Week 7 fantasy football buy or sell

32 seconds for 32 teams —how three former first round fantasy picks could save your season

Does anyone really know anything in the NFL these days? It was a wild Week 6 with eight of 14 underdogs winning games outright, and the NFL looks more unpredictable than ever. But fantasy football is about numbers, and the numbers still tell plenty of stories.

Deshaun Watson and Leonard Fournette have been paying off for weeks on your fantasy team, but some of the more recent recommendations have hit too. Doug Martin found the end zone a second straight week, while Hunter Henry and Austin Seferian-Jenkins have filled your hole at tight end.

There are only two byes this week, so you should be a little pickier about who you throw into that lineup. Three first round picks look like great trade targets this week — two in Atlanta and one pictured above — and it’s finally time to sell on a couple hot names. Let’s go around the league…

Arizona

Welcome back, Adrian Peterson! Peterson played more snaps in one game for the Cardinals than four for New Orleans combined and had a monster 26/134/2 line. But he did it on everyone’s bench (or waivers). It’s fun to believe Adrian is good again, but there’s a good chance that’s the last great game of his career. The script favored Peterson running all game and won’t usually. Pick Peterson up, of course, but sell him high to a believer.

Atlanta

Now it’s definitely time to go buy some Falcons. Owners must be getting worried on Julio Jones. He’s averaging a meager 5/71 and hasn’t found the end zone yet, and he’s far too good for that to last. If he’s healthy, he’s always a top five WR going forward. Devonta Freeman got only nine carries this week, same as Tevin Coleman, and that could worry owners. It shouldn’t. Freeman still out-snapped Coleman 42 to 18 and has delectable matchups with the Patriots and Jets next, so snatch him up in this brief buy low window. Atlanta is 27th in the league in snaps and this was a trap game with Atlanta looking ahead to its Patriots rematch. The offensive bounce back is coming.

Baltimore

The Ravens may be the worst fantasy team in the league. Javorius Allen still saw a big snap count and remains a flex option with a decent floor, but Alex Collins has seen his snaps and rushes slowly go up each game and looks much better running the ball. No one here is particularly playable, except maybe the defense.

Buffalo

There may not be a better buy low in fantasy right now than LeSean McCoy. He’s yet to score a TD but averaging 23 touches a week and has a juicy upcoming schedule against the Bucs, Raiders, Jets, and Saints. Buffalo really has no one else on offense so defenses will key in on McCoy, but that’s never stopped him before. Go get him.

Carolina

Back to reality for Cam Newton owners after two huge games with a three interception dud. Newton now has 0, 1, 2, 2, 3, and 4 TDs in his six games. He’s a high-upside low-floor boom-or-bust option with no real pattern. Christian McCaffrey has quietly become a steady PPR option. He far out-snapped Jonathan Stewart 61 to 27 this week with Carolina trailing all game after Stewart saw a season-high in touches last week when the Panthers were way ahead. File that away as you consider using each.

Chicago

Rookie Tarik Cohen threw a TD this week but he’s had only one catch each of the past two weeks and isn’t finding much room in the run game, so he may have opened a sell window. Jordan Howard is running strong with a monster 36/167 game and looks every bit like the guy we expected.

Cincinnati

The Bengals come off the bye week quietly back in the division race and with a rejuvenated offense with new coordinator Bill Lazor, but three of the next five games are trips to Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and Denver so the honeymoon may be over. You may want to consider selling your Bengals.

Cleveland

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before — Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson split snaps evenly but Crowell got way more touches while Johnson did more with less yet again. Come on, Cleveland. Ricardo Louis looks like the Browns WR1 going forward. We’ll see if that’s worth much.

Dallas

The big news during the Cowboys off week was with Ezekiel Elliott possibly getting re-suspended. So what do you do with Zeke with everything up in the air? You probably just need to hold, since there’s no real correct trade value at this point. If anything, consider making a low ball offer to Zeke owners who might panic and sell. It’s worth the risk, even if the suspension stands. And make sure Darren McFadden is owned, obviously.

