Stud’s and Dud’s: Week 7
26 October 2020 Fantasy Football Opinion
We like to keep things spicy here at 4th and Jawn so today we’re going to do a new segment on our fantasy writers’ column. Every week there are those players that absolutely light up the scoreboard and secure you that win easily or help you make a dramatic come from behind win! On the contrary, there are those players that completely destroy your hopes and dreams of a perfect fantasy lineup by laying a goose egg or even a negative sign in front of a number. This week, we’ll be talking about the Week 7 Fantasy Stud’s and Dud’s.
Studs:
Justin Herbert – Quarterback – Los Angeles Chargers
The top scoring fantasy quarterback in week 7? Mahomes? Lamar? Russ? Nope, look no further than the young rookie phenome in Los Angeles. So many were talking about Joe Burrow being the number one overall pick and completely transforming the Bengals’ offense to the tune of a QB9 performance to this point in the fantasy season. However, after an injury to Tyrod Taylor allow him to take over, Justin Herbert is currently QB14 and averaging 25.8 points per week. This is a full six points per game more than Burrow. With the weapons in Los Angeles, Justin Herbert is dominating in his early career.
Jeff Wilson Jr. – Running Back – San Francisco 49ers
Who? Yes, the 49ers fourth running back on the depth chart was the RB1 for Week 7. In a massive surprise to most fantasy owners, Jeff Wilson Jr. took over the lead back duties in the stead of Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman instead of previous lead back Jerrick McKinnon, who was “supposedly” hand-picked by Kyle Shanahan to lead this backfield. Wilson Jr. surprised everyone to the tune of a 17 carry, 112 yard, 3 touchdown performance leading to a 32 point performance against the New England Patriots. Season long value looks bad for Wilson Jr. upon the return of Mostert but, he does have massive value in the short term.
Tyler Lockett – Wide Receiver – Seattle Seahawks
To this point, Lockett has been nothing short of fantastic. Currently sitting as WR2, Lockett has had fantastic performances to this point in the season but little things rival the nights that Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett are locked in and last night was a perfect example of that. The results? A 15 catch (20 targets), 200 yard, 3 touchdown night that led to a 48.5 point night that single handedly carried teams to MASSIVE comebacks or even a massive win. Lockett and Metcalf have formed quite the pairing and Russell Wilson is better every day for it.
Harrison Bryant – Tight End – Cleveland Browns
Again I’ll ask, who? The Browns’ third string tight end took over the receiving duties on the day with teammate Austin Hooper sidelined due to illness and he did not disappoint. After failing to register a fantasy relevant day through six weeks of the season, Bryant ended week 7 as the TE1 while registering only 5 total targets in a day that the Browns’ offense scored 37 points. Two touchdowns helped thrust Bryant into that TE1 spot as he only managed to catch 4 passes for 56 yards.
Duds:
Sam Darnold – Quarterback – New York Jets
In a day that was mostly dominated by defenses on both sides of the field, Sam Darnold laid one of the worst fantasy performances of the season. Although, Jimmy Garrapolo in Week 6 saved him on that. Darnold was only manage to total 12 completions on a 52% completion rate, while top target Jamison Crowder was sidelined for the day. In total, Darnold managed to only throw for 120 yards, a season low, while throwing two interceptions and finished with zero touchdown passes for the second week in a row. All of this managed to total a 0.8 point day for Darnold and has begun to earn him the “bust” label in New York.
Jerrick McKinnon – Running Back – San Francisco 49ers
Yes, I’m going to include McKinnon in this article because of the sheer shock that I have from him not seeing the field at all on Sunday. Although this worked out for fantasy owners of Jeff Wilson, McKinnon owners were left wondering what could’ve been, seeing as Jeff Wilson Jr. totaled 32 points on the day and McKinnon seems to be a more talented back. McKinnon finished the day with just 3 carries for -1 yards and 0 receptions for a -0.1 point stinker in most fantasy owners’ lineups.
CeeDee Lamb – Wide Receiver – Dallas Cowboys
Lamb is someone that I was super high on coming into the week because of the amount of attention that Cooper and Gallup have been garnering from opposing defenses to this point in the season. CeeDee has impressed in his rookie year, currently WR16 on the season, and even showed somewhat of a connection with Andy Dalton in Dak’s stead, totaling 7 catches and 64 yards on 11 targets in week 6. However, an injury to Dalton and only totaling five targets, CeeDee only mustered one carry for one yard, leaving a 0.1 score in a beating by the Washington Football Team. Lamb has very little value, if any, until Dalton returns, and even then is very low.
Darren Fells – Tight End – Houston Texans
This one may be a stretch because Fells is the backup tight end in Houston. However, due to an injury to Jordan Akins, Fells has been the starter for the last three weeks and had actually managed to be fantasy relevant through the first two of them. Coming off weeks where he never managed to go below 57 yards and had a touchdown in both games, Fells was not targeted once in a game that Houston trailed for most of. I am embarrassed to say that I pushed for Fells in several forums, even starting him myself, and he wasn’t targeted a single time on the week. 0.0 points look disgusting in your lineup and I’m sorry for pushing this one so hard.
So this is it, the Week 7 fantasy studs and duds. I hope that you all were on the side of the studs and saw a massive lead grow larger and larger throughout the day instead of watching your lineup struggle to put up 60 points in a massive onslaught. As always, follow me on Twitter at @SokoFFB for all your fantasy football needs!