Injuries hit hard once again in Week 7, but it was nice to see some now unfamiliar faces in the end zone. LeSean McCoy, Amari Cooper, and Julio Jones, a trio that you’d kill to have in your lineup Week 1 finally found their way to the holy land. Unfortunately, the wide receiver options out there will continue to take a hit as even more quarterbacks went down. Let’s take a look at what there is to work with going into Week 8.
This was a week of many firsts. For some it was earning their first score of the season, for others it wasn’t so exciting. Joe Thomas, left tackle for the Cleveland Browns, underwent surgery on a torn tricep Tuesday morning. Thomas went down Sunday for the first time ever. He hadn’t missed a snap ever since he entered the league 11 years ago. That’s 10,363 consecutive snaps without missing a play. Hats off to Thomas although he’ll unfortunately miss the remainder of the season.
Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer took a big hit as he threw an interception. Head coach Bruce Arians later confirmed that the man under center suffered a broken arm and is expected to miss eight weeks after surgery. I know I spoke high on him last week and have spoken high of his teammates nearly the entire season, but now it’s safe to cut Palmer. Unfortunately for his offensive pieces, they inherently take a drop in value. Drew Stanton will take over as the signal caller. He’s an experienced quarterback at 33 years of age but holds a very mediocre resume. Peterson could still see some decent action out of the backfield but as for Fitzgerald, I wouldn’t blame you if you looked to trade him on the name. There’s really no telling what we’ll get from Stanton but it’s an unfortunate situation for the Cardinals all around. As for David Johnson, I’m still holding onto him in hopes of seeing his return around Thanksgiving time.
Jay Cutler, Miami Dolphins quarterback, also went down with a chest injury and is expected to miss a few weeks. Matt Moore took his place and led the team to a 31-28 win over the Jets. I honestly don’t think the downgrade for wide receivers is as evident in Miami. Cutler was talked out of retirement by the Dolphins when Ryan Tannehill went down during the preseason. His lackluster performance this season isn’t going to make me miss him one bit. Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills still had great performances. Stills reeled in 6 for 85 and two scores as history confirms he’s one of Moore’s favorite targets. That’s two weeks in a row now with a touchdown. It’s not, however, clear if Stills is seeing this up in production due to Moore, the absence of DeVante Parker, or a combination of the two. Either way, if Parker misses any more time, Stills would be a safe pick up as he’s owned in just 15 percent of ESPN leagues.
The Seahawks keep drawing me in. This week they tried to do it again with the return of C.J. Prosise, but I didn’t fall for it. Prosise remains incapable of staying healthy and this weekend he was sidelined in the first quarter, never to return. The remainder of the Seattle backfield is absolutely horrid and still something I want to stay as far away from as I can.
Delanie Walker has been a very necessary offensive weapon for the Tennessee Titans this season. He suffered an ankle sprain during overtime Sunday and could certainly miss a few weeks. Fortunately for Walker, the Titans are on bye next week which should give him, Mariota, and Murray all time to rest up. The Titans’ offense has really struggled as of late and it’s clear that not everyone is 100 percent.
Hopefully you were starting Amari Cooper this week as he hauled in 11 of 19 targets for 210 yards and two scores. Not only was this a huge game but it was Cooper’s first 100-yarder since Week 8 of 2016. So now the question is: is Amari Cooper back? Well that’s a tough one. All season he’s been someone you put in your lineup purely for the chance of a monstrous game. It has appeared that his hindrance this season hasn’t been so physical but more mental. That’s something impossible for us to keep track of but if confidence was an issue, I’d say he’s back. And if 19 targets are a normality, he’s definitely back. Ultimately, this is exactly how Cooper has operated since he entered the league. He’s a roller coaster. He’s going to have bad games and he’s going to have behemoth games, but at the end of the day you’re still going to start him no matter what. Crabtree had a tough time in coverage but still found a touchdown for the third straight week. Carr has made a miraculous recovery and looked great Thursday night, throwing for 417 yards. The Raiders faced a stout Buffalo defense next week, but the Bucs proved they can be scored on. Going forward, I believe these are guys you can trust.
