NFL1000: Ranking the Top 1,000 Players from Week 7

The balance of power is shifting in the NFL.

Over the last decade, we've all heard about how it's a quarterback-driven league and offense rules the day. That's been predominantly true. But you may have noticed that more defenses are playing at a dominant level this season, while offenses are lagging behind. There's no better example of that than the Sunday night game between the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks, which ended in a 6-6 tie as two great defenses shut down two formerly great offenses.

Through seven weeks, the metrics are bearing this out. Football Outsiders has five teams below minus-20 percent in defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average). Click here for a full explanation of that stat—defensive DVOA is a positive when it's negative. Last year, only the Denver Broncos finished the season under minus-20 percent. In 2014, no teams hit that mark. In 2013, only the Seahawks did it, and in 2012, only the Chicago Bears pulled it off. You get the idea.

Better defense may be one of many reasons for the NFL's recent ratings decline, but for hardcore football wonks, great defense is also a relief after years of hyperinflated offensive performances. Our NFL1000 rankings also reflect this trend. Last week, 13 safeties made our top 50, which was justified—safety play in the NFL has improved in both quality and diversity of late.

This week, there are two cornerbacks in the top five and three in the top 15. It's no surprise that two of those cornerbacks—Aqib Talib (who leads all players this week) and Chris Harris Jr. (14th overall)—are ranked so highly. They've both been great all season, and they were particularly so against the Houston Texans' imploding passing game on Monday Night Football.

But let's look at the other side of the field in that game and put the spotlight on Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye, an undrafted fourth-year player who has moved around Houston's defensive back depth chart throughout his career.

Against Denver's passing offense, Bouye played tough, allowing six catches on 10 targets for just 38 yards. On the season, he's allowed 17 catches on 32 targets for 137 yards, no touchdowns and a 64.2 opposing quarterback rating. Could he join the likes of Richard Sherman and Josh Norman as lightly regarded defenders who became spectacular? So far, the signs are good.

We're seeing the consistent ascent of other relatively unheralded players. This week, Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham, Arizona Cardinals strong safety Tony Jefferson and San Diego Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman are among those names near the top. The Eagles have several defensive players in the top 50 this week. It's a well-deserved honor after coordinator Jim Schwartz's gang obliterated Minnesota's offense and pulled the Vikings from the pantheon of the undefeated.

We're about halfway through the 2016 season, and those stories are the ones that rule the roost. Defense is making a serious comeback, and the game is better for it—even if it isn't as flashy.

Bleacher Report's NFL1000 player-rating methodology, in part, looks at our grades from week to week (as you, dear reader, can) and susses out which patterns are turning into trends and which are flukes in the relatively small sample size of an NFL season. There are many ways to dissect what the league presents on the field every week, and the NFL1000 goes as deep as any to tell you what's going on.

Our 17-person crew of experienced evaluators combs through the game tapes each week to bring you concise, clear evaluations of every player in the NFL. We'll tell you which rookies are rising and which undrafted players are coming out of nowhere to make an impact. We'll tell you which players are struggling and why.

There is no predetermined narrative with these grades. No mysterious clutch factor. No tweaked-out quarterback ratings that defy explanation. Our grades are based on pure scouting—and lots of it. We grade the key criteria for each position based on a series of attributes and add in a score for positional importance.

In the case of a tie, our scouts ask, "Which player would I want on my team?" and adjust accordingly.

Is it a subjective process? Of course—that's what scouting is, and as we like to say, ties are no fun.

Each player is evaluated and graded by our crack team of scouts, who possess more than 100 combined years of experience in playing, front-office work, coaching and media. Cian Fahey, John Middlekauff, Alex Kirby, Mark Schofield, Duke Manyweather, Ethan Young, Joe Goodberry, Justis Mosqueda, Charles McDonald, Zach Kruse, Derrik Klassen, Jerod Brown, Ian Wharton, Kyle Posey, Mark Bullock, Chuck Zodda and Doug Farrar have watched tape for months to bring you these grades, and we'll be bringing you player grades based on the game action every week.

Here are the NFL1000 player grades for Week 7 of the 2016 NFL season.

All advanced stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Methodology

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

The NFL1000 team of scouts was given a series of important attributes to grade for every player in its positional review. Using a grading scale starting at zero and going up to anywhere from 10 to 40 based on the position and the attribute, our scouts have graded each player based on their own expertise and countless hours of tape review over the years. Our evaluators received specific positional assignments based on their proven fields of expertise. 

• Doug Farrar: Lead scout
• Cian Fahey: Quarterbacks
• John Middlekauff: Running backs/fullbacks
• Alex Kirby: Wide receivers/tight ends
• Mark Schofield: Wide receivers/tight ends
• Duke Manyweather: Offensive tackles
• Ethan Young: Offensive guards/centers
• Joe Goodberry: AFC defensive ends
• Justis Mosqueda: NFC defensive ends
• Charles McDonald: Defensive tackles
• Zach Kruse: 3-4 outside linebackers
• Derrik Klassen: 4-3 outside linebackers
• Jerod Brown: Inside linebackers
• Kyle Posey: Cornerbacks
• Ian Wharton: Cornerbacks
• Mark Bullock: Safeties
• Chuck Zodda: Special teams

We observe and grade every NFL player with snaps in offensive and defensive roles based on a multitiered process that marks specific attributes per position. As we're combing through All-22 footage to assess each performance, there are additional factors to consider.

We'll adjust for opponent based on the obvious notion that the cornerback we're grading is doing a better job if he's shutting down Antonio Brown than if he's negating the efforts of a seventh-round rookie receiver.

We'll also adjust for players with multiple responsibilities in the course of a game and over the course of time. Think of guys such as Calais Campbell and Michael Bennett on the defensive line—how they seamlessly switch from gap to gap. Or how cornerbacks such as Chris Harris Jr. and Tyrann Mathieu dominate outside and in the slot. Or how receivers such as Doug Baldwin and Larry Fitzgerald bedevil those cornerbacks from multiple field positions.

That's more important than ever in today's NFL, and we pay attention to it.

We will not adjust for injuries. If a player is underperforming because of an injury, that's part of his performance, fair or unfair, and we'll grade him accordingly.

Grading any player is a subjective process, but with a series of attributes per position and a specific direction as to what to grade and how, we'll make it as definitive as possible.

Top 50 Overall from Week 7

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

For years, the rightful narrative surrounding the Chargers was as follows: The team could not put adequate pieces around Philip Rivers and thus left too much of a burden on its franchise quarterback.

But San Diego's front office has drafted intelligently on the defensive side of the ball over the last few seasons, and it's starting to pay off. Not just with stars such as Melvin Ingram and rookie Joey Bosa, but with linebackers Denzel Perryman and Jatavis Brown.

This week's Scouting Notebook featured Brown, and he's been in or near the top 50 for most of the season. Rivers may have the teammates on the other side of the ball to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2013...if his team can climb the rest of the AFC West, the best division in football.

Speaking of defense, the Kansas City Chiefs have the usual number of players in our top 50; safeties Ron Parker and Eric Berry, cornerback Marcus Peters and linebacker Ramik Wilson all feature this week after they helped knock off the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. And the Chargers and Chiefs are looking up at the division's two best teams, the Oakland Raiders and Broncos, respectively. Oakland is getting things done on the offensive side of the ball, but only kicker Sebastian Janikowski is in the top 50 this week.

That leaves the defending Super Bowl champs with the most players in Week 7's top 50: They have six—five on defense (cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr., safeties Darian Stewart and T.J. Ward, linebacker Brandon Marshall and running back C.J. Anderson).

Two other teams had five players in the top 50; the Eagles made that mark after their impressive win over the Vikings, and the Cardinals did the same with several great individual performances in that ugly Sunday night tie against the Seahawks.

Top 50 Overall from Week 7

Rank	Player	Pos.	Team	NFL1000 Score	LW	Moving
1	Aqib Talib	CB	DEN	88	249	↑
2	Aaron Rodgers	QB	GB	86	367	↑
3	David Johnson	RB	ARI	85	10	↑
4	A.J. Bouye	CB	HOU	85	565	↑
5	Philip Rivers	QB	SD	85	34	↑
6	Nigel Bradham	4-3 OLB	PHI	84	907	↑
7	Trent Williams	LT	WAS	84	8	↑
8	Landon Collins	SS	NYG	84	56	↑
9	Fletcher Cox	DT	PHI	84	294	↑
10	Bobby Wagner	ILB	SEA	83	118	↑
11	Joe Thomas	LT	CLE	83	177	↑
12	Tony Jefferson	SS	ARI	83	257	↑
13	Le'Veon Bell	RB	PIT	83	36	↑
14	Chris Harris Jr.	CB	DEN	83	200	↑
15	Ron Parker	FS	KC	82	154	↑
16	Mitchell Schwartz	RT	KC	82	111	↑
17	Harrison Smith	FS	MIN	82	NR	↑
18	Taylor Lewan	LT	TEN	82	108	↑
19	Kevin Minter	ILB	ARI	82	198	↑
20	Chandler Jones	3-4 OLB	ARI	81	53	↑
21	Deone Bucannon	ILB	ARI	81	148	↑
22	Jason Peters	LT	PHI	81	13	↓
23	Earl Thomas	FS	SEA	81	37	↑
24	Melvin Ingram	3-4 OLB	SD	81	91	↑
25	Jamie Collins	ILB	NE	81	NR	↑
26	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	CB	NYG	81	302	↑
27	Julio Jones	WR	ATL	80	78	↑
28	Denzel Perryman	ILB	SD	80	354	↑
29	Tyrod Taylor	QB	BUF	80	17	↓
30	Jordan Hicks	ILB	PHI	80	357	↑
31	Sebastian Janikowski	K	OAK	80	856	↑
32	Sam Koch	P	BAL	80	313	↑
33	Brandon Marshall	ILB	DEN	79	94	↑
34	Jimmy Smith	CB	BAL	79	199	↑
35	Darian Stewart	FS	DEN	79	70	↑
36	T.J. Ward	SS	DEN	79	681	↑
37	C.J. Anderson	RB	DEN	79	209	↑
38	Eric Berry	SS	KC	79	50	↑
39	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	FS	GB	79	98	↑
40	Drew Brees	QB	NO	79	1	↓
41	Jerrell Freeman	ILB	CHI	79	196	↑
42	David Bakhtiari	LT	GB	79	6	↓
43	Morgan Moses	RT	WAS	79	112	↑
44	Aaron Donald	DT	LA	79	3	↓
45	K.J. Wright	4-3 OLB	SEA	79	969	↑
46	Marcus Peters	CB	KC	79	16	↓
47	Rodney McLeod	FS	PHI	79	19	↓
48	Ramik Wilson	ILB	KC	79	NR	↑
49	Darrelle Revis	CB	NYJ	79	120	↑
50	Antoine Bethea	SS	SF	79	773	↑

Quarterbacks

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Matthew Stafford's career has enjoyed a resurgence under Jim Bob Cooter. The Detroit Lions offensive coordinator took over midway through the 2015 season, and Stafford's numbers started to turn around. Cooter helped his quarterback by simplifying the offense and relying heavily on shorter throws. His receivers could create yards after the catch, which eased the pressure on Stafford to make tough plays.

As NFL media is wont to do, Stafford's slightly above-average play this season is being overblown. He has played consistently good football, but his major errors remain prominent even if opponents aren't taking advantage of them regularly. This week, he's seventh among quarterbacks but has a relatively low rating of 74 (it was a bad week for quarterbacks).

A bad throw on the second drive of the game that hit Washington cornerback Bashaud Breeland in the helmet hurt his rating. Had Breeland not slipped just before the ball arrived, he would have had an easy interception. Stafford then enjoyed fumble luck in the fourth quarter after carrying the ball like LeSean McCoy. Worse still, when playing with a three-point lead late in the game, he led a deep safety to the ball on a deep shot for what should have been an interception and a run back for the defender.

Stafford has improved, but he's also been lucky while benefiting from a quarterback-friendly scheme with wide receivers who can make adjustments to his misplaced passes.

San Francisco 49ers signal-caller Colin Kaepernick also made a lot of mistakes in his game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Bucs failed to capitalize on most of them. Despite the loss, Kaepernick proved he's a better quarterback than Blaine Gabbert for the second week in a row. He offers more upside as a runner because he is more consistent with regard to knowing when to run and when to try to find an open receiver. He clearly doesn't fit in head coach Chip Kelly's spread-out offense, but if you want to use a heavy-package, run-inclined system that will allow Kaepernick to throw off play action from under center regularly, he will be an intriguing free agent in the offseason.

Aaron Rodgers tops the rankings this week with another outstanding performance. The Green Bay Packers quarterback even overcame Randall Cobb's problems catching the ball in the end zone. The wide receiver failed to to secure two of Rodgers' better throws. Tyrod Taylor is in the top five for the second week in a row, as he continues to throw the ball with more accuracy than he had earlier in the season.

