Week 7 Rankings

Last week, I told a story about a trade that went down in my fun league that made it into Matthew Berry's Love/Hate article.  Meanwhile, in my money league, trades are going down left and right.  It must be that time of year...

One trade that happened in that league before the season even started was David Wilson for Julio Jones (straight up).  Some people thought it was lopsided because Julio was clearly a top-10 WR and Wilson, while expected to be the starter for the Giants, was still unproven.  But the guy getting Wilson was in serious need of a running back and he could afford to deal a receiver, so whatever.  Of course, after Wilson's Week 1 fumbling woes, everyone turned into Captain Hindsight.  But it's funny how trades can work out sometimes.  First, it was reported that Julio Jones would be out for the year with a foot injury.  Now it appears that David Wilson's season is in jeopardy with a neck issue.  Aside from keeper value for Wilson, the whole trade is nearly a wash!  Crazy.

I made a trade myself last week.  The same guy who got David Wilson in that deal was still in need of running back help, so I dealt him Willis McGahee and Kenbrell Thompkins for Jordy Nelson.  What made it even more interesting was the fact that we played each other last week too.  It can be a little stressful when you're going up against two guys you just traded (who had really good matchups in Week 6 by the way).  On the other hand, when you're at M&T Bank Stadium watching the Ravens/Packers game and Rodgers hits Jordy on a play action BOMB...?  Well, that puts your mind a little more at ease.

Sorry if you're reading this, honey.  You know I was rooting hard for your team.  I mean, I even bought a shirt!

Superbowl shirt with stadium lights?...I-RON-YYYYYYY

This is the last week for a while in which only two teams are on their bye.  In fact, Weeks 8 & 9 both have six teams with the week off.  It's time to start thinking about making some moves.  Keep in mind your league's trade deadline too (my money league cutoff is in a month).  That may seem like plenty of time, but with injuries and byes, you need to start considering some trade options.  If you're at the bottom of your league, maybe you deal your stud QB or RB for a pair of serviceable fantasy players.  If your league allows trading draft picks, maybe you start planning for next year a little bit.  Near the top?  Maybe target a deal that throws in a player like Andre Brown or Shane Vereen.  Both guys are in good situations to contribute right away when they return from the IR in a few weeks.  If your team has plenty of depth as it is, just continue to keep an eye on the waiver wire and don't hesitate to look a week ahead.  Real teams can't afford to do that, but it's perfectly fine for a fantasy manager to prepare a week in advance.

Enough trade talk.  Let's look at those Week 7 rankings!

(BYES: Saints & Raiders)