Marshawn Lynch was suspended for one game after making contact with a referee. This actually seems to be in line with the Marshawn that we’ve grown to know and love. As for fantasy it doesn’t change much because he’s been pretty irrelevant. Jalen Richardson and DeAndre Washington will most definitely find themselves in a time share during Lynch’s absence. They each earned 9 carries on the ground against Kansas City for 31 and 33 yards respectively. Virtually nothing separates these two backs so just choose your favorite and pick them up off the waiver wire.
Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon got the start for Leonard Fournette as he sat out against Indianapolis with an ankle injury. This was just the Jaguars taking a precaution. There wasn’t any need to force a workload on Fournette against a terrible Colts team. Now the Jaguars have a bye week so Leonard gets at least two and a half weeks to get healthy. I don’t expect Ivory and Yeldon to get any substantial work moving forward with Fournette off the injury report.
The Denver offense got absolutely creamed by the Chargers for their first shut out in 25 years. In their two road games Trevor Siemian has averaged 6.65 fantasy points. Now they face Kansas City followed by Philadelphia on the road. I think you still have to start Thomas and Anderson if need be, but I don’t want much to do with what’s going on in Denver.
In other news, Ezekiel Elliott is not of this world, the Browns changed quarterback once again, and Mitchell Trubisky is 2-0 with 12 completions.
Sign: In all honesty the waiver wire is pretty barren this week. There are, however a few guys you should reach on in hopes that their roles expand down the road. The first is Wendell Smallwood who’s been out a few weeks due to injury. He returned Monday night against the Redskins and carried the ball 8 times for 25 yards and caught two receptions for another 14. Those aren’t great stats, and he is in a committee backfield with LeGarrette Blount, but Smallwood is a great runner, catches passes unlike Blount, and is facing the worst run defense in the league next week who just got torn to pieces by Ezekiel Elliott. Smallwood is owned in just 39 percent of ESPN leagues.
Sign: Dion Lewis’s role in the New England backfield continues to grow from four to seven to eleven to thirteen carries in the last month. Sunday he touched the ball 12 times for 82 yards. He’s still part of the Patriots’ three-headed monster, but Mike Gillislee is slowly fading into the background as his carries have decreased from twelves to ten to eight. There’s no guaranteeing Lewis will be the lead ball carrier moving forward, but if you’ve got a free roster spot he’s worth the risk.
Sign: Unfortunately for those wide receivers lost in New York, Green Bay, and now Arizona, there isn’t much action on the waiver wire. What we can find is players like Mohamed Sanu who’s owned in just 38 percent of leagues. The Falcons are by no means firing on all cylinders, but the wide out has proved himself as a solid second or third option for Matt Ryan. He was out with a hamstring injury but is back and posted six catches for 65 yards on Sunday night.
Sign: Other wide receivers I like moving forward include Bennie Fowler III in Emanuel Sanders’s absence. Josh Doctson has taken over the WR1 role from Terrelle Pryor Jr, and Marvin Jones should see some action if Golden Tate continues to miss time, however this week it’s a tough matchup against the Steelers. All of these guys have wide availability on the waiver wire.
Drop: At this point Martavis Bryant is in no way, shape, or form being utilized in this Steelers’ offense. He came out on Instagram to talk about how much better he is than JuJu Smith-Schuster but we’re not seeing that come to fruition on the field. If he’s traded, I’m interested, but not until then. Might as well drop Bryant and pick up Smith-Schuster who really has taken his role at this point.
Drop: I’m dropping any wide receiver not named Larry Fitzgerald on the Cardinals.
Start: Have you found yourself without a quarterback because I told you to commit to Carson Palmer last week? Not to worry, this one is a surefire fantasy playoff-winner. Philip Rivers is the 9th ranked fantasy quarterback, averages 15.5 points per game, and is facing off against literally the worst quarterback defense in the league. Before facing Matt Ryan last week, New England’s secondary had failed to hold a quarterback under 300 passing yards. They’ve also relinquished 15 touchdowns through the air in 7 weeks and the quarterback position averages 23.2 points against them. It’s a juicy matchup that Rivers, owned in 69.5 percent of leagues, can’t pass up on.
