Week 7 created chaos in many leagues: we have some under-the-radar risers, but more notably, some of football’s biggest names are this week’s fallers!
Risers
QB Michael Penix Jr. | Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta didn’t know if Michael Penix Jr. was the long-term answer, but he’s playing like a franchise QB right now. Penix has 9 TDs and 1 INT so far this season, including two back-to-back 3-TD games and no picks. The Falcons offense has been steamrolling since his return.
Sell: Penix has had a couple of great games, but he’s still best used in SF leagues. If you already have two good QBs and Penix is your QB3, consider snagging a depth piece elsewhere to improve your bench. In single QB, he’s still not rostered in most leagues.
RB Tony Pollard | Tennessee Titans
Tony Pollard’s 3TD performance was the second time Pollard did that in his career. Ever since signing with the Titans, Pollard’s production has faded, but could this signal the Titans are leaning on him more for the rest of the season?
Sell: Tyjae Spears was out, which gave Pollard more touches, and yes, he made every one count, but even with this performance, Pollard’s consistent production isn’t good enough to be an RB2, so sell high while you can!
WR KC Concepcion | Cleveland Browns
A breakout game for the ages, KC Concepcion is one of my Risers this week. Concepcion caught 8 passes for 129 yards and ran for 23 yards on 3 carries. This is just the start for Concepcion; I believe he will continue to blossom into a true WR1 in Cleveland and a WR2 in fantasy.
Buy: Concepcion is currently the WR24, and that’s with two really bad performances. Aside from those games, he’s been alright, and this game showed what he can do on the field, so I expect more targets to go to Concepcion consistently.
TE Mason Taylor | New York Jets
This is an interesting one because he’s rostered in only 3% of leagues, and I don’t expect him to do this again. Still, we have to discuss Mason Taylor’s performance, mainly because it affects Kenyon Sadiq. The New York Jets spent a first-round pick on Sadiq, but they aren’t acting like it. In fact, Mason Taylor has gotten more targets than Sadiq in each of the last three games. Is this a sign of the Jets already giving up on Sadiq? Or does it mean they really like Mason Taylor? The Jets TE room is just “complicated” to say the least.
Pick him up, dynasty owners, especially if you have deep benches; Taylor’s worth a stash after this game. Taylor still has practically little to no redraft value unless he really starts to shine for another game or two.
Fallers
QB Brock Purdy | San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy is a great QB, and his team sits very comfortably at 5-1, but Mr. Irrelevant has had a lackluster few weeks. Over the last three games, Purdy has thrown 4 TDs and 3 INTs while scoring fewer than 18 fantasy points in each. Sunday was Purdy’s worst game this season so far, and with a bye week approaching, desperate teams may make desperate trades.
Buy low here; he’s still QB2 after a slow few games, and yes, the WR room is banged up, but Purdy is a great QB who will find a way to win. He will get back on track scoring 20 points a game sooner rather than later.
RB Chase Brown | Cincinnati Bengals
Chase Brown is a beast; he started slow last year and recovered, but these slow starts cost fantasy managers valuable wins! Brown is RB20thise season and has just one TD, which came back in week 1.
Buy, against my better judgment: we have seen this before, and in fact, week 8 was when he had 25 points and turned his season around, so why can’t he do it again? Plus, this is a great opportunity to get an RB1 who’s been producing as a low-end RB2.
WR A.J. Brown | New England Patriots
I’ve said countless times to fade Brown this season, but not because of his talent; it was largely because I’m a Drake Maye hater, and I thought worse QB play would hurt Brown’s production, but the opposite has happened. Maye has been lighting it up the past few weeks while Brown has been nowhere to be seen. In fact, this might be the first time a player has had his best game of the season and still ended up in my fallers category.
Sell/Hold. If you can still get a good offer, sell him; if not, hold him and ride it out. Brown needs to start producing ASAP if Maye is going to continue performing like this. It’s inexcusable to have just 9 receptions on 20 targets.
TE Travis Kelce | Kansas City Chiefs
It’s been a rough stretch for many players, and Travis Kelce is one of them; scoring fewer than 10 points in three straight games isn’t a winning recipe for fantasy managers, and Kelce remains the TE7 this season. The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer will need a big game next week to get back on track if he wants to continue his dominant top-5 TE streak, which started in 2016, and top-10 since 2014!
Buy, it’s hard to find a TE, and while Kelce is 37, he remains one of the most consistent guys at the position. Badames could’ve hurt his value enough for you to capitalize and improve at the position.
Other Content
Check out all my previous articles, plus future Buffalo Bills and fantasy content, here: {Articles}, and use code DL10 for 10% off all memberships! Also, tune in to YouTube to watch our latest video, where we discuss our Week 7 instant reactions.
