Week 7 brings another round of key decisions for fantasy football managers as injury concerns and performance inconsistencies continue to shape the landscape. Several high-profile players are dealing with various setbacks that could significantly impact their availability and effectiveness this weekend.

The waiver wire activity is heating up as managers scramble to find reliable options while monitoring the status of their stars. This week’s injury report reveals some surprising developments that could entirely alter your lineup strategy heading into the weekend.

A.J. Brown | PHI

Five straight games with 8+ targets matches the second-longest streak of A.J. Brown’s time with the Eagles … we have one touchdown and 53.2 yards per game to show for that volume?

There were engagement concerns in the Week 5 loss to the Broncos, but I thought things looked better on Thursday night; it didn’t really matter.

His six catches for 80 yards against the Giants were a win given what we’ve seen this season, so maybe it’s a start. He’s still a near-impossible matchup who has cleared 90 air yards in four straight contests: on the surface, that’s something I want to buy.

That said, he’s been held without an end-zone target in five of six weeks, and that’s resulted in him producing 22.8% below expectations (2-24: +33.2%).

In the scope of Week 7, I’m cautiously optimistic. The Vikings are as aggressive as any team, and Philadelphia gets an extended workweek to scheme against them. The Eagles haven’t been an oft-blitzed team this year, but Brown has turned 16 such targets into an 11-167-1 stat line.

I’m looking for Brown to get on track this week, look good against these same Giants next week, and re-earn our trust ahead of the Week 9 bye.

Adam Thielen | MIN

Adam Thielen was traded to the Vikings to add something to their locker room and maybe a little on-field production early, while Jordan Addison was suspended.

Well, the latter is over, and the former is nice for this team, but meaningless to us. The veteran receiver wasn’t targeted on any of his 11 routes in Week 5 against the Browns prior to the bye and has played under 22% of the offensive snaps since Addison returned.

Thielen is on fantasy rosters for one reason right now, and it’s because his name is known. Don’t make that mistake. There are a dozen players on your waiver wire right now that offer a more favorable range of outcomes moving forward.

Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET

Amon-Ra St. Brown might have the highest floor of any receiver in the game today. He’s caught at least seven passes in five straight contests

He’s sacrificed a little depth of target for an increased share of the pie in this post-Ben Johnson era, and it looks good on him. What specifically has me enthralled and believing this could be fantasy’s WR1 the rest of the way is that he’s been targeted on 46.2% of his red zone routes, a significant spike from the 33% rate a season ago.

You never want to put the cart before the horse, but a third season with over 1,200 receiving yards and at least 10 TD receptions is a good bet, and that’ll put him easily in the first round of 2026 redrafts (yes, I have a few teams that are dead, and I’ve begun looking ahead, sue me).

Brandon Aiyuk | SF

The 49ers were hoping for a mid-October return for Brandon Aiyuk, a former first-round pick who had ranked 11th in the NFL with 2,357 yards from the start of 2022 to the end of 2023, but that now sounds like a pipe dream with his status being labeled as “not close” in the middle of last week.

By getting some clarity on the health front in the first half of August, we were at least able to enter drafts with some sort of plan. Aiyuk is hanging out on your IR slot for the time being, meaning that he is not costing you a roster spot and thus isn’t taking much win equity off of your plate early on.

In a perfect world, his injury recovery would have taken us past the San Francisco bye week, but it doesn’t (Week 14 bye). That said, a fully functional Aiyuk coming down the stretch for an offense that needs an alpha WR in a favorable stretch (Titans, Colts, and Bears in Weeks 15-17) could be the piece that swings your fantasy postseason.

This injury was priced into Aiyuk’s cost at your draft, so there’s no point in trying to trade for him now. But what if his manager starts slow? What if panic mode sets in before we have a definitive return date?

I’m making a mental note of who has Aiyuk rostered and tracking their status, preparing to pounce should the losses pile up. We are nearing the point in the process where a low-ball offer could be mutually beneficial, so keep your head on a swivel!

Brian Thomas Jr. | JAX

Some people are concerned about whether a groundhog will see its shadow, while others watch patiently for their second-round pick to score a touchdown.

Those of us who fall into the latter bucket were finally satisfied over the weekend, as Seattle’s offense treated Brian Thomas Jr. in a similar fashion to Trevor Lawrence for chunks of this season and completely ignored him.

When it works in this direction, it’s a big gain for us (21-yard touchdown). This was his second double-digit target effort of the season, and he’s now totaled 170 receiving yards in October (September: 164).

The production was better, but the role? Not so much. He’s been in that 23-24% target-share range for three straight weeks, and the aDOT has been consistent; he just happened to turn it into fantasy points in this spot.

I don’t think we are out of the woods at all, and I’m not sure I’ll buy it until we see some consistency from Lawrence. Thomas is the only Jaguar pass-catcher I’m interested in at this point, and he’s a viable flex, but not the lineup lock we drafted him to be after he exploded in the second half of his rookie year.

Calvin Ridley | TEN

Before getting fired, Brian Callahan said Calvin Ridley couldn’t run following his second-quarter hamstring injury last week.

That’s not great.

Either part of that sentence.

Not being able to move is a problem, but so is the firing of a coach who would be more inclined to focus on a veteran in an effort to keep his job short-term than on an interim coach.

It’s been all or nothing for Ridley with Cam Akers this season (18.1 yards per catch, 45.7% catch rate), a role that carries a ton of risk as it is, and now, I can’t imagine being tempted to go this direction.

Elijah Cooks is the rookie who has the most to gain, while Van Jefferson led this team in receiving yards and targets in the 20-10 loss to the Raiders. We could argue over which Titans are poised to peak in the second half of this tanked season, but we’d be largely chasing our tails: if you can get away with rostering no one attached to this organization, your team is likely better off for it.

CeeDee Lamb | DAL

Reporting over the weekend labeled this week as a potential return for CeeDee Lamb, and that makes sense for a receiver who missed Weeks 4-6 and wasn’t placed on IR.

George Pickens and Jake Ferguson have been fantasy lineup staples in the absence of the All-Pro, something I expect to continue to be the case. Lamb earned 13 targets in Week 1 and 11 in Week 2: his volume will limit the quantity that his teammates see, but the attention he draws should increase the quality.

There should be zero hesitation in going right back to your first-overall pick this week, assuming he checks the required health boxes. Lamb’s most recent double-digit reception game came in this matchup, and while using that as an expectation is probably a little optimistic after a month of missed time, this team isn’t motivated to rush him back and not use him.

Chris Godwin | TB

The fibula fracture last season was gruesome, and that’s why we were all so glad to see 29-year-old Chris Godwin back on the field in Week 4, earning 10 targets against the Eagles in his season debut.

A week later, it was four targets, and last week, a DNP (fibula).

This is obviously tough to see for a player who worked so hard to get back on the field, but I can’t help but speculate that the team could be regretting using him as a full-go in his season debut and that the result forecasts a cautious approach moving forward.

The Bucs travel to New Orleans next weekend before going on their bye in Week 9, meaning that you’re more likely than not betting on Godwin until Week 10 (vs. NE) at the earliest, considering that he was ruled out this week before Tampa Bay even hit the practice field.

There are valuable targets to earn and an ultra-favorable playoff schedule to entice: Godwin needs to remain rostered, even if the outlook is cloudy at best right now.

Chris Olave | NO

Chris Olave saw his 10+ targets as per usual, the first of which went for 53 yards.

If that’s all you knew about the game, you’d assume he was one of the 10 most valuable receivers in the game for the week, right?

You’re assured volume and one huge play, so surely we are looking at 20+ PPR points and the type of week that swings matchups, right?

