Fantasy Football Week 7: Biggest Takeaways from Sunday

Week 7 of fantasy football is nearing its end, and while some fantasy-relevant night games, including Philadelphia-Carolina and Baltimore-Arizona, are still on tap, it’s time to take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from Sunday’s action.

The leading story is a somber one: Arian Foster suffered a non-contact injury and is out for the rest of the season, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. We have more on the fantasy implications of this unfortunate situation inside.

We also learned more about Andrew Luck in Week 7. It’s still a mixed bag, but from a fantasy perspective, the pieces are starting to come together.

Inside, we also have takeaways on running backs Lamar Miller and Doug Martin, and we also have some insight on the fantasy value of rookie wideout Stefon Diggs. Additionally, we’ll shine the light on a player that has been making noise despite being a fantasy non-factor for several years.

We’ll go over all of these takeaways and more, starting with Foster’s injury and the fantasy fallout.

Arian Foster Injury Leaves Hopkins as Only Fantasy Starter in Houston

Joel Auerbach/Associated Press

Arian Foster

As noted in the opening slide, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport has reported that Houston Texans running back Arian Foster suffered a season-ending injury (torn Achilles) in Week 7.

Foster had put together his best fantasy game of the season before being injured—23 total fantasy points in standard leagues—but it's not the strong performance that fantasy owners will remember.

In Foster’s absence, the Texans backfield will consist of Chris Polk, Alfred Blue and Jonathan Grimes. Blue offers the most upside—he carried the ball 31 times for 139 yards and scored once in Week 3—but none of those three options offers a consistent fantasy floor. Additionally, the team is still plagued by poor quarterback play.

A three-headed backfield on an already subpar offense spells trouble for fantasy owners. Blue is the back to own now that Foster is out, but that doesn’t make him a fantasy starter. He should ride your bench unless he proves otherwise.

Foster’s injury leaves DeAndre Hopkins as the only viable fantasy option in Houston. A bad season for the Texans just got worse.

Andrew Luck Is Locked in as a QB1

R Brent Smith/Associated Press

Andrew Luck

Fantasy is not reality.

As of this writing, Indianapolis Colts signal-caller Andrew Luck was the fourth-highest scoring quarterback in fantasy leagues in Week 7. He will finish the week as a QB1 no matter what happens in the night games.

However, Luck’s Colts are now 3-4 and were anemic on offense throughout the first and second quarters in Week 7. Yet Luck still ended the game with 333 passing yards and three touchdowns. Garbage time in fantasy is a beautiful thing.

Luck has now put together two strong fantasy outings despite the fact his real team lost both games. He has thrown for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in both of those games.

The struggling quarterback has some hard games on the horizon—at Carolina and versus Denver—before having a late bye week in Week 10. But then his schedule softens up during the most critical time in fantasy football. From Weeks 11-16, Luck plays against the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins.

There were some doubts concerning Luck’s fantasy standings early in the season (expounded by an injury that sidelined him for a couple of games), but there should be no doubt now. Regardless of how bad the Colts look at times, Luck is putting up QB1 numbers once again and should be a lock in starting fantasy lineups.

Lamar Miller Is Back in RB1 Conversation

Joel Auerbach/Associated Press

Lamar Miller

The hope was that when the Miami Dolphins made a coaching change, it would spell more Lamar Miller.

That is exactly what has happened.

Miller exploded in Week 7, gaining 236 total yards and scoring two touchdowns. And he did that damage in just one half of play.

Will Brinson of CBSSports.com tweeted out this gem of a stat: “Lamar Miller under Joe Philbin: 218 total yards on 46 touches in 4 games. Lamar Miller has 236 yards today.”

After a big Week 6 in which Miller gained 113 rushing yards and scored, there was cautious optimism about Miller. But people didn’t go all-in—it's hard to go all-in after just one game. But after his Week 7 performance, there shouldn’t be too many more questions about Miller. He is back in the RB1 conversation.

Doug Martin Continues to Quietly Put Up RB1 Numbers

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Doug Martin

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are only 2-4, but running back Doug Martin has quietly strung together three straight big games for fantasy owners. With a rookie quarterback, the Buccaneers appear content with running the ball, which is leading to big numbers for Martin.

Martin has been a massive disappointment from a fantasy perspective ever since his breakout rookie season in 2012. But he showed promise this preseason, and that promise has spilled over into the regular season.

Martin has now carried the ball over 19 times in four of six games this season. Additionally, he has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the past three games—with his 136 rushing yards today serving as a season-high—and has scored four total touchdowns in that span.

With somewhere around 20 carries a game, Martin is a must-start fantasy option. He has solidified himself as an RB2, but if he can keep scoring touchdowns at his current clip, he would warrant RB1 consideration.

Stefon Diggs Is the Real Deal, Should Be in Lineups

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

Stefon Diggs

Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is a trend.

Minnesota Vikings rookie wideout Stefon Diggs is the real deal.

Diggs has caught at least six passes and has gained at least 85 yards in all three of his games so far this season. Extrapolated over a full 16-game slate, Diggs is on pace for 101 receptions and 1,728 yards.

Diggs caught the first touchdown of his career in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions. He also went for over 100 yards for the second straight week.

Will he put up those kinds of numbers on a weekly basis? It’s unlikely—but it does give you a sense of just how well he has been playing recently.

Diggs is no longer just a “sleeper” and should no longer simply be owned (which was my take just last week); he should be in starting lineups.

Jordan Reed Is a Top-5 TE

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Jordan Reed

The headline here comes with the unwritten “as long as he’s healthy.”

Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed returned from injury in Week 7 in style. He caught 11 passes for 72 yards and scored twice, making him the highest-scoring tight end this week (as of this writing).

Reed is a target-hog when Kirk Cousins is his quarterback, and he has established himself as one of the safest fantasy plays at the tight end position—especially in PPR leagues. Additionally, Reed proved this week that his ceiling is as high as anybody’s.

Reed has caught at least five passes in every game he’s played in this season, and he has gone for over 60 yards in four of those five games. This shows that he has a high floor as well.

The list of tight ends that are definitely ahead of Reed at this point is short: Rob Gronkowski, Greg Olsen and Tyler Eifert.

The case could obviously be made for players such as Antonio Gates, Travis Kelce, Martellus Bennett and Jimmy Graham to be ahead of Reed, but he’s right in there with those players. Reed should be viewed as a top-flight fantasy tight end for the rest of the season.

Danny Amendola Continues to Emerge

Steven Senne/Associated Press

Danny Amendola

Don’t look now, but Danny Amendola has put together back-to-back solid games and is emerging as one of Tom Brady’s most reliable weapons.

Over the past two weeks, Amendola has caught 15 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown. Even in standard leagues, Amendola has been relevant, scoring double-digit fantasy points in each of the past two weeks.

Over the first four games of the season, Amendola had a total of 10 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. He did not score double-digit fantasy points (in standard leagues) in any of those games.

Amendola’s recent success comes with a caveat: Julian Edelman’s finger got all sorts of messed up in Week 6, which could have contributed to Amendola’s bigger-than-usual game. In Week 7, Brandon LaFell and Edelman (mostly LaFell) dropped a ton of passes—and Dion Lewis didn’t play—which again means Amendola could have been asked to do more than he otherwise normally would.

Regardless of why he was asked to do more, he stepped up to the plate, and that tends to earn points with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Amendola is not a safe bet by any means (New England’s offense continues to evolve from week to week), but he’s certainly worth rostering at this point in case his hot streak is not just a flash in the pan.