NFL Week 7 Fantasy Football Help: Jonathan Dwyer Could Be Your Answer

Thankfully for fantasy football players, there wasn't a game-time decision when it came to Rashard Mendenhall's availability, especially with the Steelers playing on Sunday Night Football.

Mendenhall, in his second game back from last year's knee injury, suffered an Achilles injury in last week's loss to Tennessee.

The injury opens the door for Jonathan Dwyer to have a little fantasy relevance once again.

He hasn't had a carry since Week 3 and only has 94 total yards on the season.

Still, with Michael Turner, Willis McGahee, Jamaal Charles, Reggie Bush, LeSean McCoy and Ryan Mathews on bye, there are needy fantasy players out there.

Enter Dwyer. He has a nice matchup against Cincinnati, who ranks 21st against the run with 116.8 yards allowed per game. The Bengals are also one of four teams to have allowed at least eight rushing touchdowns.

Don't get your expectations up too high, though. Dwyer had a chance to make a mark while Mendenhall was out. He floundered, averaging 2.9 yards per carry.

He's not alone. Mendy is averaging 3.9, Redman is averaging 2.5 and Baron Batch and Chris Rainey, who are expected to share the load this weekend, are both averaging 2.1 ypc. Those are some ugly numbers.

However, if you're in a bind, you take what you can get.

Also check out:

• 2012 Week 7 Fantasy QB Rankings
• 2012 Week 7 Fantasy RB Rankings
• 2012 Week 7 Fantasy WR Rankings
• 2012 Week 7 Fantasy TE Rankings
• 2012 Week 7 Fantasy DEF Rankings