Nope. He averaged a tick over a PPR point per target after that splash play, and while it was his best outing of the season, that’s damning with faint praise to some degree.

Olave is a weekly starter, and I like this matchup against a shaky defense on short rest, but the ceiling isn’t all that high given the limitations of this offense. Chicago has been victimized by high-volume receivers this season, but that volume has primarily come from a more reliable arm.

If Olave can repeat his 15.8 points from this week, you’re thrilled. Realistically, you’ll take anything in the 13-17 point range. It’s not fun and rarely pretty, but it’s lineup-worthy.

Christian Kirk | HOU

The thought of Christian Kirk makes sense, but I’m just not sure the practical version of him will live up to it.

An experienced slot man, complementing Collins in an offense that has protection problems, should be giving us high-end volume. But eight targets on 40 routes over his past two games isn’t really moving the needle, given that none of those looks carry a ton of upside (one came 15+ yards downfield and zero have come in the red zone).

I think you hold Kirk, knowing exactly what he is. He’s an efficient player in a flawed offense, with a safe role, albeit one that won’t swing your matchup in a significant way. This is the type of profile I don’t mind stashing for when injuries/byes ravage my starting lineup, but it’s also one I’m not looking to play otherwise.

Kirk checks in outside of my top 35 at the position this week, and that’ll be the case more often than not until we see more of the offense being funneled through him.

Cooper Kupp | SEA

Cooper Kupp had his longest catch of the season AND scored on a different play.

He still didn’t finish the week as a top 20 performer at the position.

Sam Darnold is playing at a high level, and it’s because he’s comfortable giving Jaxon Smith-Njigba every chance to thrive. This team looks good, but they are doing it without a WR2 that is close to fantasy lineups, and I’m not sure that changes as the season wears on for the 32-year-old.

That’s now three times in six weeks in which Kupp has failed to earn more than three looks, and that’s not going to get it done. Kupp can be rostered, but he doesn’t need to be, and you’d have a real hard time selling me as a part of your flex conversation.

Courtland Sutton | DEN

I’m not sweating it.

Courtland Sutton had as many catches as the Jets had safeties in London last week, a game that most of us would like to forget. The stinker was Sutton’s second dud of the year, but he’s cleared 60 receiving yards in each of the other four, scoring in three of them.

I have concerns about Nix’s consistency as a passer, and while that limits my optimism for this offense as a whole, Sutton is more often than not immune.

The G-men have allowed a receiver to score at least 18 PPR points in five of six weeks, and I like Sutton’s chances to make it six of seven. Opponents have completed half of their deep pass attempts against New York through six weeks, and while Marvin Mims is a threat to see some of those looks, the vast majority of those high-impact targets go to their WR1, and that’s enough to have him labeled as a low-end WR2.

Darius Slayton | NYG

Darius Slayton (hamstring) sat out Thursday night’s win over the Eagles, just his third missed game over the past 3+ seasons.

Lil’Jordan Humphrey showed a proof of concept for the Slayton role (34-yard reception and a 30.8% target share), but did he do it maybe too well?

If Dart is comfortable with a player he worked with plenty this offseason, what exactly is left for a player like Slayton, who is limited as a target earner in the first place?

At best, we are talking about a fringy bye-week filler, and with a lingering soft tissue issue, I’ll pass for now. I’ll leave the light on as this season wears on and we get more data points on this offensive structure, but Slayton’s profile isn’t one I land on often, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Darnell Mooney | ATL

Darnell Mooney has turned 16 targets into just 79 yards (zero touchdowns) this season, a profile I’m not interested in waiting on.

The sixth-year receiver continues to deal with a hamstring injury that he suffered back in Week 4 (Week 5 bye and a DNP in Week 6), a red flag for players with a clear path to production, not to mention a shaky WR2 in an offense that can be sporadic under Penix.

I’m not ruling out the idea that Mooney carves out a role that has him earning 5-7 targets weekly, but as it stands now, I’ll let someone else worry about his health.

Suppose there is an opportunity to make an add in the coming weeks, great. If not, I don’t think I’m losing my league because I was slow to act on Atlanta’s WR2.

Davante Adams | LAR

The Davante Adams situation could be one of the more interesting for Week 7, with Nacua’s status (foot) trending in the wrong direction for this London game ahead of the Week 8 bye.

On one hand, it’s easy to look at the target distribution from the first six weeks and pencil in Adams for a vintage performance. This season, the Nacua/Adams duo has combined for 57.6% of Los Angeles’ receptions and 60.1% of receiving yards. Even if you transfer one-third of the potentially vacated production to the WR2 in town, you end up with an overwhelmingly optimistic projection.

In theory, I could see doing that, but that’s not the approach I’m taking. Adams isn’t the player he once was, and the 47.3% catch rate is a clear indication of that. He’s settled into a more vertical role. While part of that could be the desire to leverage his playmaking abilities, I’m not ruling out the possibility that it’s the only way the 32-year-old can win these days, with quick-twitch routes less of an advantage.

If that’s the case, the increase in defensive attention figures to impact his fantasy stock more than an extra target or two.

We are picking nits. Three big-play receivers have cleared 22 PPR points against the Jags (Ja’Marr Chase, Collins, and Smith-Njigba), and Adams could, of course, add his name to that list. The former Packer has seen multiple end-zone targets in three of the past five weeks and is one of two players with a 20+ yard reception in all six weeks (the other: George Pickens).

Adams is a starter in all formats, whether Nacua suits up or not. That’s not the argument. I’m more saying that he doesn’t turn into an All-Pro should the best receiver in the sport be sidelined.

Deebo Samuel Sr. | WAS

I think it’s safe to say that we were all expecting more from Deebo Samuel on Monday night against the Bears.

Five targets, four catches, 15 yards, and a rushing attempt that lost a yard.

It was the third time in five weeks that the experienced receiver failed to average more than a yard per target, and it would appear that the coaching staff is noticing.

Chris Moore came out of nowhere to lead this team in receiving yards (46) and score, while Luke McCaffrey continues to make the most of his limited opportunities (33-yard TD, though this one was more of a defensive issue than anything he did right).

With Terry McLaurin on the mend and a running game that Washington appears confident in, there is a real risk that Samuel’s run to open this season proves to be the outlier, not the norm.

Both of his 100-yard games last season came before the middle of October, and he reached 25 receiving yards just in his final seven games with the Niners. I’m not yet projecting a cliff drop, but I am alerting you to the possibility that you might not have the weekly asset you thought you did as recently as seven days ago.

DeMario Douglas | NE

DeMario Douglas entered Week 6 averaging under 10 yards per catch, but because this is Drake Maye’s world and we are all just living in it, he was on the right side of a 53-yard touchdown (40 air yards).

The highlight was fun (12.3-point play for a player who had 16.4 points through five weeks), but that’s all it was. Outside of the splash play, he caught just two passes against the Saints and still has just 10 catches on his resume this season.

If I’m trying to get exposure to this offense, it’s through a player I believe has more scoring equity, like Hunter Henry or Kayshon Boutte.

DeVonta Smith | PHI

If Jalen Hurts puts a throw in the zip code of a wide-open DeVonta Smith, he rips off an 89-yard touchdown, and we are having a conversation about who the WR1 is in Philly.

Instead, he finishes with 49 yards, the fifth time in six weeks he failed to clear 60 yards. I like the player, but what we have gotten to this point feels spot-on for what we can expect moving forward.

