Welcome to Week 7 of the 2026 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Replacing Davante Adams
- Replacing Terry McLaurin
- Starters Returning to Work
- DeVonta Smith's Value Without Jalen Hurts
Let's roll...
Matt Waldman: Pick the player most likely to deliver enhanced fantasy value for a starting lineup with Terry McLaurin out for the year with a patellar tendon injury.
Who is your choice from this list?
Gary Davenport: Is it just me, or has the wide receiver position been absolutely savaged by injuries this season? What happened to the good old days when part of the allure of wide receivers was that they didn't get hurt as much as running backs?
I blame Jimmy Carter, though I may have seen too many political ads lately.
Waldman: Gary, you might as well blame "Ruse-a-velt" like your grandma did at the kitchen table back in the 1970s...
Davenport: How did you know how my grandmother pronounced FDR's name? Just for that, I'm going to make you happy, Waldman...
Give me Rachaad White here. It's not just the Scary Terry injury. Jacory Croskey-Merritt is also on injured reserve with a groin injury.
White should lead all Commanders backs in touches by a wide margin. The last time we saw White get a featured back workload was back in 2023. That year with the Buccaneers, White averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. But he topped 1,500 total yards and was a top-five PPR back.
White isn't going to hit that ceiling. But he could be a solid second starter in the backfield moving forward.
Waldman: I'm done with this thread, personally, but I suppose we should listen to everyone else's points of view...Seriously, there are good arguments below.
Still, White is the option on this list who should earn the most volume and the best high-leverage moments to score the most points. He's an excellent receiver who has past rapport with Jayden Daniels from the backfield at Arizona State.
White was an early and massive outlier in my summer rankings this year, and he has outperformed the depth chart during the first six weeks. The Commanders cut Robert Henry Jr. and Kaytron Allen, and the only reason Austin Ekeler got reps two weeks ago was a minor injury to White and Croskey-Merritt not performing well.
You can read my thoughts on White from July that I still stand by as an excellent value consideration the rest of the way.
Maurile Tremblay: Since I have to be here today so I don't get fined, I'll take Treylon Burks. McLaurin plays outside, and Burks fits that role at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds with good ability after the catch.
Against the Giants, Burks played through a shoulder injury and made the overtime catch that set up a potential game-winning kick. Against San Francisco, the fourth-down throw into the end zone in the final two minutes went to him (knocked loose on a strong hit by the safety). Burks is the most natural fit for McLaurin's targets outside.
Antonio Williams has big-play ability, but he's mainly a slot receiver, so McLaurin's absence doesn't open his role as directly.
Meng Song: Chig Okonkwo suddenly becomes very interesting for fantasy. Not only did Okonkwo tie Stefon Diggs for a team-high seven targets in the loss to San Francisco on Monday night, but it also wasn't so long ago that Jayden Daniels looked for Zach Ertz early and often.
This propensity to target his tight end was particularly apparent in the red zone. Ertz logged 7 touchdowns in 2024 with Daniels, and he scored 4 touchdowns in Daniels' 7 healthy games last season. Okonkwo could become a reliable back-end TE1 in fantasy, similar to a Juwan Johnson type of fantasy asset, for the rest of the season as a go-to target for Daniels.
Jeff Bell: I usually follow the professor's directions, but here I'd pick "all of the above". Since it's for a starting lineup, I'd pick Okonkwo.
The Commanders have John Bates at inline tight end, freeing Chig Okonkwo to move around the formation and play as a slot hybrid. He runs well after the catch, and the threshold for a fantasy-relevant tight end is lower than at wide receiver.
I expect all of these options to play and see involvement. Treylon Burks has stacked positive moments during his two years in Washington. The consistency is still lacking, but the tools that excited many in the 2022 class show up.
Antonio Williams is the most interesting option for the future. He has made plays downfield, but his skill set overlaps with Stefon Diggs, who operates in the short and intermediate areas, along with Okonkwo, forcing Williams into a less consistent downfield role.
Mike Kashuba: I think the short answer is Treylon Burks. While Antonio Williams is the fun, ascending rookie, his role is more set as the WR3/direct backup to Stefon Diggs. Burks' combination of size and recent play makes him a cleaner fit for Terry McLaurin on the outside, and he'll see an increased snap share as a result.
The longer answer rhymes with Jeff Bell's answer. Each of these players will have an opportunity to earn the trust and confidence of Jayden Daniels and David Blough to become a higher part of the offense.
If McLaurin's injury is a false alarm, Burks is the plug-and-play solution for both the offense and our fantasy teams. If it's truly a longer-term injury, the offense may change their tendencies coming out of the bye week, leaving room for each of these players to take a step forward.
Jeff Haseley: My gut take is Antonio Williams, but I am not sure if he'll receive a lot of X and Z targets in the Washington offense, or if he'll primarily work out of the slot. He has shown some impressive talent in limited action so far and would be my pick for the receiver who benefits the most in Terry McLaurin's absence.
It may take a few games to get acclimated to Jayden Daniels' tendencies. If last week was any indication, Williams should be on the field and running routes aplenty moving forward.
Corey Spala: Antonio Williams would be the receiver to bring immediate and long-term value in the absence of McLaurin. In his minimal playing time, Williams has run good routes, caught the ball well, and generated yards after the catch.
Williams would have more hype, but Jayden Daniels missed him wide open twice last week on the left side of the field, including for a 21-yard walk-in touchdown. This could be a tendency for Daniels to roll out to his right and the combination of a beat-down offensive line resulting in Daniels not progressing through reads.
Meng makes a great point that Okonkwo could benefit from the tendency to target tight ends, and I may have talked myself into that side. Regardless, I am optimistic Williams can see an increased role coming out of Washington's Week 7 bye.
Waldman: As always, thanks for reading.
Check out the links below for all this week's roundtable topics:
- Replacing Davante Adams
- Replacing Terry McLaurin
- Starters Returning to Work
- DeVonta Smith's Value Without Jalen Hurts
Good luck!
