Mohamed Sanu's Updated 2014 Fantasy Outlook Heading into Week 7

Another week, another strong fantasy performance for Cincinnati Bengals wideout Mohamed Sanu. 

Really, Sunday's eventual tie with the Carolina Panthers proved to be Sanu's best output to date thanks to the absence of star wideout A.J. Green. The Rutgers product's 18-point explosion, making him the week's fifth-highest scorer at the position entering Monday, was his third dip into double digits: 

WK	OPP	REC	YDS	TD	PTS
1	@Bal	4	36	0	5
2	Atl	3	84	1	16
3	Ten	5	44	0	8
4	BYE	-	-	-	-
5	@NE	5	70	1	13
6	Car	10	120	1	18

Well, it was for the 38.8 percent of owners who actually bought into the hype, but be sure to subtract those who kept him benched.

Whoops.

It would behoove owners to not make the same mistake again and for those not even in need to actually hit the wire and grab Sanu.

Owners are right to normally shy away from the Bengals. A spread-it-around attack designed to protect quarterback Andy Dalton means that with Green, Sanu, Marvin Jones, Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert at full strength, not to mention backs Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill, there is only so much fantasy production to go around.

Really, the production was easy to see coming. At a certain point, the lack of options means a large amount of work is going to funnel one player's way in the Queen City. With Green, Jones and Eifert out Sunday, the work went to Sanu.

For those afraid that Sanu has a limited shelf life, understand that Eifert is on the injured reserve-designated to return list. Jones, the No. 2 wideout, is not near a return based on comments from coach Marvin Lewis, per Paul Dehner Jr. of Cincinnati.com:

Green is already a confirmed scratch for next week too, per the league's Twitter account:

Now, it is worth noting that the Bengals hit the road in Week 7 for a brutal encounter in terms of points allowed to receivers this season:

WK	OPP	Rank vs. WRs (avg. points surrendered)
7	@Ind	2 (12.4)
8	Bal	23-T (22.4)
9	Jac	28 (24.2)
10	Cle	25 (23.0)
11	@NO	29 (25.6)
12	@Hou	20 (22.2)
13	@TB	30 (27.2)
14	Pit	11 (19.2)
15	@Cle	25 (23.0)
16	Den	5 (14.3)
17	@Pit	11 (19.2)

That Indianapolis Colts defense held the Denver Broncos' Demaryius Thomas to four points. The Baltimore Ravens' Steve Smith scored just one. The Houston Texans' Andre Johnson had more success last week with 13 points, but the point stands—the Colts can shut down receivers.

Still, like last week, where else is Dalton going to turn consistently? Sanu saw 14 targets, double the next man on that list, Gresham. Backups Dane Sanzenbacher and Brandon Tate saw five apiece. Rookie James Wright had just one, albeit a critical 24-yard grab in overtime. Bernard got five; Hill had four.

NFL.com's Chris Wesseling put it best:

The point is, Sanu has the sheer talent and yards-after-catch potential to score big production when given the chance. It sounds somewhat silly to say he is a matchup-proof option, but given the wealth of injuries suffered by the offense, that is precisely what he has become for owners.

Starting in Week 8, Sanu is set to feast on an easy schedule that ensures him a sound value the rest of the season. Remember that, using the numbers above, he has been a solid flex producer even when other weapons on the offense are healthy.

Sanu is in the midst of a serious run of production and for good reason. He is an extremely talented player deep on one of the league's best depth charts at the position. With the path in front of him cleared, he is at worst a WR3 with major upside each week.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. ET. Statistics courtesy of ESPN. Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints on bye.