Team of the Week

 

QB: Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers seemed to be in a somewhat difficult spot for Week 7 because a) the Raiders were coming off a bye, and b) his wideouts looked completely decimated all week, but both Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison were surprisingly active after not practicing—and Green Bay’s superstar passer ended up having his best performance of the year with 429 yards, five touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a rushing score for good measure. The arrow is pointing up with Davante Adams (toe) hopefully nearing a return.

 

RB: Chase Edmonds

He didn’t even draw the start on Sunday, but because David Johnson (ankle) was banged up, Edmonds handled 29 touches for 150 yards and three touchdowns in Arizona’s 27-21 win over the Giants—with all three scores coming from 20+ yards out to make him the first to accomplish the feat since Doug Martin in 2012 (and the sixth such performance in NFL history). Edmonds is in no way a threat to take over the lead role, but he’s arguably the top handcuff in the league and has increasing standalone value.

 

RB: Latavius Murray

We have loved Murray throughout his career, but he’s been maligned by most in the fantasy community as “just a guy” at all three career stops. However, when he’s gotten a significant workload, the six-foot-three, 230-pound back has consistently produced, and yesterday’s 29.5 fantasy points (in Chicago) showed why Latavius was worth holding onto behind Alvin Kamara. Fantasy owners should hope the dominant showing keeps him on the low-end RB2/FLEX radar the rest of the way.

 

WR: Marvin Jones

Jones has had some success against Minnesota in the past (lines of 6/66 and 6/109/2 in the previous two meetings), but no one could have anticipated that he would explode for a career-high four touchdowns as the top wideout of Week 7. The Vikings did their best to take away Kenny Golladay (one reception for 21 yards), and it led to Jones catching ten passes for 93 yards and the quartet of scores.

 

WR: Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The second receiver spot could go to a few players, but Valdes-Scantling gets the nod for gutting it out through an ankle injury to catch passes of 59 and 74 yards—with the latter being a dagger touchdown in the fourth quarter. MVS hasn’t been as consistent as fantasy owners would like, but he’s now averaging 19.8 yards per reception and is on pace for a solid 48/951/5 line through seven games.

 

TE: Darren Waller

In a week where all the top tight ends struggled (Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Zach Ertz, and Evan Engram combined for 18.6 fantasy points), Waller exploded for seven receptions, 126 yards, and two touchdowns in his first game since signing a contract extension, and he could have had a third score if Derek Carr didn’t underthrow him in the end zone, or even a fourth if he wasn’t tackled by the ankle at the three-yard line. The passing attack will continue running through Waller next week against Houston.

 

FLEX: Ezekiel Elliott

Dalvin Cook had another big performance, but that was expected, and it was Elliott’s play against the Eagles that really impressed considering the opponent (Philly had the second-best run defense in the league entering the week) and the previous weeks when Zeke really hadn’t looked like a difference-maker. In a huge SNF victory, Elliott finished with 28 touches for 147 total yards and one touchdown.

 

D/ST: Jaguars

As a team, Jacksonville got off to a slow start on Sunday, but the defense was stout and eventually made some big plays in the second half. Overall, the Jags finished with four takeaways, two sacks, and a touchdown to capitalize on a good matchup against Cincinnati.

 

K: Brett Maher

A repeat from last week’s Team of the Week, Maher made another long-range field goal, this time from 63 yards at the end of the half to boost Dallas’ lead to 27-7. The confidence should continue to grow for the 29-year-old, and he’s become one of the top options at the position.

 

Surprise of the Week: Quarterback play

While some stud quarterbacks struggled in Week 7—including Matt Ryan (2.6 fantasy points) and Carson Wentz (6.8)—lesser options like Matthew Stafford (28.6), Teddy Bridgewater (19.9), and Ryan Fitzpatrick (20.6) came through in difficult matchups for those that were forced to start them. In a somewhat weird week, you were probably a bit lucky if you had a quarterback that scored 15+ fantasy points.

 

Disappointment of the Week: David Johnson

It took one Sunday afternoon for Kliff Kingsbury to be public enemy No. 1 in the fantasy world, as those who played Johnson were expecting a lot more than one touch, and if that wasn’t bad enough, many owners had to watch Chase Edmonds (34.0 fantasy points) go off—and in many cases, on their own bench. Plus, DJ has become a very risky play in the future because you don’t know if he’ll be active or “active.”

 

Rookie of the Week: Josh Jacobs

The only complaint about Jacobs in Week 7 is that he didn’t find the end zone, but the rookie looked great, rushing 21 times for 124 yards and consistently showing phenomenal vision/burst to go along with his impressive power. The Alabama product set the tone early by trucking a defender on his first attempt, and he’s now caught three passes in back-to-back games.

 

Week 7 MVP: Aaron Rodgers

A more balanced offense combined with injuries at receiver made Rodgers more of a low-end QB1 through the first six weeks, but his upside was on full display against Oakland, as his 43.8 fantasy points led the week and was a season-high. Patrick Mahomes’ knee injury is unfortunately robbing us of a fun shootout next Sunday night, but Rodgers should be back in the top-five discussion, especially if Davante Adams (toe) is able to return.