Grading Scale

Acc: Accuracy (Graded out of 25)

Arm: Arm Strength (Graded out of 25)

Press: Pressure/Run Threat (Graded out of 20) (Pressure weighted at 15, run threat at 5)

Dec: Decision-Making (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Quarterback Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Acc	Arm	Press	Dec	Pos	Ovr
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	23	24	13	16	10	86
2	Philip Rivers	SD	21	22	16	16	10	85
3	Tyrod Taylor	BUF	19	23	16	12	10	80
4	Drew Brees	NO	20	20	15	14	10	79
5	Tom Brady	NE	20	20	13	15	10	78
6	Andrew Luck	IND	18	21	13	12	10	74
7	Matthew Stafford	DET	14	23	15	12	10	74
8	Ryan Tannehill	MIA	16	20	14	12	10	72
9	Geno Smith	NYJ	17	21	12	12	10	72
10	Andy Dalton	CIN	16	19	11	15	10	71
11	Trevor Siemian	DEN	16	19	13	13	10	71
12	Matt Ryan	ATL	18	18	13	12	10	71
13	Carson Palmer	ARI	15	20	13	12	10	70
14	Eli Manning	NYG	15	19	13	13	10	70
15	Alex Smith	KC	15	18	12	14	10	69
16	Jameis Winston	TB	15	18	13	13	10	69
17	Derek Carr	OAK	15	21	9	12	10	67
18	Russell Wilson	SEA	16	18	9	14	10	67
19	Brian Hoyer	CHI	15	17	12	13	10	67
20	Sam Bradford	MIN	16	19	10	11	10	66
21	Cody Kessler	CLE	15	17	14	10	10	66
22	Colin Kaepernick	SF	13	19	13	11	10	66
23	Marcus Mariota	TEN	15	18	11	10	10	64
24	Ryan Fitzpatrick	NYJ	15	17	11	11	10	64
25	Kirk Cousins	WAS	14	17	11	10	10	62
26	Joe Flacco	BAL	14	20	8	9	10	61
27	Carson Wentz	PHI	13	16	11	9	10	59
28	Matt Barkley	CHI	14	16	10	9	10	59
29	Case Keenum	LA	12	18	11	8	10	59
30	Landry Jones	PIT	12	16	8	10	10	56
31	Blake Bortles	JAX	12	16	9	8	10	55
32	Kevin Hogan	CLE	11	16	10	8	10	55
33	Brock Osweiler	HOU	11	16	9	9	10	55

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Dak Prescott—bye
• Tony Romo—bye/injury
• Cam Newton—bye

Running Backs

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The two highest-graded runners for Week 7 just happen to be the top two running backs in the league in my opinion: Arizona's David Johnson and Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell.

No. 31 in Arizona was superb Sunday night against an elite Seahawks defense. He continues to show it all on a weekly basis, both as a runner and as a dominant pass-catcher. The most notable part of Johnson's game against Seattle was his physically relentless nature. 

Bell was incredible against the New England Patriots, even without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He is the best inside runner in the NFL, combining elite vision with his special instincts. It enables him to find the smallest holes and create something out of nothing. He was also dominant in the passing game—as usual.

It was a good week for some of the best inside runners in the NFL. Denver's C.J. Anderson was very good Monday night, rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. New England's LeGarrette Blount and Cincinnati's Jeremy Hill both had bounce-back games. Blount might have some of the more underrated feet in the league. DeMarco Murray continues to carry the Tennessee Titans offense and might be the steal of the offseason.

Meanwhile, Jay Ajayi threw his name in the record books with back-to-back 200-yard games. While his offensive line deserves a lot of credit, Ajayi was physical Sunday, as he ran through arm tackles and played with an edge on every carry. Despite his lack of top-end speed (4.57-second 40-yard dash), his initial burst and vertical nature allow him to be efficient gaining yards.

One interesting development is the return of Jamaal Charles, who has struggled to get much going and only saw two snaps against the Saints. It's a combination of not being 100 percent healthy and no longer being the best running back on his own team. That's just the nature of the NFL; losing your job to injury is a common business practice.

Grading Scale

In: Inside Running (Graded out of 25)

Out: Outside Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Running Back Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	In	Out	Rec	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	David Johnson	ARI	22	20	19	18	6	85
2	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	21	20	18	18	6	83
3	C.J. Anderson	DEN	22	18	16	17	6	79
4	Spencer Ware	KC	20	17	18	17	6	78
5	DeMarco Murray	TEN	20	17	17	17	6	77
6	LeGarrette Blount	NE	21	18	15	17	6	77
7	Jeremy Hill	CIN	20	18	16	16	6	76
8	Jay Ajayi	MIA	21	18	15	16	6	76
9	Devonta Freeman	ATL	19	17	18	16	6	76
10	Tevin Coleman	ATL	19	18	16	16	6	75
11	Melvin Gordon	SD	19	17	16	17	6	75
12	Isaiah Crowell	CLE	19	17	16	16	6	74
13	Devontae Booker	DEN	19	18	16	15	6	74
14	Jacquizz Rodgers	TB	19	17	16	16	6	74
15	Chris Thompson	WAS	16	18	18	16	6	74
16	Ty Montgomery	GB	18	17	18	15	6	74
17	Frank Gore	IND	19	14	17	17	6	73
18	Todd Gurley	LA	17	16	17	17	6	73
19	Latavius Murray	OAK	18	17	16	16	6	73
20	Giovani Bernard	CIN	17	18	15	16	6	72
21	Matt Forte	NYJ	18	15	17	16	6	72
22	Christine Michael	SEA	18	16	16	16	6	72
23	Ryan Mathews	PHI	17	15	17	17	6	72
24	Lamar Miller	HOU	18	17	15	15	6	71
25	Matt Asiata	MIN	17	14	17	17	6	71
26	LeSean McCoy	BUF	17	15	16	16	6	70
27	Jerick McKinnon	MIN	16	17	15	16	6	70
28	Mark Ingram	NO	17	14	16	17	6	70
29	Darren Sproles	PHI	17	16	16	15	6	70
30	James White	NE	15	17	17	15	6	70
31	Bilal Powell	NYJ	15	17	16	15	6	69
32	Tim Hightower	NO	16	17	15	15	6	69
33	Ka'Deem Carey	CHI	16	14	16	16	6	68
34	Duke Johnson Jr.	CLE	16	15	16	15	6	68
35	Robert Turbin	IND	16	14	16	15	6	67
36	Chris Ivory	JAX	17	14	15	15	6	67
37	Damien Williams	MIA	16	15	15	15	6	67
38	Jordan Howard	CHI	17	14	14	15	6	66
39	Alfred Blue	HOU	16	15	14	15	6	66
40	Benny Cunningham	LA	15	16	15	14	6	66
41	Jalen Richard	OAK	16	15	14	15	6	66
42	DuJuan Harris	SF	16	14	15	15	6	66
43	Mike Davis	SF	16	14	15	15	6	66
44	Justin Forsett	DET	15	14	16	15	6	66
45	Mike Gillislee	BUF	16	14	14	15	6	65
46	Arian Foster	MIA	14	13	16	16	6	65
47	Rashad Jennings	NYG	15	14	15	15	6	65
48	Alex Collins	SEA	16	14	15	14	6	65
49	Shaun Draughn	SF	15	14	16	14	6	65
50	Zach Zenner	DET	16	13	15	15	6	65
51	Andre Ellington	ARI	14	15	14	15	6	64
52	Terrance West	BAL	15	14	14	15	6	64
53	Paul Perkins	NYG	14	15	15	14	6	64
54	DeAndre Washington	OAK	15	15	14	14	6	64
55	Matt Jones	WAS	15	14	14	15	6	64
56	Charcandrick West	KC	14	15	14	14	6	63
57	Travaris Cadet	NO	14	13	15	15	6	63
58	Wendell Smallwood	PHI	15	14	14	14	6	63
59	T.J. Yeldon	JAX	15	13	14	14	6	62
60	Bobby Rainey	NYG	13	14	15	14	6	62

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Carlos Hyde—injury
• Thomas Rawls—injury
• DeAngelo Williams—injury
• Adrian Peterson—injury
• Eddie Lacy—injury
• Ameer Abdullah—injury
• Theo Riddick—injury
• Doug Martin—injury
• Jamaal Charles—insufficient snaps
• Jonathan Stewart—bye
• Ezekiel Elliott—bye

Fullbacks

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

It was a quiet and uneventful week for the fullbacks.

Aaron Ripkowski was solid against the Bears on Thursday, especially because the Packers had a lot of turnover at running back. Jamize Olawale was good for the Raiders both as a lead blocker and as a runner. He has become one of the more versatile players at the position and has allowed offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave to do a lot of different things on offense because he can run the football. He is probably one of the more underrated players most casual fans have never heard of.

A couple of old-school blockers, New England's James Develin and Atlanta's Patrick DiMarco, were solid as usual. Both cleared the way for big running games from the offense. Minnesota's Zach Line continues to improve even without the threat of Adrian Peterson behind him. The Cleveland Browns running attack has slowed a little, but the recently released Malcolm Johnson was still one of the better blockers. He was solid against the Bengals.

Grading Scale

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 50)

Run: Running (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Receiving (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Fullback Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Blk	Run	Rec	Pos	Ovr
1	Andy Janovich	DEN	46	16	10	4	76
2	Aaron Ripkowski	GB	44	17	11	4	76
3	Jamize Olawale	OAK	43	18	10	4	75
4	James Develin	NE	45	16	9	4	74
5	Zach Line	MIN	43	17	9	4	73
6	Patrick DiMarco	ATL	45	15	9	4	73
7	John Kuhn	NO	44	16	9	4	73
8	Jerome Felton	BUF	45	15	9	4	73
9	Malcolm Johnson	CLE	42	15	11	4	72
10	Kyle Juszczyk	BAL	43	15	9	4	71
11	Jay Prosch	HOU	44	14	9	4	71
12	Derek Watt	SD	44	15	8	4	71
13	Michael Burton	DET	44	14	8	4	70
14	Anthony Sherman	KC	43	15	8	4	70
15	Jalston Fowler	TEN	44	14	7	4	69
16	Cory Harkey	LA	40	15	8	4	67

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Mike Tolbert—bye
• Keith Smith—bye

Wide Receivers

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

On the NFC side, Julio Jones continued his impressive 2016 season, catching nine passes for 174 yards in Atlanta's overtime loss to the Chargers. The wideout ran some impressive routes and was dominant at the catchpoint.

The questions surrounding Green Bay's offense were silenced for one week, as both Davante Adams and Randall Cobb turned in solid performances. Cobb had two early miscues that cost Green Bay two touchdowns (a drop and a missed toe drag) but rebounded after that with 11 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Michael Thomas continues his standout rookie campaign, as the former Ohio State Buckeye caught 10 passes for 130 yards in the Saints' loss to the Chiefs. 

In the AFC, Jarvis Landry continues to turn in complete game after complete game for the Miami Dolphins offense, and this past week was no different. His five receptions for 78 yards, his ability to make plays after the catch and his high-energy blocking on the perimeter put him near the top of the rankings.

