel‘s first two NFL starts. Most of those targets have gone to veteran David Njoku, but Njoku seems likely to miss Week 7 with a knee injury.
Fannin has impressed early in his rookie year, with 28 catches for 254 yards and a touchdown on 38 targets. If Njoku is out, Fannin obviously won’t get all of the target spillover, but the rookie figures to be busy. He’ll have a friendly matchup against a Dolphins defense that has allowed the fifth-most receiving yards to TEs.
But about that weather…
If the Browns game looks like the Kansas scene in “The Wizard of Oz,” it might be hard for Fannin to capitalize on this golden opportunity.
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