Week 3: 9 targets and a TD
Week 4: 2 targets
Week 5: 10 targets and 114 yards
Week 6: 4 targets

He’s spending slightly more time in the slot this season than last, but his aDOT is also up by 8%, and those aren’t two stats that tend to move in the same direction. He’s going to be more efficient than Brown on fewer targets, and if Goedert continues to be used in close and Saquon Barkley’s role in the passing game sticks, this is going to be a frustrating final two months for Smith managers.

You’re flexing him every week (35 catches on 44 blitzed targets since last season with five scores), understanding that you need to swallow the duds to leave yourself open to the big games. Not all fantasy teams are built for such a player, and if that’s the case, I’d be open to trading him for a Jakobi Meyers type that theoretically comes with a more narrow range of weekly outcomes.

DJ Moore | CHI

DJ Moore was hospitalized after Monday night’s win for “precautionary medical attention,” and given the resources NFL teams have at their home base, the fact that they felt it necessary to get the star WR treatment so quickly is concerning.

Any loss for Moore would be Luther Burden’s gain in fantasy, and even if he’s labeled as fine for this week, he hasn’t earned more than six looks in a game this season. The Saints allow the sixth-most yards after the catch to the receiver position, a strong spot for Moore if he can give it a go.

He’ll be flirting with my top 30 at the position if every health box is checked (he hasn’t sat out a game since 2020), but with the bye behind them, Chicago may take the cautious approach here.

DK Metcalf | PIT

That’s consecutive WR1 finishes for DK Metcalf around the Week 5 bye, and while I’m generally not buying him long-term, I do think he keeps the good times rolling in this ultra-favorable spot.

This season, no team blitzes less often than the Bengals, and when Aaron Rodgers has time to read a defense, he tends to favor his 6’4″ tank of a WR1.

Go figure.

Through six weeks, 38.2% of his non-blitzed targets have been directed toward Metcalf (blitzed: 24.5%). The anti-Metcalf argument stems from a lack of per-target upside, and I’ll stand on that soapbox after we get past this matchup … it doesn’t hold water in a spot against a bad defense where we can pencil him in for 8-10 looks.

The 25-yard touchdown against the Browns last week was seemingly a month in the making. All the film showed shallow crossing routes for Metcalf: the plan being to have Rodgers hit him in stride and let him dance.

The touchdown on Sunday leveraged that tendency into a double move and an easy score. Combine that design with a sideline dime, and it’s very clear that the future Hall of Fame QB implicitly trusts his WR1.

Come back next week when I suggest selling high, but for Week 7, I’m in!

Dontayvion Wicks | GB

Dontayvion Wicks is battling an ankle injury, which should be enough for you to move on.

I understand the “but it could be anyone at any time in Green Bay” stance, but it’s been more like “it could be anyone besides Wicks at any time in Green Bay” this season.

The 24-year-old has caught more than two passes in a game just once this season, and we are removed from the 14.9 yards per catch he averaged as a rookie (10.6 last season and 10.8 so far in 2022).

With Jayden Reed inching toward a return, Christian Watson hitting the practice field, and this run game getting into a rhythm against the Bengals last week, any window for Wicks to carve out a consistent role seems to be a thing of the past.

The waiver wire may be bare, and that simply being on the field for a top-10 offense is your angle. If that’s the case, fine. Otherwise, I think you’re clear to move on and chase other developmental projects.

Drake London | ATL

Through five games, Drake London has more catches (34) than any of his teammates have targets, and Darnell Mooney, who has missed 40% of Atlanta’s games this season, remains second on the target leaderboard when it comes to Falcon WRs.

Penix is far from a polished prospect. Still, he seems keenly aware that getting the ball to his high-pedigree teammates is a good way to make a living, and he’s executing (London, Robinson, and Kyle Pitts have accounted for 69.6% of Atlanta targets).

London has earned 10+ targets three times this season, and his monster game on Monday night (10-158-1) grows if a touchdown at the end of the first half doesn’t come off the board.

The 49ers’ defense is playing well above expectations this season, but they’ve allowed a receiver to clear 15 PPR points in four of six games, and even if Mooney were to return to action, there’s not much debating as to who the most likely player on this team is to check that box.

London is a top 10 play for me this week and not far off of that for the second half of the season as a whole.

Emeka Egbuka | TB

If only we had known that wide receivers in Tampa Bay were contagious before putting all our hopes and dreams in Emeka Egbuka.

The outstanding rookie suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter last week and is expected to be sidelined for some time. The Bucs get the Saints next week before going on bye in Week 9; we don’t yet have a Week 10 target return date, but it’s easy to see a path to that.

Tez and Kameron Johnson are the names to know in this offense if you want a piece of the Baker Mayfield for MVP campaign, especially indoors in a potentially offensively charged contest.

It’s a little hard to imagine, but if the manager with Egbuka has a losing record, why not start a trade conversation? If that’s the case, the rest of the roster is likely depleted, giving you the ability to swoop in with a volume deal that lands you an elite asset who closes the fantasy season with the Panthers and Dolphins in Weeks 16-17.

Garrett Wilson | NYJ

A matchup with Patrick Surtain II is a tough way to spend your London vacation, and playing with Justin Fields on one of those days isn’t exactly fun either.

Garrett Wilson saw a 50% target share, and you’ll take that every day of the week. Yes, it resulted in just 4.3 PPR points, but process-wise, you made a very reasonable call.

It happens, and it’ll happen again to this sporadic offense.

Even in what can be an awfully low-volume offense, Wilson has earned at least eight targets in every game this season, volume that gets an elite talent like this into starting lineups.

The per-target upside is capped in a significant way (we are more than 10 months removed from his last 35+ yard reception), but he’s not being pushed for opportunities, and with his pedigree, that’s enough for me to lock him in weekly when healthy.

That’s not the case right now, as this hyperextended knee could cost Wilson the rest of October.

All reports indicate he avoided serious injury, so don’t do anything drastic. If anything, this injury could be a blessing in disguise … you can now cross “watch Jets circus” off your to-do list.

George Pickens | DAL

Five straight games with a touchdown, four this season with 9+ targets, three with 120+ air yards, two with over 3.0 yards per route, and a hurdle to make the season-ending highlight reel.

George Pickens is a confidence-driven receiver who is currently convinced that he is the best player in the world.

I’m not ready to go quite that far, but for him to function at the peak of his powers, he needs to believe it. Lamb could return this week, and that’ll likely dent the production, but the vertical role is pretty clearly a role he’s comfortable in and one that Dak Prescott approves of.

If Lamb returns, maybe Pickens falls from WR9 to WR17 in our rankings, but in the scheme of things, that doesn’t matter. You’re playing him and loving the profit you’re getting from your strong value selection this summer.

Ja’Marr Chase | CIN

As expected, the Bengals didn’t hesitate to cut Flacco loose in his team debut. The defense is always going to be a liability, and given the money they spent on their playmakers, why not at least try to compete that way?

The veteran QB chucked the ball 45 times as part of a game plan he hardly knew, making it very understandable as to why 50% of his throws would be directed towards either Chase or Tee Higgins.

It was far from an efficient afternoon in Lambeau (4.9 yards per pass), but if Chase and Higgins are going to combine for 20 targets, all should be OK in our fantasy world.

There wasn’t a 20-yard play to be had in this offense on Sunday, and that makes the volume a requirement more than a nice-to-have. But I think it sticks. Chase isn’t likely to have a week where he finishes as the top scorer at the position, but the floor is higher now than it was two weeks ago, and that’s comforting enough to trust arguably the best in the game.

Jakobi Meyers | LV

Jakobi Meyers came blazing out of the gates this season, but as the Geno Smith express has taken a turn for the worse, his WR1 has found it impossible to succeed (four straight weeks finishing outside of the top 36 at the position).

