Week 7 Flex Rankings for Fantasy Football

Last week in this column, I highlighted some injuries and their impact on the fantasy football landscape. In a shocking development, more fantasy-relevant players were injured this past week as well. Shocking, but true. As if that weren’t enough, Week 7 features six teams on byes. If these circumstances put you in a panic, let me offer a couple of pieces of advice. One is retroactive, although I have mentioned it roughly a million times over the years. Situations like these are exactly why you should never draft a backup kicker or defense. During the draft, your bench should almost exclusively be comprised of running backs and wide receivers. I don’t even like drafting backup quarterbacks and tight ends if I can help it.

“Well thanks, Mick, but that doesn’t help me now. I’m 2-4 and my running backs are Tony Pollard and Kyren Williams.” Not ideal, but all hope should not be lost. In 2019, I was in a very competitive 12-team league. I lost my first four games. After eight weeks, I was 2-6 and in 11th place. I ended up winning the league. Sure, I’m a phenomenal fantasy player, but that’s not the point. The point is that we are still in the marathon phase of the fantasy football season. Do not shoot yourself in the foot and drop a productive player just because he may miss a game or two due to byes or injuries. Be judicious with your roster and everything will fall into place. Now let me make sure I do not hurt myself stepping off this soapbox while I reveal my Week 7 Flex Rankings.

Running Back Notes

The aforementioned Kyren Williams has been one of the young season’s best surprises at the running back position. Unfortunately, he suffered an ankle injury that is likely to sideline him for multiple weeks. Primary backup Ronnie Rivers was also hurt last week and placed on injured reserve by the Rams. Rookie Zach Evans seems like the primary beneficiary here, and he is a potential Flex play this week. But if I can offer a word of caution, many of us thought Emari Demercado would benefit from James Conner’s injury last week. He gained 17 yards on three touches while being outproduced by both Keaontay Ingram and Damien Williams. The Rams have Royce Freeman, Myles Gaskin, and Darrell Henderson in their building. Do not be surprised if one of these uninspiring vets takes some work from the rookie this week.

Believe it or not, there are some running backs on the mend this week. Jamaal Williams and Jeff Wilson are among those who could be back on the field in Week 7. Neither would step into a major role right away, but both are worth keeping an eye on. Raheem Mostert has been a fantasy darling, but is 31 years old and has a lengthy injury history. And Alvin Kamara has looked good but not great since returning from a three-game suspension. He also has 75 touches in three games which is not sustainable. I currently have both Williams and Wilson outside my top 50 running backs for this week. I will move them up once their statuses are clarified. They are not ideal Week 7 Flex options, but you could certainly do worse in a pinch. Keep in mind that Williams and the Saints play on Thursday night.

Wide Receiver Notes

Diontae Johnson is another player who could return to game action this week. He practiced in full on Wednesday which is a good sign for his Week 7 outlook. The Steelers’ star wide receiver has been on injured reserve since Week 1 with a hamstring injury. The fifth-year pro averaged over eight fantasy points per game last year despite not scoring a touchdown. That is no easy task. As of this writing, I have Johnson outside my top 100 overall Flex plays. In all honesty, that is just me being conservative and waiting to see if and when he is cleared. Johnson does not have an ideal matchup, as the Rams allow the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. However, if he has a clean bill of health, he should be considered a solid Flex option, especially in a week like this with so many unknowns.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed veteran Julio Jones this week. I only mention this in case some may believe Jones can still be a productive fantasy player. Can he catch a random touchdown and finish as a top-50 fantasy wideout in a given week? Sure, I suppose. But he is no longer the Julio Jones of old. In 2019, he scored 224.6 fantasy points. Since then, he has scored 243.9. Jones played 10 games last season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He never finished as a top-24 fantasy wide receiver in a single week and only finished inside the top-40 twice. Now add another year of wear and tear to his body. Jones was added in 8.5 percent of Fantrax leagues this week. That feels like several percentage points too many. Let someone else deal with the headache.

Tight End Notes

Diontae Johnson is not the only Pittsburgh Steeler pass catcher who could return in Week 7 after suffering a hamstring injury. Tight end Pat Freiermuth also practiced fully on Wednesday, which could mean his return is imminent. As is the case with Johnson, my current ranking of Freiermuth is very conservative, so keep that in mind. Like Johnson, Freiermuth would be a borderline Week 7 starter assuming he is cleared in full. Unlike Johnson, Freiermuth should return to a favorable matchup. The Rams have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends so far this year. They also give up 13.47 yards per catch to tight ends, which is the highest number in the NFL. Freiermuth did average 11.6 yards per catch a season ago, so I would not be surprised to see him find a seam and break a big play or two in this game.

Another tight end I may have to move up my rankings in the coming days is Michael Mayer of the Las Vegas Raiders. Mayer has logged a season-high snap rate in three consecutive weeks, culminating with an 82 percent mark last week. A coinciding boost in production has begun as well. Mayer had two catches for 39 yards in Week 5 and five catches for 75 yards in Week 6. He is the overall TE12 over those two weeks, and quickly becoming an important part of the Raiders’ passing game. Three of Mayer’s next four scheduled opponents are among the most generous teams in terms of allowing fantasy production to tight ends. That includes this week’s opponent, the Chicago Bears. Mayer could be a decent streaming option in Week 7 and beyond.

More Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty

Week 7 Flex Rankings