The 2020 North Carolina Tar Heels football squad won eight of their 12 games and appeared in the Orange Bowl against Texas A&M. Running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter played key roles in the team's success, the former totaling 1,445 yards from scrimmage and 22 touchdowns, the latter adding 1,512 yards and 11 scores. Not bad, right? The Denver Broncos made Williams a second-round pick and Carter went to the Jets in Round 4. Fantasy managers invested and they might be wondering when these fellows, each coming off their top PPR performances of this season, will become NFL stars.
Well, how about Week 8? The Broncos have a home matchup with Washington, and Williams scored 17.2 PPR points in last Thursday's 17-14 loss at Cleveland. He caught six passes, twice as many as in any prior game, for 32 yards and his first receiving touchdown. He is a big runner and punishes defenders, getting yards after contact. He did little in the team's rushing attack, but backfield colleague Melvin Gordon III, a pending free agent, struggled as well. The Broncos have lost four in a row and now seems a wise time to let Williams -- the future at running back -- take on a larger role.
The Jets host the emerging Cincinnati Bengals and are likely to be without rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, who hurt his right knee in Sunday's blowout loss at New England. Mike White filled in and figures to start, but it changes little. Wilson was hardly thriving. Carter scored 16.4 PPR points and, again, the impressive part was his work in the passing game. Carter's two-game streak of scoring a touchdown ended, but we sure like the eight catches for 67 yards, and he took nearly 75% of the running back snaps. The timeshare seems to be ending. We like that.
None of this means Williams and Carter will carry fantasy managers in Week 8 or any week this season, really, but the point is these North Carolina products should be very good players and it would help if their teams gave them more of a chance to prove it, with greater volume and passing game work. They probably will, so try to trade for them. Williams and Carter shared touches a season ago in college, but each has the skills and size to dominate a backfield. Look for even better statistics in the coming games.
Unbeaten streak on the line
The awesome Arizona Cardinals have yet to lose a football game, though Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers figure to make things interesting this Thursday night. Kyler Murray remains one of the league MVP contenders but it was especially nice to see an effective Cardinals running game return in the rout of the lowly Houston Texans on Sunday. James Conner scored his sixth rushing touchdown and Chase Edmonds, who has battled shoulder issues the past few weeks, rushed for 81 yards, the second-best outing of his season. Each Cardinals runner may be an RB2 for this week's matchup. On the Packers side, running backs are also the focus. Fantasy managers will expect a bounce-back effort from Aaron Jones. He and AJ Dillon combined for a disappointing 25 rushing yards in their 24-10 win over Washington on Sunday, and the Packers entered the weekend averaging 109.5 rushing yards per game. The Cardinals are among the top 10 defenses in preventing rushing yards, so this should be a challenge. Still, Jones investors are not going to -- and should not -- sit him.
Injury report
The Browns managed to edge the Broncos sans their starting quarterback, top two running backs and other key players, so we will see this week who is ready to return for a division game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nick Chubb is the big name in fantasy, a top-10 option when healthy, and the team expects his return from a calf injury. Then again, D'Ernest Johnson filled in and ran wild for 146 yards and a touchdown, totaling 24.8 PPR points. Chubb, in his five games, has done well, but he never quite reached 24.8 points. Kareem Hunt will not play this week. Those adding Johnson this week may be disappointed if Chubb plays. Oh, by the way, Baker Mayfield (shoulder) may play. Fantasy managers may not care.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had little trouble toppling the Chicago Bears on Sunday sans wide receiver Antonio Brown and tight end Rob Gronkowski. They surely want them back for the Week 8 meeting in New Orleans against the Saints. It is the Jameis Winston revenge game! Other injury situations to follow include Philadelphia Eagles RB Miles Sanders (ankle), Baltimore Ravens RB Latavius Murray (ankle) and Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton (quad).
Monday night mysteries
Perhaps the most surprising performance from Week 7 was Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs being held to a mere field goal in a 27-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Hey, give the Titans credit, but the Chiefs usually score on every team. Mahomes scored a season-low 7.74 PPR points and left prematurely for concussion testing. The team says he will be healthy for next Monday's game against the New York Giants, but will the turnovers continue? Helping Mahomes with a reasonable running game would help, sure, but regardless, the Chiefs should bounce back.
Speaking of injuries, fantasy managers will watch the New York Giants this week to see about running back Saquon Barkley and his sprained ankle, which has kept him from action since early in Week 5. Devontae Booker has filled in capably. The Giants could also use some healthy wide receivers, with Kadarius Toney, Sterling Shepard and Kenny Golladay joining Barkley as absent for the dominating Week 7 win against the Carolina Panthers. The Chiefs are also struggling to defend. Perhaps the Giants offense will provide some healthy sleeper fantasy options this week.