NFL Player News

CEH’s practice window was opened last week after he spent the season’s first month and a half on the NFI list while dealing with mental health issues. Kareem Hunt should continue operating as KC’s lead back in Week 7. Hunt had 102 yards and a touchdown on the ground the last time the Chiefs played.

Smith-Njigba had a down day after recording 17 cathces over the past three games. Geno Smith nearly hit Smith-Njigba for a long gain in the first half — a rare deep look for slot guys JSN. Smith-Njigba should continue as a decent WR3 option in a pass-heavy Seattle offense against the Bills in Week 8. His 6.5 yards per target makes JSN something of a PPR scam.

Nailor entered this game with two receptions in three games with Jordan Addison healthy. He was an afterthought when Minnesota was at full strength. That wasn’t the case versus Detroit as he saw one more target than Addison, though the second-year wideout still managed three grabs for 66 yards. Nailor is a good option as an NFL team’s No. 3 receiver, but his splash plays are too infrequent for fantasy managers to count on going forward.

Reed also confirmed Ian Rapoport’s report that starter Aidan O’Connell indeed broke his throwing-hand thumb. The news comes just as Minshew loses a fumble that Rams S Kamren Curl recovers and returns for a 33-yard touchdown. Minshew will barely be QB2-viable moving forward.

Chubb returned to play for the first time in 13 months, when he suffered a severe knee injury where multiple ligaments were impacted. He saw over half the backfield snaps in the first half, getting 10 carries and running 10 routes. This culminated in a touchdown for the Browns’ only score of the day with Chubb punching it in to roaring cheers from the Cleveland crowd. He was limited in the second half and was inefficient, as expected for a back coming back from the injury he suffered. Chubb will continue to ease back in and will be in the high-end RB3 mix Week 8 against the Ravens.

Jones suffered what appeared to be a hip injury in Week 5 before the Vikings’ bye week. The injury was later revised to a hamstring issue. He did not practice on Wednesday coming out of the bye and appeared unlikely to play in Week 7. Jones then turned the corner with two practices and played through a questionable tag on Sunday. He looked as healthy and as explosive as ever, averaging 6.6 yards per attempt while out-carrying Ty Chandler 14-2. Jones found paydirt early with a 34-yard spring to the end zone on Minnesota’s opening drive. Somehow near full strength, Jones will rank as a RB2 in Week 8 against the Rams.

McCloud has an afterthought in the game plan outside of a strange designed play on the first offensive snap of the game for Atlanta. That makes two straight low-yardage games for McCloud, who continues operating in three-wideout sets and can be interesting for fantasy in high-volume outings for Kirk Cousins and the Falcons offense. He’ll be a WR4 option in Week 8 against Tampa.

Per usual, the Lions’ offense ran through their ground game and Amon-Ra St. Brown this week, leaving the rest of the pass-catchers fighting for scraps. Kalif Raymond came out on top with three grabs for 39 yards and a score. Williams looked like a 1B to St. Browns’ 1A early in the year but has since regressed to No. 2 receiver usage. He has seven catches over his past two weeks. He did, however, top 80 yards from scrimmage and score two touchdowns over that stretch. Williams will fall back into the WR3 ranks for his Week 8 game against the Titans.

That’s actually extremely similar to the statlines Cooper was posting in Cleveland, with the key differences of: 1. He actually scored. 2. He was actually efficient. That was despite a hellacious drop on his first target, his only first half look. Things were much better after the break, where Josh Allen caught fire and found Cooper for a 12-yard score where the veteran wideout dominated Quandre Diggs in the end zone. Cooper’s presence also seemed to free up space for Keon Coleman, providing hope this will be a more consistent and productive passing attack going forward. The Seahawks’ shaky defense awaits for Week 8.

The Bengals’ tight ends were seldom used in the team’s win over the Browns in Week 7. Gesicki was the only one to catch a pass, while Erick All, Drew Sample, and Tanner Hudson each received one target and did not catch it. Gesicki is the Bengals’ primary tight end but is no more than a deep-league dart throw moving forward.

London grabbed his fifth touchdown of the season on a five yard throw from Kirk Cousins in the third quarter, before the game got out of hand. It’s London’s third straight game with a touchdown. He’s emerged as Cousins’ clearcut No. 1 target over the past three weeks and should continue being fed in neutral and negative game scripts. The Falcons’ tendency to turn hard toward the run in positive game scripts could be an issue for London down the line. He’ll be an elite fantasy play in Week 8 against a porous Tampa secondary. London had 154 yards and a touchdown against the Bucs in Week 5.