Meanwhile, Jacksonvile Jaguars wideout Marqise Lee had a field day against the Raiders secondary and took advantage of tight coverage against teammate Allen Robinson to make plays in the passing game, including after the catch. He finished with seven catches on eight targets for 107 yards.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 25)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Wide Receiver Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Julio Jones	ATL	22	23	14	12	9	80
2	Jarvis Landry	MIA	21	19	14	13	9	76
3	Marqise Lee	JAX	21	20	15	10	9	75
4	Mike Evans	TB	20	20	12	14	9	75
5	Mike Wallace	BAL	21	20	14	10	9	74
6	Davante Adams	GB	20	19	13	13	9	74
7	A.J. Green	CIN	21	20	13	11	9	74
8	Julian Edelman	NE	20	19	12	13	9	73
9	Michael Crabtree	OAK	22	22	10	10	9	73
10	Seth Roberts	OAK	20	17	13	14	9	73
11	Travis Benjamin	SD	19	18	16	11	9	73
12	Golden Tate	DET	18	19	14	12	9	72
13	T.Y. Hilton	IND	20	19	14	10	9	72
14	Kenny Stills	MIA	21	19	13	10	9	72
15	Amari Cooper	OAK	18	19	13	12	9	71
16	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	18	18	12	14	9	71
17	Tyrell Williams	SD	19	20	13	10	9	71
18	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	20	18	11	12	9	70
19	Randall Cobb	GB	18	18	12	13	9	70
20	Jeremy Maclin	KC	19	18	12	12	9	70
21	Michael Thomas	NO	18	17	14	12	9	70
22	Brandon Marshall	NYJ	20	17	12	12	9	70
23	Antonio Brown	PIT	19	20	13	9	9	70
24	Tajae Sharpe	TEN	20	19	12	10	9	70
25	Jamison Crowder	WAS	18	18	12	13	9	70
26	Emmanuel Sanders	DEN	20	18	11	11	9	69
27	Cobi Hamilton	PIT	19	17	11	13	9	69
28	Anquan Boldin	DET	16	17	12	14	9	68
29	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	20	17	12	10	9	68
30	Marquise Goodwin	BUF	18	16	14	10	9	67
31	Terrelle Pryor	CLE	18	17	12	11	9	67
32	Quincy Enunwa	NYJ	17	17	12	12	9	67
33	Brandon LaFell	CIN	18	17	11	11	9	66
34	Rashard Higgins	CLE	17	18	12	10	9	66
35	Allen Robinson	JAX	18	16	12	11	9	66
36	Tyreek Hill	KC	16	17	14	10	9	66
37	Brian Quick	LA	18	15	12	12	9	66
38	Cordarrelle Patterson	MIN	18	16	12	11	9	66
39	Odell Beckham Jr.	NYG	17	16	12	12	9	66
40	Victor Cruz	NYG	17	16	12	12	9	66
41	Doug Baldwin	SEA	18	16	11	12	9	66
42	Adam Humphries	TB	16	16	13	12	9	66
43	Michael Floyd	ARI	17	16	11	12	9	65
44	Mohamed Sanu	ATL	17	16	12	11	9	65
45	Alshon Jeffery	CHI	17	16	11	12	9	65
46	Marvin Jones	DET	17	16	11	12	9	65
47	Arrelious Benn	JAX	16	17	13	10	9	65
48	Chris Conley	KC	17	17	12	10	9	65
49	Tavon Austin	LA	17	15	13	11	9	65
50	Adam Thielen	MIN	17	15	11	13	9	65
51	Brandin Cooks	NO	17	15	13	11	9	65
52	Willie Snead	NO	17	15	12	12	9	65
53	Darrius Heyward-Bey	PIT	19	16	11	10	9	65
54	Breshad Perriman	BAL	16	15	11	13	9	64
55	Kamar Aiken	BAL	18	15	12	10	9	64
56	Andrew Hawkins	CLE	17	17	11	10	9	64
57	Andre Roberts	DET	14	18	11	12	9	64
58	Jaelen Strong	HOU	17	16	10	12	9	64
59	Danny Amendola	NE	16	16	12	11	9	64
60	Chris Hogan	NE	18	15	10	12	9	64
61	Andre Holmes	OAK	15	15	12	13	9	64
62	Russell Shepard	TB	15	16	12	12	9	64
63	Justin Hardy	ATL	16	15	11	12	9	63
64	Cameron Meredith	CHI	17	15	11	11	9	63
65	Will Fuller	HOU	17	16	11	10	9	63
66	Chester Rogers	IND	18	15	11	10	9	63
67	Kenny Britt	LA	16	15	11	12	9	63
68	DeVante Parker	MIA	16	17	11	10	9	63
69	Dontrelle Inman	SD	17	16	11	10	9	63
70	Jermaine Kearse	SEA	17	15	11	11	9	63
71	Jeremy Kerley	SF	16	16	11	11	9	63
72	DeSean Jackson	WAS	17	15	12	10	9	63
73	Pierre Garcon	WAS	16	15	11	12	9	63
74	J.J. Nelson	ARI	16	15	11	11	9	62
75	Chris Moore	BAL	15	15	11	12	9	62
76	Tyler Boyd	CIN	16	16	11	10	9	62
77	Devin Street	IND	18	15	10	10	9	62
78	Allen Hurns	JAX	16	16	11	10	9	62
79	Stefon Diggs	MIN	16	14	11	12	9	62
80	Sterling Shepard	NYG	16	15	11	11	9	62
81	Nelson Agholor	PHI	16	15	11	11	9	62
82	Josh Huff	PHI	15	14	12	12	9	62
83	Torrey Smith	SF	16	15	11	11	9	62
84	Quinton Patton	SF	15	16	11	11	9	62
85	Jordan Norwood	DEN	15	14	11	12	9	61
86	Jordy Nelson	GB	14	14	11	13	9	61
87	Rashad Greene	JAX	15	15	12	10	9	61
88	Malcolm Mitchell	NE	15	14	12	11	9	61
89	Robby Anderson	NYJ	15	15	12	10	9	61
90	Jordan Matthews	PHI	15	14	11	12	9	61
91	Griff Whalen	SD	14	15	12	11	9	61
92	Tyler Lockett	SEA	15	15	11	11	9	61
93	Cecil Shorts	TB	14	14	11	13	9	61
94	Rishard Matthews	TEN	15	16	11	10	9	61
95	Ricardo Louis	CLE	16	15	11	10	9	61
96	Brittan Golden	ARI	15	14	11	11	9	60
97	Justin Hunter	BUF	14	15	12	10	9	60
98	Brandon Tate	BUF	15	16	11	9	9	60
99	Josh Bellamy	CHI	15	14	11	11	9	60
100	Jeff Janis	GB	15	14	11	11	9	60
101	Mike Thomas	LA	14	14	11	12	9	60
102	Charles Johnson	MIN	15	14	11	11	9	60
103	Brandon Coleman	NO	14	14	11	12	9	60
104	Charone Peake	NYJ	15	14	12	10	9	60
105	Johnny Holton	OAK	13	13	13	12	9	60
106	Dorial Green-Beckham	PHI	15	14	11	11	9	60
107	Aaron Burbridge	SF	14	14	11	12	9	60
108	Freddie Martino	TB	14	14	11	12	9	60
109	Andre Johnson	TEN	14	16	10	11	9	60
110	Aldrick Robinson	ATL	14	14	11	11	9	59
111	Deonte Thompson	CHI	14	14	11	11	9	59
112	Trevor Davis	GB	14	14	11	11	9	59
113	Braxton Miller	HOU	15	14	11	10	9	59
114	Bradley Marquez	LA	14	14	11	11	9	59
115	Roger Lewis	NYG	14	14	11	11	9	59
116	Paul Richardson	SEA	14	14	11	11	9	59
117	Rod Streater	SF	14	14	11	11	9	59
118	Ryan Grant	WAS	14	14	11	11	9	59
119	De'Anthony Thomas	KC	14	14	11	10	9	58
120	Albert Wilson	KC	15	14	11	9	9	58
121	Walt Powell	BUF	14	14	10	10	9	57
122	Bennie Fowler	DEN	14	13	11	10	9	57
123	Kendall Wright	TEN	14	13	11	10	9	57
124	James Wright	CIN	14	13	10	10	9	56
125	Jordan Taylor	DEN	13	13	10	11	9	56
126	Sammie Coates	PIT	13	13	11	10	9	56
127	Alex Erickson	CIN	13	13	10	10	9	55

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Jaron Brown—injury
• Eddie Royal—injury
• Kevin White—injury
• Vincent Jackson—injury
• Josh Doctson—injury
• John Brown—insufficient snaps
• Kelvin Benjamin—bye
• Ted Ginn Jr.—bye
• Devin Funchess—bye
• Dez Bryant—bye
• Terrance Williams—bye
• Cole Beasley—bye

Tight Ends

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Vernon Davis saw the bulk of work for Washington with Jordan Reed out for the second straight week and turned in a solid performance. He caught six passes on six targets for 79 yards and was serviceable in the blocking game.

In London, the Los Angeles Rams' Lance Kendricks was also impressive, catching seven passes for 55 yards, running some solid routes and pairing well with fellow tight end Tyler Higbee as a blocker.

While the Saints and Seahawks offenses struggled Sunday night, Jimmy Graham contributed well to Seattle's effort and had one incredible chip block on an edge-rusher before releasing, which was emblematic of his night as a blocker. 

Rob Gronkowski tops the list of tight ends for the second straight week, as he helped control the line of scrimmage against the Pittsburgh Steelers and pulled in four receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown in New England's win, contributing to the vertical passing game and opening up space for his teammates to take advantage of their own matchups.

Finally, one week after missing blocks in a couple of key passing situations against Houston, Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle more than made up for it by abusing the middle of the Titans defense. He hauled in a TD catch on double-move route in the red zone to put the Colts up for good in the fourth quarter.

Grading Scale

Route: Route Running (Graded out of 20)

Hands: Hands (Graded out of 25)

YAC: Yards After Catch (Graded out of 20)

Blk: Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Tight End Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Route	Hands	YAC	Blk	Pos	Ovr
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	17	19	15	21	6	78
2	Antonio Gates	SD	20	19	13	16	6	74
3	Vernon Davis	WAS	15	16	14	20	6	71
4	Jack Doyle	IND	17	19	12	16	6	70
5	Lance Kendricks	LA	14	17	13	20	6	70
6	Martellus Bennett	NE	15	17	13	19	6	70
7	Jimmy Graham	SEA	15	16	13	20	6	70
8	Gary Barnidge	CLE	15	19	12	17	6	69
9	Delanie Walker	TEN	16	19	12	16	6	69
10	Travis Kelce	KC	15	17	12	17	6	67
11	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	14	16	12	19	6	67
12	Dennis Pitta	BAL	16	18	12	14	6	66
13	Jesse James	PIT	14	16	11	19	6	66
14	Tyler Eifert	CIN	14	17	11	17	6	65
15	C.J. Fiedorowicz	HOU	14	18	11	16	6	65
16	Levine Toilolo	ATL	12	15	11	20	6	64
17	Charles Clay	BUF	15	17	11	15	6	64
18	Zach Miller	CHI	13	15	12	18	6	64
19	Will Tye	NYG	12	15	12	19	6	64
20	Clive Walford	OAK	14	14	12	18	6	64
21	Zach Ertz	PHI	13	15	11	19	6	64
22	Hunter Henry	SD	14	15	11	18	6	64
23	Cameron Brate	TB	13	15	12	18	6	64
24	Jacob Tamme	ATL	12	15	11	19	6	63
25	Ryan Griffin	HOU	13	16	11	17	6	63
26	Brent Celek	PHI	12	15	11	19	6	63
27	Virgil Green	DEN	13	14	11	18	6	62
28	Clay Harbor	DET	12	15	12	18	6	62
29	Khari Lee	DET	11	14	11	20	6	62
30	Tyler Higbee	LA	12	15	11	18	6	62
31	Coby Fleener	NO	13	14	11	18	6	62
32	Josh Hill	NO	12	14	11	19	6	62
33	Vance McDonald	SF	13	14	12	17	6	62
34	Ifeanyi Momah	ARI	11	16	11	18	6	62
35	Jermaine Gresham	ARI	12	15	11	17	6	61
36	Logan Paulsen	CHI	11	14	11	19	6	61
37	John Phillips	DEN	12	13	11	19	6	61
38	MarQueis Gray	MIA	12	14	10	19	6	61
39	Rhett Ellison	MIN	11	14	11	19	6	61
40	Luke Stocker	TB	11	14	11	19	6	61
41	Anthony Fasano	TEN	14	14	11	16	6	61
42	Niles Paul	WAS	12	14	11	18	6	61
43	Tyler Kroft	CIN	11	16	10	17	6	60
44	Richard Rodgers	GB	11	14	11	18	6	60
45	Stephen Anderson	HOU	11	14	11	18	6	60
46	Julius Thomas	JAX	12	16	12	14	6	60
47	Marcedes Lewis	JAX	13	14	10	17	6	60
48	Demetrius Harris	KC	13	14	11	16	6	60
49	Kellen Davis	NYJ	11	13	11	19	6	60
50	Trey Burton	PHI	11	15	11	17	6	60
51	David Johnson	PIT	13	15	11	15	6	60
52	Garrett Celek	SF	12	14	11	17	6	60
53	Brandon Myers	TB	11	14	11	18	6	60
54	Austin Hooper	ATL	11	14	11	17	6	59
55	Nick O'Leary	BUF	12	14	10	17	6	59
56	Ben Braunecker	CHI	11	14	11	17	6	59
57	C.J. Uzomah	CIN	12	14	11	16	6	59
58	Justin Perillo	GB	11	14	11	17	6	59
59	Larry Donnell	NYG	12	13	11	17	6	59
60	Brandon Bostick	NYJ	11	13	11	18	6	59
61	Xavier Grimble	PIT	14	14	11	14	6	59
62	Jerell Adams	NYG	11	14	11	16	6	58
63	Brandon Williams	SEA	11	14	11	16	6	58
64	Phillip Supernaw	TEN	12	13	10	17	6	58
65	Darren Fells	ARI	11	14	11	15	6	57
66	Crockett Gillmore	BAL	11	14	10	16	6	57
67	Ryan Hewitt	CIN	12	14	10	15	6	57
68	Jeff Heuerman	DEN	11	13	10	17	6	57
69	Sean McGrath	SD	11	13	11	15	6	56
70	Randall Telfer	CLE	11	14	10	14	6	55
71	Dominique Jones	MIA	10	13	10	16	6	55
72	Mychal Rivera	OAK	10	14	11	14	6	55
73	Darren Waller	BAL	11	13	10	14	6	54
74	Erik Swoopes	IND	10	13	10	15	6	54
75	Chase Coffman	IND	10	13	10	14	6	53
76	Connor Hamlett	CLE	10	13	10	13	6	52
77	James O'Shaughnessy	KC	10	13	10	13	6	52
78	Beau Brinkley	TEN	10	13	10	13	6	52

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Troy Niklas—injury
• Eric Ebron—injury
• Jared Cook—injury
• Luke Willson—injury
• Jordan Reed—injury
• Greg Olsen—bye
• Ed Dickson—bye
• Jason Witten—bye

Left Tackles

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Week 7's top performer at left tackle was Washington Redskins All-Pro tackle Trent Williams, who has been on a dominant tear all season. That didn't change against the Detroit Lions. Unfortunately, Williams went down to a knee injury on the second-to-last play of the game, and his availability moving forward is unclear.

There aren't many positives or signs of consistency from the Browns, but trust Joe Thomas to be just that—positive and consistent. He turned in another high-caliber performance against the Bengals. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk cited a source Sunday who said Cleveland was shopping Thomas for a second-round pick, but Browns head coach Hue Jackson put that to rest in a recent press conference.

