Week 11 NFL Moneyline Underdogs
Mike Randle
It has been a hard year for navigating injuries in fantasy football, and Week 6 was no exception. There were some very impressive performances in fantasy in Week 6 from rookies, role players in expanded roles, and players returning from injury. There were also some disappointing games from many we have come to rely on for fantasy points.
There will be a slight reprieve from sweeping bye weeks in Week 7, with just two teams on bye (Chicago and Dallas). Both teams have numerous fantasy viable players, which means that fantasy managers will need to be proactive in plugging potential holes in their starting lineups.
Check out the risers and fallers from Week 7 in fantasy football below.
Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers Entering Week 7
Risers
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
Drake Maye was able to overcome a terrible offensive line and questionable pass-catching group to provide a solid first start against a strong Texans’ defense.
The rookie completed 20 of 33 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. He also added five carries for 38 yards. The sack concerns weren’t unfounded (four sacks), but Maye was able to overcome to deliver a solid fantasy performance.
Maye proved he can provide solid fantasy production in his first start, and he should be on the radar despite the lack of talent around him. He will continue to provide a good rushing floor and has shown that he can put up good garbage time stats.
Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rachaad White missed Week 6 due to a foot injury, opening up an opportunity for Bucky Irving to show what he could do with a larger workload in the backfield.
Based on Week 6, Irving should continue to siphon off carries in the backfield even with White on the field.
Irving handled 14 carries for 81 yards and scored a touchdown against the Saints. He also had two receptions for 24 yards in the win. Irving ultimately split work with second-year running back Sean Tucker (14 carries for 136 yards and a touchdown), but he continued to show efficiency as a runner.
A good performance from Irving means that he’s likely to continue to take a consistent workload from White when both backs are healthy. He has at least nine carries in each of his last four games with at least 4.9 yards per carry in each of those contests.
Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans
The biggest beneficiary of Nico Collins’ injured reserve trip was Tank Dell. Dell logged a 75% snap share in the first three quarters of the game (Houston rested some starters in the fourth quarter). The increased playing time manifested in a season-best performance (seven receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown).
Dell was the odd man out to start the season but has three more games to justify getting more targets in an offense that features Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs. We saw Dell have some explosive performances during his rookie season before suffering an injury and this week showed that he still has that ability despite an offseason overcoming injuries (and a gunshot wound).
In the short term, Dell is primed to smash in the coming weeks with matchups against the Packers, Colts and Lions before Nico Collins is eligible to play.
Evan Engram, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
The tight end position has been tough to watch to start the season. We got Evan Engram back in Week 6, and he immediately made an impact on both the field and in fantasy football.
Jacksonville eased Engram back into his first game (38 of 62 snaps played), but immediately integrated him into the passing attack. The veteran tight end led the team in targets (10), receptions (10) and receiving yards (102).
It wouldn’t be fair to expect 10 targets and receptions each week for the rest of the season, but this game proved that he will once again be an integral part of this passing attack. If Engram stays healthy, he should force his way back into the top five tight ends once again in 2024.
Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears
Over the last few weeks, Cole Kmet has seen his playing time grow after splitting snaps with Gerald Everett to start the season. While the fantasy production hasn’t always been great, Kmet does have a consistent role in Chicago’s passing attack.
Kmet caught all five of his targets for 70 yards and two touchdowns. He now has at least three targets, three receptions, and 27 receiving yards in every game this season. Those stats may not seem like much, but it is good enough to get him to the TE3 overall in fantasy points per game (12.2).
Chicago’s passing offense is starting to stabilize with Caleb Williams under center. Kmet will struggle to out-target a healthy DJ Moore or Keenan Allen, but he will certainly have big games thanks to the team’s focusing their game plans on the talented Chicago wide receiver room.
Expecting Kmet to remain a top-three tight end in fantasy is asking a lot. But another top-10 season seems very likely through the first six weeks of the 2024 season.
Fallers
Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray continues to be a roller coaster in fantasy football. The veteran quarterback is currently the QB12 in fantasy, averaging 17.6 points per game. Unfortunately, that average is inflated by two fantastic performances.
