Fantasy Football Insider podcast: Talking Stefon Diggs, James Starks

RB Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers: Though his injury appears to be a bruised foot and nothing more serious, Hyde will be hard-pressed to step up in a short week. Maybe it’s recency bias, but it seems more than ever, the zero-running back draft strategy was the way to go. That rookie season is the only time he’s had fewer fantasy points through six weeks; he had 48. Brees plays an Indianapolis Colts defense in Week 7 that’s allowed the fourth-most pass yards in the league.

The odd thing about most of these running backs is that almost all of them are not worth chasing on the waiver wire.

The Panthers’ Week 7 opponent is the Philadelphia Eagles, a team coming off an outstanding performance (defensively) on Monday night last week, in which they held Eli Manning to just eight fantasy points.

Start of the Week: Doug MartinFormerly known as the “Muscle Hamster”, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin put together back-to-back 25+ point weeks before heading into their bye in Week 6. And a Packers running back posted 117 total yards and two touchdowns on just 11 touches.

With wide receiver Antonio Brown struggling to produce elite numbers since quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ without Martavis Bryant, fresh off his four-game suspension, picked up the slack against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Falcons are 5-1 this season, and Freeman is a major reason for that. That being said, the last two weeks when running back Todd Gurley’s season began, he has scored three touchdowns and 144 yards from the line of scrimmage.

Most remarkably, Bryant has accomplished this despite totaling only 58 targets during that 11-game span. To put that number into perspective, consider that all six wide receivers who played during seasons for which target data is available had more targets through 11 games: Beckham had 107, Boldin 101, Colston 91, Evans 86, Green 82 and Moss 68. Now, any RB-needy owner should target Starks for the possibility of a prominent role in a high-octane offense (note: Green Bay has a bye in Week 7). With weird passing and play decisions happening often in Denver, it’s just a mess all over and I don’t want the Broncos options in fantasy anymore. Starks ran for 112 yards and a score on Sunday in addition to a receiving touchdown. Otherwise, they would be even easier than a top-10 fantasy matchup for running backs in point-per-reception games.

The 34-year-old Watson wasn’t expected to offer much fantasy value this season, but is coming off of huge game and figures to be a big part of the improving Saints’ offense moving forward. He makes throws other quarterbacks can’t, and has good skill players around him.

Brown had a season-high 196 receiving yards last week and has a favorable matchup against a Baltimore Ravens defense that’s given up the fifth-most passing yards in the league. In Week Six, Thomas was targeted the most among all Jaguar options, and seemed to have solid chemistry with sophomore franchise quarterback Blake Bortles. Smith had 137 yards and a touchdown. He looks like a back that has lost both speed and quickness.

With the way the Bills have been using Clay, it won’t matter if Manuel or Taylor gets the start in Week 7, as he still should be projected as one of the leading contributors to an offense that has experienced a lot of injuries at other skill positions. Owen Daniels is also not going to have the year I had originally thought, and isn’t even worth really owning in standard leagues. Now, the team may be asking him to do more than just catch the ball out of the backfield. If your tight end is on bye week soon, grab Watson. Last week, he hauled in seven passes for 129 yards in the Vikings’ win over the Chiefs, simultaneously guaranteeing that Johnson will not have a starting spot waiting for him when he returns from injury. Teams with active tight end participation have made Jacksonville pay of late.

While he remains seemingly “matchup proof” due to the lack of depth at the tight end position, fantasy owners should still build their lineup with low expectations for Olsen in the upcoming week.