Hot Fire Fantasy Football Questions: Week 7
Our “Hot Fire Fantasy Questions” series takes a look at Week 7 following up recent news, fantasy performances, and implications for owners moving forward. Our Hot Fire contributors from our Fantasy Footballers writing staff includes Ryan Weisse (@TheFantasyFive), Matt Okada (@FantasySensei), and Nate Hamilton (@DomiNateFF).
Make sure you listen to today’s podcast to get Andy, Mike, and Jason’s reactions from all the Week 7 action.
1. Which player’s Week 7 fantasy performance presents a buy-low opportunity for fantasy owners?
Demaryius Thomas had 2 receptions for 9 total yards on Sunday. Many of his owners will be upset with both Thomas and the overall lack of production from the Broncos offense. Demaryius Thomas is one of the most consistent receivers in the game and has a very favorable schedule in the next 3 weeks: at Kansas City (given up the 2nd most points to WRs), at Philadelphia (given up the 5th most points to WRs), and home vs New England (given up the 4th most points to WRs). After Trevor Siemian’s performance on Sunday, he’ll want to or at least should utilize the most talented player on the offense and that player is Demaryius Thomas. –Nate Hamilton
Doug Martin … Coming off two straight games of at least 12 standard format fantasy points, Martin failed to score for the first time in Week 7. That said, he was facing a very tough Bills run defense (eighth in the league coming into the week). The Muscle Hamster still received 20 carries in the game and also took two receptions for 31 yards. He’s got smoother matchups coming up soon, and also has already had his “BYE.” So BUY low now. (See what I did there). -Matt Okada
I’m going to try to buy Sterling Shepard in any league I’m in. He was a surprise inactive this week and on bye next week so his owners have got to be ready to move on. The Giants need him out there and will be throwing it a ton. It’s been said before and I’ll say it again: volume rules in fantasy football. He put up decent numbers when he was competing with OBJ and Brandon Marshall for looks, now it’s just him and Evan Engram. -Ryan Weisse
2. Which of these Week 7 breakout WRs would you want most ROS (Amari Cooper, Jarvis Landry, Doug Baldwin or Tyreek Hill)?
Jarvis Landry
I’ve always been a supporter of Amari Cooper and do believe he will produce ROS, however, he is not my answer here. I’ll take Jarvis Landry. He is consistently and heavily targeted and as we witnessed this weekend; it doesn’t matter who is throwing the ball. DeVante Parker was supposed to be the WR1 in this offense but Landry has been the go-to target. His athletic ability provides a threat to defenses after the catch and I believe Landry is just getting warmed up on the season. If he remains healthy, he will end the season in the top 10 targets for wide receivers. -Nate Hamilton
Doug Baldwin
Give me Doug Baldwin. He and Landry are the only ones who have proven to be more boom than bust, and I do not trust the Miami QB situation. I like consistency in my WRs, especially consistently good. As the Seahawks offense improves, Baldwin will continually find himself in the WR1 ranks. –Ryan Weisse
I’ll take Doug Baldwin. Cooper has not re-earned by my trust after one week (in which he had multiple drops again), Landry doesn’t have the upside, and Hill is too inconsistent. As long as Baldwin is healthy, he will be a trustworthy WR1/WR2. -Matt Okada
Abbie Parr/Getty Images
3. We saw 3 defenses (CHI, LAR & JAX) score 20+ points. Any common threads or insights for fantasy owners?
If anyone can predict a 20 point DEF/ST performance I’d like to have a long talk with them before writing my weekly article. By my count, there have been 15 games where a DEF/ST scored more 20+ fantasy points this season. In 10 of those something incredible happened. Be it 5 takeaways, multiple defensive or return TDs, or 10 QB sacks, which Jacksonville has now done twice. My advice has been and will always be: Play the matchups. Look for poor QB play and one-dimensional teams, they tend to be easier to shut down. –Ryan Weisse
Besides the Jacksonville Jaguars, the defense position is one that should be streamed week to week. The Chicago Bears defense was a perfect example of this. The Panthers relapsed to their awful offensive play while the Bears took advantage. The Rams are a solid defense and were shutting down the Cardinals offense before Palmer went down but of course, this played a role in their final stat line as a defense. At the end of the day, don’t roster a defense unless you have one of the top defenses in the league. Stream the matchups, you’ll be better off. -Nate Hamilton
The Rams and Jags are excellent defenses and had solid matchups, making them clear starts. The Bears capitalized on multiple D/ST touchdowns, which is nearly impossible to predict. In the end, I’m looking for talented D/STs facing turnover-prone QBs and teams. -Matt Okada
4. Which Week 7 under-the-radar stat line should fantasy owners pay attention to?
A few weeks ago we talked about whether we’d rather have Melvin Gordon or Leonard Fournette and I said Fournette. Melvin Gordon helped prove my point this week. For the 5th time, this season he averaged less than 3 YPC and the Chargers couldn’t/didn’t need to get him involved in the passing game. The result was an RB3 performance where he was outscored by teammate Austin Ekeler, who caught 4 balls, one for a TD. Yes, Fournette missed this week with an injury but the Jacksonville running game hummed along and it seems, at least to me, that Fournette will have far fewer duds than Gordon moving forward. -Ryan Weisse
I’ll go with Hunter Henry. He only had four catches but posted 73 yards to follow his 90-yard performance from Week 6. Henry has at least 7.3 standard format fantasy points in four straight weeks and is the clear go-to TE now in LA. He’s a TE1 who can potentially still be bought for cheap. -Matt Okada
Mitchell Trubisky
Mitchell Trubisky had just 4 completions on just 7 attempts for the entire game. Those are some scary numbers even if the Bears were leading the entire game. Clearly, the coaches do not trust their rookie quarterback enough to let him throw the ball with a lead. I realize people are not likely to own Trubisky but I bring it up as a warning to anyone that may think about rostering a Bears wide receiver or tight end. Don’t do it. Trubisky had 107 passing yards in the game. If it wasn’t for a 70 reception by Tarik Cohen, Trubisky would have ended the game with 3 completions for 37 yards. Just gross. Stay away from any Bears wide receiver or tight end going forward. -Nate Hamilton