I wish I could sell you on optimism, but with a declining slot rate and relatively few scoring opportunities, I really can’t. He benefited early from the threat of Brock Bowers, so maybe there’s a thread to pull there when the second-year tight end is deemed healthy, but are we confident that happens any time soon?

I prefer Meyers to Tre Tucker, but the gap is closing, and neither projects as a starter in the short term for me.

Jalen Coker | CAR

Jalen Coker is nearing his season debut (quad), but he wasn’t quite ready on Sunday after a week of practice.

In reading the tea leaves from last week, a return to action this weekend seems plenty logical. There’s nothing actionable to do just yet, but the WR2 role in this offense is wide open, and with the Bills/Packers up next, you have to think some pass-heavy scripts are awaiting the Panthers.

At the very least, monitor this situation. Carolina is motivated to see what they have in their young players, and with a matchup against the Saints in Week 15, there’s a world in which a player like Coker could matter during the first week of your playoffs.

Jameson Williams | DET

I think we are getting there.

Over the past two weeks, Jameson Williams has had a 4.9-yard aDOT. No, I don’t think it’s optimal to make this burner only a short-range target, but I know it’s not optimal to have him exclusively running go routes like he was prior (25.9 aDOT in Weeks 2-4).

We took a punch in the face in Week 5, but Williams cashed in on this route against the Chiefs on Sunday night (66 yards and a touchdown), and I think we see more of that moving forward. He was targeted on three of Goff’s first seven passes, and that’s the type of script we love to see as a role evolves.

The entire summer was devoted to hyping up Williams as a versatile receiver, and if this is the beginning of us getting to see it on a full-time basis, I’m ready to push my chips in on him.

Jauan Jennings | SF

Do we really know what a healthy Jauan Jennings looks like?

He’s been battling rib and ankle injuries for a month now, and while he’s taken the field twice over that stretch, he’s produced under a half-yard per route and has been a shell of himself.

I’m done guessing.

There are situations where I’ll jump the line and be early, but this isn’t one, given the lingering nature of these ailments. When this roster is whole, are we sure that there is a fantasy-viable role for Jennings to step into?

Ricky Pearsall is going to be tasked with stretching the field, and that opens up the short passing game. That’s good for Jennings’ profile, but with George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey soaking up those looks in bulk, I have Jennings looking at more of a five-target type of role, and that’s a low-end flex at best in a Brock Purdy-led offense.

Injuries could continue to vault Jennings into a reasonable role this week, but the Falcons are the best YAC defense against opposing wide receivers this season. Should Pearsall sit, I’ll end up ranking Jennings and Kendrick Bourne in the same tier, one that sits just outside the top 30 at the position.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA

The game just looks easy for some of the greats, and so far this season, that’s been the case for Smith-Njigba.

He’s scored in three of four games (in the one he didn’t, he provided the game-breaking play) and has 8+ grabs on four occasions. On Sunday, he was the only Seahawk with a catch on the first three drives (four for 56), and that somehow isn’t even what has impressed me most.

JSN averaged 10.0 yards per catch as a rookie and 11.3 last season. This year, he’s up to 16.6 thanks to a splash play every single week (36+ yard reception in all six games). He’s pacing to accomplish the rare feat of increasing his big-play profile without compromising his catch rate (75% catch).

At this point, even some regression wouldn’t remove Smith-Njigba from the top 10 at the position moving forward.

Jayden Higgins | HOU

Jayden Higgins has nearly doubled up fellow rookie Jaylin Noel in snaps played this season, but that doesn’t mean he’s even remotely close to the redraft radar.

For dynasty managers, it’s interesting that he’s being prioritized over Noel, but with 10 targets in five games, there’s nothing to see here.

Should Collins or Christian Kirk get injured, we can have that conversation, but this isn’t the type of situation you need to get ahead of.

Jayden Reed | GB

Jayden Reed underwent foot and clavicle surgeries in the middle of September, and the first half of November has remained the target ever since.

Green Bay’s presumed WR1 scored in Week 1 and was injured on a play in Week 2 that was inches from being a score. It’s only a six-target sample, so do with it what you will, but three came 15+ yards downfield (a sub-30% rate in each of his first two seasons).

My thought is that the team was aware of what Tucker Kraft could do in the short receiving game, and the speed of Matthew Golden was anything but a secret, thus opening up Reed to expand his route tree a bit. That’s how he can become a weekly fantasy asset, but he needs to prove himself healthy before anything.

The Packers play the Bears twice in December, matchups that give Reed the potential to crack my top 24 in those impact weeks, should his usage trend in the direction we saw out of the gates.

Jaylen Waddle | MIA

In the last two weeks of Hill’s season, Jaylen Waddle’s aDOT was 6.4 yards.

Since: 14.9.

That’s not a problem if you trust the quarterback, but I’m personally not there, and that opens up a wide range of weekly outcomes, especially in a matchup like this outside of the picturesque conditions that come for the ‘Fins when they play at home.

We did see DK Metcalf score on a double move against these Browns on Sunday, but you’re grasping for straws a bit if you want to compare the way he threatens a defense to how Waddle does.

All of the juice may have been squeezed out of the Waddle orange. He’s caught 12 of 17 targets over the two weeks post-Hill, a level of efficiency that, given the deep nature of his looks, is above expectation.

I don’t think he’s falling completely out of your PPR lineup, but I’d be surprised if he cleared 15 points for a third straight contest.

Jaylin Noel | HOU

During the preseason, there was hope that one of the young receivers in Houston would carve out a meaningful role, but those hopes are very much in the rearview mirror at this point.

Jaylin Noel is pretty clearly a WR5 in an offense that doesn’t always elevate its WR1. His 25.6% snap share has yielded just seven targets this season, which makes him a player we need to see signs of life before blindly assuming he’ll keep it up.

A dozen receivers are staring at you from the waiver wire with a more straightforward path to opportunity: don’t be too proud to revisit a preseason take.

Jerry Jeudy | CLE

I could tell you that Jerry Jeudy has been inefficient this season, and that’d be accurate. That said, I majored in math, not English … I don’t know a word stronger than “inefficient,” so I’m going to use numbers to highlight just how bad things are in Cleveland these days and why you can’t lock him into lineups.

At this pace, he needs 198 more targets this season to reach his 2024 yardage total
In Week 6, he had the fewest receiving yards for a player with 12+ targets in a game this season
It’s been over 300 days since his last TD
He has under a 50% catch rate on balls thrown under and over 15 yards

There’s a chance he’s your most viable flex option, but I’d caution against looking at the matchup and feeling obligated to play Jeudy. He’s a fringe top 30 WR for me this week, and I don’t think things will improve much for the remainder of 2022.

Jordan Addison | MIN

It feels like a while ago now, but remember Week 5?

We woke up early to watch the Vikings in London, only to see Jordan Addison not on the field at all. Those of us who flexed him mourned losing our week before having breakfast: it really was quite the buzzkill before most Sundays even get started.

But after the first quarter, he began seeing the field at his normal rate, and before you know it, he’s hauling in a contested touchdown with 25 seconds left to give the Vikings the win over a stingy Browns team.

As it turns out, it was a disciplinary thing that held him out early, and while I’d prefer my fantasy players stay out of that sort of trouble, his play on the field was encouraging (five catches for 41 yards and the touchdown on six targets).

During the final three quarters of that victory, he led the Vikings in targets, and while I don’t think he’s any sort of threat to Justin Jefferson’s role as the WR1, let’s not forget that this man has proven himself as a touchdown maker.

