What You Need to Know From Week 7

Chicago 30 - New England 24

• Caleb Williams threw for over 300 yards for the second week in a row, adding two scores to post a strong fantasy game against a Patriots defense that isn't a pushover. It's reasonable to bench him on the road against the Seahawks defense that just made Patrick Mahomes II look like Patrick Ramsey, but it's also reasonable to start him unless you have a compelling option to play over him.
• The Bears gave D'Andre Swift the vast majority of the backfield touches and snaps even though this was a Thursday game. The extra work Roschon Johnson got in Week 6 was merely because the Bears were up big and not a sign of a committee blueprint no matter who the two backs are. Johnson isn't an essential hold with Kyle Monangai (turf toe) getting closer to a return.
• Cole Kmet went down with a torn ACL. This could bring Colston Loveland's ceiling down a notch after back-to-back strong weeks, as he might be asked to block more, which could in turn boost Luther Burden III, who had his best fantasy showing of the season even though he only caught four balls. 130 yards and a touchdown later, Burden's arrow is pointing up as a buy high coming out of Week 7.
• Caleb Williams now seldom looks to Kalif Raymond (only two targets each of the last two games) after he led the team in targets in Williams Week 1 start. Raymond isn't an essential hold, but keep him on your waiver-wire speed-dial list.
• Drake Maye put the offense on his shoulders against the Bears, accounting for all three touchdowns and getting little help from A.J. Brown in his second week back. He's in contention to be the #2 fantasy quarterback behind Josh Allen, as hoped. Brown is getting extra attention from defenses. We should get (more) worried about his rest-of-season if he can't produce against the Dolphins. Brown is a sell low in dynasty and redraft right now.
• Fears of a three-headed RBBC did not come to fruition as the Patriots fell behind early in this game and Rhamondre Stevenson dominated running back snaps. He came through for anyone who started him because of a bizarre 48-yard catch-and-run score against a hail-mary defense on the last play of the first half, so don't read too much into this result. TreVeyon Henderson isn't an essential hold.
• Maye was riffing with his tight ends mostly for the second straight week. Hunter Henry caught all seven of his targets for 71 yards. He's an ideal streamer or Kittle/Likely bye coverage play against the Dolphins. Eli Raridon caught three balls for 56 yards and a score. He looks like a player who will matter for fantasy sooner rather than later.

Pittsburgh 16 - New Orleans 10

• The Steelers reinvented their offense as a balanced attack that also relies heavily on the running backs as receivers. This could lower Aaron Rodgers and the passing game's weekly ceiling if it sticks against the Browns in Week 8.
• Germie Bernard and DK Metcalf were disappointing after their 11-catch Week 6 lines got them in a lot of fantasy lineups. They are both boom/bust WR3/Flex plays against Cleveland as we guess on which version of the Steelers offense we'll see.
• Jaylen Warren was treated as the lead back early and got 21 touches, which he converted into 137 total yards, but Rico Dowdle brought peak energy as the #2 back and amassed 15 touches of his own, including six receptions. Dowdle has what-the-heck flex value for Week 8 and should be added if he was dropped during his absence due to a toe injury.
• Pat Freiermuth hasn't gotten a red zone target in two weeks after scoring four touchdowns through the first five games. Darnell Washington caught the tight end touchdown in this one, treating a Saints defender the way Gulliver treats a Lilliputian when the ball was in the air. Freiermuth isn't an essential hold, and Washington remains one of the most fun players to watch.
• The Saints had no running game to speak of in the loss. Alvin Kamara only gained five yards on six carries, but he also caught seven balls (mostly checkdowns) for 57 yards. Travis Etienne Jr. should be back from injured reserve soon, and the Saints are going into their bye, so Kamara isn't an essential hold.
• Tyler Shough completed 30 of 38 passes, but it didn't translate to points or a big fantasy for anyone in the Saints offense. Devaughn Vele did catch a touchdown among his five receptions, but his value is going to be down once Jordyn Tyson returns from injured reserve, which should be soon after the bye with him making the trip to Paris.
• Juwan Johnson had his third dud in a row as the Saints are valuing pass blocking more than receiving from their tight ends right now. He's not an essential hold through the bye.
• Kellen Moore's seat could be warming up with the team's second letdown in a nationally televised game and a 2-5 record going into the bye.

