What a disastrous weekend in the 2024 National Football League. We saw a lot of offensive stars, including plenty of fantasy football standouts, go down to injury.
For a couple of weeks, we had a reprieve from the injury bug. Things were starting to go a little better, but in Week 7, it caught up in a hurry.
The San Francisco 49ers saw WR Brandon Aiyuk go down with torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligament injuries, and he is done for the season. Joining him on the shelf for the season is Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson, as well as Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin.
While they’re not done for the season, Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels barely played in Week 7 due to an injury to his ribs, and he is hopeful of a Week 8 return. Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell wasn’t as lucky, as a fractured thumb sidelines him for a month.
While a lot of the injury news was at the quarterback position, that has a trickle-down affect to the skill positions, especially at the tight end and wide receiver. For instance, when is the last time Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill had a big game? That last time his regular QB Tua Tagovailoa was healthy. It doesn’t take much to throw things off and affect fantasy values dramatically.
The good news is that we won’t have any teams in a bye in Week 8, so if you’re making some moves based on utilization, injuries, etc., at least there are more possibilities heading into the new week.
New Orleans Saints wide receivers
What a mess. If you watched last week’s Thursday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos, even diehard New Orleans Saints fans were asking themselves, “Who are these guys?”
It’s bad enough rookie QB Spencer Rattler is subbing in for the injured QB Derek Carr, which was already hurting the fantasy value of the receivers, but WR Chris Olave was sidelined with a concussion, and WR Rashid Shaheed (knee) is out for the season.
WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. topped the charts with six receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown on seven targets, and he was serviceable from a fantasy perspective. WR Mason Tipton was targeted six times for 45 yards on a team-high nine targets, and he looks like he could be a useful slot option for the time being. WR Bub Means, who scored in relief in Week 6, managed just 37 yards on three receptions, although he was targeted five times.
Olave will be the unquestioned starter when he returns, although lately his performances have been uneven, at best, either due to game situation or injury. The team brought in Marquez Valdes-Scantling to replace Shaheed, and once he is up to speed, the veteran could have some fantasy staying power.
Among Means, Tipton and Wilson Jr., it looks like the 29-year-old Wilson could have a decent role. He has had as many as 602 receiving yards and six touchdowns in Dallas back in 2021.
Buffalo Bills wide receivers
The Buffalo Bills acquired WR Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns last week, and the veteran stepped right in and made an immediate impact.
Cooper debuted with four receptions, 66 yards, and a touchdown on five targets. He was brought in because management didn’t feel rookie Keon Coleman or Khalil Shakir were legitimate WR1 options. However, the two young players must have felt disrespected as they stepped up and had their best performances of the season.
Coleman erupted with four receptions for 125 yards on seven targets, while Shakir had seven grabs for 65 yards on his seven looks. The 21-year-old Coleman had just 126 receiving yards in his previous three games combined.
Perhaps the addition of Cooper will give Coleman and Shakir some more open spaces to operate, as the top cover man keys on Cooper, allowing the young receivers to work against lesser defensive players. At least, that is the hope.
In other words, the addition of Cooper isn’t a death knell for the fantasy appeal of Coleman and Shakir.
Cleveland Browns wide receivers
It is getting ugly with a capital “U” in Cleveland right now.
The Browns threw in the towel, dealing Cooper to the Bills last week. The team acquired WR Jerry Jeudy from the Denver Broncos in the offseason, and it was expected he might see a larger role with Cooper out of town.
In Week 7, though, it’s tough to get a clear picture. As mentioned, Watson suffered a season-ending injury. Dorian Thompson-Robinson came in, and he left with an injury, too. Jameis Winston finished up, and he looks to be the guy under center going forward.
Jeudy had just a single 18-yard catch on five targets. The Browns tried to get him the ball, but it paled in comparison to the 12 targets by WR Cedric Tillman. He ended up with eight receptions for 81 yards, while WR Elijah Moore reemerged with six catches, 41 yards, and seven targets.
The Browns are a bad team. This offense has scored 18 or fewer points in all seven games. Fantasy managers aren’t going to flock to pick up all of the receivers. But, if you’re targeting someone to replace Cooper’s reps, Tillman was a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he is likely a homegrown talent the Browns will give a long look at.
San Francisco 49ers wide receivers
Man. Wide receivers. Wide receivers. This whole list focuses on one position.
The 49ers have had tremendous struggles this season, and a lot of the issue has been due to injuries.
It became worse in Week 7: WR Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL, and he is done for the season. WR Deebo Samuel checked out due to pneumonia and was hospitalized. He tried to go due to illness on Sunday, but it was obviously a lot worse than just the sniffles.
So, who stepped up? Jauan Jennings (hip) was not in action in Week 7, but he will have a major role going forward, working with Deebo. But, after that, we saw Ronnie Bell, Jacob Cowing and Ricky Pearsall throw their hats into the ring on Sunday against the Chiefs.
Bell had just two targets, and he is likely not ready for a fantasy role, even with the team down a receiver. Cowing was a standout in college at UTEP and then Arizona, showing out with his downfield ability. He could be a boom-or-bust kind of receiver, racking up long catches, perhaps for scores, or none at all. He isn’t much of a short- or intermediate-route guy.
That leaves Pearsall as the next best option. He was drafted in the first round in 2024 with the 31st overall pick. However, in the summer, he was shot in San Francisco in a robbery attempt, and the fact he is playing at all right now is a feel-good story. He debuted just in time in Week 7, posting three receptions for 21 yards, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see his role expand.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers WRs/TEs
Yep. You guessed it. More receiver utilizations.
On Monday night, Mike Evans ended up going down for the Buccaneers due to a hamstring injury. In and of itself, that would have been bad news for Tampa Bay. It goes worse – way worse – as Chris Godwin, the NFL’s leader in receptions, went down with a gruesome dislocated ankle injury late in the fourth quarter.
So, how will QB Baker Mayfield distribute the ball without Godwin, and potentially without Evans?
We caught a glimpse, and Cade Otton had eight receptions for a career-high 100 yards on 10 targets. The tight end could be the biggest beneficiary of the ugly situation. It doesn’t take much to get to TE1 status in fantasy leagues as the position is a wasteland after the top handful of options.
Among the wide receivers, Jalen McMillan had just three receptions for 15 yards, but Mayfield targeted him eight times. If they’re able to jell during first-team reps in practice, McMillan won’t replace Godwin’s production, but he could carve out a bigger role for himself, emerging as a useful WR4 or flex fantasy option.
Trey Palmer and Sterling Shepard are each in the mix, too, and Palmer was targeted three times. He could have some short-term fantasy appeal if Evans is sidelined in Week 8 against Atlanta, but confidence is not high of a longer term role. The same goes for Shepard, who will likely see only occasional targets.
