Another week of NFL action is in the books and with it comes new storylines for us fantasy football fans to get excited about. If you’re anything like me you’ve probably been overwhelmed with the sheer number of plays and storylines that went on this weekend that you can’t decide which ones can actually help you going forward in your fantasy football leagues. That is where the 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS come in handy.
The goal of the 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS is to provide you insight that might help you this season in terms of picking up OR getting rid of players with the hopes of helping you bring home a fantasy football championship this year!
Speaking of celebrating a fantasy football championship……
Without further adieu, here are my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS FROM WEEK 7:
4-EYED OBSERVATION #1: Baker Mayfield has a career day and a promising schedule going forward this season!
Before going into his week 7 matchup with Buccaneers (#GoBucs), the Browns (#Browns) rookie quarterback was ranked 4th worst in the NFL with a completion percentage of just 55.6% going into a matchup against a Bucs defense giving up a league-worst 355.8 yards per game. Furthermore, he was entering the game with a new starting running back behind him in Nick Chubb who was facing a Bucs defense which was 5th best in the league only allowing 84.2 rushing yards per game, granted without their all-pro DT Gerald McCoy. The scene could not have been better set for Mayfield to have a field day with this defense. So what happened?
He went all BAKER MAYFIELD!!!!!!!! The former “Boomer Sooner” went for 215 yards passing, 43 yards rushing, a completion percentage of 68%, 2 TDs, & 20.9 fantasy points against an porous Bucs defense. While he was mostly ineffective in the first half of yesterday’s contest he really turned up his performance in the second half rallying his team to overtime!
His next series of opponents are giving up the following passing yards per game to quarterbacks (pre-week 7 stats):
Steelers (#HereWeGo): 282.3 yards per game
Chiefs (#ChiefsKingdom) : 340.3 yards per game
Falcons (#InBrotherhood) : 295.8 yards per game
Bengals(#SeizeTheDEY) : 292 yards per game
Needless to say, he’s got a VERY favorable upcoming schedule. Mayfield might be the most valuable streamer going forward during that time and for fantasy teams struggling at the QB position you might want to put in your claims for Mayfield before it’s too late!
4-EYED OBSERVATION #2: Philip Lindsay is now in a prime position to run away with the Broncos backfield responsibilities.
With Royce Freeman out for a couple of weeks with what is being reported as a high ankle sprain, Philip Lindsay is now the unquestioned starter in the Denver Broncos (#BroncosCountry) backfield going forward during that time. Averaging 6.4 yards per carry in this past Thursday’s matchup against the Cardinals (#BeRedSeeRed) it’s hard to imagine him relinquishing that role even when Freeman gets back, depending on what he does with his opportunity of course. Freeman and Lindsay both had similar volume in the game with Lindsay getting 14 carries compared to Freeman’s 13, but Freeman was only able to muster a lowly 2.8 yards per carry.
Furthermore, on the season Lindsay is 4th in the league in yards per carry (YPC) average posting 5.8 YPC and Freeman only having 4.4 YPC. While Freeman might lead in efficiency rating (aka the total distance a player traveled on rushing plays as a ball carrier) of 4.21 compared to Lindsay’s 3.09 for the season, Lindsay sees a lower percentage of 8 man fronts and spends less time on running plays behind the line of scrimmage than Freeman making his ability to gain yardage easier than Freeman which accounts for Lindsay’s success so far this season.
If I’m the Philip Lindsay manager I have to feel pretty comfortable going forward this season as him as my RB2, with RB1 upside, especially if Freeman can’t play.
4-EYED OBSERVATION #3: Marlon Mack was on fire and a must start going forward!
Coming off a 10.8 fantasy point performance against the Jets in week 6, Mack took his game to a whole other level scoring 30.9 fantasy points in 0.5 PPR scoring leagues. Averaging 6.63 YPC, Mack closed the door on the notion of any running back by committee on the Colts this season and as long as he stays healthy (big IF) is an RB2 with high RB1 upside going forward.
4-EYED OBSERVATION #4: Todd Davis had himself a GAME on Thursday Night Football!
The Denver Broncos linebacker posted 10 total tackles (6 solo/4 assisted), 1 INT, 1 TD, 1 Stuff, and 2 Passes Defensed against a God-awful Cardinals offense totaling 23 fantasy points using FANTASY IN FRAMES’ IDP scoring rubric. However, chances are no one had him in their lineups due to him being only owned in 2.9% of IDP leagues (on ESPN).
Averaging 6.4 fantasy points per game on the season it’s pretty safe to say this type of production was an anomaly, so don’t go chasing the points from this week. But still….DAMN he had a GAME!
Those, my friends, are my 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS from Week 7!
Stay tuned later this week for our 4-EYED PREVIEWS and our Fantasy Football Podcast!
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*Also don’t forget to go back and read over our previous IN SEASON ARTICLES. You might find some nuggets of fantasy football gold that could propel you into the fantasy playoffs and even help you win a fantasy football championship!*