Most TD receptions by an NFC North player (first 34 career games since 2000):

Addison (20)
Justin Jefferson, Greg Jennings, and Roy Williams (19)
Calvin Johnson and Sam LaPorta (17)
Kenny Golladay and Jayden Reed (15)

The off-the-field behavior has been sporadic, while the on-the-field stuff has been anything but. His per-target production in two games this season, yardage-wise, is a minor red flag (outside of an 81-yard grab where the Steelers apparently thought he was still suspended, he’s turned 13 targets into just 74 yards), but that’s nitpicking given the QB situation.

Addison is a plenty viable weekly flex based on touchdown equity alone, never mind the potential for a 23-year-old to develop further and find his groove after missing the first three weeks.

Josh Downs | IND

It’s hard to call a 42-yard performance against the Cardinals a breakout, but Josh Downs scored his first touchdown of the season, capitalizing on his first three red zone touches of the season.

He led the Colts in receptions (six) and the receivers in targets, seeing his expected point production improve for a third consecutive week.

I’m not saying Downs is a PPR start this week or that he has a very clear path to earn such a label, but if you are buying what Indianapolis is selling, there’s no reason he can’t have a midseason run in line with what Michael Pittman did to open the season.

Downs isn’t going to win you your league with some sort of extreme spike in the second half of the season, but it wouldn’t shock me at all for him to emerge as a reasonable flex option down the stretch, and that holds value as the playoffs near.

Justin Jefferson | MIN

Sometimes it just feels like the difficulty settings aren’t turned up high enough when Justin Jefferson is on the field.

From athletic plays to graceful toe taps, he does it all, and the situation doesn’t matter. First-year QB? Veteran with flaws? Tough matchup? Double coverage? None of it matters.

He’s hit 75+ receiving yards in four straight despite all sorts of moving pieces around him, and while he hasn’t found the end zone in any of those games, it feels close to inevitable.

Through five games, his red zone target rate is only 15.4%. He’s been north of 23% in each of the past four seasons, and I’m plenty comfortable in writing this as a result of a small sample. Once the valuable looks return, Jefferson will again be in the mix for the best fantasy receiver in the game.

Kayshon Boutte | NE

You don’t come to PFSN for me to tell you that Boutte had a big day against the Saints. Or that New Orleans is terrible, and that resulted in some inflated numbers.

You know those things. You know that we are not expecting Boutte to go 5-93-2 every week moving forward.

What you might be less aware of, however, is the thread to pull.

This was Boutte’s second big effort of the season, and he’s much more involved when opponents struggle to create pressure around Maye.

Through six weeks, he owns a 7% pressured target share and a 15.4% non-pressured target share. Those numbers aren’t overwhelming in either split, but if you are going to roll the dice, it needs to be in a spot where you expect the second-year signal caller to be kept clear.

Remaining New England schedule:

Titans: 24th in pressure rate
Browns: 15th
Falcons: 10th
Buccaneers: 6th
Jets: 31st
Bengals: 28th
Giants: 18th
Bills: 2nd
Ravens: 30th
Jets: 31st

Boutte’s two big games this season came against the Raiders (23rd) and Saints (27th). I think this may be more than just a flash in the pan, but you need to be thoughtful in your use.

Keenan Allen | LAC

In a great spot against the Dolphins with Quentin Johnston sidelined, Keenan Allen set season lows in catches, targets, and yards.

He ran hot early this season in terms of touchdowns, but he’s yet to reach 70 receiving yards in a game this season, and that creates a low floor if the end zone targets aren’t adding up. Allen is going to continue to be very valuable for the Bolts (41.2% of his targets have come on third down), but with Ladd McConkey seeming to get on track and Johnston, when healthy, holding a unique role, he’s my WR3 of this trio, and it’s not terribly close.

As for Week 7, he’s hovering around WR30, a range that includes the Packers’ and 49ers’ receiver crapshoots.

Kendrick Bourne | SF

After totaling 87 yards in September, Kendrick Bourne has opened October with a pair of 142-yard performances on the road, first against the Rams and on Sunday opposite the Bucs.

His size makes him a threat to high point any pass, and his ability to do so is certainly why he’s been on the field more with Ricky Pearsall (knee) sidelined, but the profile, for these two weeks at least, has some teeth to it.

The three deep catches are what you’d expect, but he also has a play with 15+ YAC yards in both contests. Bourne has never been a featured player in this league (career high: 55 catches with New England in 2021), and I’m not sold that he’ll get extended opportunities when this offense is remotely close to full, but we aren’t there right now.

For me, he’s keeping Pearsall’s spot in the rankings warm until otherwise noted. The Falcons’ defense has been stout this season, but Bourne is a part of a Shanahan offense that gets the benefit of playing a team on short rest.

If you’re stuck in an uncomfortable spot, I prefer Bourne to all healthy Buccaneer WRs and Jakobi Meyers, players that I’ve seen penciled in ahead of him across the industry so far.

Ladd McConkey | LAC

This is a results-oriented business.

It just is. I’d love to fight that, but at best your fantasy season consists of 17 matchups, which means we have to weigh what has actually happened just as much as what “should” have happened.

That’s a little in the weeds, but it’s to say that Ladd McConkey has scored in consecutive games, and that has his managers feeling good. It’s reassuring to see 100 yards next to his name in Miami last week, and I get it.

I’m pro-McConkey.

My stance is that not much has changed. His aDOT over the past two weeks is essentially in line with what we saw in September, as is his slot usage. He’s simply run hot after running ice cold earlier in the season.

The Quentin Johnston injury opened up a target share spike last week, and even then, are you looking at his day the same way if not for a miraculous play by Justin Herbert that ended up being a 42-yard catch-and-run for McConkey?

Probably not.

We overrated him coming into the season and course-corrected too fast after the early struggles. Over the past three weeks, he’s been in the WR20 range, and I think that’s about right moving forward.

I think there’s a real chance he’s the top Charger pass catcher in total the rest of the way, but there are going to be ups and downs due to the depth of this roster.

If I told you that over the next two months you’d get two duds, two top-15s, and a handful of finishes in the 16-30 range … would you take it?

I think that’s what we are looking at. If you remove the superhero that is Nacua from the WR numbers against the Colts, they profile as a pretty stingy group (Troy Franklin is the only other WR against them with a notable performance).

Some of that is schedule, granted, but if they can control tempo, this could be the type of low-possession game where only one Charger WR is deserving of being trusted.

How lucky do you feel?

Luther Burden III | CHI

Burden earned a target on 30.8% of his routes on Monday night coming out of the bye, a figure that by itself would suggest buying, but that’s kind of like a kid telling his parents that he only missed three questions on a test.

You’re missing an important detail.

You’re repeating the grade if that test only had six questions, and I’m repeating my skepticism on Burden because he only ran 13 routes (Rome Odunze, Moore, and Olamide Zaccheaus all ran 25+).

The coaching staff doesn’t trust the rookie to do anything outside of running routes, and while that is what pays the fantasy bills, it hints at the team not loving the development process up to this point.

Burden ran a route on each of his snaps, while the three receivers ahead of him were all on the field for 50+ offensive snaps in the win over the Commanders. Before you can sell me on him being anything but roster depth, he needs to unseat a journeyman in Zaccheaus and earn the well-rounded trust of his coaches.

If we get this in a soft matchup, we can have a different discussion next week, but for now, there’s not enough in this profile to encourage me.

Malik Nabers | NYG

A casual reminder that Malik Nabers’ second season is over after suffering a Week 4 torn ACL.

