Week 7 is almost the midpoint to the season, and the COVID-19 minefield has only resulted in moving a few games around. With any luck, the NFL might make it to Week 17 with the schedule intact, but they’re making plans in case that changes.
- WR Jalen Reagor – He is eligible to come off injured reserve where he’s been healing from thumb surgery. Hard to remember, but he was the 1.21 pick in the draft as the fourth wideout selected. He only played in two games before suffering a UCL tear. He was drafted to become the new No. 1 wideout for the Eagles, not the 6.11 pick by the Lions in 2019 of Travis Fulgham who ended up on the Philly roster. Reagor was a three-year starter at TCU taken right before Justin Jefferson (1.22).This was made more interesting with DeSean Jackson injuring his knee in the Thursday night game. Reagor was dropped in many leagues with smaller rosters six weeks ago. The next four opponents for the Eagles are the Cowboys, Giants, Browns, and Seahawks. There’s plenty of potential fantasy points there whenever Reagor is active.
- WR Antonio Brown – He is eligible to come off his eight-game suspension after Week 8, and chances are that the one-time star wide receiver will get another chance. He’s been linked to Seattle since last summer and Russell Wilson is making a pitch for the Seahawks to sign him. Wilson spoke with him and said that Brown was remorseful and humbled from his past behavior and merits signing.Brown hasn’t played since 2018 with the Steelers but he scored 15 touchdowns that year and was on a six-year streak of 100-catch games. Brown is 32 years old and it is fair to wonder what he has left and if he can stay out of his own way. But chances are that we’ll see him again before the season is over. And maybe as early as a few weeks.
- WR Denzel Mims – The Jets used their second-round pick on the 6-3 Baylor senior that ran a 4.38/40-time, but he’s missed the entire season to date with hamstring injuries in both legs. There is a chance that he has his NFL debut this week in the meeting with the Bills. At Baylor, Mims caught 186 passes for 2,925 yards and 28 touchdowns while averaging 15.7 yards per reception over his three years as a starter.The Jets offense in one of the worst – and probably the worst – in the NFL and can use all the help they can get. Mims was a part of the effort to upgrade the receivers that so far has been limited to Jamison Crowder and almost nothing else. Mims missed out on practice time this summer so he’s unlikely to just jump in as an instant starter, but the bar is pretty low here and there’s every reason to finally want to see what they drafted last April.
- QB Tua Tagovailoa – The Dolphins1.05 pick was announced as the new starter as a surprise to fantasy owners, Jets fans and mostly Ryan Fitzpatrick who has the team at 3-3 and threw three touchdowns in each of the last two games. It begs the question – why announce it now and give the Rams two weeks to think about facing a rookie quarterback when they play after the Week 7 bye? And why blind-side Fitzpatrick?Maybe it’s just a lack of communication or the precursor to a trade involving Fitzpatrick, but the move is surprising when the Fins and Fitzpatrick have exceeded all expectations so far. Where might Fitzpatrick end up if he was traded? Tagovailoa will be an exciting one to watch and he’ll be the first left-handed quarterback of any note since Tim Tebow and Michael Vick. But why now? Why this way? Worth watching.
- NFL Trade Deadline – Teams may trade players through Tuesday, November 3 (election day). The most notable players rumored to be on the trading block are tight end David Njoku, Running back Mark Ingram, Jets Sam Darnold, wide receiver Brandin Cooks, wideout Breshad Perriman, and wide receiver A.J. Green. This should be an active week for a few trades since many teams are already thinking about the 2021 season.The league has been more active swapping players in recent years and there is always one or two big surprises. We’ll know who is changing teams by the end of the day on next Tuesday. It can bring all new life to players that are currently on your waiver wire.
- RB Leonard Fournette – He’s been inactive for the last three games with an ankle injury but was expected to return in Week 6. He had limited practices but wasn’t made available for the win over the Packers. Will be interesting to see where he fits in because in his absence, Ronald Jones rushed for over 100 yards in all three recent matchups and even scored twice on the Packers. Fournette rushed for 103 yards and two scores on 12 carries in Week 2 against the Panthers but was injured the next week.Jones remains the starter, but it will be noteworthy to see how many touches Fournette is given, and if LeSean McCoy and Ke’Shawn Vaughn are still involved at all. Jones has caught up to six passes in a game while Fournette was out, but that is all but certain to be whittled down.