QBs 1.Peyton Manning 2.Tony Romo 3.Jay Cutler 4.Andrew Luck 5.Cam Newton 6.Philip Rivers 7.Aaron Rodgers 8.Matthew Stafford 9.Matt Ryan 10.Nick Foles (or Michael Vick) 11.Tom Brady 12.Eli Manning 13.RGIII 14.Russell Wilson  15.Ryan Tannehill 16.Colin Kaepernick 17.Brandon Weeden 18.Andy Dalton 19.Ben Roethlisberger 20.Joe Flacco In my Friday update, I talked about how high I was on Chad Henne against Denver.  And while he did throw for over 300 yards, he also had 2 picks and no TDs.  I think things could've been different for Henne if his favorite WR (Cecil Shorts) didn't go down on Jacksonville's opening drive, but he did.  Injuries happen, and that's fantasy.  If you were a Justin Blackmon owner, you weren't complaining, but it definitely hurt the QB to be down one of his big weapons.  I have Henne just outside my top-20 this week, considering that weapon may still not be at 100 percent.   I also added Sam Bradford and Nick Foles to the bottom of my list last Friday, and they both had great fantasy days.  Bradford didn't put up a ton of yards, but he did throw 3 TDs.  Meanwhile, Foles finished right around the top of the QB rankings for Week 6 (just behind Cam Newton based on how my league scores).  I like him to have another good game this week at home against Dallas...that is, unless Vick is back in the starting lineup.  I like either "QB Eagles" as a top-10 play, as the Cowboys are giving up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. A guy I was down on last week was Russell Wilson.  I mentioned that while Wilson puts up decent numbers with his legs, I just didn't see him as a top-12 QB against the Titans.  I thought Lynch would go Beast Mode on the ground (he did, finishing as the #2 RB in Week 6), and I said Wilson would probably put up double digit fantasy numbers, but nothing spectacular.  He threw for 257 yards and had no TDs or INTs.  Of course he did get 61 yards on the ground, which got his numbers into the double digits (like I said!).  It's starting to look more and more like the group of young guys last year (Wilson, Kaep, RGIII) just aren't doing the same things in 2013.  Maybe teams are figuring out the read option more.  Maybe coaches are dialing back the running a bit with the worry of injury.  Whatever it is, these guys aren't putting up crazy 2012 numbers, and none of them are every week top-10 plays at this point in the season. I was down on Andrew Luck in Week 5 but smartened up on him for Week 6...or so I thought.  I watched most of the game on Monday night, and my big takeaway is that the Chargers dominated time of possession in this one (38:31 to 21:29).  Luck's receivers had drop after drop, often on key 3rd down would-be conversions.  This led to punts for Indy, and the Chargers owned the Colts with their ground attack.  Bottom line?  I still have plenty of faith in Luck, and I have him as a top-5 play this Sunday night when Peyton and the Broncos come to town.   One last interesting thing about my QB rankings this week.  You'll notice at the bottom of the list are all of the AFC North quarterbacks.  This wasn't by design.  It just sort of happened.  In fact, I actually have Brandon Weeden at the top of that 4 person mini-list.  Even though he had one of the worst passes in the history of ever last week (see below), Cleveland doesn't have much choice other than to roll with him against the Packers again on Sunday.  Yes, Jason Campbell is that bad.  Once the Ravens decided to stop running the ball against Green Bay (they were playing from behind the whole game), I watched Flacco put up plenty of yards against their secondary.  I'm sure the Brownies will be down early, and I think Weeden should be able to rack up some garbage time fantasy points as well. This makes me giggle every time. RBs 1.Adrian Peterson 2.Jamaal Charles 3.LeSean McCoy 4.Matt Forte 5.Arian Foster 6.Marshawn Lynch 7.Knowshon Moreno 8.Frank Gore 9.Alfred Morris 10.Doug Martin 11.Reggie Bush 12.Ray Rice 13.Eddie Lacy 14.Giovani Bernard  15.Fred Jackson 16.DeAngelo Williams 17.Brandon Jacobs 18.Danny Woodhead 19.Lamar Miller 20.Ryan Mathews 21.Trent Richardson 22.Chris Johnson 23.Maurice Jones-Drew 24.CJ Spiller 25.Stevan Ridley 26.Bilal Powell 27.Le'Veon Bell 28.Jacquizz Rodgers 29.Zac Stacy 30.Joseph Randle 31.Andre Ellington  32.Benjarvis Green-Ellis 33.Willis McGahee 34.Jason Snelling 35.Brandon Bolden 36.Ben Tate 37.Mike Tolbert 38.Chris Ogbonnaya 39.Rashard Mendenhall 40.Chris Ivory Last week I was high on Ronnie Hillman, assuming the Broncos would be destroying the Jags and he could get some extra 2nd half work.  