2026 Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers: Biggest Movers Ahead Of Week 7

Week 6 of the NFL season is in the books, and I’ll remind you that it’s important to not just look at the box score when evaluating players and stating whether their fantasy football stock is up or down. Many times, the numbers under the hood can paint a more accurate or complete picture of a player’s usage, value, or role. That’s the idea behind our Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers series. Throughout the season, we’ll monitor these underlying metrics and trends to identify fantasy football breakout candidates, waiver wire targets, trade targets, sleepers, and players who have seen their fantasy football stock go up or go down. Also, be sure to check out a few players I identified as possible fantasy football buy-low and sell-high candidates! If you want to stay ahead of your league, these are the fantasy football trends and fantasy football values you need to know as Week 6 is in the rearview mirror, and we head into Week 7 of the NFL season.

Biggest Fantasy Football Risers Before Week 7

Isaiah Likely, New York Giants

Likely was seeing an enormous target share with Jameis Winston, but the 17.6% target share he’s seen with JJ McCarthy is no slouch! He’s been a friendly target for his quarterbacks, posting elite separation metrics and a 94.8 passer rating when targeted over the last three weeks, per FantasyPoints Data. Across these past three weeks, he’s holding a 26.9% target share, 2.12 yards per route run, and his 0.56 fantasy points per route run is the fourth-best mark amongst tight ends with at least 10 targets in the aforementioned span, per FantasyPoints Data. He’s essentially a slot receiver at the tight end position, and no tight end has more targets than him over the last three weeks. McCarthy may not be as good for fantasy purposes as Winston tends to be, but the passing attack is so funneled through Likely and Malik Nabers, and upcoming matchups with the Texans, Eagles, Commanders, and Jaguars present some good matchups.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Despite not being overly active with his legs, he’ll run when he has to, but Stroud’s fantasy success this year has little to do with his legs. He’s put up 17+ fantasy points in all but one game this season, and he has 20+ fantasy points in three straight games! Houston came into the 2026 season with the expectation of being a run-heavy, lean-on-the-defense type of team, but through six weeks, they are a pass-happy team playing in high-scoring games more often than not. The Texans boast the 4th-highest explosive pass rate in the NFL and a pass rate over expectation that is over three times the league average, per FantasyPoints Data. Also, he has Nico Collins at his disposal, the team traded for Marvin Harrison, Jaylin Noel is breaking out in front of our eyes, and Tank Dell is returning to play this week. Stroud is going to drop back 30+ times every single week, and his right arm is imperative to offensive success.

Biggest Fantasy Football Fallers Before Week 7

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos

You’ve seen the memes on social media, and the first six weeks for Nix have been far from kind. His 5.55 yards per attempt and 5.98 aDOT are the lowest in the league, per FantasyPoints Data, and despite that, he’s completing just 60.3% of his passes! Specifically on passes in the 10-19 yard range, he’s completed just 54.5% of his passes with a 63.6% catchable ball rate, per FantasyPoints Data, which, to put in perspective, is nearly nine percentage points below the league average.

Aside from everything happening, or not happening, from Nix’s right arm, the other element here that has sapped his fantasy value is the fact that he’s not running. In 2024, Nix averaged 3.9 fantasy points per game on the ground, and in 2025, he came in at 3.7 fantasy points per game. However, this year he’s averaging just 1.28 fantasy points per game on the ground, per FantasyPoints Data. Nix is mobile and a more than capable runner, but he’s not doing it. 

Nix needs to be better through the air, no doubt, but the other thing I’m watching is whether or not he starts running more.

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts

There have been times with Josh Downs this year where I’ve sounded and/or felt like a broken record. “Okay, this is going to be it. This is the week!”

And again, I find myself disappointed. After going for 12+ fantasy points in Weeks 2 and 3, Downs has averaged just seven fantasy points per game over the last three weeks, failing to reach five receptions or 50 receiving yards in any of those games (5.3 targets per game). Perhaps what is most disappointing is that in the team’s Week 6 loss to Tennessee, there was no Alec Pierce OR Tyler Warren (20.5% targets share Weeks 1-5) in that game. Against Tennessee, Downs’ seven targets were tied for second on the team, but it was Keenan Allen who posted 82 yards on eight grabs, and even Deion Burks (41) had more receiving yards than Downs (40). I hate to say it, as I was very high on Downs coming into the season, but Downs might be a matchup-dependent play for now, especially if Daniel Jones’ struggles continue.

