Another brutal week in the injury department, with Aaron Rodgers being the biggest name to go down. His broken collarbone requires surgery, and he will likely miss the rest of the regular season, making him droppable in all formats. Two more potential long-term injuries of note would be Golden Tate’s shoulder and Emmanuel Sanders ankle. I’m not buying Bennie Fowler, I’d expect a bit of a committee approach (Jordan Taylor, Cody Latimer?) to replace Sanders, with none of the options having much upside. Kenny Golladay should be back in week 8 and could see a bunch of targets for as along as Tate is out. T.J Jones and perhaps Eric Ebron will benefit some as well.
NOTE: Players mentioned will be owned in 40% or less of ESPN leagues. MUST ADD will be a recommended add in all leagues. MAYBE ADD is for those in 12 team leagues or deeper. DEEP ADD is for those in 14+ team leagues.
QUARTERBACKS
No QB’s this week. For those desperate for a streaming option this week, Brett Hundley, Josh McCown and possibly even C.J. Beathard make for upside options and are owned by almost no one.
RUNNING BACKS
Orleans Darkwa (New York Giants) – 4.3% OWNED – MUST ADD
Darkwa became the first back this season to total 100+ rushing yards against the Broncos on Sunday, running with power to help work the clock as well as breaking off large gains early. He was too good to take off the field in the second half, leading Wayne Gallman to have just 11 touches. The Giants should continue to be run heavy going forward, so Darkwa should be fed plenty of carries, continuing next week against Seattle. Hopefully, the oft-injured RB can stay healthy and take advantage of his opportunity.
Alex Collins (Baltimore Ravens) – 29% OWNED – MAYBE ADD
It’s still tough to trust Collins on a weekly basis given his lack of use in the passing game and on the goal line to this point, but he continues to look like a beast running the football and is averaging a ridiculous 6.4 yards per carry on 53 carries this season. He should still probably be owned, but left on your bench for now until his role expands.
Dion Lewis (New England Patriots) – 6.5% OWNED – DEEP ADD
Lewis finally was featured on Sunday, and in my opinion, is undoubtedly the most talented Patriots RB at this point. He consistently was able to make something out of nothing and also got a goal line carry and converted. Even before Mike Gilislee fumbled, it was Lewis who started the game and was getting the bulk of the reps at the position. His ability to create offense between the tackles, as well as outside and in the passing game make him their best option in most formations. Rex Burkhead may return this week so it’ll be interesting to see what his role will be, but Lewis’s arrow is certainly trending up.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Nelson Agholor and Marqise Lee are right near the 40% range in most formats and have been on this list more than once. They would be the 1st and 2nd adds for the week is available.
Kenny Stills (Miami Dolphins) – 15.1% OWNED – DEEP ADD
Stills had a productive week 6, catching all 4 of his targets for 49 yards and a touchdown. Even with DeVante Parker questionable this weekend, it’s still very hard to trust the Dolphins passing game with Jay Cutler at the helm.
Robby Anderson (New York Jets) – 13.2% OWNED – DEEP ADD
Anderson looked good against the Patriots secondary on Sunday, but that’s not saying much since basically every receiver has. Josh McCown does seem to be looking his way more now than earlier in the season however, so he should continue to see a steady amount of targets when the Jets are forced to throw the ball often.
JuJu Smith-Schuster (Pittsburgh Steelers) – 6.3% OWNED – DEEP ADD
He still hasn’t had a breakout game yet, but with Martavis Bryant on the way out potentially, his role in the passing game should only expand. I’m not sure how much success he would have as a perimeter receiver though.
Kenny Golladay (Detroit Lions) – 18.4% OWNED – DEEP ADD
Golladay was able to get in some limited practices last week and with the team on bye now, he should be ready to go for week 8. That’s big news for the Lions with Golden Tate expected to miss some time.
TIGHT END
Tyler Kroft (Cincinnati Bengals) – 8.1% OWNED – MAYBE ADD
With Tyler Eifert out for the year now, Kroft should see plenty of snap and targets, likely operating as the 2nd/3rd option in the passing game moving forward. In the current tight end market, that equals low-end TE1 value.
George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers) – 9.2% OWNED – MAYBE ADD
C.J. Beathard seems to look Kittles way often once he entered the game on Sunday, so look for Kittles number to continue to improve. There will be ups and downs with the entire offense, but the #2 option in a passing game that will be playing from behind a bunch isn’t the worst flier to go after.
Ryan Griffin (Houston Texans) – 7.1% OWNED – DEEP ADD
Griffin saw a season-high 8 targets against the Browns this weekend but posted a slightly disappointing 3-52 stat line. He is being used more than expected in the passing game but it isn’t exactly resulting in much fantasy value still.