The dreaded week 7 has arrived, with a historic 6 teams on bye. We knew this was coming even before the draft, but no matter how you prepared for it, your team is still likely affected somehow due to trades/injuries/waiver adds, etc. Let's break down the fantasy RBs taking the week off, and the most viable replacement options on the wire.
On Bye
Buffalo Bills
Starters: QB Josh Allen, WR Stefon Diggs, TE Dawson Knox
Flex Level: WR Emmanuel Sanders, RB Zach Moss, WR Gabriel Davis
Dallas Cowboys
Starters: QB Dak Prescott, RB Zeke Elliott, WR CeeDee Lamb, TE Dalton Schultz, WR Amari Cooper
Flex Level: RB Tony Pollard
Los Angeles Chargers
Starters: QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler, WR Mike Williams, WR Keenan Allen
Flex Level: TE Jared Cook
Minnesota Vikings
Starters: RB Dalvin Cook, WR Justin Jefferson, WR Adam Thielen
Flex Level: QB Kirk Cousins, RB Alexander Mattison, TE Tyler Conklin, WR Kendrick Osborn
Pittsburgh Steelers
Starters: RB Najee Harris, WR Diontae Johnson
Flex Level: WR Chase Claypool
Jacksonville Jaguars
Starters: RB James Robinson
Flex Level: WR Marvin Jones Jr, WR Levishka Shenault, QB Trevor Lawrence
Yep. That's a lot of fantasy-relevant names in bold up there, and considering most leagues are 10-12 teams, having five/eight RBs out (depending on your league) means a good portion of teams will be starting backups. Hopefully you have some options rostered to help out with this bye, and many managers even began prepping for this last week, meaning the always-thin RB waiver wire is a little thinner than usual for a week 7.
If you have some holes in the roster that your bench can't fill, here are the best Week 7 waiver RBs to get you through Hell Week.
Waiver Wire
1. Demetric Felton, Cleveland Browns
With Nick Chubb out and Kareem Hunt down, Felton and D'Ernest Johnson carried the load at the end of last week during the routing they suffered by Arizona. Felton handled the pass catching but in a situation where both Chubb and Hunt are out, both Cleveland backups suddenly have a high workload potential. Waivers will clear before we know the Chubb availability, but Felton is a solid pickup because he will see a lot of snaps regardless of whether Chubb or Johnson is carrying the rock.
2. Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears
Despite signing free agent Damien Williams, it was Herbert who got the carries when David Montgomery went down, although Williams was a large part of the passing game. When Williams was out with CoVid, Herbert was a lone bright spot in a tough Green Bay game, and even with Williams likely back we can expect Herbert to retain his rushing volume. The negative? Their opponent is Tampa Bay. Don't be fooled by the "struggles" the Tampa D has had against some of the elite QBs in the league, they are fitting to eat rookie Justin Herbert alive. There could be very little fantasy for any Chicago players this week.
3. DeeJay Dallas, Seattle Seahawks
Dallas saw the benefits of a limited Alex Collins late in the Pittsburgh game, and as Collins carries a hip injury into week 7 against New Orleans, Dallas profiles to be next man up with starter Chris Carson on IR. Backup Rashaad Penny is supposedly coming off IR this week, but it's unlikely he will get the starting nod even if that's the case. If Collins does play, he won't be 100%, and Dallas can still be a viable pass catcher out of the backfield for Geno Smith.
4. Rahmondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
The rookie scored his first NFL touchdown last week against the Cowboys, and slowly we are seeing him get involved more in the offense mainly through the passing game. The Pats are notorious for rotating backs, and with Damien Harris already starting to wear down from the usage, expect Stevenson to see more snaps against a Jets team that literally has allowed more points to running backs than any other team in the league. He is looking to be very touchdown-dependent, however, unless the Pats really run it up on the Jets and give Harris the rest of the game off. And that's a real scenario.
5. Devonta Freeman, Baltimore Ravens
Freeman rushed the ball 9 times for 53 yards and a TD against the Chargers in a game that saw all 3 Ravens backs (Leveon Bell, Latavius Murray, and Freeman) get into the end zone. That kind of success for all is rare in fantasy, although Baltimore does run the ball more than any other team in the NFL regardless of game script, and that means more opportunities for everyone involved. The Ravens play Cincinnati this week, and while the Bengals defense has been surprisingly good, no defense has been good against the Ravens so far. Murray suffered an ankle injury, so if he can't go that is great for Freeman, but expect Ty'Son Williams to also be back in the mix if that's the case. Starting Freeman is risky because of competition at the position but since the production is generally so high, in desperation he isn't a bad play hoping for a score and a double-digit day.
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