13 insights fantasy football managers need to know ahead of Week 7

I’m not sure if you heard, but some players were on the move this week. Two big trades took place within a few hours of each other, featuring a pair of WRs who have combined for over 1,500 catches, 20,000 receiving yards and more than 150 TD grabs in their NFL careers. Davante Adams is now with the New York Jets, and Amari Cooper has joined the Buffalo Bills.

Adding to the excitement, the two teams acquiring these players had just faced off against each other on Monday Night Football the previous evening. Never a dull moment in this thing of ours.

The ripple effect of these players changing teams will be felt across fantasy football. But there’s a lot more going on in fantasy football than just the aftershocks of the AFC East arms race.

1. Breece Hall: The “sigh of relief” game

For Hall managers, Weeks 4 and 5 were about as painful as it could get — Hall combined for 10.5 points scored.

Enter Todd Downing.

Not only did New York move on from Robert Saleh — replacing him with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich — but they demoted Nathaniel Hackett in favor of Downing. The new regime clearly favors getting the ball to Hall early and often.

He touched the ball three times on the game’s opening drive and was targeted on another. Hall posted season highs in carries (18) and receiving yards (56). His 21.9 PPR points were the most he’s scored since Week 2.

The Jets lost 23-20, but a collective sigh of relief could be heard from fantasy managers everywhere — Hall is officially back! Is it too early for his fantasy managers to start dreaming about the fantasy playoffs?

2. CeeDee Lamb bye-week bailout: The sequel?

Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys would like to forget their Week 6 beatdown at the hands of the Detroit Lions. The 47-9 home loss was the worst in franchise history, and it happened on Jerry Jones’ 82nd birthday.

The consensus WR1 in ADP, Lamb’s 15.4 PPG mark is certainly not what drafters signed up for. He was targeted 14 times against Detroit but finished with only 7 catches for 89 yards. One of the main issues contributing to Lamb’s lack of scoring is his TD production. In 2023, he finished with 14 total touchdowns. So far, through six games, he has only two.

Lamb is tied for ninth overall with five end zone targets, but he has caught none of them.

The Cowboys are now heading into their bye, giving them a valuable chance to regroup. Hopefully, for fantasy managers, Lamb can deliver a post-bye week explosion similar to 2023, when he averaged 28.5 PPG from Weeks 8-18.

3. Derrick Henry’s signature play

Henry’s dominant start and recent scoring outbursts are certainly not something you are finding out about for the first time here. He was his dominant self in Baltimore’s win over Washington. The red-hot Ravens are fourth overall in the NFL with 29.5 PPG and have been even stronger as of late — 35.3 over their past three games. Lamar Jackson and Henry have traded accolades week by week.

They may have to rename the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award to “which Baltimore Raven was most dominant this week?”

Henry finished with 132 rushing yards and two TDs against the Commanders. Much of his damage was done on what is becoming a signature element of the Ravens’ offense: the outside toss play. This play is not revolutionary, and far from it. But even though opposing teams know it is coming, they cannot stop it when it comes to Henry and this Baltimore offensive juggernaut.

Per Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Banner, 40% of Henry’s rushing yardage vs. Washington came on just five pitch plays.

Henry is averaging 22.6 PPG and looks like a fantasy football league winner. Ravens OC Todd Monken is likely to be in high demand this offseason for many open jobs at this rate.

4. So about that “mild” high ankle sprain…

Jonathan Taylor looks likely to miss his third game in a row. Hey, I thought this injury was supposed to be nothing?

Taylor made some comments on Thursday that have left fantasy managers feeling… well, not so optimistic.

Trey Sermon is also banged up, but returned to practice on Thursday. If he is unable to go, look for a large workload from Tyler Goodson.

5. Tank Dell is back

It became apparent fairly quickly that Dell was going to absorb a large portion of the vacated Nico Collins targets in the Texans’ first game without their alpha WR1. Dell, one of last season’s ADP steals at the WR position, averaged 15 PPG before his season ended with an injury in Week 11 of 2023. After a slow and disappointing start to the year, Dell appears to have officially relaunched.

Dell caught a TD on Houston’s opening drive. He set season highs in all fantasy categories, including snap percentage (73.8%).

Expect Dell to be heavily involved again in a potential shootout this week against Green Bay.

6. Jordan Love: League winner

Love is on fire. The Packers steamrolled the Arizona Cardinals 34-13 in Week 6. Love tied a season high with four passing TDs — his second four-TD game in three weeks played. He is now leading the NFL in passing TDs per game (3) and trails only Baker Mayfield for the league lead despite missing two games.

Love has 44 TD passes in his last 21 games – more than any other QB in last season and this season combined.

Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs are back and combined for three TD catches. Jayden Reed is emerging as a star. And Tucker Kraft has stepped up at TE. Love now has all the pieces in place to become the first Packers QB to throw for 30+ TDs in consecutive seasons since Aaron Rodgers in 2015 and 2016.

7. Does anyone want the guy who finished with 192 yards and two TDs?

One of the most polarizing names in fantasy football this week is Sean Tucker. In Week 6, with Rachaad White on the shelf, Tucker joined forces with Bucky Irving to shred the Saints for 277 rushing yards — the third-most in team history.