Take a look at the numbers below for Downs, courtesy of FantasyPoints Data:

The separation score is off the charts, and he has a very strong win rate on his routes, per FantasyPoints Data, which likely explains his dominance against man coverage. He’ll need to improve against zone coverage and become a more reliable target for Jones if he wants to take that next step for fantasy purposes, but at this point, he seems more like a matchup-dependent start versus an emerging, breakout star.

Fantasy Football Buy-Low Candidates

Cam Skattebo, New York Giants

Trading for Skattebo may not give you a warm fuzzy feeling coming off a Week 6 performance where he scored zero fantasy points on just six offensive snaps. Without Skattebo, the Giants didn’t really get anything from their backs, as Tyrone Tracy, Devin Singletary, and Najee Harris combined for 34 rushing yards on 14 carries (2.4 YPC). Sure, he had a costly fumble in Week 5, but the aforementioned triumvirate isn’t going to get it done, and albeit not exceptional, Skattebo has 3.63 YPC on the year, with an above-league average yards after contact per attempt mark, per FantasyPoints Data. He’s productive in the pass game, and while they can be upset all they want with the fumble, per FantasyPoints Data, the Giants gain 0.132 EPA/play, and the team’s success rate jumps 2.9% when he’s on the field.

A.J. Brown, New England Patriots

Having more drops (4) than receptions (3) in a game is never a good thing, and there’s all sorts of rust that he needs to knock off. He ran just 14 routes in the season opener before exiting with injury, and then he missed the next five weeks. Then, in Week 6, despite those four drops, he saw nine targets, good for a strong 28.1% target share and 0.27 targets per route run, per FantasyPoints Data. Furthermore, Romeo Doubs was just placed on IR, so it’s Brown, Demario Douglas, and Kyle Williams as the top receivers, at least for the next couple of weeks. Brown will get settled in, and the price will never be lower to acquire him in your fantasy leagues. Drake Maye has been balling out of late, and it’s only a matter of time until Brown gets it going and starts putting up backend WR1 numbers on a frequent basis.

Fantasy Football Sell-High Candidates

Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders

Don’t get me wrong, I think Tre Tucker is probably better than what he’s given credit for, but for fantasy purposes, I’d be looking to sell high coming off a big week. For the year, he has a 66.3% snap share and 75.1% route participation rate, with a 15.8% target share and 15.46 yards per reception, per FantasyPoints Data. The Raiders play 12 personnel nearly 45% of the time, which is the second-highest mark in the league, and the team’s wide receivers account for 40.3% of the targets, per FantasyPoints Data. That 40.3% is the lowest in the league by a WIDE margin, as the next closest team is the Minnesota Vikings at 50.4%! You can make do with boom-or-bust wideouts in fantasy if opportunities are in abundance, but this offense flows through the tight ends, Kirk Cousins’ arm isn’t what it used to be, and Cousins’ yards per attempt drops from 8.51 when trailing to 5.74 when the team is playing with a lead, per FantasyPoints Data. Again, I think Tucker is better than what he gets credit for, but what if they make the switch to Fernando Mendoza if they pile on a couple of more losses? What if the Raiders stack a win or two, and make a trade for a premium wide receiver?

On the year, 63.2% of Tucker’s fantasy points came from his performance in Week 2 (22.9) and Week 6 (26.7). In the other four games, he’s averaged just 7.2 fantasy points per game (PPR).

RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos

Through five games, here are Harvey’s fantasy point totals: 8.1, 10.7, 19.3, 0.7, 14.6.

Most of his fantasy production comes through the air, as he has just 21 carries on the year with under four yards per carry. Furthermore, despite Bo Nix’s low aDOT and yards per attempt, which won’t change with Sean Payton, by the way, the switch in play callers is more than notable. Take a look at some of the numbers, courtesy of FantasyPoints Data:

• Sean Payton calling plays
  • Dobbins: 15.7 rush attempts per game, 63.7% designed carry share, 4.7% target share
  • Harvey: 8.3 rush attempts per game, 35.2% designed carry share, 9.8% target share
• Davis Webb calling plays
  • Dobbins: 11.5 rush attempts per game, 55.4% designed carry share, 2.2% target share
  • Harvey: 4.0 rush attempts per game, 20.7% designed carry share, 20.2% target share

Payton loves Dobbins, and he’s going to be the clear-cut early down back, but if Harvey loses some of his receiving work, or at least target share, how productive can he truly be for fantasy purposes? Also, Jonah Coleman, who impressed Payton in the preseason, is eligible to return this week. I think I’d rather just rid myself of the headaches caused by this Denver offense (looking at you, Bo Nix).