Week 7 Flavor of the Week is headlined by a quarterback who finds himself owned in just over 50 percent of leagues despite ranking in the top five in touchdown passes, a running back whose seen a major jump in ownership due to a recent news report, a wide receiver who is off to an incredible start to his NFL career and a veteran tight end that turned back the clock in Week 6 with a big time performance. Let’s take a look at the top-added players heading into Week 7.
Quarterbacks
Blake Bortles, JAC – Bortles has finally surpassed 50 percent ownership in standard leagues this week despite ranking among the top six in passing yards and touchdowns this season at the quarterback position and ranking sixth in standard-league scoring at the position. In Week 6 Bortles threw for a season-high 331 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions which brings his season totals to 1,630 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven INTs. In Week 7 the Jaguars travel to London to face the Bills who have struggled mightily against the pass this season which presents a great matchup for Bortles.
Brian Hoyer, HOU – Hoyer got the start in Week 6 after entering each of the previous two games in relief of a struggling Ryan Mallett and he did not disappoint the fantasy owners that started him as he threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns against the Jaguars. Hoyer benefits from a solid receiving core headlined by DeAndre Hopkins who leads NFL receivers with 726 yards on 90 targets and Cecil Shorts who when healthy was a viable No.1 receiver in Jacksonville a few years back as well as Arian Foster in the backfield who is a great receiver out of the backfield as well as a dominant running back. Week 7 brings about a matchup against the Dolphins who really struggled earlier in the season but last week came out of the bye week with a new head coach and dominated the Titans so it remains to be seen if the Dolphins have truly turned a leaf and Hoyer and the Texans' offense will certainly put that to test.
Running Backs
Christine Michael, DAL – Michael appeared on this list last week after a report from ESPN Dallas stated that he could end up supplanting Joseph Randle as the Cowboys starting running back when Dallas returns from their Week 7 bye. In standard leagues Michael saw his ownership jump to just over 40 percent which is a big risk for owners given that to this point in the season he has seen just two carries for a five yards over the past two weeks.
James Starks, GB – With Eddie Lacy doing his best disappearing act the Packers turned to Starks last week against the Chargers and he took 10 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown in what many felt would have been a prime matchup for Lacy against a bad Chargers run defense. Starks turned in a great performance earlier this season when Lacy went down with an ankle injury that many speculate is the reason why he has been ineffective to this point in the year. At this point there is no indication that Starks is going to supplant Lacy as the team’s No.1 running back but the Packers will likely not hesitate to turn to Starks if Lacy struggles early in a contest.
Wide Receivers
Stefon Diggs, WR – Diggs made his NFL debut in Week 4 against the Broncos and caught six passes for 87 yards but the Vikings then went on a bye which likely made people forget about Diggs’ performance. Coming out of the bye week the Vikings faced off against a bad Chiefs defense and Diggs torched their secondary with seven catches for 129 yards and Diggs is now on everybody’s radar as evidenced by being the highest-claimed receiver this week. The Vikings face off against the Lions and the Bears over the next two weeks which are also very favorable matchups for Diggs.
Brandon LaFell, NE – It makes sense that LaFell would be one of the higher-added receivers heading into Week 7 as he comes off the PUP list with the potential to play against the Jets. LaFell had been dealing with a foot injury that he suffered last season but he is apparently healthy enough to already be practicing with the Patriots this week. LaFell turned in a career year in 2014, catching 74 passes for 953 yards and seven touchdowns and offers a different skill set on the Patriots' offense that compliments Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski in the passing attack.
Tight Ends
Benjamin Watson, NO – Watson makes the most-added list after finding the end zone for the second straight week and turning in a monster performance, catching 10 passes for 127 yards. Prior to Week 6 Watson was averaging around three catches for 30 yards, which is not totally appealing outside of PPR leagues but he finds himself with a good matchup against the Colts and with some of the bigger named tight ends on a bye week he is worth the fill-in option.
Julius Thomas, JAC – Thomas finds himself on this list for the second straight week as many added him last week and benefited from a big performance where he caught seven passes for 78 yards and a touchdown against the Texans. Thomas has his ownership up to around 73 percent in most standard leagues and his owners should look forward to a very favorable matchup in Week 7 against a Bills defense that has really struggled to stop the pass this season.