Fantasy teams' depth will be tested with 6 teams on bye
Week 7 did not leave any significant injuries in its wake, but fantasy leaguers will have to deal with the first time that six teams will be on bye.
The Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers get the week off to heal their wounded, and that will make the waiver wire come to life as fantasy teams seek to substitute missing starters.
Check the wire
WR Davante Adams (Green Bay Packers): He had a touchdown catch in three of the last four games and a career-best 132 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 7 win against the Chicago Bears. His 13 receptions were a single-game record for the Packers. With Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb taking the bigger focus by the defense, Adams is consistently scoring, if not producing big yardage. Best yet: the Packers next play the Atlanta Falcons, who tend to promote shootouts every game.
WR Cordarrelle Patterson (Minnesota Vikings): Patterson not only scored in each of the last two games, his seven catches for 67 yards in the win against the Philadelphia Eagles were a team high. Patterson next faces the same Bears who allowed Adams his big day. Patterson was locked as the flanker last weekend, while Adams shifted sides often but had success on when lining up on the right.
WR Russell Shepard (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): When Vincent Jackson was placed on injured reserve, the Bucs promoted Shepard. He had a career-best five catches for 77 yards and scored once against the San Francisco 49ers. The best part about him being a new starter is that the Buccaneers this weekend will be hosting the Oakland Raiders, who have allowed the most passing yards in the NFL.
TE Vernon Davis (Washington Redskins): Jordan Reed was out with a concussion in the loss to the Detroit Lions. Davis replaced him capably with six receptions for 79 yards and caught every pass thrown to him. He travels to London this week to face the Cincinnati Bengals, who have one of the best defenses against wide receivers yet one of the worst vs. tight ends. If Reed is still out, Davis needs to be considered.
Lightning strikes twice
It is rare enough for a player to suddenly post a huge game. It is much rarer to do that twice in a row.
RB Jacquizz Rodgers (Buccaneers): The replacement for Charles Sims ran for 101 yards in the win vs. the Carolina Panthers and added five catches for 28 yards. After the Week 6 bye, Rodgers rolled over the 49ers with 154 yards on 26 carries and one reception for 9 yards. He not only blew up in his first two starts, but they are the two best games of his six-year career.
WR Golden Tate (Lions): After logging a team-high 99 catches for 1,331 yards in 2014, Tate faded back to 813 yards last year while Calvin Johnson excelled during his final season. Marvin Jones seemed to be the next great Detroit receiver through the first three weeks of 2015 but has cooled. Tate never gained more than 41 yards in a game this season until Week 6, when he burned the Rams with eight catches for 165 yards and one score. In Week 7, he once again led the Lions with six receptions for 93 yards. Jones totaled six catches for 104 yards over those two games.
RB Jay Ajayi (Dolphins): Through the first 13 active games of his career, Ajayi never gained more than 48 rushing yards. He was inactive in nine games. Through Week 5 of 2015, he averaged just 29 yards per game. And then against the Steelers in Week 6, Ajayi ran 25 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns. In the win against the Buffalo Bills in Week 7, he ran for 214 yards and one score on 29 rushing attempts. Ajayi is only the fourth player in NFL history to record back-to-back 200-yard rushing efforts and the first to still technically never have had a 100-yard performance.
We never said never
The Rams used the first overall draft pick in 2016 on quarterback Jared Goff. A less than impressive preseason led to the team opting for Case Keenum as the starter with a chance for Goff to learn the game from the sidelines. And that was easy enough when Los Angeles was 3-1.
But the Rams lost their last three games, which all ended on an interception thrown by Keenum, who totaled seven picks over those weeks. At 3-4 and with the season starting to slide away, Goff will at least be considered over the Rams’ Week 8 bye.
The next opponents are the Panthers, New York Jets, Dolphins and New Orleans Saints before the schedule turns very tough.
Failure to launch
Jamaal Charles owners were teased with nine rushes for 33 yards and one score in Week 6. But Charles re-aggravated his knee injury, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ win vs. the Saints only saw him with one carry for no gain. Spencer Ware already rushed for 131 yards and a score when Charles had his only start. He followed that up with 77 yards on 17 runs plus 54 yards and a score on two receptions Sunday. Ware owners look forward to the next four games against the Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Panthers and Buccaneers.
RB committee watch
Redskins: Just when it seemed safe to start Matt Jones, he turns in one of his worst performances. After rushing for 135 yards and one score against the Eagles in Week 6, Jones was held to 10 runs for 27 yards by the Lions. And Chris Thompson stepped up with 12 runs for 73 yards and seven catches for 40 yards, both season highs. Robert Kelley only had one catch for 1 yard, but that was the only touchdown scored by a running back.
Bears: Jordan Howard was producing serviceable stats each week and even scored once in Week 6. But his 15 carries for 34 yards that week against the Jaguars were eclipsed by Ka’Deem Carey’s 50 yards on nine runs. In the loss in Green Bay in Week 7, Howard was down to only seven runs for 22 yards while Carey gained 48 yards on 10 runs. Neither back is producing enough to merit a fantasy start.
49ers: Carlos Hyde gained 429 yards and six scores on 109 carries over the initial six games, plus added 12 receptions for 66 yards. When he was out in Week 7 with a shoulder injury, Mike Davis scored once but ran for 21 yards. DuJuan Harris ran for 39 and caught two passes for 18 yards. Shaun Draughn totaled 53 yards and one score. Individually, they flirted with moderate production. Collectively, they would be just Hyde.