The hope is that, with this injury occurring in September, his prep process for 2026 isn’t delayed, and if Dart proves himself as the franchise QB, Nabers could push for first-round value in redraft formats this summer.

If you play in a dynasty league, I’d offer full price right now, hoping that the managers with him rostered view this as part of a title window and that you can leverage that optimism to pry away one of the five best long-term investments you can make.

Marquise Brown | KC

Hollywood Brown had been quiet, though, in the first five weeks this season before turning two of his four targets against the Lions on Sunday night into scores.

Week 1 was effective (10 catches for 99 yards), but that was more the result of him filling the Xavier Worthy feature role after their WR1 left after three snaps.

In terms of the Hollywood Brown “role”, Sunday was the first time it really paid off, and even then, he’s yet to reach 50 yards in that spot.

I said it last week, and I’m saying it louder this week after the 20.5 PPR outburst: I’m selling to the highest bidder. I don’t care if I don’t think I’m getting great value; this is a chip I want to cash in before it’s too late, and if that means taking $0.80 on perceived value, I’m good with it.

In terms of aDOT, Andy Reid has been shifting Brown’s role all over the place, which suggests he is still searching for a spot for him to impact this offense, with Rashee Rice now back and Worthy healthy.

Mahomes is comfortable targeting both running backs, and obviously, Travis Kelce still exists, so where exactly is Brown getting enough looks to make him a top 30 receiver?

Or top 40?

Move him before the window closes. I beg of you.

Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI

Concussion symptoms led to Marvin Harrison Jr.’s early departure over the weekend, and with Arizona’s bye in Week 8, I’m tentatively making other plans for this weekend.

The Cards’ WR1 had been useful in three of the first five weeks this season, and while the yardage totals are spotty, he showed signs of turning a corner with Murray.

Now we have injuries on both sides to navigate, which makes this a situation I’d rather not invest in if I can help it. Harrison has a TD or a 30+ yard reception in four of five weeks with Murray under center, and that makes him a low-end WR2 moving forward when both parts of that tandem are on the field.

Should Harrison play without Murray this weekend, he’ll be ranked as nothing more than a low-end WR3: think Tee Higgins in the Jake Browning era.

Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN

Bo Nix took a deep shot at Marvin Mims early, but it was more of a way to tell the defense he was looking in that direction.

The burner was bracketed the entire way and never really had a chance to make the grab, and that’s been the story of this season so far for Mims (16 catches on 24 targets in six games). I like the fact that they’ve handed him the rock in three consecutive games, but right now, we are looking at a boom/bust player without any proof of concept on the boom side.

You’re chasing a single splash play if you run Mims out there this week, and if you’re managing a beat-up roster, there’s some appeal in that for an offense that we expect to be productive.

That said, I don’t have him ranked among the top 40 receivers, and I can’t imagine that will change anytime soon, given his skill set and the up-and-down nature of the Bo Nix experience in Year 2.

Matthew Golden | GB

Old man Kyle has recently been informed that “Golden” is the name of a K-pop song that is hot right now, and I’m here to tell you, as a 35-year-old, number-crunching, sports-obsessed introvert, that the song slaps and ranks ahead of Golden in my evolving list of golds:

Gold medal
“Golden”
Matthew Golden
Goldfish, the thing that swims

1,304. Goldfish, the snack

Why did this catchy song surpass the Packers’ rookie, you ask?

Google it. I can’t stop humming it. But for the receiver, the fact that we are six weeks (five games) into his career and 54.2% of his receiving yards have come on three catches is concerning, especially when it’s highly debatable if one of them was even intended for him.

I love that he’s recorded multiple rushing attempts in three of the past four games, as that’s at least proof that this coaching staff likes their first-round pick, but given the route tree he’s running, I think we need them to love what he brings to the table.

Not “like” it.

The Cardinals rank 29th in blitz rate this season, so if you told me that Golden was afforded the time to beat the deep, I’d believe you, but it’s a play for the more risk-averse managers out there.

He’s a less proven Williams or Rashid Shaheed with better QB play. However you want to label him, he’s sitting outside my top 35 at the position until we see more targets his way.

Michael Pittman Jr. | IND

We thought the Arizona matchup would help Michael Pittman extend his strong production, but he turned 27 routes into just three targets and four PPR points, easily his worst showing of the season.

The fact that we have four touchdowns from a traditionally low-upside receiver that has been held without a red zone target in four of six weeks is a red flag, as if the fact that Josh Downs finished Sunday with twice as many catches as Pittman had targets.

I’m still ranking him as the WR1 in Indy, though my confidence that that label carries weekly value is fading a bit. Tyler Lockett has established himself as an alpha target earner, and we know that Taylor is going to get his 20 touches every week, thus requiring a receiver to really exploit a matchup to earn volume.

The Chargers have allowed over 15 PPR points to a receiver in consecutive games and four times this season: I don’t think Pittman gets there, but I think he has the best chance to, and that puts him on flex radars in PPR formats.

There are some injuries to consider in terms of the league-wide rankings, but Pittman will check in around WR30 when things kick off.

Mike Evans | TB

Mike Evans suffered what Todd Bowles labeled as a “low-grade” hamstring injury in Week 3, and while that sounds good, let’s not forget that this is a 32-year-old receiver who is in the process of seeing Egbuka replace him.

Obviously, not all hope is lost. Evans still has plenty of juice (27 targets earned in his three games) and when at full strength, he stands to slide into the back-end of my WR2 rankings, especially with Chris Godwin struggling to near full strength and Bucky Irving also battling to get on the field.

There are some instances where a productive player goes down with an injury, and I’ll encourage you to buy at a discount. Opportunities like this present themselves all the time as a fantasy manager is holding a distressed asset because of their standing in your league and is looking, for lack of a better way to say it, to make a bad deal. To take pennies now for a dollar in the future.

This isn’t that.

Evans missed three games a season ago, and these soft-tissue injuries always carry an aggravation risk. We haven’t seen the future Hall of Famer reach 60 receiving yards in a game this season, and I’m not sure that changes in a meaningful way when he returns to the field.

Assuming he sits this week, you’ll be able to free up a roster spot by using your IR, and that’s fine. Just be careful in assuming that you’re getting a difference-maker when he returns to your lineup.

Nico Collins | HOU

I’ll admit I was probably too bullish this summer in ranking Collins as my top player at the position. Still, we are getting some breadcrumbs, and if the good vibes entering the bye (consecutive wins after the 0-3 start) sustain, it’s easy to see him producing top 10 numbers moving forward.

The walking mismatch has scored in three of his past four games and has a 29+ yard reception in each of those contests. If it feels like Collins has been prioritized more recently, it’s because he has, seeing his target percentage trend toward his 2021 mark of 28.3% over the past month (26.5%) after a dud in the season opener.

If Week 5’s game against Baltimore had been remotely competitive, I think more people would be on the “Collins could still be a league winner” train with me. His 4-52-1 stat line was fine, but he only played 54.5% of the snaps because nothing more was required.

The schedule isn’t great over the next two months, but if Collins can stay healthy, he does draw the Cardinals and Raiders, both at home, in Weeks 15-16 as you look to advance in your fantasy playoffs. With the bye now behind him, it might not be a bad idea to send out a trade offer that values him as a top 15 receiver and bank on getting top 10 (or better) production the rest of the way.

Pat Bryant | DEN

Pat Bryant recorded an 11-yard catch on Denver’s second drive last week in London, and while the early involvement is good to see, it wasn’t predictive of a role expansion.

Sean Payton is clearly intrigued by the rookie, but he’s a part of a cluttered mess that leaves him off of redraft radars until proven otherwise. In the win over New York, Bryant was one of six Broncos to run 11-23 routes.

