Following a handful of significant trades around the league, the Week 7 risers and fallers list has a lot to consider. After this week, we will be halfway through the fantasy football regular season. Moving forward with a roster of trustworthy players is crucial to making a second-half playoff push.
The players below are a mix of obvious studs and some others you may justifiably still have reservations about heading into Week 7. I’m including this particular group of players because I think they’re more important to discuss than others. Before you dive in, feel free to review my Week 6 risers, fallers, and the player on the hot seat that I named before last weekend.
Week 7 Risers, Fallers, and a Player on the Hot Seat
Risers
Davante Adams, WR, New York Jets
Let’s just get right into it. Aaron Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets on April 26, 2023. Pretty much since that day, there has been plenty of speculation about Davante Adams, too, finding his way to the Jets. At last, it is done. As a result, Davante Adams is an obvious Week 7 riser. After missing the last three weeks with a “hamstring injury”, it sounds like Adams is miraculously available to make his Jets debut right away. Anything from Davante Adams is better than nothing.
Fantasy managers who have had Adams stashed on their Injured Reserve can fire him up right away. Despite suiting up for a new team, Adams has an obvious history with Rodgers and offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett, from their time with the Green Bay Packers. In 108 career games with Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams has 622 catches for 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns. That includes six-straight seasons from 2016 to 2021 with at least 74 receptions and 117 targets in each season.
There is a chance this trade completely backfires. The Jets are 2-4 and realistically need to finish the season 8-3 or better to make the playoffs. Both Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams celebrate birthdays in December, turning 41 and 32 years old respectively. For as much excitement as their trade brings, it has an underlying level of doom along with it. However, there’s no doubt Rodgers is going to do everything he can to feed Adams to get this offense and the Jets back on track.
For the rest of the Jets, there’s a likely downgrade to both Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard in the passing game. Wilson is leading the league in total targets (67) and is third in targets per game (11.2) after six weeks. He likely sees a higher quality of targets as opposing defenses divide their attention between him and Adams, but the added competition for targets, especially in the red zone makes Wilson a faller, however slight. Allen Lazard leads the league in receiving touchdowns (5) with just an 18.8% target share, second-most on the Jets. He will still have a role, and the trust from Rodgers, but becomes much more of a boom-or-bust, touchdown-dependent player in fantasy football.
Amari Cooper, WR, Buffalo Bills
Throughout the off-season, there was a heavy emphasis on the departures of both Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis from the Buffalo Bills. Their 244 combined targets, including the playoffs, accounted for 44% of the team target share last season. As a result, fantasy football managers invested in Bills pass catchers who they believed would step up as Josh Allen’s top target. That list included Dalton Kincaid, rookie Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, and Khalil Shakir, the latter three requiring later-round draft picks to select.
After six weeks, no Bills pass catcher has more than two touchdowns. Kincaid (21) and Shakir (20) are the only receivers with more than 12 receptions, as well. While the Bills are 4-2, their offense clearly lacks a go-to receiver. Needless to say, Amari Cooper is a major riser heading into Week 7 following the trade from the Cleveland Browns to Buffalo earlier this week.
First things first, the Bills essentially traded a third-round pick to acquire Cooper. That’s notable draft capital for a 30-year-old receiver who’s having a rough start to the 2024 season. If you’ve been able to stomach watching the Browns this season, you know Cooper’s lackluster production is a result of his quarterback play.
While Cooper (53) is one of nine wide receivers with more than 50 targets this season, only 33 of them have been deemed “catchable.” Only Diontae Johnson (31 of 55) has a lower percentage of catchable targets of players with 50 or more targets this season. Additionally, Cooper also ranks fourth in total air yards this season with 641. However, he has just 250 receiving yards on 24 receptions.
Needless to say, transitioning from Deshaun Watson to Josh Allen has Cooper’s stock rising way up. We need to monitor if he’s available on such short notice in Week 7, but beyond that, Cooper should be locked into lineups for the remainder of the season.
Baker Mayfield, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield is currently the QB2 in fantasy football on a points-per-game basis. He (23.4) sits less than one point behind Lamar Jackson (24.2). It’s worth noting, however, that just 18.2% of Mayfield’s points are a result of rushing production (136 yards, two touchdowns). Meanwhile, 35.9% of Lamar Jackson’s points are a result of his rushing production (403 yards, two touchdowns).