Thomas would be a huge upgrade for many teams, especially contenders. We broke down the Seattle Seahawks O-line in a recent piece, and it would be intriguing to see Thomas go to Seattle and upgrade the unit.

David Bakhtiari of the Green Bay Packers also turned in another solid performance versus the Bears, although Leonard Floyd's movement and elusiveness caused a few issues in pass protection at times.

Taylor Lewan of the Tennessee Titans has been playing good football. Solid in both pass protection and physical in the run game, he even caught a touchdown versus the Colts. PFF has Lewan as its highest-graded offensive tackle, although based on my game-tape evaluation, others have performed better.

Week 7 also saw the return of Jake Long, who signed with the Vikings near the middle of October and saw his first significant game action in more than two years.

Long played 13 snaps, all in crucial situations. He gave up two sacks and one hurry in pass protection and looked like he didn't have his legs under him in the running game. Long's performance proves that it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done in the past—it's difficult to practice for two days and then line up Sunday and expect to make an impact on the offensive line.

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Left Tackle Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Trent Williams	WAS	17	20	19	20	8	84
2	Joe Thomas	CLE	20	19	16	20	8	83
3	Taylor Lewan	TEN	18	20	16	20	8	82
4	Jason Peters	PHI	19	18	18	18	8	81
5	David Bakhtiari	GB	18	17	17	19	8	79
6	Cordy Glenn	BUF	19	18	16	17	8	78
7	Andrew Whitworth	CIN	19	18	16	16	8	77
8	Taylor Decker	DET	19	18	15	16	8	76
9	Duane Brown	HOU	17	19	16	15	8	75
10	Eric Fisher	KC	18	19	15	15	8	75
11	Donald Penn	OAK	18	19	16	14	8	75
12	Terron Armstead	NO	19	16	16	16	8	75
13	Joe Staley	SF	17	19	15	15	8	74
14	Ereck Flowers	NYG	17	18	15	16	8	74
15	Russell Okung	DEN	19	17	14	15	8	73
16	Nate Solder	NE	18	17	15	15	8	73
17	Greg Robinson	LA	18	18	16	13	8	73
18	Jake Matthews	ATL	16	18	16	15	8	73
19	Ryan Clady	NYJ	19	16	14	15	8	72
20	Donovan Smith	TB	16	17	17	14	8	72
21	King Dunlap	SD	17	16	14	16	8	71
22	Jared Veldheer	ARI	16	18	15	14	8	71
23	Branden Albert	MIA	18	17	14	14	8	71
24	Tony Hills	NO	17	17	14	14	8	70
25	Alejandro Villanueva	PIT	17	15	14	16	8	70
26	Jake Fisher	CIN	17	16	14	15	8	70
27	Alex Lewis	BAL	17	16	14	14	8	69
28	Charles Leno Jr.	CHI	16	15	14	16	8	69
29	Kelvin Beachum	JAX	16	16	15	13	8	68
30	Anthony Castonzo	IND	15	16	14	14	8	67
31	Jake Long	MIN	14	16	15	13	8	66
32	T.J. Clemmings	MIN	14	16	13	13	8	64
33	Bradley Sowell	SEA	15	16	12	12	8	63

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Matt Kalil—injury
• Ronnie Stanley—injury
• Mike Reemers —bye
• Michael Oher—bye
• Tyron Smith—bye

Right Tackles

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Kansas City's Mitchell Schwartz is our top performer among right tackles in Week 7 after an outstanding performance against the Saints. Schwartz was effective switching up his pass sets, which kept Cam Jordan off balance all game.

Washington's Morgan Moses turned in another all-around stout performance both in pass protection and in the running game against the Detroit Lions, which is starting to be the norm.

New Orleans Saints veteran Zach Strief continues to be impressive. He is steady in pass protection and tries to maul defenders in the running game.

Green Bay's Bryan Bulaga continued his clean play against the Bears on Thursday Night Football, while the Eagles started rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai for second straight week in place of standout tackle Lane Johnson, who served the second game of his 10-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

The Houston Texans' Derek Newton suffered a horrific injury on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. Twelve plays into the game, he exploded into his pass set, and his legs gave out from underneath him. He bent all the way back, tearing both patella tendons. The cart was brought out, and team doctors put Newton in a double aircast.

Our thoughts are with Derek as we hope for a speedy and full recovery from such a terrible injury. 

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Right Tackle Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Mitchell Schwartz	KC	21	19	16	19	7	82
2	Morgan Moses	WAS	19	20	16	17	7	79
3	Zach Strief	NO	19	20	17	15	7	78
4	Bryan Bulaga	GB	19	19	16	16	7	77
5	Demar Dotson	TB	18	18	16	17	7	76
6	Riley Reiff	DET	16	20	17	15	7	75
7	Marcus Cannon	NE	19	18	15	15	7	74
8	Jack Conklin	TEN	18	20	16	13	7	74
9	Ryan Schraeder	ATL	17	18	16	16	7	74
10	Ben Ijalana	NYJ	18	17	16	15	7	73
11	Austin Pasztor	CLE	17	20	15	14	7	73
12	Ja'Wuan James	MIA	17	20	15	14	7	73
13	Donald Stephenson	DEN	18	16	16	15	7	72
14	Chris Hubbard	PIT	17	17	16	15	7	72
15	Jermey Parnell	JAX	17	18	15	15	7	72
16	Austin Howard	OAK	17	17	16	14	7	71
17	Rob Havenstein	LA	17	19	15	13	7	71
18	Ricky Wagner	BAL	18	17	14	15	7	71
19	Trenton Brown	SF	16	17	17	13	7	70
20	Bobby Hart	NYG	16	16	14	16	7	69
21	Joe Reitz	IND	15	19	15	13	7	69
22	Halapoulivaati Vaitai	PHI	16	17	15	13	7	68
23	Chris Clark	HOU	15	17	15	13	7	67
24	Joe Barksdale	SD	14	17	15	14	7	67
25	Garry Gilliam	SEA	16	16	13	14	7	66
26	Bobby Massie	CHI	16	15	14	14	7	66
27	Jordan Mills	BUF	15	16	14	13	7	65
28	Cedric Ogbuehi	CIN	15	16	13	14	7	65
29	Jeremiah Sirles	MIN	13	17	14	13	7	64
30	Shon Coleman	CLE	14	17	13	12	7	63
31	D.J. Humphries	ARI	13	16	13	13	7	62

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Andre Smith Jr.—injury
• Menelik Watson—injury
• Vadal Alexander—injury
• Marcus Gilbert—injury
• Marshall Newhouse—injury
• Derek Newton—insufficient snaps
• Lane Johnson—suspension
• Doug Free—bye
• Mike Remmers—bye
• Daryl Williams—bye

Offensive Guards

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

The guard list saw a lot of turnover this week, and part of that is because the impressive interiors of the Cowboys and Panthers were on bye.

Another reason: wear and tear. Some of the veterans with more tread on the tires have hit a wall physically. The average age of the top five graded guards this week was just over 25, the lowest of the season by far, and none of the top five are over 26.

Only two guards in the top 20 are over 29 (John Greco and Ramon Foster). Several of the older guard starters (Chris Chester, Orlando Franklin, Shawn Lauvao and Jahri Evans) with injury histories saw significant decline in their play.

It's something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run-Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Offensive Guard Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Kevin Zeitler	CIN	17	19	18	16	7	77
2	Xavier Su'a-Filo	HOU	16	20	18	15	7	76
3	Joe Thuney	NE	17	19	15	18	7	76
4	David DeCastro	PIT	19	15	17	17	7	75
5	Lane Taylor	GB	19	17	16	16	7	75
6	Laremy Tunsil	MIA	17	19	15	17	7	75
7	John Greco	CLE	16	19	17	15	7	74
8	Ramon Foster	PIT	19	16	18	14	7	74
9	Josh Kline	TEN	18	18	16	15	7	74
10	Clint Boling	CIN	16	18	17	16	7	74
11	Gabe Jackson	OAK	18	17	17	15	7	74
12	Ali Marpet	TB	16	18	17	16	7	74
13	Brandon Brooks	PHI	18	16	16	16	7	73
14	Rodger Saffold	LA	19	15	17	15	7	73
15	Kelechi Osemele	OAK	16	18	18	14	7	73
16	Brian Winters	NYJ	18	16	17	15	7	73
17	Brandon Scherff	WAS	17	17	17	15	7	73
18	Eric Kush	CHI	16	18	17	15	7	73
19	Max Garcia	DEN	16	18	17	14	7	72
20	Andy Levitre	ATL	16	17	17	15	7	72
21	Mike Iupati	ARI	18	17	17	13	7	72
22	Jermon Bushrod	MIA	15	18	17	15	7	72
23	Ryan Jensen	BAL	17	15	17	15	7	71
24	A.J. Cann	JAX	18	15	17	14	7	71
25	Tim Lelito	NO	16	18	16	14	7	71
26	Laurent Duvernay-Tardif	KC	17	16	14	16	7	70
27	Richie Incognito	BUF	17	15	17	14	7	70
28	Quinton Spain	TEN	16	16	17	14	7	70
29	Kyle Long	CHI	16	17	14	16	7	70
30	Larry Warford	DET	16	17	17	13	7	70
31	Michael Schofield	DEN	15	18	15	15	7	70
32	T.J. Lang	GB	16	15	16	15	7	69
33	Zane Beadles	SF	16	16	16	14	7	69
34	Denzelle Good	IND	16	15	17	14	7	69
35	Graham Glasgow	DET	17	15	16	14	7	69
36	Kevin Pamphile	TB	15	16	17	14	7	69
37	Parker Ehinger	KC	16	16	17	13	7	69
38	Jeff Allen	HOU	15	16	17	14	7	69
39	Cody Wichmann	LA	18	14	15	15	7	69
40	D.J. Fluker	SD	14	16	17	14	7	68
41	Patrick Omameh	JAX	16	16	16	13	7	68
42	Brandon Fusco	MIN	16	15	16	14	7	68
43	Justin Pugh	NYG	16	14	16	15	7	68
44	Allen Barbre	PHI	15	15	14	17	7	68
45	Joe Haeg	IND	14	15	15	16	7	67
46	Spencer Drango	CLE	15	15	16	14	7	67
47	Orlando Franklin	SD	15	15	16	13	7	66
48	Shaq Mason	NE	13	16	16	14	7	66
49	James Carpenter	NYJ	13	16	16	14	7	66
50	Chris Chester	ATL	14	16	16	13	7	66
51	Alex Boone	MIN	14	16	16	13	7	66
52	Mark Glowinski	SEA	13	15	15	16	7	66
53	Earl Watford	ARI	12	17	17	12	7	65
54	Jahri Evans	NO	14	15	16	13	7	65
55	Ted Larsen	CHI	15	15	14	14	7	65
56	Joshua Garnett	SF	14	15	16	13	7	65
57	John Urschel	BAL	15	14	16	12	7	64
58	Senio Kelemete	NO	12	15	16	14	7	64
59	Shawn Lauvao	WAS	12	16	15	13	7	63
60	Germain Ifedi	SEA	12	14	16	13	7	62
61	Brian Schwenke	TEN	13	14	15	13	7	62
62	John Jerry	NYG	14	12	15	13	7	61
63	John Miller	BUF	12	15	15	12	7	61
64	Arie Kouandjio	WAS	11	14	14	13	7	59

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Trai Turner—bye
• Jack Mewhort—DNP
• Josh Sitton—DNP
• Joel Bitonio—DNP
• Laken Tomlinson—DNP
• Zach Fulton—DNP
• Marshal Yanda—DNP
• Evan Mathis—DNP
• Jamon Brown—DNP
• Zack Martin—bye
• Ronald Leary—bye
• La'el Collins—bye
• Andrew Norwell—bye

Centers

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

With two of the top centers on bye this week (Travis Frederick and Ryan Kalil), it was an opportunity for lesser knowns to shine. Not many were able to take advantage; we saw a lot of average play.

However, Maurkice Pouncey led Pittsburgh's interior line in an impressive performance against the Patriots front. Landry Jones had tons of time in the pocket, but between antsy footwork and the Steelers' weapons being banged up, they weren't able to take advantage. 