A big weapon like this in an offense that has largely lacked a Robin to Courtland Sutton’s Batman makes sense, but we are six weeks into the season and have no proof of concept when it comes to the rookie being counted on (six targets this season).

Many leagues have deep benches where you have the luxury of burning a spot. If that’s the case, I don’t mind going this direction as a long-term development play.

In leagues with tighter benches, I’m not waiting on Bryant when I could be rostering players with a higher usage expectation this week.

Puka Nacua | LAR

If you fly too close to the sun, sometimes you get burned.

Nacua has been fantasy’s best player this season, but there is no denying that, to make his style work, he puts his body on the line every time he is targeted.

We’ve seen him bloody and bruised, but he’s largely been like a prize fighter in that he’s always able to gut through things.

The body has limitations, and it would seem that this foot injury is going to get the best of the star for at least this week in London. With the bye up next, the 4-2 Rams are likely to play the long game with their difference maker, and I think that’s what we want: lose the Week 7 battle and hope to win the 2025 war.

Tutu Atwell is the target in town that gains the most value should Nacua sit, but you should have better options at the ready on your bench.

Let’s hope for the best.

Quentin Johnston | LAC

Quentin Johnston was fantasy’s 14th highest scoring player (PPR) across all formats in September. Still, he earned just four targets in the Week 5 loss to the Commanders (40 yards) and missed last week with a hamstring injury that lingered throughout the week.

Every receiver has slow weeks, so the limited production in Week 5 wasn’t a big deal in my eyes. That is, until I looked closer at it.

After posting an aDOT of 11+ yards in each of Los Angeles’ first four games, Johnston saw his rate drop to 6.3 yards.

Now, we are looking at a tiny, four-target sample size. I’m not making any drastic rankings movement based on it, but I’m flagging it for sure. Johnston can thrive in this offense when his strength as a vertical threat is magnified: Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen are my preferred options on those sub-10-yard routes.

If all health obstacles are cleared with confidence, Johnston will top my LAC WR list when this week kicks off, though I will say we are a week away from a similar role change, as I shake up the order in which I rank this trio.

The Bolts don’t have their bye until Week 12, so Johnston is going to have to work through this injury without the benefit of an extended break for the team. That’s worth noting because the Chargers host the Vikings to kick off Week 8, increasing the odds that this team gives Johnston a few extra days to get right before bringing him back for that game and thus giving him extra rest ahead of Week 9.

Rashee Rice | KC

Rashee Rice is set to return from his six-game suspension, and he’s certainly not low on confidence.

“Everybody’s gotta eat.”

Rice posted that on Twitter, and while I believe the sentiment, are we sure it’s accurate?

Might it just be him?

The expectation is for the Chiefs to roll this week, and in wins in which he’s run 20+ routes, Rice has averaged 18.9 PPR PPG for his career, catching 60 of 71 targets across those nine games (fantasy production: 41.1% over expectation).

We are talking about a receiver who could put up top 15, if not top 10, numbers the rest of the way. If you’re worried about a slow start, Rice scored in his first career NFL game and cleared 100 yards with a 33.3% target share in his first action of 2022.

All gas, no brakes.

Rashid Shaheed | NO

And that’s the life of a Shaheed manager:

Week 5 vs. Giants: 5 targets (0 in the red zone), 4 catches, 80 air yards
Week 6 vs. Patriots: 6 targets (0 in the red zone), 4 catches, 50 air yards

The role looks the same, but the first one came with 21.4 PPR points attached; the second, just 6.8.

Personally, I think this is a better player than his raw numbers suggest, but I can’t imagine that he gets a real chance to cash in on that potential anytime in 2023 with this Saints offense structured the way that it is.

We will see what next season holds (if they draft another QB, I guess that I’ll be higher on Shaheed than the industry norm), but for the remainder of this season, the Shaheed profile carries much more risk than reward potential.

Ricky Pearsall | SF

There was some hope that Rickey Pearsall would return last week from this knee injury, but he never saw the practice field and missed a second consecutive game.

Generally speaking, I’ve been encouraged about what we’ve seen from the second-year playmaker. It’s only a month’s worth of data, but with a 15.9-yard aDOT and a 69% catch rate, there is upside very much worth exploring.

In 2024, only one player (Terry McLaurin) had an aDOT north of 13 yards and hauled in at least two-thirds of his targets. The efficient ways of Brock Purdy give Pearsall the potential to sustain that rare combination of upside and stability, thus making him a player I am inclined to rank as a viable flex option more often than not.

Of course, to do so, we need this roster to get close to full strength. I hope that we trend that direction this week, but given the multiple missed weeks, this is a situation you will want to track closely as the weekend approaches.

Rome Odunze | CHI

If the touchdown doesn’t get called back for illegal formation, you’re not reading this section, as Odunze would have scored for a fifth consecutive game and paid you off for starting him with confidence.

Instead, he finishes with his worst game of the season by 10 PPR points, and you’re looking for a pick-me-up.

I don’t see any real reason to worry. The target share fell a bit because Chicago thought it was a good idea to feature Olamide Zaccheaus (team-high six targets), and that almost cost them the game with a late drop.

The tight ends were essentially useless (11 yards on five targets), and DJ Moore finished with under 50 yards for a fourth consecutive game. You have the WR1 in a Ben Johnson offense, with a quarterback whose confidence is growing and a defense that struggles consistently.

Odunze is an unquestioned starter for the rest of the season across all formats and is a top-10 option for me this week in a great spot (New Orleans allows the 10th-most yards per deep pass and has seen the third-highest percentage of those chunk tries result in scores).

Romeo Doubs | GB

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Packers couldn’t care less about your fantasy team.

Unless you have Josh Jacobs, then I guess they care. They are a talented offense that is committed to the run, and that’s a problem when the receiver room is nothing short of a random number generator in terms of weekly production.

In the win over the Bengals last week, Romeo Doubs led the team in targets, Samori Toure in receiving yards, and Tucker Kraft was responsible for the only receiving touchdown.

It might be the exact same situation this weekend. Or completely different. Dontayvion Wicks has fallen out of favor a bit, but he’s not gone, and what happens when Jayden Reed comes back in less than a month?

This projects as another game where Green Bay’s rush total likely exceeds their pass total, and that means you can justify flexing Doubs or Toure, but there’s no way you’re going to feel great about it.

Arizona ranks slightly better against the deep pass (ninth fewest YPA) than at preventing red zone touchdowns (12th): that’s the logic I used to have Doubs ranked five spots ahead of Toure this week, but again, it’s hard to envision feeling good about any of these receivers in Week 7, Week 11, or Week 15.

You get the point.

Stefon Diggs | NE

After back-to-back 100-yard games, Stefon Diggs’ stat line fell flat against the Saints, earning just three targets and picking up 28 yards in the victory.

It’ll be OK.

You didn’t draft Diggs thinking you had a weekly asset, and you probably don’t, but he’s going to be in the mix, and as Drake Maye continues to improve exponentially, the door is certainly open for more.

The veteran wide receiver had a big catch late in the game taken off the board due to a questionable OPI call, and while the yards didn’t count, it was good to see Maye looking his way in a big spot.

Vintage Diggs probably never graces an NFL field again, but in this offense without a clear-cut top option, he’s got a chance to be a flex you feel reasonably good about consistently.

I’ll have him ranked higher when I project more volume for this passing game: they aren’t going to be seven-point road favorites too often.

Tee Higgins | CIN

The Joe Flacco experience allowed Tee Higgins to set or match season highs in catches, targets, and yards.

