Hungry For More: The Fantasy Footballers’ Predictions for Week 7
By the mid-point of the season, it could be time for players to make a turn for the better or worse as we head down the stretch toward the fantasy playoffs! It’s time for the Ballers once again to take a look at players they want to see take that next step in this week’s Hungry For More presented by Uber Eats!
Each week the Ballers will pick a player who super-sized their game in the past week and decide if they’ll continue to eat at the big guy’s table or go back to the kid’s table. Of course, I’ll give you an extra side dish or two to go along with Andy, Mike, and Jason’s main course! Let me know if you think we’re cooking up a high-end meal or if it’s more like gas station sushi!
WR – Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
| Week 6 | ||
| Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs |
| 7 | 51 | 1 |
After a slow start, Jaylen Waddle has turned up the heat in the kitchen and Jason is loving what’s on the grill. Waddle has finished as the WR19 and WR13 over the last two weeks behind a combined 19 targets and two TDs. That all comes after not finishing inside the top 30 over the first month of the year, even though he did see five targets per game.
NBA Jam rules say that a third week in the fire would mean he can’t leave your starting lineup, and the Dolphins have a great matchup to keep Waddle in the fire against the Philadelphia defense. The Eagles are 29th in scheduled-adjusted fantasy points allowed to WRs and are giving up over 35 points per game to opposing fantasy WRs.
WR – Michael Pittman, Indianapolis Colts
| Week 6 | ||
| Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs |
| 9 | 109 | 0 |
Michael Pittman was left for dead in most leagues with all of the change happening in Indianapolis, but it’s been a strong start to the season so far and Andy has taken up residence in Pitty City. Through his first eight games, Pittman is sitting at WR18 on the season and is on pace for 170 targets and 113 receptions. What’s more interesting about Pittman is the work he’s seen when Gardner Minshew has been starting QB for the Colts. In the two games where Minshew has been at the helm, Pittman has seen a combined 25 targets for 186 yards.
With Minshew starting at QB for the remainder of the season for Indianapolis, Pittman should remain a strong WR2 for fantasy rosters going forward, but there are tougher matchups over the next two weeks with Cleveland and New Orleans on the slate. Fantasy managers should feel comfortable going forward regardless of any rocky weeks that Pittman may have over the next couple weeks thanks to a safe floor that he’s seen so far this season.
WR – Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
| Week 6 | ||
| Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs |
| 9 | 125 | 0 |
Despite some spotty QB play, Mike is like the flavors in the ATL with Drake London. There was mass panic after London didn’t record a reception on his sole target in Week 1, but since then he’s averaged eight targets per game and is the WR17 over that span. To make things even juicier for London, during that same span, he’s been the first-read target in the Falcons’ offense at least 22% of the time every week, so Atlanta is being intentional about trying to get him going in the game.
Over the next several weeks, London has several opportunities to stay in the fire with matchups against Tampa Bay, Tennessee, and Minnesota ahead. Not to look too far into the season, but London’s fantasy playoff schedule also sets up nicely with Carolina, Indianapolis, and Chicago. If the Falcons continue their trend upward in passing volume, there’s no reason that London shouldn’t be delivering a basket of tasty fantasy performances for fantasy managers consistently.
TE – Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
| Week 6 | ||
| Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs |
| 5 | 75 | 0 |
There was plenty of hype coming into the season about this rookie TE class, but it felt like the Raiders’ rookie Michael Mayer got left out of a lot of the exciting discussion. After the first month of the season that may have been appropriate, but over the last two weeks, Mayer has been way more involved in the Raiders’ offense and turned in his best performance of the season in Week 6 and a TE5 finish. Mayer was targeted by both Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer in the Raiders’ win, so regardless of Jimmy G’s health heading into this week, he should still be involved.
For fantasy managers looking for help at TE, Mayer may be a good choice over the next several weeks with games against Chicago and Detroit coming up. Both matchups rank in the bottom third of the league against opposing TEs.