Grading Scale:

Pass: Pass Protection (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run-Blocking (Graded out of 25)

Power: Power (Graded out of 20)

Agl: Agility (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Center Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Power	Agl	Pos	Ovr
1	Maurkice Pouncey	PIT	20	16	17	17	6	76
2	Rodney Hudson	OAK	19	17	18	14	6	74
3	Matt Paradis	DEN	16	19	18	15	6	74
4	Cody Whitehair	CHI	17	18	14	18	6	73
5	Matt Slauson	SD	19	16	17	15	6	73
6	Ryan Kelly	IND	17	15	17	17	6	72
7	Brandon Linder	JAX	18	16	17	15	6	72
8	Mike Pouncey	MIA	15	18	17	16	6	72
9	Jason Kelce	PHI	17	17	15	16	6	71
10	Joe Berger	MIN	17	17	17	14	6	71
11	Max Unger	NO	18	16	16	15	6	71
12	Greg Mancz	HOU	15	19	16	15	6	71
13	Daniel Kilgore	SF	16	16	16	16	6	70
14	Alex Mack	ATL	16	15	16	17	6	70
15	Travis Swanson	DET	17	16	17	14	6	70
16	A.Q. Shipley	ARI	19	15	14	16	6	70
17	Cameron Erving	CLE	15	17	15	16	6	69
18	David Andrews	NE	17	17	16	13	6	69
19	Russell Bodine	CIN	16	17	16	13	6	68
20	JC Tretter	GB	18	15	15	14	6	68
21	Spencer Long	WAS	16	17	16	13	6	68
22	Mitch Morse	KC	17	15	13	16	6	67
23	Wesley Johnson	NYJ	18	15	16	12	6	67
24	Weston Richburg	NYG	18	14	14	14	6	66
25	Ben Jones	TEN	15	16	15	14	6	66
26	Joe Hawley	TB	14	17	15	13	6	65
27	Justin Britt	SEA	15	14	14	16	6	65
28	Jeremy Zuttah	BAL	16	13	16	13	6	64
29	Eric Wood	BUF	15	13	16	13	6	63
30	Tim Barnes	LA	15	12	15	13	6	61

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Ted Larsen—DNP
• John Greco—DNP
• Corey Linsley—DNP
• Nick Mangold—insufficient snaps
• Evan Smith—insufficient snaps
• Travis Frederick—bye
• Ryan Kalil—bye

3-4 Defensive Ends

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The usual suspects show up at the top of this week's 3-4 defensive end grades. You have your dominant run defenders in Calais Campbell, Timmy Jernigan, Jadeveon Clowney and DeForest Buckner. Not only are their names cool, but they consistently disrupt run plays.

This week's top pass-rushers are Joey Bosa and Karl Klug. Both are quickly becoming two of my favorite players to watch. Their effort and burst make them an instant problem, and both have good hands and do a nice job disengaging to pressure or sack the QB. 

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 15)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 30)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Defensive End Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Calais Campbell	ARI	13	18	25	15	6	77
2	Mike Daniels	GB	13	19	20	16	6	74
3	Joey Bosa	SD	14	21	19	14	6	74
4	DeForest Buckner	SF	13	16	22	14	6	71
5	Timmy Jernigan	BAL	11	19	21	13	6	70
6	Karl Klug	TEN	13	20	16	14	6	69
7	Derek Wolfe	DEN	12	16	20	14	6	68
8	Jadeveon Clowney	HOU	13	16	20	12	6	67
9	Jurrell Casey	TEN	12	18	18	13	6	67
10	Jaye Howard	KC	10	16	20	14	6	66
11	Corey Liuget	SD	11	18	18	13	6	66
12	Ziggy Hood	WAS	12	15	16	17	6	66
13	Lawrence Guy	BAL	9	16	21	13	6	65
14	Mitch Unrein	CHI	12	15	18	14	6	65
15	Akiem Hicks	CHI	12	15	18	14	6	65
16	Chris Jones	KC	12	16	19	12	6	65
17	Cornelius Washington	CHI	11	17	17	14	6	65
18	Chris L. Baker	WAS	11	17	17	14	6	65
19	Xavier Cooper	CLE	9	15	19	15	6	64
20	Jamie Meder	CLE	7	17	19	15	6	64
21	Jared Crick	DEN	10	16	19	13	6	64
22	Denico Autry	OAK	10	19	16	13	6	64
23	Ricky Jean-Francois	WAS	10	15	18	15	6	64
24	Stephon Tuitt	PIT	11	18	16	12	6	63
25	Tenny Palepoi	SD	9	16	19	13	6	63
26	Arik Armstead	SF	11	15	16	15	6	63
27	Frostee Rucker	ARI	10	15	18	14	6	63
28	DaQuan Jones	TEN	9	16	19	12	6	62
29	Mike Pennel	GB	9	15	17	15	6	62
30	Dean Lowry	GB	10	16	16	14	6	62
31	Josh Mauro	ARI	10	15	16	14	6	61
32	Brent Urban	BAL	9	13	20	12	6	60
33	Jonathan Bullard	CHI	9	15	16	14	6	60
34	Christian Covington	HOU	7	14	20	12	6	59
35	Kendall Langford	IND	8	14	18	13	6	59
36	Tony Jerod-Eddie	SF	10	13	16	14	6	59
37	Leger Douzable	BUF	10	15	16	11	6	58
38	Billy Winn	DEN	9	13	18	12	6	58
39	Ricardo Mathews	PIT	9	14	17	12	6	58
40	Adolphus Washington	BUF	9	15	14	13	6	57
41	Carl Nassib	CLE	10	16	12	13	6	57

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• J.J. Watt—injury
• Henry Anderson—injury
• Cameron Heyward—injury
• Allen Bailey—injury
• Robert Nkemdiche—insufficient snaps
• Angelo Blackson—insufficient snaps

4-3 Defensive Ends

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

This is the week 4-3 defensive ends bounced back. While some, such as Los Angeles' Robert Quinn and Detroit's Ezekiel Ansah, are trying to work back to full health, the stars are thriving.

Unsurprisingly, Everson Griffen, Khalil Mack, Carlos Dunlap, Cliff Avril and Sheldon Richardson are near the top of this list. Philadelphia's Brandon Graham had a great game working against below-average Vikings tackles, and Vic Beasley lived up to the "poor man's Von Miller" label against the Chargers.

Breakout player of the week: Detroit's Kerry Hyder.

Since Ansah's injury, Hyder has played the majority of the defensive snaps for the Lions. He hasn't recorded a sack in three games, but he's becoming a dual-threat weapon.

Hyder may not have the athleticism of young players such as Beasley or Danielle Hunter, but his motor never stops. He has strong, active hands, and you can bet he'll break through the pocket if the quarterback holds onto the ball too long.

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Defensive End Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Snap	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Kerry Hyder	DET	22	17	16	15	7	77
2	Everson Griffen	MIN	17	18	18	16	7	76
3	Khalil Mack	OAK	22	17	15	13	7	74
4	Brandon Graham	PHI	18	17	17	15	7	74
5	Carlos Dunlap	CIN	23	16	14	13	7	73
6	Cliff Avril	SEA	18	14	18	15	7	72
7	Vic Beasley	ATL	18	15	18	14	7	72
8	Sheldon Richardson	NYJ	19	18	12	15	7	71
9	Danielle Hunter	MIN	16	16	16	16	7	71
10	Cameron Wake	MIA	21	14	17	11	7	70
11	Adrian Clayborn	ATL	17	16	15	15	7	70
12	Dwight Freeney	ATL	17	15	17	14	7	70
13	Andre Branch	MIA	19	15	15	13	7	69
14	Ezekiel Ansah	DET	17	15	15	15	7	69
15	Devin Taylor	DET	16	15	15	16	7	69
16	Robert Quinn	LA	17	14	17	14	7	69
17	Frank Clark	SEA	17	14	16	15	7	69
18	Ethan Westbrooks	LA	17	16	14	14	7	68
19	Eugene Sims	LA	15	15	16	15	7	68
20	William Hayes	LA	17	14	14	16	7	68
21	Darryl Tapp	NO	16	15	15	15	7	68
22	Michael Bennett	SEA	17	14	16	14	7	68
23	Noah Spence	TB	16	15	16	14	7	68
24	Brian Robison	MIN	16	15	15	14	7	67
25	Jason Pierre-Paul	NYG	17	14	15	14	7	67
26	Mario Williams	MIA	16	17	13	13	7	66
27	Jabaal Sheard	NE	16	17	14	12	7	66
28	Lorenzo Mauldin	NYJ	19	14	13	13	7	66
29	Brooks Reed	ATL	17	14	13	15	7	66
30	Armonty Bryant	DET	16	15	14	14	7	66
31	Cameron Jordan	NO	16	15	14	14	7	66
32	Olivier Vernon	NYG	17	14	14	14	7	66
33	Connor Barwin	PHI	16	15	14	14	7	66
34	Vinny Curry	PHI	15	15	15	14	7	66
35	Will Clarke	CIN	16	15	13	14	7	65
36	Chris Long	NE	15	17	13	13	7	65
37	Shilique Calhoun	OAK	17	15	14	12	7	65
38	William Gholston	TB	15	15	14	14	7	65
39	Matt Longacre	LA	16	14	14	14	7	65
40	Cassius Marsh	SEA	16	14	14	14	7	65
41	Paul Kruger	NO	14	16	13	14	7	64
42	Owa Odighizuwa	NYG	15	14	14	14	7	64
43	Dante Fowler	JAX	16	13	12	15	7	63
44	Marcus Smith	PHI	14	14	14	14	7	63
45	Margus Hunt	CIN	16	17	12	9	7	61
46	Yannick Ngakoue	JAX	13	14	14	13	7	61
47	Jason Jones	MIA	16	14	12	12	7	61
48	Shaq Lawson	BUF	16	14	12	12	7	61
49	Michael Johnson	CIN	16	12	12	13	7	60
50	Trey Flowers	NE	14	15	12	12	7	60
51	Davonte Lambert	TB	13	13	14	13	7	60
52	Anthony Zettel	DET	13	12	14	14	7	60
53	Jared Odrick	JAX	13	13	11	12	7	56

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Muhammad Wilkerson—injury
• Robert Ayers—injury
• Derrick Shelby—injury
• Charles Tapper—injury
• Randy Gregory—bye/suspension
• Jack Crawford—bye
• David Irving—bye
• DeMarcus Lawrence—bye
• Tyrone Crawford—bye
• Charles Johnson—bye
• Kony Ealy—bye

Defensive Tackles

Elsa/Getty Images

Fletcher Cox takes the top defensive tackle spot this week. He dominated an anemic Vikings offensive line by throwing linemen with one hand to make tackles in the backfield and generating great pressure on the quarterback. He was able to wreak havoc on the edge as well.

Brandon Williams and undrafted rookie Michael Pierce are developing into the top run-stuffing duo in the NFL. Pierce bullied the Jets offensive line, as he earned the No. 4 spot this week.

Last year when Brandon Mebane was on the Seahawks, he gave Alex Mack all he could handle against the run and did it again this year as a member of the Chargers. Mebane's quickness, hand technique and lower-body explosiveness were a problem for the Falcons all game. 

Minnesota's defensive tackles, who are usually stout, struggled against the Eagles offensive line. The Eagles' blocking scheme kept the Vikings on their toes with trap plays and pin-and-pulls on the edge. Linval Joseph had his worst game of the season.

Grading Scale

Snap: Snap Explosion (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Defensive Tackle Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Snap	Rush	Run	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Fletcher Cox	PHI	20	21	22	15	6	84
2	Aaron Donald	LA	20	19	20	14	6	79
3	Leonard Williams	NYJ	19	17	20	14	6	76
4	Michael Pierce	BAL	18	17	20	14	6	75
5	Brandon Williams	BAL	18	16	20	13	6	73
6	Kenny Clark	GB	18	15	20	14	6	73
7	Gerald McCoy	TB	17	18	18	14	6	73
8	Ndamukong Suh	MIA	19	17	17	13	6	72
9	Johnathan Hankins	NYG	17	16	19	14	6	72
10	Geno Atkins	CIN	19	18	18	10	6	71
11	Brandon Mebane	SD	17	14	20	14	6	71
12	Damon Harrison	NYG	16	15	19	14	6	70
13	Malik Jackson	JAX	17	18	16	13	6	70
14	Grady Jarrett	ATL	17	16	17	13	6	69
15	Dominique Easley	LA	17	15	18	12	6	68
16	Steve McLendon	NYJ	16	15	19	12	6	68
17	Malcom Brown	NE	16	17	16	12	6	67
18	Roy Miller	JAX	15	13	19	14	6	67
19	Kyle Williams	BUF	19	16	14	11	6	66
20	Letroy Guion	GB	16	15	17	12	6	66
21	Stacy McGee	OAK	16	15	17	12	6	66
22	Beau Allen	PHI	17	14	17	12	6	66
23	Jarran Reed	SEA	15	14	19	12	6	66
24	Cam Thomas	LA	14	14	19	12	6	65
25	Alan Branch	NE	15	16	15	13	6	65
26	Corey Peters	ARI	16	14	16	12	6	64
27	Jordan Phillips	MIA	16	18	14	10	6	64
28	Linval Joseph	MIN	15	13	16	14	6	64
29	Tom Johnson	MIN	16	16	14	12	6	64
30	Jay Bromley	NYG	15	14	16	12	6	63
31	Tyson Jackson	ATL	14	14	16	12	6	62
32	Ra'Shede Hageman	ATL	16	15	14	10	6	61
33	Akeem Spence	TB	15	13	16	11	6	61
34	Domata Peko	CIN	14	16	14	10	6	60
35	Danny Shelton	CLE	14	13	16	11	6	60
36	Javon Hargrave	PIT	14	16	13	11	6	60
37	Ahtyba Rubin	SEA	15	14	13	12	6	60
38	Caraun Reid	SD	14	13	16	11	6	60
39	Jonathan Babineaux	ATL	15	14	13	11	6	59
40	Sylvester Williams	DEN	15	16	13	9	6	59
41	A'Shawn Robinson	DET	15	14	13	11	6	59
42	Hassan Ridgeway	IND	16	13	13	11	6	59
43	Jihad Ward	OAK	13	14	16	10	6	59
44	Dan Williams	OAK	15	13	14	11	6	59
45	Justin Ellis	OAK	15	13	14	11	6	59
46	Tony McDaniel	SEA	14	12	16	11	6	59
47	Courtney Upshaw	ATL	15	13	14	10	6	58
48	Corbin Bryant	BUF	15	14	13	10	6	58
49	Khyri Thornton	DET	13	15	13	11	6	58
50	Shamar Stephens	MIN	13	12	14	13	6	58
51	Pat Sims	CIN	13	14	15	9	6	57
52	Tyrunn Walker	DET	14	13	14	10	6	57
53	D.J. Reader	HOU	14	15	12	10	6	57
54	Zach Kerr	IND	15	13	12	11	6	57
55	Tyson Alualu	JAX	13	14	13	11	6	57
56	Will Sutton	CHI	14	13	14	9	6	56
57	Darius Latham	OAK	14	11	13	12	6	56
58	Al Woods	TEN	16	11	13	10	6	56
59	David Parry	IND	13	12	11	13	6	55
60	Vince Wilfork	HOU	14	13	11	10	6	54
61	Cullen Jenkins	WAS	14	13	12	9	6	54
62	Abry Jones	JAX	12	12	13	10	6	53
63	Mike Purcell	SF	13	11	13	9	6	52
64	Quinton Dial	SF	12	13	12	9	6	52

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Eddie Goldman—injury
• Michael Brockers—injury
• Sharrif Floyd—injury
• Bennie Logan—injury
• Haloti Ngata—injury
• Marcell Dareus—injury
• Vincent Valentine—injury
• Clinton McDonald—inactive

3-4 Outside Linebackers

Norm Hall/Getty Images

For the first time in five weeks, the top 3-4 outside linebacker wasn't Von Miller. That title belongs to Chandler Jones, who continuously harassed Russell Wilson and the Seahawks during Sunday night's 6-6 tie in Arizona.