Denver

Devontae Booker came out of nowhere to play 23 snaps after playing only eight all season, looking like the receiving back in a game Denver trailed. It looks like Jamaal Charles may have a cap around 20 snaps, so Booker eats into any value he might have had, but C.J. Anderson should still be fine.

Detroit

Stafford continues to be a very risky play. He’s had 0, 1, 2, 2, 3, and 4 TD games with reduced yardage, so he’s an unstable option. Ameer Abdullah played only two more snaps than Theo Riddick, but we know that by now in a game the Lions trailed most of the way. The encouraging sign is that Abdullah still had 14/54 rushing, so at least there’s a decent floor even in a blowout loss.

Green Bay

The Aaron Rodgers injury hurts the whole team, obviously. Rodgers should be dropped in redrafts. Jordy Nelson may see his value drop the most. He has a special connection in Rodgers that’s gone now, and he might be only a fantasy WR2 going forward so you might want to sell while you can. Ty Montgomery was back but played only 20 snaps to 42 for Aaron Jones, and that’s not helpful for either of them. This whole offense is on watch. With the Saints on deck, there’s a chance for someone to establish themselves.

Houston

It’s been an awesome ride with Deshaun Watson, but it’s time to consider selling. He has 13 TDs in three games but the yardage hasn’t really been there and those TDs are sure to regress. If you have another good QB, you might consider selling Watson for RB or WR help if you need it. Will Fuller now has five TDs on eight receptions, so yeah, he’s still a sell high. But it’ll be hard to sell either with the Texans on bye.

Indianapolis

Indy has Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Houston, and Pittsburgh up next, so they really had to get that one last night in Tennessee. It looks like tough sledding ahead for everyone on this team, and Andrew Luck cannot come back fast enough at this point. If he’s not back soon, he may not be back at all.

Jacksonville

It might be time to start thinking about selling high on Leonard Fournette. Fournette has scored in every game but long 75- and 90-yard TDs the last two weeks mask a 3.4ypc this season outside of those two plays. Fournette has an injury now and is only playing 58% of the Jags’ snaps. He gets the Colts next before a bye week, and the schedule remains pretty soft, but his value can really only go down from here.

Kansas City

Kareem Hunt hasn’t scored a TD since putting up six the first three weeks, but he’s over 100 combined yards every game and still looks great with the ball. The TD regression was coming but he should still be very good the rest of the way, and the Chiefs won’t have to face Pittsburgh again until January. If you’re a Tyreek Hill believer, this is your time to buy low since he has just 137 yards the last three weeks.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Hunter Henry breakout train pushes ahead. Henry played a season-high 83% of the snaps and put up a big 5/90 line. Melvin Gordon had a second straight monster game, with 15 catches and 313 combined yards the last two weeks. He’s now up to 28 receptions and 7 TDs on the season and continues to defy odds. Is Gordon just a stud with monthly duds at this point? He feels like a sell high, but that’s been true for over a year now.

Los Angeles Rams

Todd Gurley has only three receptions and no TDs the last two weeks, but we knew that regression would come. He’s still getting touches and yards. That’s not true for Sammy Watkins though. He’s fifth on a running team in targets, so feel free to drop him and move on.

Miami

It was a big game for Jay Ajayi, and I remain in on both Devante Parker going forward. Jarvis Landry is averaging 11 targets a game and has at least five catches every week but a miserable 7.2ypc. He has a high floor in PPR leagues but is a sell otherwise.

Minnesota

It was another big game for Jerick McKinnon, who is suddenly the best fantasy player on a division favorite. He had two TDs and a hundred yards but only out-snapped Latavius Murray 44 to 33, so proceed with caution. Adam Thielen has at least five catches a game and is averaging nine targets. He’s yet to find the end zone and still looks like a great steady option whose value should go up once the TDs even out.

New England

If you can’t play Mike Gillislee against the Jets, when can you? Gillislee played a season-low 13 snaps after an early fumble and saw most of his touches go to Dion Lewis. Lewis isn’t being used in the passing game, though, so this was probably just a one time doghouse game for Gillislee. He’s worth grabbing if a frustrated owner drops him.

