Team of the Week
QB: Russell Wilson, PIT
The Steelers made the decision to go with Wilson under center last night, and it paid off in a big way with the passing attack being sparked in a 37-15 victory over the Jets. On the night, Wilson was 16-of-29 for 264 yards and three total touchdowns (one rushing) to finish as the overall QB1 heading into the MNF doubleheader.
RB: Jahmyr Gibbs, DET
Gibbs had a difficult matchup versus a Minnesota defense that had been allowing the second-fewest rushing yards per game in the league entering Week 6—but he shredded them by turning 15 carries into 116 yards and two touchdowns while also adding four receptions (on four targets) for 44 yards. After showing an extremely high floor all year, it was a breakout fantasy performance for the explosive second-year back.
RB: Saquon Barkley, PHI
It was obvious that Barkley would have a bit of extra motivation taking on the Giants, and he went off with 17 carries for 176 yards (10.4 YPC) and a touchdown in the 28-3 win. The damage was done in basically three quarters of work and could have easily included a couple of more scores, but Barkley ripped off chunk yardage all afternoon on his way to 25.7 fantasy points.
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET
St. Brown destroyed the Vikings last season, and he picked up where he left off by catching all eight of his targets for 112 yards and a touchdown—a 35-yard strike by Jared Goff deep over the middle. Since a quiet season debut, St. Brown has been back to his usual self with 17.0+ fantasy points in four of the past five games.
WR: George Pickens, PIT
Pickens was probably as happy as anyone for Russell Wilson to be under center for Pittsburgh, and the duo immediately showed their potential with a couple of downfield connections and a touchdown that resulted in a 5/111/1 line versus a stout secondary. The ultra-talented wideout also drew a key pass interference on Sauce Gardner down the field, and he’s trending back towards high-end WR2 status after the quarterback change.
TE: David Njoku, CLE
The first game for Njoku since Amari Cooper was traded to the Bills played out exactly how fantasy owners would have hoped—as Cleveland’s top pass-catcher caught 10-of-14 targets for 76 yards, including a highlight touchdown grab in the back of the end zone. Whether it is Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Jameis Winston at quarterback moving forward, Njoku’s stock gets a boost.
FLEX: Joe Mixon, HOU
Although the recovery for Mixon took a bit longer than expected, fantasy owners can’t complain about the wait with the star runner going for fantasy-point totals of 26.2 and 25.4 over the past two games. In the loss to Green Bay, Mixon rushed 25 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns, and he’s now cleared 25.0 fantasy points in all three healthy outings this season.
D/ST: Denver Broncos
Denver was completely dominant last Thursday night, and Vance Joseph’s defense continued to fly around the field with six sacks and two fumble recoveries—with the headliner being the touchdown by linebacker Cody Barton. Keep playing the Broncos as a top D/ST next week against the Panthers.
K: Wil Lutz, DEN
The lone complaint about the Broncos in the win over New Orleans was that they settled for field goals, but it allowed Lutz to shine against his former team—hitting all seven of his kicks (four field goals) to lead the position with 18.0 fantasy points.
Surprise of the Week: Steelers passing attack
We expected Russell Wilson to boost the Steelers through the air, but for him to currently rank as the top fantasy quarterback of Week 7 after a matchup versus the Jets was a definite surprise. It sounds like Pittsburgh could be further elevated as trade rumors swirl about Mike Williams, and Wilson is at least a streaming candidate next Monday night against the Giants.
Disappointment of the Week: Deebo Samuel Sr.
It was another week with a few major disappointments, but none more so than Samuel—who wasn’t even targeted and barely saw the field as he dealt with an illness in the Super Bowl LVIII rematch. We expected Samuel to be the offensive focal point in a huge game for San Francisco, and the uncertainty about the situation made it something fantasy owners couldn’t have really predicted to get Deebo out of lineups.
Rookie of the Week: Brock Bowers
Bowers is going to be featured at a high level following the trade of Davante Adams, and he didn’t disappoint on Sunday with 10 receptions (on 14 targets) for 93 yards. Over the past three weeks, the No. 13 overall pick has seen target totals of 12, 10, and 14 with lines of 8/97/1, 9/71, and 10/93 to make him a high-end TE1 in all leagues.
Week 7 MVP: Jahmyr Gibbs
The Lions escaped a scare after David Montgomery briefly left the game with a knee injury, but Gibbs would have obviously been more than capable of being the lone feature back—totaling 160 yards and 30.0 fantasy points on 19 touches in the win. Detroit already had their bye week, so Gibbs remains one of the top overall players to own the rest of the way.