That’s the good.

The bad? This offense is still broken. It’s just going to be a little less so with the veteran QB calling the shots. They turned 16 carries into 55 yards against the Packers, and without much depth to their production, defenses aren’t going to hesitate to speed up Flacco, forcing him to make quick decisions.

I don’t think this is the last time we see Ja’Marr Chase and Higgins post a combined 50% target share, only for both to fail to record a 20-yard catch.

Higgins is a WR3 and carries just as much downside weekly as upside (in this crazy 2022 season, that’s a step forward from what I said in this article two weeks ago).

Terry McLaurin | WAS

After multiple missed practice sessions during the week, Terry McLaurin (quad) missed his third straight game, and this is new territory for the former Buckeye (four straight seasons without a single DNP before this situation).

Without an injury track record, we really don’t have much of a blueprint for how to treat this. Deebo Samuel has stepped up in his absence, but this isn’t a very deep roster in terms of pass catchers, and after the 82-1,096-13 season in 2024, we know that Jayden Daniels is well-aware of McLaurin’s upside.

Outside of the injury and seemingly inevitable touchdown regression, there is one little part of his profile, through three games, that has me worried.

Short Target Rates

Under 5 air yards, 2024: 21.4%
Under 5 air yards, 2025: 5.9%

McLaurin doesn’t need those targets to be a viable fantasy receiver, but they help elevate his floor. It would certainly help his value in the short term if this injury limits his ability to get separation downfield.

I’m less worried about the target-sharing with Samuel than about the types of targets he’s sharing. This matchup is too good to pass on should he return, but if we continue to see a lack of usage when it comes to those layup targets, I’d consider the idea of parlaying a potential big game this week into a more stable top 20 WR.

Tetairoa McMillan | CAR

Tetairoa McMillan scored the first two touchdowns of what will hopefully be a long and productive career last weekend against the Cowboys.

It was great to see a player who has been earning volume all season long (43 targets through five weeks before scoring twice on his five looks over the weekend), but context is king.

The 21-yard TD in the second quarter was an overreaction by the Dallas defense to a Bryce Young pump fake. Because that’s what this defense does, they guess, and we’ve seen the results of that.

Don’t get me wrong, no one is asking you to apologize for the fantasy points that McMillan gave you last week, but don’t confuse the multi-score performance as the start of an Emeka Egbuka-like run.

McMillan remains a low-end WR2 that is at the mercy of his unreliable situation. Despite the volume and physical tools, the rookie has just one 30+-yard reception, and that came in Week 2, his only game with 75+ receiving yards.

Tory Horton | SEA

It’s easy to look at the Cooper Kupp tape and talk yourself into a promising rookie taking his WR2 role away, but it’s just not happening. Tory Horton was a high-volume receiver at Colorado State, but with nine catches on 99 routes as a pro, we don’t have any proof of concept at this level.

Kupp hasn’t exactly been productive, so the fact that Horton hasn’t emerged should be all redraft managers need to see. The veteran likely won’t be much worse moving forward, which means this version of the rookie is what we are stuck with for the remainder of 2022.

You can move on here. We will revisit things in August.

Travis Hunter | JAX

I can post the participation report weekly, and I do, but this is a production-based business, and I can’t recommend adding Travis Hunter to your flex radar until we see something that changes.

Weekly Participation Report

Week 1: 27 routes, 6 defensive snaps
Week 2: 27 routes, 39 defensive snaps
Week 3: 27 routes, 41 defensive snaps
Week 4: 23 routes, 9 defensive snaps
Week 5: 26 routes, 25 defensive snaps
Week 6: 44 routes, 22 defensive snaps

Last weekend was encouraging, and the seven targets earned were his most since his debut. Still, the majority of his looks carry next to no upside and rely on his special athletic talents to generate any fantasy value.

He had the jump-ball win in Week 5 against the Chiefs, but outside of that, we are looking at 5.1 yards per target and an end zone once every three weeks.

It would take this offense clicking on all cylinders to provide that profile with enough opportunities to be interesting, and… well, I think we can agree that Trevor Lawrence isn’t exactly in the MVP conversation.

Hold him for the raw ability, but with the understanding that you’re assured of nothing weekly.

Tyreek Hill | MIA

Just a reminder that Tyreek Hill’s season is over and that there is no risk from moving on from him in redraft formats.

On Sept. 30, news surfaced that Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has Week 1, 2026 as a “realistic goal” for his client, but I’d take that news for what it is: an optimistic view from someone financially invested in this situation.

The early medical reports sound relatively good (no nerve damage), but dynasty managers are wise to take a wait-and-see approach with this devastating injury.

Wan’Dale Robinson | NYG

There are a million things that have surprised me through six weeks of action, but Wan’Dale Robinson having a 20+ yard reception in four games (his total number of such contests last season) is right up there.

His aDOT is up 78.4% from last season, and you’d expect that to draw back his YAC data, but that is also on the rise (up 46.2% from 2021).

I’m not sure how much of this newfound skill we can project moving forward, but there is no denying that his ceiling is higher in the Jaxson Dart version of this offense. He’s seen 5-7-7 targets over the past three weeks, and I think he’ll continue to be efficient, something that puts him firmly on the PPR flex radar if this offense is going to develop with time.

Dart has shown a tendency to feature his RBs/TEs more than his WRs, which is concerning for Robinson’s value when Darius Slayton is active. That said, he’s pretty clearly the Giant pass catcher I want on my roster, even if it’s more for depth than a weekly starter.

Xavier Legette | CAR

We got the perfect touchdown play in Week 5, but it’s pretty clear that play was the exception and not the rule.

Xavier Legette hasn’t done anything to earn more work in Jalen Coker’s absence (eight catches in his four games) and doesn’t seem poised in any way to break out in his second season.

His struggles are the gain of Coker, a player who has yet to fail this season. That’s not to say he won’t; this offense isn’t exactly a pyre fest for fantasy managers, but with not yet having played, he figures to get a shot to earn looks when deemed healthy.

I’m in no hurry to roster a secondary receiver in Carolina, but if I am, Coker is my guy over Legette.

Xavier Worthy | KC

Sunday night was an interesting one for Xavier Worthy, and while the touchdown saved you, the overall execution from Kansas City scared me a bit.

He was one of six Chiefs to see 2-4 targets in the win over the Lions, with everyone falling in line behind Travis Kelce (six catches for 78 yards on seven looks). And that’s the catch.

When Patrick Mahomes is playing at this level, he’s not forcing the issue on anyone. He completed all seven passes (102 yards, 2 TD) that he threw in the direction of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hollywood Brown, so why not take it?

Worthy had a flip pass and a quick route into the flat (six-yard TD on fourth down) in addition to a pair of targets that came at least a dozen yards downfield. The versatility was a good reminder of what we saw down the stretch last season, but the indifference in getting him involved outside of those two short targets was a marginal red flag for me, with Rashee Rice set to return this weekend.

If we are to assume that Rice and Kelce account for, in the neighborhood of, 50% of targets in KC and Worthy isn’t going to be prioritized (Tyquan Thornton didn’t see a target on his 14 routes, and if he gets involved, that’s yet another mouth to feed), there is a low floor that I think most are going to overlook.

I’d take the temperature of the room. If Worthy is viewed as a set-it-and-forget-it top 20 player at the position, I’d at least listen to offers. The numbers moving forward might still be there, but I don’t think they come in the most consistent of ways, and a poorly timed dud could eliminate you from title contention.

Soppe’s Fantasy WR Start-Sit Week 7 Players Include Rashee Rice, Ladd McConkey, Jauan Jennings, and Others