Miller was far from poor Monday, but he failed to translate his consistent pressure into hits and sacks against Brock Osweiler.

Melvin Ingram finished the week as the second-best player at the position, as he continued to prove why he's one of the best all-around outside linebackers in the game. He does everything well for the Chargers.

Clay Matthews and Nick Perry led the Packers' demolition of a shorthanded Bears offense. Jarvis Jones was one of the lone bright spots for the Steelers against Tom Brady and the Patriots, and Lorenzo Alexander—one of the best stories of the 2016 season—tallied his league-leading ninth sack of the year for the Bills. 

Grading Scale

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

3-4 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Rush	Run	Cvg	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Chandler Jones	ARI	22	20	10	22	7	81
2	Melvin Ingram	SD	19	22	11	22	7	81
3	Clay Matthews	GB	18	22	10	21	7	78
4	Jarvis Jones	PIT	21	17	11	20	7	76
5	Nick Perry	GB	19	20	10	20	7	76
6	Lorenzo Alexander	BUF	21	18	10	20	7	76
7	Markus Golden	ARI	21	18	9	19	7	74
8	Von Miller	DEN	20	19	9	19	7	74
9	Za'Darius Smith	BAL	19	17	10	20	7	73
10	Shane Ray	DEN	18	19	10	18	7	72
11	Trent Murphy	WAS	19	18	9	19	7	72
12	Derrick Morgan	TEN	19	16	9	20	7	71
13	Whitney Mercilus	HOU	20	16	9	19	7	71
14	Leonard Floyd	CHI	20	15	10	19	7	71
15	Erik Walden	IND	19	17	9	19	7	71
16	Brian Orakpo	TEN	18	17	10	18	7	70
17	Jerry Hughes	BUF	17	17	10	19	7	70
18	Willie Young	CHI	18	17	10	18	7	70
19	Ryan Kerrigan	WAS	19	17	9	17	7	69
20	Preston Smith	WAS	19	17	9	17	7	69
21	Shaquil Barrett	DEN	19	17	9	17	7	69
22	Julius Peppers	GB	17	17	10	17	7	68
23	Dee Ford	KC	18	17	9	17	7	68
24	Matt Judon	BAL	19	15	9	18	7	68
25	Alex Okafor	ARI	16	17	10	17	7	67
26	Emmanuel Ogbah	CLE	19	14	10	17	7	67
27	Tamba Hali	KC	16	16	10	18	7	67
28	John Simon	HOU	17	16	10	17	7	67
29	Arthur Moats	PIT	17	16	10	17	7	67
30	Kamalei Correa	BAL	14	18	10	18	7	67
31	Tourek Williams	SD	15	18	9	18	7	67
32	Datone Jones	GB	15	16	9	18	7	65
33	Akeem Ayers	IND	17	15	11	15	7	65
34	Kyle Emanuel	SD	15	16	9	18	7	65
35	Sam Acho	CHI	16	15	10	17	7	65
36	Ahmad Brooks	SF	16	16	9	16	7	64
37	Aaron Lynch	SF	18	15	9	15	7	64
38	David Bass	TEN	15	16	9	17	7	64
39	Kyler Fackrell	GB	16	16	9	16	7	64
40	Anthony Chickillo	PIT	16	14	10	16	7	63
41	James Harrison	PIT	15	15	10	16	7	63
42	Robert Mathis	IND	15	15	9	16	7	62
43	Brandon Spikes	BUF	14	16	9	16	7	62
44	Eli Harold	SF	15	15	9	15	7	61
45	Frank Zombo	KC	15	15	8	15	7	60
46	Kevin Dodd	TEN	15	14	9	15	7	60
47	Pernell McPhee	CHI	14	15	9	15	7	60
48	Cam Johnson	CLE	14	12	10	15	7	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Elvis Dumervil—injury
• Terrell Suggs—injury
• DeMarcus Ware—injury
• Curt Maggitt—injury
• Justin Houston—injury
• Jerry Attaochu—injury
• Lerentee McCray—insufficient snaps
• Joe Schobert—insufficient snaps
• Dekoda Watson—insufficient snaps
• Jayrone Elliott—insufficient snaps
• Tank Carradine—insufficient snaps
• Aaron Wallace—inactive
• Corey Lemonier—inactive

4-3 Outside Linebackers

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

This week featured a special performance from Philadelphia's Nigel Bradham. To this point in the season, his score of 85 is the highest single-game grade given out at this position.

Bradham was a menace in the run game. If he wasn't shooting through gaps to make plays in the backfield, he was stacking offensive linemen and clogging up rushing lanes. There was no running through, around or away from Bradham.

He made an impact on passing downs too. He accounted for a few pressures on Sam Bradford, including a sack. He was sturdy in coverage and didn't give Bradford any easy throws in his direction. It's going to be tough for someone to top that performance. 

Seattle's K.J. Wright played a huge role in the Seahawks' defensive performance against the Cardinals. The Cardinals had the ball for more than 45 minutes, but the Seahawks defense allowed just six points, and Wright did everything in his power to make that possible. He remains one of the most underrated players in the league.

Kyle Van Noy, whom the Patriots just traded for, had one of the worst grades from the weekend.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 25)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 25)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

4-3 Outside Linebacker Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Nigel Bradham	PHI	21	23	12	22	6	84
2	K.J. Wright	SEA	21	22	9	21	6	79
3	Telvin Smith	JAX	18	23	7	22	6	76
4	Mark Barron	LA	20	21	7	22	6	76
5	Bruce Irvin	OAK	17	20	12	18	6	73
6	De'Vondre Campbell	ATL	16	21	8	21	6	72
7	Dont'a Hightower	NE	18	21	9	17	6	71
8	Devon Kennard	NYG	17	18	10	18	6	69
9	Lavonte David	TB	16	18	9	20	6	69
10	Vincent Rey	CIN	18	16	9	19	6	68
11	Vontaze Burfict	CIN	18	19	7	18	6	68
12	Anthony Barr	MIN	21	14	9	17	6	67
13	Karlos Dansby	CIN	18	17	7	18	6	66
14	Malcolm Smith	OAK	20	15	7	18	6	66
15	Daryl Smith	TB	17	19	8	16	6	66
16	Bruce Carter	NYJ	19	15	8	16	6	64
17	Keenan Robinson	NYG	14	18	8	18	6	64
18	Philip Wheeler	ATL	15	17	8	17	6	63
19	Chad Greenway	MIN	16	17	7	17	6	63
20	Mychal Kendricks	PHI	15	15	9	18	6	63
21	Rob Ninkovich	NE	16	16	9	15	6	62
22	Julian Stanford	NYJ	15	17	7	17	6	62
23	Brandon Copeland	DET	14	15	7	18	6	60
24	Neville Hewitt	MIA	14	17	7	16	6	60
25	Mike Catapano	NYJ	15	16	8	15	6	60
26	Jordan Jenkins	NYJ	15	15	8	15	6	59
27	Jelani Jenkins	MIA	15	14	8	15	6	58
28	Jonathan Casillas	NYG	16	13	9	14	6	58
29	Myles Jack	JAX	14	14	7	16	6	57
30	Shea McClellin	NE	14	14	8	15	6	57
31	Donald Butler	MIA	14	14	7	15	6	56
32	Antwione Williams	DET	13	15	7	14	6	55
33	Kyle Van Noy	DET	14	14	7	13	6	54
34	Craig Robertson	NO	13	14	7	14	6	54

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Jaylon Smith—bye/injury
• DeAndre Levy—injury
• Darron Lee—injury

Inside Linebackers

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The measuring stick for inside linebacker play is—and I assume will be for a few years—Carolina Panther Luke Kuechly. Most inside linebackers don’t combine the skills Kuechly does, but his impression is left throughout the league. As teams look to combat ever-versatile offenses, they’re looking for three-down linebackers who can diagnose quickly and play even faster. 

Erik Kendricks of the Minnesota Vikings has started to get the "Luke Kuechly Treatment" in which opposing offenses do almost anything necessary to avoid him on the field. With Kuechly and the Panthers on a bye week and Kendricks not having a dominant game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the top of the list looks a little different than normal.

The Sunday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals ended in an agonizing tie but featured some of the best defense that we’ve seen this year. For both teams, linebackers were disruptive in coverage and played the run well. Seattle’s defense was highlighted by Lead Scout Doug Farrar in last week’s All-22 piece, and for good reason—it looks every bit as good as recent years, and it is just warming up.

Although the score wasn’t as exciting as fantasy owners might have hoped, top grades this week go to the three inside linebackers who made Sunday Night Football an impressive display of defense.

Grading Scale

Pass: Pass Defense (Graded out of 25)

Run: Run Defense (Graded out of 35)

Rush: Pass Rush (Graded out of 15)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 15)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Inside Linebacker Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Pass	Run	Rush	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Bobby Wagner	SEA	21	32	11	13	6	83
2	Kevin Minter	ARI	22	31	12	11	6	82
3	Deone Bucannon	ARI	22	30	11	12	6	81
4	Jamie Collins	NE	22	31	10	12	6	81
5	Denzel Perryman	SD	22	31	9	12	6	80
6	Jordan Hicks	PHI	21	30	11	12	6	80
7	Brandon Marshall	DEN	22	30	9	12	6	79
8	Jerrell Freeman	CHI	22	29	10	12	6	79
9	Ramik Wilson	KC	22	30	9	12	6	79
10	Mason Foster	WAS	20	30	10	12	6	78
11	Zach Brown	BUF	20	30	11	11	6	78
12	Blake Martinez	GB	22	30	8	12	6	78
13	Tahir Whitehead	DET	19	31	9	12	6	77
14	Eric Kendricks	MIN	20	29	10	11	6	76
15	Will Compton	WAS	20	29	8	12	6	75
16	David Harris	NYJ	18	31	8	12	6	75
17	Albert McClellan	BAL	18	29	10	11	6	74
18	Derrick O. Johnson	KC	21	29	10	8	6	74
19	Su'a Cravens	WAS	21	25	10	12	6	74
20	Ryan Shazier	PIT	19	26	10	12	6	73
21	Paul Posluszny	JAX	19	28	10	10	6	73
22	Kiko Alonso	MIA	19	27	9	11	6	72
23	Danny Trevathan	CHI	20	26	9	11	6	72
24	Todd Davis	DEN	19	25	11	10	6	71
25	Deion Jones	ATL	21	26	8	10	6	71
26	Kwon Alexander	TB	19	28	9	9	6	71
27	Brian Cushing	HOU	17	28	9	10	6	70
28	Chris Kirksey	CLE	18	25	11	10	6	70
29	Perry Riley	OAK	18	28	8	10	6	70
30	Joe Thomas	GB	20	26	8	10	6	70
31	Jatavis Brown	SD	22	24	8	9	6	69
32	Vince Williams	PIT	19	26	8	10	6	69
33	Alec Ogletree	LA	19	25	10	9	6	69
34	Zach Orr	BAL	15	25	11	11	6	68
35	Jake Ryan	GB	18	25	8	11	6	68
36	Edwin Jackson	IND	19	26	8	9	6	68
37	Kelvin Sheppard	NYG	17	26	8	10	6	67
38	Korey Toomer	SD	19	23	8	11	6	67
39	Nate Stupar	NO	18	26	8	10	6	67
40	Preston Brown	BUF	17	24	8	11	6	66
41	D'Qwell Jackson	IND	16	25	10	9	6	66
42	Gerald Hodges	SF	18	25	7	10	6	66
43	Rey Maualuga	CIN	17	24	8	10	6	65
44	Benardrick McKinney	HOU	17	23	8	10	6	64
45	Sean Spence	TEN	13	26	8	10	6	63
46	Avery Williamson	TEN	13	23	10	10	6	62
47	Wesley Woodyard	TEN	15	23	8	10	6	62
48	Lawrence Timmons	PIT	13	23	8	11	6	61
49	Demario Davis	CLE	17	20	8	10	6	61
50	Josh McNary	IND	15	22	8	9	6	60
51	Nick Bellore	SF	16	21	7	8	6	58

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Luke Kuechly—bye
• Anthony Hitchens—bye
• Justin Durant—bye
• C.J. Mosley—injury
• Justin March—injury
• Michael Wilhoite—insufficient snaps
• Nick Kwiatkoski—insufficient snaps
• Antonio Morrison—insufficient snaps
• Josh Forrest—insufficient snaps
• Cory James—insufficient snaps
• Josh Perry—insufficient snaps
• Tyler Matakevich—insufficient snaps

Cornerbacks

Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images

The three top AFC cornerbacks partook in the same game from Week 7, a prime-time matchup between the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. Broncos stars Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. were masterful in stifling the Texans passing attack, allowing just three receptions on a combined 13 targets. Most quarterbacks pad their stat sheet against off-coverage, but the Broncos’ duo limited receivers to only two catches on seven targets while aligned off the line of scrimmage. 

