Week 7 of the fantasy football season featured plenty of notable performances around the NFL, from huge receiving days by rookies Ja'Marr Chase and Kyle Pitts to the ongoing struggles of Patrick Mahomes. What should we make of it all? Matt Bowen and Tristan H. Cockcroft offer their analysis.
Is Ja'Marr Chase already a WR1?
He scored a career-best 34.1 PPR fantasy points, which might seem like no big deal for a player with seven games' experience under his belt, but consider that it gave him 146.2 through those games to begin his career. That is the most by any wide receiver through his first seven career games since at least 1950, as are the 754 receiving yards he has amassed. What's more, the 201 yards he totaled Sunday made him the second-youngest player to reach the 200-yard plateau (Mike Evans, 209 in Week 11 of 2014, age 21 years, 87 days).
Chase's statistical accolades don't celebrate his performance enough, though, as it's already -- just two months into his NFL career -- a valid question whether he's a locked-in WR1. Frankly, he'd be there already if not for the depth at the position, and the biggest knock on him is that the Bengals have many receiving mouths to feed, best evidenced by his 15th-ranked (at his position) 24.6% target share (pending the later games). Still, these stand out: Entering the week, Chase's average depth of target was 15.98 yards (ranked fourth), and he had caught an impressive 62% of those throws. He's a big-play dynamo and has oodles of chemistry with Joe Burrow, and I'm ready to call him a WR1, albeit one who might slip outside of that facing the very worst of matchups. As for next year? There's a very real chance this is a top-five fantasy wide receiver, and a top-25-overall building block. -- Cockcroft
I agree on Chase here, Tristan. We know he can separate vertically, and we were reminded today on just how physical the rookie can be after the catch. And remember, he won matchups today against Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey. That's big time. -- Bowen
What's wrong with Patrick Mahomes?
With the Titans leaning on two-deep coverage -- which is becoming the blueprint to limiting the Chiefs' explosive play ability -- Mahomes posted a season-low 7.74 fantasy points before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. It needs to be mentioned that Tennessee controlled the time of possession and game flow in this one. However, we still have to look at Mahomes, who has now turned the ball over in six straight games. I see a quarterback who is voluntarily playing outside of the offensive structure, in addition to the unnecessary movement from Mahomes inside and outside the pocket. Now, if Mahomes is healthy, he's still a top-5 QB in my Week 8 ranks versus the Giants. But the Chiefs, and Mahomes, need to find more rhythm in the passing game, given how I anticipate opposing defenses will scheme moving forward. -- Bowen
Mahomes' 7.74 points marked the second-worst total of his entire career, exceeding only the 7.24 he delivered against the Denver Broncos in Week 7 of 2019. (Incidentally, three of his five worst single-game scores have come against the Broncos.) Considering the Titans' struggles against quarterbacks to date, this has to be characterized as the worst single-game fantasy performance of Mahomes' career. Worse yet, he departed early because of a head injury, something we can only hope doesn't extend into Week 8. -- Cockcroft
Where Kyle Pitts ranks among TEs after another standout game
With 23.3 points in Atlanta's Week 7 win over Miami, Pitts has now posted back-to-back 20-plus-point games. And the target volume is jumping here too, as the rookie has now caught 16 of 18 targets for 282 yards and a score over the past two weeks. Remember, in this Atlanta offense, Pitts is essentially running a wide receiver route tree, which creates both intermediate and vertical matchups. You can isolate him into the boundary, or from a slot alignment, to get the one-on-ones. And with a matchup against the Panthers in Week 8, Pitts could climb as high as the No. 2-ranked tight end, behind Travis Kelce, given some of the current injuries at the position. -- Bowen
He's off to a pretty historic start. With those 23.3 points, Pitts now has 84.1 through his first six NFL games. It's the fifth most by a tight end since at least 1950, behind only Keith Jackson's 88, Mike Ditka's 87.4, Raymond Chester's 85.2 and Jordan Reed's 84.8. -- Cockcroft
The Mike Evans dilemma
The Chicago defense didn't have an answer for Evans in the red zone on Sunday, as the veteran wide receiver caught three touchdown passes from Tom Brady inside the 10-yard line. Throw the in-breakers and the fade ball there. That's the matchup to take, given Evans' physical play-style and his ability to create leverage to the ball. Evans -- who posted a season-high 31.6 PPR points -- gets a matchup with the Saints' defense and cornerback Marshon Lattimore in Week 8. -- Bowen
No, Matt, don't bring up Lattimore! Sigh, much as I don't like it, I must say it: Evans has totaled 24.9 PPR fantasy points in his past four games against the Saints in which Lattimore was active, playoffs included, effectively the one individual matchup that has slowed down the wide receiver. It's a deep offense and that helps Evans' chances, but we've got a rankings dilemma on our hands for Week 8. -- Cockcroft
Quick hitters
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams: With his 37.6 PPR fantasy points, the most among all players through Sunday's 4 p.m. ET games, Kupp has again captured the top spot on the fantasy leaderboard, his 190.4 points eclipsing Derrick Henry's 186.5. It is, in fact, just 18.3 points shy of his entire 2020 total, and to put Kupp's fantasy dominance in another perspective, consider that he now has more 30-point performances this season (4) than he had in his first four NFL seasons combined (3). He and Matthew Stafford have an absolutely unreal connection going. -- Cockcroft
Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans: This is the Titans' offensive identity we were looking for at the start of the season. It's the run game element with Derrick Henry, plus the play-action throws for Ryan Tannehill (in-breakers), which creates efficiency in the passing game. Tannehill went 21-of-27 in the win over the Chiefs, and also found the end zone as a runner for the second straight game. Tannehill registered 19.4 fantasy points in this one, and I would expect the veteran quarterback to be in that 18- to 20-point range again next week in a matchup versus the Colts defense. -- Bowen
Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots: He set a new personal best with his 25.3 fantasy points, and while it came facing the easiest of matchups -- as if the New York Jets didn't qualify as enough of one, a 41-point margin of victory makes things incredibly simple for the running back -- it represented a second consecutive week of matchups domination. Harris exceeded 100 rushing yards for the second straight game, but more importantly, he didn't fumble in either of those games, including on any of the four goal-to-go rushing attempts he was delivered -- and he might've had more had he not been lifted with his team massively up on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter. Harris continues to look like a force on rushing downs, which are becoming increasingly more common in New England as Mac Jones and the offense gains a rhythm, and continued ball security could go a long way toward vaulting him into the locked-in RB2 rankings tier. -- Cockcroft
Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens: Brown has scored now 19 or more PPR points in five of seven weeks this year. And he's produced at least one explosive play reception (reception of 20 or more yards) in every game. The Ravens deep ball target will be back in the WR2 mix when Baltimore returns from the bye in Week 9 with a matchup versus the Vikings. -- Bowen
Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals: Burrow posted a season-high 26.64 fantasy points in the Week 7 win over Baltimore and became only the 12th quarterback since the merger to pass for multiple touchdowns in each of his team's first seven games of a season. And he did it from the pocket versus a Ravens defense that will heat you up with multiple fronts and pressures. I thought Burrow was extremely poised in this one. Just look at the ball location, pocket movement and the ability to identify the one-on-ones with wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase. Even with a poor decision on a red zone interception, Burrow finished with over 400 yards passing, plus three touchdown passes -- giving him a total of 10 in his last four games. With a Week 8 matchup versus the Jets, Burrow will again be in my QB1 ranks -- and he might stay there for a while. I love the upside of his game as a pocket thrower with high-level field vision. -- Bowen
D'Andre Swift, RB, Detroit Lions: Negative game script sure hasn't seemed to hinder his fantasy production. Swift's 28.4 PPR fantasy points paced all running backs through Sunday's 4 p.m. ET games, set a new personal best and gave him his fourth game this season with six receptions and fourth with 50 receiving yards. All that despite an average of 11.1 rushing attempts per week! -- Cockcroft
A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans: Focus on the usage and offensive deployment with Brown in his last two games. The Titans wide receiver, who posted a season-high 27.3 points in the win over the Chiefs, is being schemed off play-action, and Ryan Tannehill is aggressively targeting Brown in one-on-one vertical matchups. That has allowed Brown to catch 15 of 18 targets over the last couple of weeks. With a Week 8 matchup versus the Colts, Brown will be in the WR1 mix. -- Bowen
Foster Moreau, TE, Las Vegas Raiders: Call him the plug-and-play who wasn't, as he scored a career-best 18.0 PPR fantasy points as a fill-in starter for the injured Darren Waller (ankle), yet was rostered in a mere 0.2% of ESPN leagues at the time. That's no shock: It was a game with a 4:05 p.m. ET start time, making swap-ins more challenging, and while Waller's injury status was known, it was no lock that he'd have been sidelined. Moreau, too, was hinted as a big part of the game plan in Waller's absence, but he was still a player with a 2.7% target share entering the week. -- Cockcroft
D'Ernest Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns: A fill-in star on Thursday night, Johnson stepped in for the injured Nick Chubb (calf) and Kareem Hunt (calf), earned the start, played 92% of the Browns' offensive snaps and delivered 24.8 fantasy points to the 60.8% of ESPN managers who started him. Johnson showed considerable toughness for a player questioned in that regard when he entered the NFL, piling up 73 of 146 rushing yards after first contact, and managed three first downs to ice the Browns' victory, as the team showed a lot of confidence in him. We'll see whether Chubb is able to return for Week 8, and the matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers isn't a great one, but Johnson has certainly carved out a flex-tier role. -- Cockcroft
Mike Davis, RB, Atlanta Falcons: The Miami Dolphins entered the week the third-best matchup for a running back in terms of total PPR fantasy points allowed for the season (177.1), and the sixth best when adjusting for schedule, so a 1.0-point performance on four total carries (plus zero receptions) comes as nothing short of a complete bust. Sure, Davis did reportedly depart with an injury in the fourth quarter, but he played 60% of the offensive snaps before his exit, making this the first week that Cordarrelle Patterson played a greater percentage (73.0%). Patterson has been the superior runner of the two despite a more limited rushing role all season, so this could be more of a permanent shift in their roles. Patterson scored 14.1 points, incidentally, and it appears we're at a stage where he'll be graded a high-end RB2, with Davis a matchups-dependent, low-ceiling flex play. -- Cockcroft
C.J. Uzomah, TE, Cincinnati Bengals: It's all Bengals, all the time, in this week's column, but in all seriousness, you might well have noticed that Uzomah was the 1 p.m. ET games' top-scoring tight end (24.1 points) and has five touchdowns and 64.7 points in the past four weeks combined. It's a promising sign from a 9.4% rostered player in ESPN leagues who plays a position ravaged by injuries, and it's worth pointing out that he's now tied with Dawson Knox for the positional lead in 20-plus-yard receiving touchdowns (two). Uzomah has been making some big plays happen, but it's also coming with modest target shares: He has seven total targets the past three weeks, and only one red zone target the entire season, making his scores seemingly fluky. He'll get the Jets next; that's a good matchup for him, and as they say, "desperate times ..." but I'm just not there yet as far as trusting him as an all-in add. -- Cockcroft