Baker Mayfield is thriving through the air and should continue doing so the rest of the way. Through six games, Baker Mayfield’s 70.9% completion percentage is the best of his career. He’s pacing for a career-high 4,200 passing yards and, even better for fantasy football purposes, over 40 passing touchdowns.
Looking ahead, Baker Mayfield’s schedule is one of the best for fantasy football. He’s a Week 7 riser specifically because he and the Buccaneers are hosting the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football. The Ravens are allowing the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. From Weeks 8 through 10, Mayfield has a tough three-game stretch against the Falcons, Chiefs and 49ers, but given how he’s played thus far, it’s hard to imagine sitting him. In fact, his 23.4 points against the Falcons in Week 5 is one of four games this season with more than 23.0 fantasy points, including the last three.
After the Buccaneers’ Week 11 bye, Baker Mayfield has a potential league-winning schedule. Five of his last six opponents rank inside the top 12 in fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. That includes two against the Carolina Panthers, the second of which is a home matchup in Week 17, the weekend of most fantasy football championships. The bottom line here is to keep Mayfield on your roster even through a tough short stretch and his bye ahead. You don’t want to face Baker Mayfield in fantasy football later this season, especially with a playoff spot or a league title on the line.
Kimani Vidal, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Any chance I get to talk about Kimani Vidal, I’m going to take it. What better occasion than on the Week 7 risers list after his NFL debut in Week 6? Now, I understand Vidal still has a ways to go before he’s considered fantasy football relevant; he may never be this season.
In fact, J.K. Dobbins probably deserves to be on the Week 7 risers list more. Without Gus Edwards in Week 6, Dobbins handled a season-high 73% of snaps, ran a route on nearly 50% of dropbacks, and scored 18.2 fantasy points. Despite catching a 38-yard touchdown pass, on his first career touch, Vidal went on to have just one more two-yard reception on top of just 11 rushing yards on four carries.
Vidal is a Week 7 riser because he figures to be J.K. Dobbins’ handcuff while Gus Edwards is on Injured Reserve. The Los Angeles Chargers on one of just nine teams averaging 30 or more rush attempts per game. If Dobbins were to miss time for any reason, Vidal would likely vault into must-start territory with a high-volume role. So, if you have the room and Vidal is still out there, he is currently one of the most valuable handcuffs in fantasy football. He can be added even if you don’t have Dobbins.
T.J. Hockenson, TE, Minnesota Vikings
Hockenson may not play in Week 7. However, he is practicing on a limited basis after spending the beginning of the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list following last season’s ACL injury. He should be back to playing within the next two weeks. When he is, Hockenson may be a top-10 tight end in fantasy football. If you’ve had him stashed up until this point, congrats on the patience and savvy pick!
I never expected Hockenson back until after the Vikings’ Week 6 bye. Furthermore, I had no idea what kind of Vikings team he would be joining with Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback. We now know the Vikings are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the league. They rank fifth in points per game (27.8), as well. Sam Darnold has over 1,100 yards in five games with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Hockenson is surprisingly walking into a much better situation than expected. Additionally, the bar to clear as a top tight end in fantasy football is much lower than expected. Just five tight ends are averaging over 10.0 fantasy points per game. The TE12 is currently averaging 9.4 points per game. Last season, Hockenson averaged 14.6 fantasy points per game. Despite his late-season injury, he finished third in total points, as well. Albeit a quarterback change in Minnesota, Hockenson should return to being a focal point in this year’s offense. Even if he doesn’t return to his 2023 production, he will be a must-start tight end given the state of the rest of the position.
Fallers
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
After just 9.1 points per game (WR55) as a rookie last season, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is averaging just 11.8 points per game (WR37) in his second season thus far. Smith-Njigba is by no means having a poor season. He’s playing the second-most snaps, just seven total behind DK Metcalf, with the second-most targets, as well. In fact, JSN has 28 total targets in his last three games. Unfortunately, what makes Smith-Njigba a bit of a Week 7 faller is the rise of Kenneth Walker in the passing game and the steadiness of Tyler Lockett. Walker has 21 targets of his own over the last three weeks while Lockett boasts a respectable 23 of his own.