Murray has two weeks as a top-five quarterback in fantasy this season (including a QB1 overall finish in Week 2). He also has four games where he failed to hit 16.0 fantasy points. That is less than ideal for a quarterback that has such a strong rushing floor.
Through six weeks, Murray has proven to be exactly what he has always been in fantasy. On any given week, he can break fantasy and single-handedly flip a matchup. On other weeks, he will fail to produce a strong game and cripple your chances of winning.
You have to start Murray if you roster him in fantasy, but continue to expect highs and lows even in an offense that has the weapons that should help him get there most weeks.
Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns
Many fantasy managers likely drafted Jerome Ford expecting to get some early season production from a player who had solid flashes last year. Instead, fantasy managers got a confusing backfield rotation that had very little rhyme or reason while struggling to provide any fantasy value.
That, plus the news that Nick Chubb could make his 2024 debut in Week 7, severely hurts Ford’s upside for the remainder of the fantasy season. Add in a hamstring injury that forced him to miss a significant portion of Week 6’s game against the Eagles and Ford is on the verge of being droppable.
The veteran running back just wasn’t able to replicate his 2023 production behind a struggling offensive line and a bad quarterback. It is unlikely that Chubb will dominate touches in this backfield as he continues to heal, but his presence means that Ford will be pushed into a rotational role for the rest of the season.
In a good offense, that is a fine role. Unfortunately, the Browns’ offense is terrible and just doesn’t have the play volume or playmaking to support multiple pieces.
Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans
Calvin Ridley struggled with consistency (and fantasy production in general) during his lone season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023. The Titans saw past that performance and identified him as a player who could transform their passing attack with new head coach Brian Callahan and second-year quarterback Will Levis.
Ridley became a popular player in fantasy drafts over the summer thanks to his athletic abilities and the belief that he could convert some of his potential in 2023 into production in a new offensive situation.
The veteran receiver has yet to make good on that promise in his new home with the Titans.
Ridley has caught just nine of 27 targets for 141 yards and one touchdown with the Titans in 2024. Week 6 was a special low point with the receiver failing to record a single reception on eight targets. Over the team’s last three games, Ridley has just two receptions on 14 targets for 14 yards.
Will Levis has struggled to forge a connection with Ridley and has been frustratingly inconsistent as a passer. All of the hopes that Brian Callahan could get the most out of the young passer become less and less likely each week.
It seems like 2024 is just a new version of 2023, with Ridley running all of the routes and receiving a healthy target share without producing any fantasy points.
Ridley will continue to have a solid season and could truly finish as the WR1 on any given week. However, trying to predict those weeks will continue to be a dangerous game.
Ja’Lynn Polk, WR, New England Patriots
Drake Maye looked good in his first start, but he wasn’t able to show a meaningful connection with Ja’Lynn Polk against the Houston Texans. The rookie receiver caught just one of four targets for four yards in Maye’s first career start. It marked the second straight week where Polk had just one reception.
More importantly, Polk saw a dip in his usage despite the team being in a negative gamescript in Week 6. In Week 5, the rookie receiver was on the field for 100% of the team’s snaps. In Week 6, he played just 43 of 66 snaps, which was the second most behind Kayshon Boutte. Polk also finished second in routes run (29) and fourth in targets (3).
New England’s passing attack continues to be funneled through DeMario Douglas and Hunter Henry, even with Maye under center. Rookies tend to see their playing time and production increase throughout the season, but this was a disappointing performance in a game where Drake Maye was actively throwing the ball in garbage time.
Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Goedert had some very productive weeks with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith missing time with injuries. The Eagles got both players back after their bye week, which already spelled trouble for Goedert.
Unfortunately, the veteran tight end made it just three plays in Week 6 before getting knocked out of the game with a hamstring injury.
Goedert already operates as the third (and sometimes fourth) target in Philadelphia’s offense. The Eagles offense has collectively struggled to start the year and now their tight end may miss time with a lower-body injury.
It was already hard trusting Goedert in a crowded passing attack. Add in the likelihood that Goedert will be off the field while he heals, and this situation has the makings of a mess for fantasy.