New Orleans

It looks like Mark Ingram finally had a huge game after Adrian Peterson was traded, but that was really irrelevant. Ingram had 150 yards and two TDs but that was because he got 30 touches and played with the lead all game. He still played the same percentage of snaps as he has all season, and Alvin Kamara still had 14 touches and saw plenty of time. Perhaps both are useful flex options in the heavy bye weeks, but Ingram is a sell high after this one.

New York Giants

Go ahead and pick up Orleans Darkwa after a 130-yard game. He’s seen his snaps increase each game but still only played 27, so don’t get too excited just yet. Evan Engram had another big game with 5/82/1 and no wide receiver caught more than one pass against a stout Denver secondary, but do pick up Sterling Shepard if he’s been dropped in your league.

New York Jets

It was another strong week from Austin Seferian-Jenkins with eight catches and a TD, though it should have been two TDs if not for the worst replay overturn in memory. He looks like a weekly play. Robby Anderson has pulled ahead as the Jets lead WR if you need a dart to throw on a rough week.

Oakland

The Raiders offense struggled even with Derek Carr back, and now it’s a short week before a Thursday night visit to Kansas City so Oakland is staring a five-game losing streak right in the face. Marshawn Lynch’s snaps and touches are slowly trending up, but still not enough against a bad rush defense. Michael Crabtree caught another TD and kept his sell window open, while Amari Cooper finally got five catches but only had 28 yards. I’ll still take Cooper over Crabtree going forward every time.

Philadelphia

Nelson Agholor had 4/55 and scored another TD, and he’s become an effective weapon out of the slot and pulled ahead of Torrey Smith but he’s still behind both Jeffery and Ertz in the pecking order. It might be time to lower expectations for Alshon Jeffery, who’s seen four targets or fewer in all but one game. He’ll catch a long one soon enough but the ceiling may not be there. Carson Wentz has 13 TDs now and adds a couple rushing points each week. He’s starting to get some MVP talk and has become a weekly start.

Pittsburgh

LeVeon Bell and Antonio Brown continue to put up superstar numbers, but the rest of this offense is in shambles. Roethlisberger is only throwing for 250 yards a game and has seven TDs in six games, so keep him benched or feel free to cut him. You can do the same with Martavis Bryant, who played only half the snaps and has only had more than three receptions once. Don’t be surprised if the Steelers consider trading him before the deadline.

San Francisco

Carlos Hyde got into the end zone twice but he has only 39 rushing yards the last two games and has scored in just two of six games. He’s still the clear lead RB for now, but the 49ers have already moved toward the future with C.J. Beathard at QB. Could RB Matt Breida be next? There have been rumblings, and that makes Hyde someone to be very careful with.

Seattle

The Seahawks were on bye this week, which made all of their RBs just about as useful as they have been every other week. Feel free to keep them all on waivers, but consider buying low on Doug Baldwin who should see an uptick in value soon.

Tampa Bay

Jameis Winston hurt his shoulder and is listed as questionable, but the Bucs offense did fine under Ryan Fitzpatrick. Doug Martin scored a TD again and had 64 yards and continues to look like a good RB2, and Cameron Brate has quietly become a good starting TE. He’s had 30 targets already and has scored a TD in four straight. He’s technically a sell high, but who’s trading for Brate? Just play him every week until he proves otherwise.

Tennessee

It was a good week for Derrick Henry truthers as Henry played 39 of 70 snaps and had more touches and yards than DeMarco Murray, but he disappointed outside of that late 72-yard TD run. It’s encouraging that he and Murray are starting to play some snaps together, but both are muting each other’s value for now. Marcus Mariota is clearly not healthy and didn’t run at all Monday night, and that kills his fantasy value even with Cleveland up next. Delanie Walker is still the go-to receiver in Tennessee. He’s only put up 25/261 and hasn’t found the end zone, but if you’ve been losing at tight end roulette, he’s a great cheap option you can start every week.

Washington

Praise be, another chance to sell high on Chris Thompson! Thompson got 16 carries but did nothing with them, and he can’t keep piling up receiving yards like this from the backfield forever. Thompson, Reed, Pryor, and Crowder are all splitting targets pretty evenly and that’s killing value for all of them.

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