But the game was a lot closer than expected, and it was the Knowshon Moreno show all day (he was the #1 RB for the week).  Hillman finished outside of the top-40 RBs, not much ahead of Joique Bell, who I was way down on in Week 6.  In fact, the way Reggie Bush is playing, I don't have Bell as a top-40 play this week as the Lions play the Bengals at home.  He's a good handcuff to have for Bush owners, but I don't think he's worth playing when the #1 RB is healthy.  Speaking of the Bengals, I have to mention Giovani Bernard again, as I doubled down and once again had him ranked much higher than the ESPN experts.  He finished as a top-10 RB for the week, and his big play ability has him still near the top-10 for Week 7. Another running back who continues to make the most of his snaps is Andre Ellington.  He turned in a top-10 performance himself last week, as he continues to leave me scratching my head at why the Arizona coaches don't just give him the ball more than Mendenhall.  Have patience, Ellington owners.  It's coming.  I was prepared to move him well up in my rankings this week, but I'm holding back a little as he gets a tough Seahawks defense in a short week.   .......I got spare time. This seems to be a recurring theme with running backs and wide receivers in my weekly rankings, but you'll notice several significant names not on these lists as of right now.  And when Friday rolls around, you still might not see those names here.  Last week I left off guys like Ryan Mathews and Darren McFadden, and both played.  Here's the thing.  I don't get paid to write this blog.  I do it in my spare time.  So if there are injury updates after Friday afternoon, you're going to have to pay attention to another fantasy news source.  I'd love to be your one-stop-shop, but I have other things to do.  If you want, post a comment below and I'll try to get back to you before kickoff on Sunday.  We can give that a try!   As for this week, I'm not sure if Steven Jackson is healthy enough to suit up, so I'm assuming Rodgers and Snelling will be splitting time in Atlanta's backfield once again.  DeMarco Murray is likely out against Philly with a knee injury, and my best guess right now is that Joseph Randle gets the start for Dallas this week.  If other injury news pops up between now and Friday, I'll adjust my rankings then. WRs 1.Dez Bryant 2.AJ Green 3.Brandon Marshall 4.Victor Cruz 5.Demaryius Thomas 6.DeSean Jackson 7.Justin Blackmon 8.Wes Welker 9.Josh Gordon 10.Calvin Johnson 11.Vincent Jackson 12.Reggie Wayne 13.Jordy Nelson 14.Pierre Garcon 15.Antonio Brown 16.Keenan Allen 17.Eric Decker 18.Torrey Smith 19.Alshon Jeffery 20.T.Y. Hilton 21.Andre Johnson 22.Hakeem Nicks 23.Larry Fitzgerald 24.Mike Wallace 25.Steve Smith 26.Anquan Boldin 27.Kenbrell Thompkins 28.Rueben Randle 29.Harry Douglas 30.Julian Edelman 31.Brian Hartline 32.Terrance Williams 33.Emmanuel Sanders 34.Brandon LaFell 35.Michael Floyd 36.Greg Jennings 37.Jarrett Boykin 38.Kendall Wright 39.Golden Tate 40.Vincent Brown It turns out Megatron was able to play in Week 6, but he's clearly playing through some pain with the knee injury.  Until he shows that he's back to full health, he's a low-end WR1 for me.  I was way off on my WR picks last week.  Pierre Garcon was able to get his standard 6 receptions, but he never connected on the big play for a touchdown.  Meanwhile, both Jacksons (DeSean and Vincent) had a pair of TDs...each!  So again, not even close.  Both of them move back up the rankings this week, and I'm not lowering Garcon too much.  RGIII targeted him 15 times against Dallas, so he's clearly his favorite receiver.  He just needs to hit him a few more times.  On the other side of the ball in that game, Dez Bryant was kept quiet by DeAngelo Hall.  But going up against the Eagles this week, I like him and Romo to hook up quite a bit. With all of the Packer WR injuries, Boykin may get a shot. A few names I'm leaving off the list for now include: Stevie Johnson, Roddy White, James Jones, Mike Williams, and Cecil Shorts.  