NFL Week 7 Fantasy POV: Start RB’s Kamara, Elliott; sit Fournette

Some players, like New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara and Tennessee’s Derrick Henry, are unaffected by early “Bye” weeks in their schedules.  They keep generating plenty of fantasy football points (FFP).

What you won’t see in this article is running backs from the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins or Minnesota Vikings on the “Surefire Starters”, “Underrated” or “Sleeper” lists for week 7 because it is their “Bye” week.

If you drafted wisely, you have a suitable substitute to start in place of players like Dalvin Cook.  If you question the strength of your bench, this is a good week to evaluate available personnel and make the necessary adjustments to your roster.

Surefire Starters

• Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints running back, is ready to do some damage to division-opponent Carolina’s run defense. He continues to lead all backs with a 29.5 FFP per game average.
• Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys running back, remains as the No. 2 running back behind Kamara.  He had a truly awful game against Arizona last Monday night and is expected to rebound against the Washington Football Team in week 7.
• Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans running back, had 264 total yards and 2 rushing touchdowns against the Houston Texans last week. His 40.4 FFP led all scorers in week 6.

Riding the Bench

Note:  These running backs have week 7 ”Byes”.

• J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens running back
• Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts running back
• Myles Gaskin, Miami Dolphins running back
• Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings running back

Underrated

• Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City Chiefs running back, bounced back after a poor week 5 performance against Las Vegas with a stellar 160 yards rushing against the Buffalo Bills.  ESPN reports that Edwards-Helaire is “Second in the NFL in yards after contact as a rusher”.

Overrated

• Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back, has been very inconsistent in the last 3 games.  He has been unable to duplicate his week 2 performance when he rushed for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Panthers.

Sleeper RB of the Week

• Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks running back, powered through the Vikings’ defense for a 29-yard touchdown run in the Seahawks 27-20 week 5 win.  Carson has also been increasingly used as a pass receiver, so he’ll be a dual threat against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.