The Seattle Seahawks offense is the pass-heaviest team through six weeks of play. Their 41.8 pass attempts per game lead the league, including 49.3 attempts per game over the last three weeks. That being said, Jaxon Smith-Njigba should be having a much more production season than he is. Offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, and quarterback, Geno Smith, are spreading the ball around amongst Seahawks pass catchers. Despite putting JSN on the Week 7 fallers list, I still think he’s a weekly flex play with upside depending on the matchup. The volume is too good to keep out of your lineup. However, it’s understandable if you have better options, especially in weeks without byes. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is just a faller from where I, and many others, expected he would be this season.
The Minnesota Vikings’ Backfield
Aaron Jones is still working his way back from a Week 5 hamstring injury. Jones, who turns 30 in less than two months, has a recent history of hamstring injuries. Coming out of the bye, Ty Chandler appeared to be a hot Week 7 waiver wire pickup for this reason. He looked primed for a larger role in place of Jones if he was, in fact, unable to suit up. However, that changed when the Minnesota Vikings traded for Cam Akers earlier this week.
Akers is returning to Minnesota after spending a few weeks with the Vikings in 2023 before tearing his Achilles in Week 9. He would then sign with the Houston Texans this past off-season. Trading to get Akers back in the mix is worse for Ty Chandler than it is for Aaron Jones. Chandler has just not looked the same this season as he did late last season. In three of four games this season in which Chandler logged seven or more carries, he’s averaged more than 2.1 yards per carry in just one of them. If you remove his 10 carries for 82 yards in Week 2, Chandler is averaging just 2.03 yards per carry on his other 32 attempts.
Even if Aaron Jones gets back on the field sooner than later, I would imagine the undefeated Vikings would attempt to limit his workload. Minnesota could operate as a committee with Jones, Akers, and Chandler seeing touches in that order of most to least each week. We’ll see how this backfield operates in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions. Even then, that’s a tough matchup for any team’s run game so our answers may not be as clear as we’d like them to be. Everyone in this backfield is a faller heading into Week 7 until we see signs, if any, of who could rise up and emerge as a trustworthy option.
Check out all of our Week 7 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex
The Week 7 Hot Seat
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Putting Brandon Aiyuk on the hot seat this season is long overdue. However, I felt I’ve used the hot seat for more appropriate players to roast up until this point. Some have bounced back, others continue to disappoint. After scoring 22.7 fantasy points in Week 5, I thought Aiyuk may have avoided the hot seat altogether. Unfortunately, his 5.7 points in Week 6 puts him back on my radar as it’s his fifth of six games this season with less than 10.0 fantasy points.
Even with the big Week 5 blowup, Brandon Aiyuk is the WR55 on a fantasy points-per-game basis. Deebo Samuel (WR25) and Jauan Jennings (WR26) both rank far ahead of him. Following the off-season contract drama, I can understand a game or two to shake off the rust early on. Bradon Aiuyk’s disappointing production has gone on far too long.
Aiyuk does lead all 49ers wide receivers in snaps and targets this season. He’s caught just 56% of his passes, but is still second in receiving yards, though just barely ahead of Deebo Samuel who has played one less game. The biggest blemish to Aiyuk’s production is that he has yet to find the end zone this season. Brock Purdy has just nine touchdown passes through six games, five of which have gone to George Kittle.
Given the injuries to the 49ers’ backfield, I’d like to think they’ll be a much pass-heavier team, especially in Week 7. Unfortunately, they’ve got a Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs in Kansas City. They held Aiyuk to just three catches for 49 scoreless yards back in February.
Aiyuk’s schedule the rest of the way isn’t too fantasy-friendly, either. Late-season matchups with the Seahawks, Dolphins, Bills, and Bears are unkind when we need someone like Aiyuk the most. So, while Aiyuk is on the Week 7 hot seat, if he continues struggling through the end of the season, he will go down as one of the biggest busts of 2024. Depending on your team needs, it’s worth seeing if you can move him based on name value for anyone who may be banking on a bounce-back.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!