Tunnel Vision of Week 7

Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks Pass-Rush TD
 Justin Herbert  347-66 4
 Joe Burrow 406-34 4
 Tom Brady 369-1 5
 Kyler Murray  360-67  4
 Russell Wilson  388-84 3
Running Backs Rush-
Receive
TD
Jefferry Wilson 17-112
2-8
3
James Robinson 22-119
4-18
2
Alvin Kamara 14-83
8-65
0
Todd Gurley 23-63
2-19
2
Jamaal Williams  19-77
4-37
1
Wide Receivers Yards TD
Davante Adams 13-196 2
Diontae Johnson 9-80 2
Tyler Boyd 11-101 1
A.J. Brown 6-153 1
Tyler Lockett 15-200 3
Tight Ends Yards TD
Harrison Bryant 4-56 2
Rob Gronkowski 5-62 1
Darren Waller 6-50 1
Logan Thomas 4-60 1
T.J. Hockenson 5-59 1
Placekickers XP FG
Tyler Bass 6 0
Zane Gonzalez 4 3
Harrison Butker 4 3
Jason Meyers 4 2
Randy Bullock 4 2
Defense Sck-TO TD
Chiefs 3-4 2
Football Team 6-1 0
49ers 2-4 0
Bills 6-2 0
Eagles 3-3 0

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

QB Drew Lock – Knee
QB Cam Newton – Benched
QB Andy Dalton – Concussion
RB Philip Lindsay – Concussion
RB Jeff Wilson – Ankle
RB Chris Carson – Foot
RB Kenyan Drake – Leg
TE Virgil Green – Ankle
WR Odell Beckham – Knee
WR Russell Gage -Knee
WR Diontae Johnson – Leg
WR Breshad Perriman – Concussion
WR N’Keal Harry – Concussion
WR Deebo Samuel – Hamstring
WR DeDe Westbrook – Leg
WR Marquez Callaway – Ankle

Chasing Ambulances

Fantasy football in 2020 is like herding cattle through a minefield.

QB Cam Newton – The Pats starter was benched in the second half after only completing 9-0f-15 for 98 yards and three interceptions. He ended with a 39.7 QB rating. Jarret Stidham finished the game, but only threw for 64 yards and one interception with a 39.2 QB rating. And Newton only gained 19 yards on five runs in the loss to the 49ers. HC Bill Belichick already said Newton will start this week, but things are not improving in New England.

QB Andy Dalton – The Washington linebacker Jon Bostic went head to head with Andy Dalton so hard that he knocked the quarterback’s helmet off and was ejected from the game. That left the Cowboys to rely on their rookie third-string quarterback Ben DiNucci. The Cowboys offensive line is already a mess and the injury already had speculation about the Cowboys signing a new quarterback if Dalton misses any time. Seventh-round pick DiNucci may end up starting in Week 8 at the Eagles, but there’s no certainty about the situation until the severity and prognosis is known about Dalton’s injury.

RB Jeff Wilson – One of the biggest shockers for a single-game performance belongs to Wilson who rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns at the Patriots before injuring his ankle. Wilson only accounted for 51 yards on 21 carries this year. Wilson is feared to have a high-ankle sprain and X-rays were reported to be negative. The surprise happened because HC Kyle Shanahan wanted to rest Jerick McKinnon and not overuse him. Wilson ran well and the Pats couldn’t start him, so he took the lead over JaMycal Hasty.

Mostert is on injured reserve with his own high-ankle sprain. Going forward, the 49ers will rely on McKinnon and Hasty until either Mostert or Wilson returns. The Pats matchup went very well for the backfield and McKinnon will need to step in as a receiver in future games at the least. But the 49ers are concerned with overworking the sometimes fragile McKinnon, so Hasty should see more work.

RB Chris Carson – Injured his foot and left the field in the late game against the Cardinals. Carlos Hyde will take the start if Carson misses time. The Seahawks host the 49ers this week and then play at the Bills and Rams. There are no easy matchups for now, but Hyde will lead the backfield if needed. The rookie DeeJay Dallas will move up if Carson remains out and Travis Homer would also figure in.

WR Odell Beckham – He’ll undergo an MRI on Monday but early speculation is that he had a serious knee injury, and potentially a torn ACL. Donovan Peoples-Jones is his back-up and the sixth-round rookie never had a catch until Sunday when he caught three passes for 56 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Rashard Higgins is the slot man and he caught six passes for 110 yards as well. Higgins is likely the one that will see more work, but the Browns passing offense hasn’t produced many fantasy points until Week 7.

RB Kenyan Drake – Carted from the field with an apparent knee injury, Drake was in obvious pain and emotional to suggest that it was severe. If he misses time, Chase Edmonds becomes the primary back and gives every confidence that the offense won’t suffer. The Cardinals go onto their bye for Week 8, so there is time to determine what it is and how they will deal with it. The only other backs on the active roster are seventh-round rookie Eno Benjamin and the undrafted rookie Jonathan Ward – neither have a touch in the NFL.

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

WR Sterling Shepard – He was on injured reserve with a toe injury but returned for Week 7 against the Eagles. He led the Giants with six catches for 59 yards and one touchdown. He’s worth rostering, but the next opponents are the Buccaneers and Redskins.