Talib is in the midst of a fantastic season and arguably his best in several years. He’s constantly in position to break up a pass or force a difficult play at the catch point without being overly physical. That’s as much as can be asked of a modern-day cornerback. He and Harris are consistently great, but shutting down DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller was especially notable.

The unexpected star on the field Monday night was Texans corner A.J. Bouye. The 6’0”, 195-pound corner was the dime back on the roster entering the season but showed skill in finite opportunities. With Johnathan Joseph limited and Kevin Johnson out due to injuries, Bouye moved to the boundary against Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. The results were excellent, as Bouye allowed three short receptions on six targets. Bouye broke up two of the targets, and he also had two big stops in the running game.

Bouye could potentially be setting himself up for a big payday this offseason since this is a contract year. His size (6'0", 192 lbs) and ability to stay in the pocket of the receiver are major positives, as is his ability to play on either side of the field or in the slot. His experience as a utility player and now starter projects much better into a bigger role than recent free agents who cashed in.  

Another week gone by and another impressive showing by the Giants secondary. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was targeted 12 times and only allowed one first down. He had two interceptions, dropped another and had two pass breakups. Playing heavily in the slot, and bouncing outside occasionally, Rodgers-Cromartie’s athleticism showed up in the run game as well, but it was down the field where his ability to outjump St. Louis receivers was most impressive. Teammate Janoris Jenkins had his usual one-play blunder, but that was the lone play he was beat all game and was able to break up two passes himself.

The Packers' LaDarius Gunter has had some rough games this year. Last week alone, he gave up three catches over 20 yards and two touchdowns. This week was much better, as he was targeted nine times and only allowed three catches for a total of 33 yards. He was mostly facing Alshon Jeffery, so it was a nice bounce-back game for Gunter.

Xavier Rhodes had another great Sunday. He was targeted seven times and was only beaten once. Rhodes picked off a pass and recovered a fumble, and he was his naturally aggressive self, which paid off in coverage and in the run game, where he additionally had a tackle for loss. 

Atlanta played heavy zone coverage in the second half and was picked apart defensively. When the Falcons were in man coverage, Desmond Trufant shadowed speedster Travis Benjamin, and the veteran was able to match him down the field. Youngster Tyrell Williams also was blanketed by Trufant, who surrendered one catch on three targets and took away a few other throws in coverage.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

React: Reaction/Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Cornerback Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	React	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Aqib Talib	DEN	28	28	17	6	9	88
2	A.J. Bouye	HOU	25	26	19	6	9	85
3	Chris Harris Jr.	DEN	23	26	19	6	9	83
4	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	NYG	24	24	17	7	9	81
5	Jimmy Smith	BAL	24	23	18	5	9	79
6	Marcus Peters	KC	23	23	18	6	9	79
7	Darrelle Revis	NYJ	23	24	18	5	9	79
8	Patrick Robinson	IND	24	23	17	5	9	78
9	Janoris Jenkins	NYG	23	22	17	6	9	77
10	Sean Smith	OAK	22	23	17	6	9	77
11	Desmond Trufant	ATL	23	23	16	5	9	76
12	Xavier Rhodes	MIN	21	23	16	7	9	76
13	Patrick Peterson	ARI	22	23	16	5	9	75
14	LaDarius Gunter	GB	23	21	16	6	9	75
15	Lamarcus Joyner	LA	19	22	17	8	9	75
16	Brent Grimes	TB	21	22	16	6	9	74
17	Jalen Ramsey	JAX	20	21	18	6	9	74
18	Jason McCourty	TEN	22	20	16	6	9	73
19	Malcolm Butler	NE	21	20	17	6	9	73
20	Tramaine Brock	SF	21	21	16	6	9	73
21	Johnathan Joseph	HOU	21	20	17	5	9	72
22	Ross Cockrell	PIT	21	19	17	6	9	72
23	Brian Poole	ATL	20	21	16	5	9	71
24	Vernon Hargreaves	TB	19	21	16	6	9	71
25	Troy Hill	LA	19	19	16	8	9	71
26	Casey Hayward	SD	19	20	17	6	9	71
27	Adam Jones	CIN	17	20	18	6	9	70
28	Tracy Porter	CHI	19	20	16	5	9	69
29	Dre Kirkpatrick	CIN	18	19	17	6	9	69
30	Darius Butler	IND	19	19	18	4	9	69
31	Marcus Williams	NYJ	18	20	16	6	9	69
32	Robert Alford	ATL	19	19	16	5	9	68
33	Micah Hyde	GB	18	18	17	6	9	68
34	Terence Newman	MIN	19	19	15	6	9	68
35	Tyrann Mathieu	ARI	18	17	17	6	9	67
36	Stephon Gilmore	BUF	20	18	16	4	9	67
37	Aaron Colvin	JAX	17	19	18	4	9	67
38	Captain Munnerlyn	MIN	18	18	16	6	9	67
39	William Gay	PIT	19	18	17	4	9	67
40	Bradley Roby	DEN	17	18	17	5	9	66
41	Prince Amukamara	JAX	18	17	16	6	9	66
42	Buster Skrine	NYJ	17	19	16	5	9	66
43	David Amerson	OAK	18	19	16	4	9	66
44	Quandre Diggs	DET	17	16	16	7	9	65
45	Eric Rowe	NE	16	18	16	6	9	65
46	Leon Hall	NYG	17	18	16	5	9	65
47	Nickell Robey-Coleman	BUF	18	17	16	4	9	64
48	Jimmie Ward	SF	17	16	16	6	9	64
49	Cre'von LeBlanc	CHI	17	17	16	5	9	64
50	Bashaud Breeland	WAS	16	17	16	6	9	64
51	Richard Sherman	SEA	17	18	15	5	9	64
52	Ronald Darby	BUF	17	18	15	4	9	63
53	Tramon Williams	CLE	16	16	17	5	9	63
54	Jude Adjei-Barimah	TB	16	16	15	7	9	63
55	Demetri Goodson	GB	17	16	16	5	9	63
56	Jalen Mills	PHI	16	17	15	6	9	63
57	Vontae Davis	IND	17	16	15	5	9	62
58	Tony Lippett	MIA	15	16	15	7	9	62
59	Byron Maxwell	MIA	17	15	16	5	9	62
60	Logan Ryan	NE	15	16	16	6	9	62
61	Steve Williams	SD	16	17	15	5	9	62
62	Josh Shaw	CIN	16	15	16	5	9	61
63	Jerraud Powers	BAL	14	16	15	6	9	60
64	Brice McCain	TEN	15	16	16	4	9	60
65	Leodis McKelvin	PHI	16	16	14	5	9	60
66	Tavon Young	BAL	15	16	15	4	9	59
67	Nevin Lawson	DET	16	15	15	4	9	59
68	Kareem Jackson	HOU	13	14	17	6	9	59
69	Bobby McCain	MIA	14	16	15	5	9	59
70	Eli Apple	NYG	16	15	14	5	9	59
71	Nolan Carroll	PHI	16	15	14	5	9	59
72	DeShawn Shead	SEA	15	16	14	5	9	59
73	Rashard Robinson	SF	14	15	15	5	9	58
74	Briean Boddy-Calhoun	CLE	15	13	15	6	9	58
75	Trevor Williams	SD	15	15	14	5	9	58
76	D.J. Hayden	OAK	14	16	14	5	9	58
77	Marcus Cooper	ARI	15	14	14	5	9	57
78	Jacoby Glenn	CHI	15	14	14	5	9	57
79	Perrish Cox	TEN	14	15	14	5	9	57
80	Craig Mager	SD	14	15	14	5	9	57
81	Jamar Taylor	CLE	14	14	15	4	9	56
82	Quinton Dunbar	WAS	15	13	14	5	9	56
83	Trae Waynes	MIN	14	14	14	5	9	56
84	Ken Crawley	NO	14	13	15	5	9	56
85	Jeremy Lane	SEA	14	13	15	5	9	56
86	Bryce Callahan	CHI	14	13	14	5	9	55
87	Kendall Fuller	WAS	13	14	14	5	9	55
88	Artie Burns	PIT	14	14	15	3	9	55
89	Steven Nelson	KC	13	14	13	5	9	54
90	D.J. White	KC	12	14	12	6	9	53
91	E.J. Gaines	LA	14	13	13	4	9	53
92	Johnson Bademosi	DET	11	12	13	5	9	50
93	Antwon Blake	TEN	12	13	12	4	9	50
94	B.W. Webb	NO	12	10	12	5	9	48
95	De'Vante Bausby	CHI	11	11	12	4	9	47

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Darius Slay—injury
• Josh Norman—injury
• Trumaine Johnson—injury
• Kevin A. Johnson—injury
• Joe Haden—injury
• Philip Gaines—injury
• Ron Brooks—injury

Free Safeties

John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Chiefs safety Ron Parker topped the free safety list this week. He was excellent in coverage throughout the game. In the second quarter, he broke on a dig route on the far side of the field, getting his hand to the catch point and breaking it up, nearly pulling in an interception. He also tracked a tight end over route, managing to poke the ball loose and cause a fumble. In the fourth quarter, he created a turnover, coming in late on a run and punching the ball out of the running back's hands. 

Harrison Smith had to play without his trusted teammate Andrew Sendejo for the majority of the game, but he picked up the slack. Like always, Smith switched between deep safety responsibilities to buzzing around as the extra defender in the box. It may have gone unnoticed by Xavier Rhodes' interception, but Smith nearly had the interception himself. He lined up on the line of scrimmage before bailing out to undercut Dorial Green-Beckham's post route. He then turned his head back to the quarterback and spotted the throw to the other side of the field. Smith broke across the field and dived at full stretch, nearly getting his hands to the ball.

I was disappointed by the performance of 49ers safety Eric Reid. He's a talented safety who underperformed against Tampa Bay. He missed a tackle in the second quarter, leading to a 45-yard run. A few plays later, an opposing tight end beat him on a post route, and he had to settle for making the tackle after giving up the catch. On Russell Shepard's touchdown catch, Reid failed to sink deep enough to stop the throw, and he got caught on a tight end block on the 44-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 30)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 30)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 10)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Free Safety Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Ron Parker	KC	25	25	7	17	8	82
2	Harrison Smith	MIN	25	26	7	16	8	82
3	Earl Thomas	SEA	26	26	6	15	8	81
4	Darian Stewart	DEN	24	25	6	16	8	79
5	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	GB	25	24	6	16	8	79
6	Rodney McLeod	PHI	24	25	6	16	8	79
7	Will Blackmon	WAS	25	25	5	16	8	79
8	Glover Quin	DET	25	23	6	16	8	78
9	Devin McCourty	NE	24	24	6	16	8	78
10	D.J. Swearinger	ARI	25	24	5	15	8	77
11	Maurice Alexander	LA	23	24	6	16	8	77
12	Isa Abdul-Quddas	MIA	24	24	5	16	8	77
13	Marcus Gilchrist	NYJ	24	23	6	16	8	77
14	Corey Graham	BUF	22	23	7	16	8	76
15	Duron Harmon	NE	24	23	5	16	8	76
16	George Iloka	CIN	22	23	6	16	8	75
17	Dexter McCoil	SD	23	22	6	16	8	75
18	Dwight Lowery	SD	24	23	5	15	8	75
19	Ricardo Allen	ATL	23	24	5	14	8	74
20	Andre Hal	HOU	23	21	6	16	8	74
21	Clayton Geathers	IND	22	22	6	16	8	74
22	Lardarius Webb	BAL	22	22	5	16	8	73
23	Adrian Amos	CHI	21	22	6	16	8	73
24	Tracy Howard	CLE	22	21	6	15	8	72
25	Mike Mitchell	PIT	22	21	5	16	8	72
26	Kentrell Brice	GB	19	22	6	16	8	71
27	Michael Thomas	MIA	21	19	6	16	8	70
28	Bradley McDougald	TB	18	23	5	16	8	70
29	Vonn Bell	NO	21	21	4	15	8	69
30	Reggie Nelson	OAK	22	20	5	14	8	69
31	Eric Reid	SF	20	22	5	14	8	69
32	Kevin Byard	TEN	19	20	6	16	8	69
33	Marqueston Huff	BAL	20	20	5	15	8	68
34	Robert Blanton	BUF	20	20	6	14	8	68
35	Jairus Byrd	NO	20	21	5	14	8	68
36	Ibraheim Campbell	CLE	21	20	4	14	8	67
37	Tashaun Gipson	JAX	21	19	5	14	8	67
38	Rashad Johnson	TEN	18	19	6	16	8	67
39	T.J. Green	IND	19	19	5	15	8	66
40	Corey Moore	HOU	20	19	4	14	8	65
41	Chris Prosinski	CHI	17	17	5	16	8	63
42	Andrew Adams	NYG	16	17	5	16	8	62

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Justin Simmons—insufficient snaps
• Cody Davis—insufficient snaps
• Darian Thompson—inactive
• Nat Berhe—inactive
• Tre Boston—bye
• Byron Jones—bye
• J.J. Wilcox—bye

Strong Safeties

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Landon Collins was the clear standout at strong safety this week. His two interceptions were both somewhat fortunate in that both came on deflected passes that just happened to fall to him. But Collins deserves credit for getting into those positions. On his first interception, he read a hook route that he broke on quickly, taking it away and forcing the quarterback to throw to the other side. Then he did a great job reacting to the deflected pass to get the interception and did an even better job returning it for a touchdown. 

