Ezekiel Elliott had his best game of the season on Sunday when he scored three touchdowns against the struggling 49ers.
Credit: @YahooSports
Week Seven in the NFL is over and there is plenty to talk about. Sunday did not feature too many explosive performances, but there was plenty of action in one of the best Thursday night football games ever to be played when the Raiders beat the Chiefs on a walk-off touchdown. Unfortunately, this article has excluded the highest scoring wide receiver (Amari Cooper, 33 standard scoring points) and the highest scoring quarterback (Derek Carr, 30.2 standard scoring points) in fantasy football from this past week since they played a while ago on Thursday night football. So here are some of the other best performers in fantasy football from Week Seven.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB Dallas Cowboys:
The looming suspension hasn’t seemed to bother Elliott very much as he is on pace for 1,400 yards on the ground and 500 receiving yards. The sophomore running back saw a big increase in his season long stats on Sunday when he accounted for a career high 219 all-purpose yards in a blowout win against a terrible 49ers defense. Owners got two early first quarter touchdowns from the talented running back, and he added to an already impressive day with a 72-yard touchdown on a short screen pass. The performance could have been even better as Elliot was given a few more goal line carries for an opportunity to get a fourth touchdown. As long he isn’t suspended, “Zeke” will continue to be an elite running back for his usage alone, he only has one game this season with less than 20 carries. Owners are probably very anxious at this point in the season because it is still unknown if the Ohio State product will see his suspension pushed back till next season or not. Keep slotting Elliott into lineups while you can as he is cleared to play for Week Eight, unfortunately whatever follows is still up in the air.
Russell Wilson, QB Seattle Seahawks:
It has been a boom or bust season thus far for Wilson who was actually drafted as a high end option at quarterback (Average fifth highest QB drafted on ESPN.com). The veteran already has three games this season with 26 or more fantasy points in standard scoring, but in the other three has produced 15 or less. It is that kind of inconsistency that keeps Wilson out of the realm of elite fantasy quarterbacks but still makes him one of the best to own. These up and down performances can win or lose matchups for owners and that can be very frustrating. This week Wilson threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns against a struggling Giants secondary. Historically, the former Wisconsin Badger gets much better as the season goes on and he has a nice stretch of games in his future, just be aware of some tough matchups during the fantasy playoffs.
LeSean McCoy, RB Buffalo Bills:
Coming into Week Seven, LeSean McCoy and Julio Jones were in competition with each other for the biggest un-injured bust of this season. Both players were drafted in the first round of drafts this year (avg. Jones 5th, McCoy 7th on ESPN.com) and had both gone without a touchdown until Sunday. Jones finally connected with Matt Ryan on Sunday night in garbage time and McCoy was able to find the end zone twice against the Buccaneers earlier in the day. The veteran running back gained 122 total yards on a season high 28 touches and ended the day with 22.2 fantasy points in standard scoring, easily his highest total of the season. Owners can only hope that this breakthrough performance will be the start of the veteran’s return to the fantasy elite; during the first five games he was disappointing, to say the least.
Kenny Stills, WR Miami Dolphins:
With fellow wide receiver Devante Parker on the shelf for Sunday’s matchup against the Jets, Kenny Stills saw a big uptick in targets. The former New Orleans Saint caught six passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns which were all season highs. Owners who slotted Stills into their lineup following the news of Parker being out got heavily rewarded with 20.5 points in standard scoring, making him the highest scoring wide receiver who played on Sunday. Quarterback Jay Cutler got injured during the game, but luckily Matt Moore seems to be a solid fill-in if the former is going to miss an extended period of time. If Moore ends up starting, it may even mean an increase in deep targets to Stills which is great for both of their values. It is tough to imagine the veteran having a lot of value down the stretch, but if he is called upon to play second fiddle to Jarvis Landry on Thursday against the Ravens, he could have another nice performance.
O.J. Howard, TE Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
So far this season the Tampa Bay tight end to own in fantasy is Cameron Brate, but on Sunday it was Howard who came through with the big game. The highly touted rookie had been very quiet coming into this past weekend with five catches on the season and only one touchdown. Against the Bills, quarterback Jameis Winston had eyes for Howard as he finished the day with six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Almost no one thought to start the big receiver this week so his points were probably wasted in the majority of leagues, but it does further show the talent he has coming out of Alabama. The 21.8 standard scoring points were a welcome surprise for Howard owners, but it is best not to expect that again unless Cameron Brate goes down with injury. Brate is still the number one tight end and is a fantasy star so far this season with 341 receiving yards and four touchdowns at a very shallow position. The only place Howard should be is on the waiver wire or taking up the last spot on someone’s bench.