TE Richard Rogers – Led the Eagles back on Thursday night with six catches for 85 yards in the win over the Giants. Dallas Goedert is expected to return for Week 10 while Zach Ertz just landed on injured reserve. That means Rogers will be the starting tight end next week against the visiting Cowboys. There’s nice weekly filler.

Lions’ backfield – The success of De’Andre Swift in Week 6 promised that he’d be used more in the matchup against the Falcons. He ran for 27 yards and a score on nine carries and added four catches for 21 yards. But Adrian Peterson still led the backfield with 11 rushes for 29 yards and one catch. This remains a committee backfield, just with a bit more Swift and a bit less Peterson.

TE Harrison Bryant – The Browns rookie led the position on Sunday with four catches for 56 yards and two touchdowns. He replaced Austin Hooper who was out with an emergency appendectomy and is not expected back until  after the Week 9 bye. David Njoku also scored in the game but may be traded and is not in the long-term plans for the Browns.  Bryant only logged eight catches on the season prior to Week 7, and he’ll be replaced by Hooper when he returns. Bryant starts against the visiting Raiders next week.

TE Albert Okwuegbunam – The Denver  rookie helped replace Noah Fant in Week 6 when he caught two passes for 45 yards. Fant returned this week though was still bothered by his sprained ankle and only caught three passes for 38 yards in the loss to the Chiefs. But Okwuegbunam led the Broncos with a team-high seven targets for seven catches and 60 yards catching passes from Drew Lock – his college quarterback.

TE Logan Thomas – Washington started Kyle Allen in Week 6 and Thomas had a season-best three catches for 42 yards and a touchdown against the Giants. This week, he ended with four catches for 60 yards and a score in the win over the Cowboys. The Football Team goes onto their bye, but face the Giants again in Week 8.

WR Nelson Agholor – The Raiders wideout snared five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Buccaneers. He’s not only on a number of waiver wires but he also just caught a score in his third straight game. And he plays the Browns this week.

RB La’Mical Perine – The Jets’ rookie stepped up with Le’Veon Bell gone and ran for 39 yards on 11 carries with one scorer and even caught two passes for 16 yards. Frank Gore also ran 11 times but had no receptions. Hard to rely on a Jets running back, but at least Perine is as busy as Gore.

WR Denzel Mims – The Jets’ rookie wideout debuted after coming off injured reserve and he led the team with 42 yards on four catches. Granted – not exactly a monster game, but encouraging that he was targeted a team-high seven times in his first game. The absence of Jamison Crowder helped.

RB Jamaal Williams – The Packers were without Aaron Jones, again, and turned to Williams who ran for 77 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. AJ Dillon was said to become more involved but he only managed 11 yards on five carries. Williams also added four catches for 37 yards.

WR Marquez Callaway – Led the Saints with ten targets for eight catches and 75 yards in the win over the Panthers. He’s the back-up for injured-suspended-injured Michael Thomas but only caught five passes this season prior to Sunday. He also left the game late with an ankle injury but said it was just minor. He’ll play at the Bears this week since Thomas is expected to still be out with his hamstring injury.

RB Zack Moss – The Bills’ rookie missed three games with a toe injury and came back in Week 6 to only gain 10 yards on five runs when Devin Singletary ran ten times for 32 yards in the loss to the Chiefs. But on Sunday against the Jets, Singletary ran eight times for 29 yards and Moss gained  47 yards on seven runs plus caught three passes for 25 yards versus two catches for 18 yards by Singletary. It was the first time that he outgained Singletary.

RB Leonard Fournette – Just when you think he belongs on the waiver wire, Fournette shows up again. He sprained his ankle in Week 3 and did not return until Week 6. He was active but never played while Ronald Jones turned in his third-straight 100-rushing yard performance. In Week 7 at the Raiders, Jones ran for 34 yards on 13 carries and scored once. But Fournette ran for 50 yards on 11 rushes and added six receptions for 47 yards. Hoped the RoJo owners had fun while it lasted.

RB Le’Veon Bell – On the plus side, Bell had no targets and Clyde Edwards-Helaire was thrown four that resulted in just one catch for 17 yards. But while Edwards-Helaire ran in a touchdown on his eight carries for 46 yards, Bell ran for 39 yards on six rushes. In his first game. It was a blowout win but Bell wasn’t just a fourth-quarter mop player. His first three carries came in the first quarter on the Chiefs’ second offensive series.

Huddle player of the week

Tyler Lockett  –  The Seahawks lost in overtime, but it was not because of Lockett. He owned the day in the NFL with 20 targets that turned into 15 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He gained over half of the 388 passing yards and caught all of Russell Wilson’s passing scores.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy Yards TDs Tragedy Yards TDs
QB Baker Mayfield 296 5 QB Patrick Mahomes 200 1
RB Jeffery Wilson 120 3 RB Josh Jacobs 31 0
RB Boston Scott 92 1 RB Ezekiel Elliott 51 0
WR Scotty Miller 107 1 WR Odell Beckham 0 0
WR Sterling Shepard 59 1 WR Mike Evans 37 0
WR Randall Cobb 115 0 WR D.J. Chark 26 0
TE Harrison Bryant 56 2 TE Travis Kelce 31 0
PK Tlyer Bass 6  FG PK Younghoe Koo 2   XP
Huddle Fantasy Points = 163 Huddle Fantasy Points = 34

Now get back to work…