Collins has struggled in coverage in his career to date, but he was great this week. He broke on underneath routes excellently and often took away checkdown options for the opposing quarterback. He was also a force in the run game, filling in consistently as the extra defender in the box and making tackles to limit gains.

Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson also had a strong week. He stood out in the first quarter, reading a read-option keeper from Russell Wilson on 3rd-and-short. Jefferson engaged with Wilson and brought him down for a loss. He also was strong in coverage, not biting on play action to stay on top of routes. He took away Jimmy Graham in the flat on a bootleg in the first half and stayed on top of Graham on a play-action corner route in the third quarter. Jefferson did an excellent job to save a touchdown in overtime, working from the far side of the field to make a tackle on Doug Baldwin's 27-yard catch.

Grading Scale

Cvg: Coverage (Graded out of 25)

Rec: Recovery (Graded out of 25)

Slot: Slot/LB (Graded out of 20)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 20)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Strong Safety Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Cvg	Rec	Slot	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Landon Collins	NYG	22	23	16	17	6	84
2	Tony Jefferson	ARI	22	23	16	16	6	83
3	T.J. Ward	DEN	21	20	17	15	6	79
4	Eric Berry	KC	21	20	16	16	6	79
5	Antoine Bethea	SF	21	20	16	16	6	79
6	Keanu Neal	ATL	20	20	16	16	6	78
7	Daniel Sorensen	KC	20	20	16	16	6	78
8	T.J. McDonald	LA	20	21	15	16	6	78
9	Malcolm Jenkins	PHI	20	20	16	16	6	78
10	Morgan Burnett	GB	19	19	16	17	6	77
11	Jonathan Cyprien	JAX	20	19	16	16	6	77
12	Jaylen Watkins	PHI	21	19	15	16	6	77
13	Andrew Sendejo	MIN	20	19	15	16	6	76
14	Patrick Chung	NE	20	19	16	15	6	76
15	Mike C Adams	IND	19	18	16	16	6	75
16	Donte Whitner	WAS	19	18	16	16	6	75
17	Eric Weddle	BAL	19	17	16	16	6	74
18	Aaron Williams	BUF	18	18	16	16	6	74
19	Kelcie McCray	SEA	19	18	15	16	6	74
20	Will Parks	DEN	18	18	15	16	6	73
21	Karl Joseph	OAK	19	17	15	16	6	73
22	Chris Conte	TB	19	18	15	15	6	73
23	Da'Norris Searcy	TEN	18	17	16	16	6	73
24	Jonathan Meeks	BUF	19	16	15	16	6	72
25	Shawn Williams	CIN	20	19	14	13	6	72
26	Calvin Pryor	NYJ	17	19	14	16	6	72
27	Anthony Levine	BAL	18	17	15	15	6	71
28	Kenny Vaccaro	NO	18	17	15	15	6	71
29	Tavon Wilson	DET	17	16	15	16	6	70
30	Jayron Kearse	MIN	19	16	14	15	6	70
31	Walt Aikens	MIA	16	17	15	15	6	69
32	Robert Golden	PIT	15	16	16	16	6	69
33	Daimion Stafford	TEN	16	16	16	15	6	69
34	Derrick Kindred	CLE	14	16	16	16	6	68
35	Rafael Bush	DET	15	15	16	16	6	68
36	Eddie Pleasant	HOU	16	17	14	15	6	68
37	Harold Jones-Quartey	CHI	15	14	15	16	6	66
38	Miles Killebrew	DET	15	16	14	14	6	65
39	Adrian Phillips	SD	16	15	13	14	6	64

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Quintin Demps—inactive
• Jahleel Addae—inactive
• Kam Chancellor—inactive
• Duke Williams—insufficient snaps
• Roman Harper—insufficient snaps
• Kurt Coleman—bye
• Barry Church—bye
• J.J. Wilcox—bye

Kickers

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Things are a little upside down in the world of kicking this week, with a number of big names struggling and some fresh faces as well as blasts from the past at the top of the rankings. Sebastian Janikowski takes home the top spot this week. He was perfect on his four field goals, including a 52-yarder, and three extra points. Janikowski has struggled to show week-to-week consistency, so he may dip back down next week, but it is some time in the sun for the former first-round pick. 

Justin Tucker makes another appearance in the top five as well, continuing his bounce-back season after a challenging 2015 campaign. Tucker made just one extra point but was good on field goals of 44, 49 and 50 yards for the day. Joining him in the top five are youngsters Josh Lambo and Jason Myers, as well as veteran Ryan Succop. Lambo may have had his best day as a pro, going 4-of-4 on field goals and 3-of-3 on extra points, while Myers continued an up-and-down sophomore campaign, this time showing off the good side of his tremendous leg. 

But the big story of the week revolved around the misses by some upper-echelon kickers. Dustin Hopkins had the most unique miss of the week, hitting a 45-yard attempt off the top of the left upright, which is nearly impossible to do given a field goal's trajectory. Stephen Gostkowski's missed extra point continued to raise questions about his mechanics in 2016, and Stephen Hauschka's missed field goal in overtime cost the Seattle Seahawks a win shortly after Chandler Catanzaro rang a chip shot off the upright at the other end of the field.

No one had a worse week than Mason Crosby, as the Green Bay Packers kicker had a 31-yard attempt blocked due to low trajectory. He also pushed an extra point wide right due to lagging hips. Crosby is still putting together a very strong 2016 campaign, so take this as proof that no kicker is perfect...except for Adam Vinatieri, who made an NFL-record 43rd straight field goal. He continues to show anyone (read: me) saying he should not be in the conversation for the best kicker in the game today is foolishly mistaken.

Grading Scale

Pwr: Kick Power (Graded out of 40)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 40)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 10)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Kicker Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Pwr	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	33	39	5	3	80
2	Josh Lambo	SD	32	39	5	3	79
3	Justin Tucker	BAL	33	37	5	3	78
4	Jason Myers	JAX	32	34	5	3	74
5	Ryan Succop	TEN	32	34	5	3	74
6	Adam Vinatieri	IND	30	34	5	3	72
7	Cairo Santos	KC	30	34	5	3	72
8	Brandon McManus	DEN	31	33	5	3	72
9	Nick Novak	HOU	30	34	5	3	72
10	Andrew Franks	MIA	31	32	5	3	71
11	Caleb Sturgis	PHI	31	31	5	3	70
12	Robbie Gould	NYG	31	30	5	3	69
13	Dan Carpenter	BUF	30	30	5	3	68
14	Cody Parkey	CLE	30	30	5	3	68
15	Greg Zuerlein	LA	31	29	5	3	68
16	Will Lutz	NO	31	29	5	3	68
17	Matt Bryant	ATL	30	30	5	3	68
18	Connor Barth	CHI	30	29	5	3	67
19	Phil Dawson	SF	29	30	5	3	67
20	Blair Walsh	MIN	30	30	1	3	64
21	Roberto Aguayo	TB	28	28	5	3	64
22	Matt Prater	DET	29	26	5	3	63
23	Nick Folk	NYJ	29	25	5	3	62
24	Dustin Hopkins	WAS	31	23	5	3	62
25	Chandler Catanzaro	ARI	30	23	5	3	61
26	Stephen Hauschka	SEA	30	22	5	3	60
27	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	30	20	4	3	57
28	Chris Boswell	PIT	27	21	5	3	56
29	Mike Nugent	CIN	29	18	5	3	55
30	Mason Crosby	GB	31	13	5	3	52

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Josh Brown—exempt list
• Dan Bailey—bye
• Graham Gano—bye

Punters

Al Bello/Getty Images

Sam Koch is really, really good. Traditionally, the directional part of his game has been the strongest, with a tremendous ability to move the ball from side to side on the field depending on what the Baltimore Ravens ask him to do. This week, Koch displayed massive distance and above-average hang time, giving him a well-rounded game and making him the top punter of Week 7. Koch is always around the top of the league, and it is not surprising that he found his way to the top for a week.

Thomas Morstead and Johnny Hekker occupy the next two spots, with Morstead having a strong bounce-back year after some struggles in 2015. He has shown a solid directional game this year, with strong hang time in this game and slightly above-average distance helping him into the second spot. Hekker put together a similar performance but showed a bigger leg and slightly less directional control. Both of these punters are in contention for the top punter of 2016 through the first seven weeks of the year. Brad Wing and Colton Schmidt round out the top five, with mainstays Brett Kern, Britton Colquitt and Marquette King lurking just outside. 

Then we come to Lachlan Edwards, who committed the unforgivable sin of dropping a snap near his own end zone, leading to a touchdown for the Ravens. How do we measure this? By effectively awarding Edwards zero yards or hang time for a kick that never occurred due to his mishap. This simply cannot happen at the NFL level, and New York was lucky to escape with a win despite the error.

Ryan Allen continues to display maddening inconsistency that he had seemed to move beyond last year. This year, he has alternated between the top and bottom of the rankings on a weekly basis, clocking in at 29th this week. Allen has never had a huge leg, but his directional ability and consistency made him one of the top punters last year. This year, he has been unable to find his game from week to week, and New England's defense has had to cover for some of his mishaps. Ryan Quigley, Kevin Huber and Jeff Locke are the final three at the bottom of the list, with Quigley and Locke finding themselves in this area more often than not, though Huber is likely to bounce back to league average shortly.

Grading Scale

Dist: Kick Distance (Graded out of 20)

Hang: Kick Hang Time (Graded out of 20)

Acc: Kick Accuracy (Graded out of 45)

Tkl: Tackling (Graded out of 5)

Pos: Positional Value (Graded out of 10)

Ovr: Top Possible Score of 100

Punter Rankings Week 7

Rank	Player	Team	Dist	Hang	Acc	Tkl	Pos	Ovr
1	Sam Koch	BAL	19	16	39	3	3	80
2	Thomas Morstead	NO	15	17	41	3	3	79
3	Johnny Hekker	LA	18	17	37	3	3	78
4	Brad Wing	NYG	16	15	38	3	3	75
5	Colton Schmidt	BUF	16	14	38	3	3	74
6	Brett Kern	TEN	19	15	34	3	3	74
7	Britton Colquitt	CLE	12	16	39	3	3	73
8	Marquette King	OAK	20	14	33	3	3	73
9	Shane Lechler	HOU	19	14	34	3	3	73
10	Sam Martin	DET	17	18	31	3	3	72
11	Bradley Pinion	SF	12	18	35	3	3	71
12	Donnie Jones	PHI	19	16	29	3	3	70
13	Pat McAfee	IND	18	14	31	3	3	69
14	Matt Bosher	ATL	16	15	30	3	3	67
15	Jon Ryan	SEA	13	14	34	3	3	67
16	Pat O'Donnell	CHI	14	14	32	3	3	66
17	Jacob Schum	GB	13	15	32	3	3	66
18	Bryan Anger	TB	13	17	30	3	3	66
19	Brad Nortman	JAX	14	13	32	3	3	65
20	Riley Dixon	DEN	10	18	30	3	3	64
21	Tress Way	WAS	13	16	27	3	3	62
22	Jordan Berry	PIT	15	15	26	3	3	62
23	Dustin Colquitt	KC	13	16	26	3	3	61
24	Matt Darr	MIA	7	13	35	3	3	61
25	Drew Kaser	SD	12	16	26	3	3	60
26	Jeff Locke	MIN	13	14	23	3	3	56
27	Kevin Huber	CIN	13	11	25	3	3	55
28	Ryan Quigley	ARI	12	11	25	3	3	54
29	Ryan Allen	NE	8	13	25	3	3	52
30	Lachlan Edwards	NYJ	3	5	31	3	3	45

Notable Omissions/Not Graded This Week

• Chris Jones—bye
• Andy Lee—bye