The seventh Sunday of the NFL season featured one of the greatest fourth-quarter comebacks in league history, with the Denver Broncos somehow catching the New York Giants. Broncos QB Bo Nix scored 39.96 PPR points, nearly all of them in the final stanza. Also on Sunday, Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor tallied another three touchdowns, and a pair of Philadelphia Eagles WRs combined for 304 receiving yards, three touchdowns and 61.4 PPR points. In the night game, San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey delivered his finest game of the season.
As we get ready for Week 8, we await clarity on the status of Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (hamstring) and prepare for “bye-mageddon.”
Each Monday, before the current NFL week ends, we will identify players available in at least 50% of ESPN standard leagues worthy of your attention, from standard formats to deeper options. The NFL is a weekly league, and player valuation and roles seldom remain stagnant. It does not matter how you acquire players for your fantasy rosters, just that you get them.
J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (28.2%): The Vikings slipped into last place in the NFC North with Sunday’s loss to the Eagles as backup QB Carson Wentz tossed a pair of mind-boggling interceptions. One would think McCarthy (ankle), who hasn’t played since Week 2, will start this Thursday’s game at the Los Angeles Chargers, if he’s healthy. The Chargers are among the better defenses in preventing fantasy points to QBs, but fantasy managers in SuperFlex formats must invest in McCarthy for the duration of the season.
Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals (4.9%): Well, it didn’t take long for Flacco to make this list. In his second start for the Bengals after being acquired from the Cleveland Browns, Flacco scored 25.98 PPR points in last Thursday’s stunning win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Flacco threw for 342 yards and 3 TDs, reinvigorating the dormant value of his new team’s three offensive stars (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown). Flacco faces the embarrassing New York Jets this week, so even though you will probably be moving on from him when he serves his Week 10 bye, play for the short term.
Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders (1.8%): It seems likely that Daniels will miss time as a result of his latest injury. Fantasy managers were already concerned about him holding up physically due to his slight build. Mariota scored 36.52 PPR points during starts in Weeks 3 and 4, buoyed by his ability to run. That said, facing the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night in Week 8 (then the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions) hardly seems like much fun. Go with Flacco first.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears (4.1%): The Bears ran all over the New Orleans Saints, with starter D’Andre Swift tallying 20.8 PPR points. The rookie Monangai added 17.4 points with 81 rushing yards and a touchdown. Swift is enjoying a solid season and, although he has a history of missing the occasional game, he played in all 17 games last season. The bruising Monangai, a seventh-round pick from Rutgers, earned Sunday’s volume because the Bears wanted to run and they had a big lead, though that scenario might occur again the next few weeks versus the Bengals and Ravens.
Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (29.9%): Spears earned mention entering Week 7 after he turned nine touches into 50 yards during Week 6. On Sunday, Spears didn’t do much in the blowout loss to the New England Patriots, turning eight touches into 40 yards, but starter Tony Pollard was similarly unproductive and has only 52 rushing yards over the past two games. The Titans could give Spears a longer look.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens (16.2%): The Ravens and Buffalo Bills both emerge from their Week 7 byes with big games this coming week. The Bills play at Carolina, but WRs Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir remain rostered in at least 68% of leagues. Bateman is not having a productive season, but with QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring) returning from three weeks off, perhaps things change. Zay Flowers is the star WR, but Bateman reached 756 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns last season.
Xavier Legette, Panthers (23.8%): Legette entered Week 7 as a noteworthy underperformer this season, scoring just 19 PPR points in his four games (he missed one contest). Then, on Sunday against the woeful Jets, Legette caught 9 of 11 targets for 92 yards and a touchdown, finally outshining rookie Tetairoa McMillan (6.3 PPR points), although he was mostly lined up against excellent CB Sauce Gardner. McMillan is the Panthers WR to roster, of course, but perhaps Legette can continue his relevance in future weeks.
Chimere Dike, Titans (1%): Dike, a fifth-round pick out of Florida, caught just nine passes for 26 yards through his first six games. He saw more attention on Sunday with starter Calvin Ridley (hamstring) sidelined, catching each of his four targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. We are not comfortable recommending any member of the Titans’ offense, but the speedy Dike and Elic Ayomanor (26.4%) are far more likely to be part of the team’s future than Ridley or Van Jefferson (0.3%). Perhaps QB Cam Ward starts to perform better and these rookie WRs can emerge.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Oronde Gadsden II, Chargers (2.1%): Something positive is happening with Gadsden, the fifth-round rookie from Syracuse, as he followed up his 11.8 PPR points from Week 6 against the lowly Dolphins with 29.4 PPR points against the solid Colts. Sure, a good bit of these numbers came late in the game with the Chargers trailing, but it still happened. A converted wide receiver in college, Gadsden’s 164 receiving yards on Sunday represented, by far, the most for a tight end this season. Only five others have even surpassed 100 receiving yards in a game!
Noah Fant, Bengals (2.4%): Fant scored 14.4 PPR points against the Steelers, mainly because he turned one of his four receptions into a touchdown. With teammate Mike Gesicki (pectoral) out for at least another month, Fant has TE2 upside. He does have four-plus targets in five contests this season, albeit with three different quarterbacks.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Bye weeks explode in Week 8 with the Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars all off. That’s a lot of teams — and a lot of good players not playing.
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