With fantasy studs such as Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, James Conner, Christian McCaffrey on bye and Alvin Kamara, Todd Gurley and other dealing with injuries, you might have to invest more time than usual in your fantasy football lineup this week.
Here are nine last-minute fantasy football thoughts to help you in NFL Week 7:
Hunter Henry has a great matchup
The Chargers’ tight end is a great play this week for several reasons. First, after sitting out a month with a knee injury, Henry returned last week and caught eight passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Pittsburgh. So, he’s shown the knee is completely healthy. Second, Henry’s got a great matchup against Tennessee. The Titans haven’t done a great job covering tight ends, allowing four touchdown passes to that position. Tennessee’s defense allowed Atlanta’s Austin Hooper to catch nine passes for 130 yards earlier this season. Henry could put up huge numbers.
Even a crowded lineup, Darren Fells still puts up points
The Houston tight end often is overshadowed by teammates DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller, Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson. In the past two games, Fells has caught eight passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Plus, Fells has a good matchup against Indianapolis. In the past four weeks, the Colts have allowed 31 receptions and three touchdowns to tight ends.
Josh Jacobs could have a field day against the Packers
The Oakland rookie running back ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns in his most recent outing — and that was against a solid Chicago defense. Green Bay’s run defense is not very good. The Packers have allowed over five yards per run this season. Oakland coach Jon Gruden loves to exploit mismatches, so look for Jacobs to get a good amount of carries.
Darrell Henderson could play a big role
Keep a close eye on the injury statuses for Rams running backs Todd Gurley and Malcolm Brown. If they’re out or limited against a bad Atlanta defense, Henderson could be the biggest sleeper of the week. The rookie showed some explosiveness last week against San Francisco, averaging 6.5 yards per carry in limited action. But Henderson’s role could expand this week.
Latavius Murray also could play big role
The New Orleans running back has taken on a slightly bigger role the past two weeks as Alvin Kamara has been playing through and ankle injury. In those two games, Murray averaged 4.0 and 5.5 yards per carry. Check Kamara’s status. If he’s not going to play against Chicago, Murray is a guy you might want in your lineup. Even if Kamara is limited, Murray could see more carries.
Stay away from Adrian Peterson
The Washington running back had a great game in Week 6, rushing for 118 yards. But that was against Miami. This week is a totally different story. The Redskins play the 49ers, who haven’t given up a rushing touchdown yet this season. If you have Peterson, don’t start him unless you have no other options.
Don’t give up on Gardner Minshew
Yeah, the Jacksonville quarterback had a bad game against New Orleans last week, throwing for only 163 yards and an interception. But don’t suddenly bench Minshew. He simply had a bad game against a very good defense. He’ll bounce back this week. How do we know? The Jaguars play the Bengals — and everyone plays well against Cincinnati’s defense.
Start Daniel Jones against the Cardinals
After winning his first two career starts, Jones has slumped the past two weeks. There’s a reason for that. He was facing two of the league’s better defenses in Minnesota and New England. Against the Patriots last week, Jones completed just 48.4 percent of his passes and was intercepted three times. But Jones catches a break this week against a poor Arizona defense. Plus, if Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram are healthy and can play, Jones will have more weapons at his disposal.
Kyler Murray will have a bigger day than Daniel Jones
In a matchup of the first two quarterbacks taken in this year’s draft, both are going to put up fantasy points. That’s because the Giants and Cardinals both have poor defenses. But Arizona’s Murray will have the bigger day, because he’s really getting comfortable in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense and showing explosiveness. In his most recent outing, he threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns against the Falcons. The New York defense is just about as bad as Atlanta’s.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