All are battling injuries and are questionable to play this week.  One guy who is definitely out is Randall Cobb (on the IR until at least Week 15 with a broken fibula).  This leaves Jordy as the main WR in Green Bay, but he goes up against the Iron Haden this week.  I'm sure he'll get a ton of targets and still put up decent numbers, but I think Aaron Rodgers will be giving plenty of looks to Jarrett Boykin, the rookie out of Virginia Tech.  This will especially be true if James Jones is also ruled out, in which case I might move Boykin up even higher than where I have him in the low-30s. TEs 1.Vernon Davis 2.Tony Gonzalez 3.Julius Thomas 4.Jordan Cameron 5.Jason Witten 6.Jermichael Finley 7.Antonio Gates 8.Martellus Bennett 9.Charles Clay 10.Greg Olsen 11.Heath Miller 12.Garrett Graham Time to stop guessing with Gronk until an ACTUAL return. I finally ranked Gronk, and he still didn't play.  He's back off my list until the Patriots declare him active.  It's simple: if he plays, you're playing him.  Last week, I liked Garrett Graham as an instant top-10 play, but the Texans didn't get anything going against the Rams.  He's still in my top-12 this week, but I don't feel great about it.  Brent Celek was in my Friday update last week, but the Eagles are starting to get rookie Zach Ertz more involved in the offense.  They've even listed him as "co-starter" with Celek on the Eagles official depth chart.  So you won't see me ranking Celek again anytime soon.  Ertz?  Maybe... This week, Jimmy Graham has a bye, so there's someone new at the #1 spot.  Vernon Davis seems as good as anyone, considering he's coming off an amazing performance against Arizona (180 yards and 2 TDs).  With all of the WR injuries for Atlanta, I think Tony Gonzalez has to be a focal point in that offense this week.  I like him as the #2 TE play against the Bucs.  Speaking of gimpy receivers, I know I already mentioned Green Bay's issues, but I wanted to point it out again here.  I have Jermichael Finley ranked all the way up at #6 this week, as he should see more targets his way against the Browns. DEF 1.Chiefs 2.Seahawks 3.Bears 4.49ers 5.Panthers 6.Dolphins 7.Patriots 8.Chargers 9.Ravens 10.Packers 11.Lions 12.Titans Once again, Kansas City was one of the top defenses in Week 6.  It seems like no matter who they play, they get a defensive touchdown.  Well, Houston is coming to town in Week 7, and they've given up a pick six for FIVE straight weeks!  I don't know why they'd end their streak against that Chiefs defense, so I have them ranked at the top spot yet again. Thad Lewis actually had a solid game against the Bengals defense, but Cincy was still able to get me 10 fantasy points in my league.  On the other side of the ball in that game, I mentioned that I was way down on the Bills defense compared to the ESPN experts (who had them ranked 16th).  I had Andy Dalton ranked as a top-15 play last week, and I had a feeling the Bengals would capitalize on good field position and put up plenty of points on Buffalo.  They did exactly that, and the Bills were outside of the top-20 fantasy defenses.  I should also point out that I was pretty high on Tampa Bay against Philly, and they ended up just below Buffalo.  So I was 1 for 2 there. I love you, Geno.  But I'm sitting you guys against the Lions... This week, my Bengals defense is just outside of my top-12, so I hit up the waiver wire for a plug-and-play D.  Lucky for me, there were plenty of options with tasty matchups this week, but I settled on Carolina.  The Panthers have given up the second fewest points to opposing offenses on average this season (13.2), and they're a top-5 fantasy defense (even though they've yet to record a defensive TD).  Yes, the Rams put up 38 points on the Texans last week, but two of those touchdowns were from the St. Louis defense.  They only had 216 total yards of offense against Houston, and if you look at their previous games against tougher defenses (I'm not talking about Jacksonville), the 49ers and Cowboys held the Rams to around 200 total yards as well.  I like the Panthers to do the same, while controlling the time of possession in this game by pounding it on the ground. Hopefully they pound Bradford a little along the way too... That's it for Wednesday.  Come on back in a couple of days for my updated rankings! Cheers, Bart