Tampa Bay 43 - Carolina 13

• The Bucs had a clear game plan to feature Bucky Irving, as he touched the ball 11 times on the first drive, including the touchdown. Irving is a boom/bust RB1 as the focal point of the offense.
• Sean Tucker had a 46-yard touchdown in garbage time. With the Bucs run-oriented offense and good defense, he would be a good add if Irving were to go down. Given that Irving wore down in four games as a lead back last year, Tucker is a good preemptive add in deep leagues.
• The Bucs' passing game was quiet with only 11 pass attempts, which is great for Baker Mayfield in a way, since he was playing his first game since dislocating the thumb on his throwing hand in Week 3.
• Bryce Young had a miserable day rife with sacks and turnovers, including a fumble that was returned for a score. Hopefully this is an NFC South matchup aberration, but the weekly floor for Young, Chuba Hubbard, Tetairoa McMillan, and Jalen Coker should be lowered to the ugly level it was at for this game. Young isn't an automatic start at Green Bay on Thursday, as he goes into the tough part of the Panthers schedule following an easier start that built momentum.

Miami 28 - NY Jets 25

• Malik Willis was in command of the offense coming off the bye, leading 60, 76, and 91-yard touchdown drives in the first half of this game. He ended up accounting for three scores, including one on the ground, and posted the first elite QB1 fantasy game of his season. He'll face a step up in competition against the Patriots, but Willis is still a high-ceiling QB1 with the Dolphins offense clearly on the rise.
• Caleb Douglas caught two balls, both touchdowns, including a 63-yard catch-and-run score that proved to be the decisive play of the game. Both he and Omar Cooper Jr. have played two full games in their careers and posted strong fantasy numbers in both. Douglas is a priority waiver add.
• Malik Washington threw the ball that sprung Douglas as he approached the goal line, but was otherwise quiet on the fantasy front. Both he and Chris Bell are still worth roster spots in deeper leagues, as it appears Willis will create fantasy value in this passing game, and defenses could start to give Douglas more attention after his hot start.
• Greg Dulcich had his biggest game as a Dolphin and came through if he was used in a spot start. The Raiders tight ends face the Jets defense next week (Michael Mayer streamer?) and Dulcich will be a viable Kittle/Likely bye coverage play in Week 8 against the Patriots if you have to dig deep.
• As mentioned, Cooper had his second 100-yard game in a row with a score, and he's the top add at wide receiver if he is still out there. 
• Garrett Wilson only caught two balls, with zero before the first half. He was seen yelling (in the direction of, not at, per Geno) at Geno Smith and is clearly frustrated with his role in the offense.
• Braelon Allen played and produced like a starting-quality workhorse back in Breece Hall's absence once again. We should expect something like a 60/40 split in favor of Hall when he returns (which could be this week against the Raiders), as Allen has proven he is not a mere backup.
• Mason Taylor caught two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. He's clearly trusted by Smith in key situations and should be added if you need tight end depth or a spot start for Week 8, as the Raiders have been one of the worst teams in the league at defending the tight end.
• Losing the previously winless Dolphins might have sealed Aaron Glenn's fate, and we could see him fired before the end of the season if this team's level of play starts to slide.