Tucker was simply incredible. He finished with 192 combined yards and 2 TDs on just 17 touches. This was the third-most yards from scrimmage from any player this season.

Usually, when a player delivers this kind of breakout performance, there is exuberance, often the irrational kind. But with Tucker, there has been a great deal of skepticism.

Ask yourself this: what did he go for on your waiver wire? In some leagues, he was a 192-yard, 2-TD afterthought.

Irving did everything he was supposed to do this past week, finishing with 105 combined yards and a TD as well. White is expected back in Week 7. However, it appears Tucker has done enough to earn a larger role moving forward.

The Bucs offense is absolutely rolling under OC Liam Coen. How their RB production shakes out for the rest of the season remains to be seen, but there is a chance this is not the last big fantasy performance out of Tucker.

8. D’Andre Swift: Fantasy comeback

Swift looked dead and buried earlier in the year. He scored 19.4 fantasy points combined in Weeks 1-3. More than a few analogies were made that Swift was this year’s Miles Sanders — a free-agent signing who was drafted in the dead zone and turned in to a colossal bust.

Week 4 was supposed to be the game that Chicago turned to Roschon Johnson, effectively putting Swift and his fantasy managers out of their misery. But what was supposed to be a demotion turned into the start of a massive breakout.

Swift is currently the RB9 overall. He is averaging 15.1 PPG — his highest average since 2021. The Bears enter the bye week with a ton of momentum and a big game against Washington looming in Week 8.

Expect a lot more from Swift coming out of the bye.

9. Tony Pollard: Bell cow

Tennessee has one of the league’s worst offenses, and any hope of a post-bye week reclamation project from head coach Brian Callahan was quickly put to bed. The passing game is completely broken. The Titans managed only 95 passing yards on 16 completions.

How are Calvin Ridley managers feeling right now?

But there is a glimmer of fantasy football hope in Tennessee in the form of RB Tony Pollard. Tyjae Spears looks set to miss Week 7 — and possibly beyond — with a hamstring injury. Pollard, who finished last week’s game with 17 carries for 93 yards and a TD, will have the backfield to himself. He could be one of the most highly-utilized RBs in Week 7.

Pollard has four games with 15+ PPR points already this season. He is the only thing working right now in Tennessee.

10. Chase Brown: Lineup lock

Brown continues to provide fantasy football value week in, week out. While he will never be a full-snaps player, his efficiency levels are through the roof.

Brown sealed the Week 6 game in a low-scoring 17-7 win over the New York Giants with a late 30-yard TD run. He has scored 14 or more fantasy points in three consecutive weeks.

Brown’s rushing share is also increasing. Meanwhile, Zack Moss is dealing with an ankle injury that has limited him, creating more opportunities for his backfield mate.

Cincinnati faces off against Cleveland this week.

11. Welcome back, Nick Chubb

The Browns suffered another loss in Week 6, dropping their record to a dismal 1-5. Deshaun Watson has yet to pass for 200 yards in a game this season. Despite his poor play, no change will be made at quarterback.

Blink three times if you need us to send help, Kevin Stefanski.

In Cleveland, this week is not about the Cooper trade. It is not about Watson and the theatrics surrounding the quarterback position. It is about welcoming back one of the most beloved running backs in the NFL. The heart and soul of the Browns finally makes his return.

How Nick Chubb performs and the amount of touches he can manage are both up in the air. But if he is even 80% of what he was before injury, he will immediately become the offensive focal point of the team.

Chubb recently wrote this piece for The Players Tribune: “Cleveland Got My Back”

If you were not already rooting for a Nick Chubb comeback, this article will get you there very quickly.

12. Evan Engram: Target magnet

Engram returned from a Week 2 hamstring injury that he suffered in warmups. Jacksonville lost another one in brutal fashion, leaving London 1-1 after being steamrolled by Chicago.

Jags fans lost, but fantasy managers won. One of fantasy’s most dependable players at the tight end position had the sort of stat line you love to see. Engram finished with 10 catches for 102 yards on 10 targets. Per Fantasy Points data, Engram earned a 27.8% target share and had a first read rate of 28.1%.

He was the TE2 overall last season, following up a TE5 finish in 2022. There were many astute fantasy analysts touting him at ADP this summer, and anticipating more weeks like this past one.

13. Ben Johnson: Throat slash gesture

Johnson is one of my favorite play-callers in the NFL, and I will do my best to mention him in this column whenever I have the chance. Whether he is manufacturing dominant RB production or helping produce Year 3 breakouts at WR, everything Johnson has done as OC in Detroit has been a fantasy success.

However, I did not realize he was a cutthroat, cold-blooded killer as well. A true “I would like to apologize; I was not familiar with your game” moment for me occurred deep into the second half.

This was after calling a flea flicker that resulted in a 52-yard TD grab by Sam LaPorta. There was some extra motivation after Detroit’s 20-19 loss to Dallas late last season and it showed.

The loss of star DE Aidan Hutchinson puts even more pressure on Johnson and the Lions’ offensive machine to keep producing at a high level. A shootout with Minnesota is on tap this week. Get your popcorn.

(Top photo of Sean Tucker: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)



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