NY Giants 27 - Houston 21

• J.J. McCarthy looked very comfortable in Matt Nagy's offense, especially throwing downfield to Malik Nabers. It doesn't appear that Nabers' fantasy value will be kneecapped by McCarthy the way that Justin Jefferson's was last year (maybe we should pin that on Kevin O'Connell?). McCarthy is worth an add in 1QB leagues where most teams carry a backup even though it's the Giants' bye. The team scored all four touchdowns on the ground, or the quality of his performance would have shown up in his fantasy value.
• Tyrone Tracy Jr. scored early, but left with a hamstring injury that has landed him on injured reserve. Cam Skattebo redeemed himself after being benched last week for fumbles with a big second half, including a signature 16-yard touchdown run through the Texans' poor tackling attempts. His 42-yard run in overtime set up the game-winning 26-yard run by Devin Singletary. Skattebo said he felt his hamstring on the last run, but didn't strain it. We'll monitor his practice reports after the bye, but his value has bounced back.
• Isaiah Likely was quiet in this game with only four targets, two catches, and 12 yards, but he did catch two balls, including a score and a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter of Week 6 with McCarthy. He should still be a fantasy starter after the bye, and the rest could help him as he didn't look like he was 100% in Week 7.
• The C.J. Stroud centric offense couldn't beat the Giants, as Jaylin Noel left with a turf toe injury that is still being evaluated, and Nico Collins was used like a rotational receiver, only on the field for 2/3 of the snaps and not even the most targeted wide receiver on the team (Xavier Hutchinson). Hopefully offensive coordinator Nick Caley gets this straightened out after the bye, but this team's season could be lost if they don't win the games against the Chargers, Browns, and Colts after the bye. Stroud isn't an essential hold through his bye in short bench leagues where some teams don't carry a backup quarterback.
• Woody Marks didn't do much with his 20 touches and isn't an essential hold through the bye with David Montgomery back soon. We've seen Marks' value with Montgomery out, and it's not helping fantasy teams.

Cincinnati 35 - Baltimore 13

• This game was 13-0 Baltimore at halftime, and then Joe Burrow led five consecutive touchdown drives in the second half to send the Ravens fans to the exits early. Burrow is peaking heading into a matchup with the Titans.
• The Ravens' secondary allowed Tee Higgins to dominate one-on-one matchups, giving more attention to Ja'Marr Chase. When the Bengals' pass offense is functioning on this level, and Burrow is getting time to throw, they are very hard to stop.
• Chase Brown got 15 touches to Samaje Perine's 4 and was in on 75% of the snaps, but it didn't amount to much for fantasy, and one of Perine's four touches was a short rushing touchdown where he was subbed in for Brown right before the play. Brown should be in lineups as an RB2 in Week 8 because of the matchup, but if he doesn't come through against the Titans, we can't count on him as more than a flex in the second half of the season.
• Tyler Huntley found Zay Flowers on a 48-yard score early, and the Bengals' problems at safety were on display even though they won by a large margin. Flowers was able to post a ceiling game with Huntley, showing how much his value has gone up. Hopefully Lamar Jackson will return against the Bills in Week 8 and stay healthy.
• Ja'Kobi Lane got five targets for the second straight week. He could be a high-ceiling flex play once Jackson is back, so try to hold him until Jackson returns if you can. If Jackson is back this week, you might even play Lane as a WR3/Flex because of how generous the Bills' pass defense has been this season.

Cleveland 27 - Tennessee 24

• Deshaun Watson led his fifth game-winning drive of the season to put the Browns in first place. He scored as a runner and went over 300 yards as a passer, although this was against the Titans. Watson is a high-floor streaming QB1/QB2/Superflex with some Week 8 bust risk against the Steelers.
• Quinshon Judkins scored twice and came out of the gate strong. Head coach Todd Monken said of Judkins previous performances "It's hard to look explosive when there's nowhere to run". Judkins is a solid RB2 going forward.
• Dylan Sampson showed good burst on his touches, including three receptions for 32 yards. He had 77 total yards on nine touches and should be added in leagues where bench size allows teams to carry backup running backs.
• KC Concepcion Jr. broke out with over 150 total yards, and he could have had an even bigger day if he didn't drop what should have been a long touchdown. You have to put him in as a WR3/Flex against the Steelers coming off of that kind of game.
• Harold Fannin Jr. fumbled in the first half, but atoned with a big catch and run to set up the game-winning field goal and ended up with six catches for 91 yards. He's boom/bust week-to-week, but the peaks have returned, so he's worth a look against the Steelers in Week 8 and shouldn't be on the waiver wire.
• Denzel Boston's strengths just don't mesh well with Watson's. It's tough to drop such a talented young player, but he is only a what-the-heck flex in Week 8. He did put up a 4-89 line against the Steelers in the Week 4 meeting, which the Browns won 27-24.

Minnesota 16 - Indianapolis 10