RADIO
Kevin looks for fantasy football risers, sleepers, breakout candidates for Week 8 of 2025. He analyzes last week's targets, receptions, air yards, snaps, routes.
Welcome back to our fantasy football targets, routes, and snap counts analysis for Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season. We'll be discussing almost every fantasy-relevant player in this article. Targets are paramount when it comes to evaluating pass-catchers for fantasy football. There are no air yards, receiving yards, receptions, or touchdowns without first earning a target. There’s a reason the biggest and most consistent target-earners are among the top fantasy point scorers; they can be relied on by not just their team’s offense to earn targets and produce on those targets.
There were blowouts all over the place this week, with the Rams handling the Jaguars in London, the Chiefs throttling the Raiders, and the Browns putting the clamps on the hapless Dolphins. There was an epic comeback in Denver, a possible return to form by the Eagles, numerous breakouts, and much more around the league this past week.
After a two-team bye in Week 7, all hell breaks loose next week. Many are calling next week "bye-mageddon" in Week 8, with a whopping SIX teams on bye: The Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks. We'll help you get prepared! All this, plus all the statistics and metrics you can handle for wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Note: Statistics from our player pages at RotoBaller were included during the compilation of data, in addition to some of the following sites/databases: Pro Football Reference, PFF, Fantasy Points Data Suite, Fantasy Life, rbdsm.com/stats, NFELO, NFL NextGenStats, NFL Pro+, RotoViz, ESPN Stats and Info, and SumerSports.
Cardinals Notes From Week 7:
The Arizona Cardinals, outside of their bye week, are the first thing I talk about each week in this article because of alphabetical order. It’s always fun to talk about Trey McBride and how #goodatfootball he is, because he actually is. But Kyler Murray as the starting quarterback of these Arizona football Cardinals doesn’t always make it seem that way.
Somehow, Jacoby Brissett playing quarterback for this team with Murray DOES make it seem that way. Backup quarterbacks have one main job function: don’t lose the game. Very few backups have “able to win us a game” as a skill, or else they would be the starting quarterback. Brissett has *some* of that. He’s one of the best backups in the league for a reason.
I didn’t think I’d get on a soapbox about backup quarterbacks to start off this article, but the reason I am is that, for the second straight week, McBride (10-74-2, team-high 12 targets) scored a touchdown. Two, in fact. Brissett also targeted McBride on not just 36 percent of all targets, but on over 46 percent of first-read targets. The fact that Murray seems wholly incapable of the basic quarterback function of getting the ball to players who are dynamic and capable of more yardage after the catch seems bad for the overall macro view of this Cardinals offense at full strength.
When a backup quarterback has the wherewithal to not only run a functional offense but get the ball to the best players in that offense consistently, that’s a rough blueprint for how you win games. Sure, the Cardinals didn’t win THIS game, but they went toe to toe with the Green Bay Packers, one of the better teams in the league. The only reason they were in this game is because Brissett was keeping them on schedule and moving the ball. Over the last two weeks of Brissett starting, he’s in some solid company in terms of quarterback efficiency.
The calls are already coming for Brissett to be the full-time starter over Murray for the rest of the season. I don’t have a horse in that race… but maybe I do if I’d like McBride to be the best tight end in fantasy and the NFL this season. We’ll see how this shakes it, but starting Brissett is definitely a thing being talked about with some level of seriousness.
Marvin Harrison Jr. (2-58), Zay Jones (2-67), and Michael Wilson (3-40) also contributed, but were ultimately bit players compared to McBride’s dominance.
In a slightly uneven split, Bam Knight (14-57 rushing; 3-7 receiving) took most of the early down rushes, and Michael Carter didn’t receive his first snap of the game until the second quarter. The Cardinals elevated D'Ernest Johnson from the practice squad, activated him, and he took every single third-down snap in the game, earning snaps on just four other plays. Arizona goes into the bye week with perhaps more questions about this workload split than ever before, somehow.
Falcons Notes From Week 7:
An uneven game for the Atlanta Falcons as a whole, as Atlanta got a 3-0 lead but after Christian McCaffrey’s first touchdown in the second quarter, never had a lead the rest of the game, thanks to the 49ers holding the Falcons at bay with their efficient running game.
A bit of a disappointing game from Drake London (4-42), who earned seven targets but couldn’t get much going with so much defensive attention. 127 air yards for Darnell Mooney (3-68) that translated into 68 yards. Kyle Pitts Sr. led the Falcons with 10 targets and a solid 7-62 line, which could have added another 27 yards had a lineman not picked up a holding penalty. All three ran routes on at least 84 percent of routes per dropback, keeping up the condensed personnel the Falcons are famous for under offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
The awesome thing about Bijan Robinson (6-52-1, eight targets) is that even when he falls flat on the ground, he comes through as a massive part of the passing game, plus a receiving score in the middle of the third quarter. With the trailing script, Tyler Allgeier’s (4-16) utilization drops off to 23 percent of snaps and just four carries.
The Baltimore Ravens were on bye in Week 7.
The Buffalo Bills were on bye in Week 7.
Panthers Notes From Week 7:
Across all 30 teams playing this past week, people wanted to know one thing more than anything else: how will this Panthers’ backfield and Rico Dowdle’s touches shake out with Chuba Hubbard healthy? It was anybody’s guess, and head coach Dave Canales didn’t give anybody any breadcrumbs to put people on the scent either. We had to find out like everybody else did.
Hubbard (14-31 rushing; 2-24 receiving) played the first drive, which ended with a field goal on 13 plays. Five rushes for nine yards for Hubbard in the first drive. Dowdle came in for the second drive and IMMEDIATELY ripped off a 13-yard run. I just thought that was a fun note.
Anyway, it was essentially a down-the-middle split of the work with Hubbard getting more routes (47 percent to Dowdle’s 25 percent) but Dowdle getting more rushing work. It was fine, all things considered, but it’s close to being a Seattle Seahawks situation with this backfield. Both are fantasy relevant, but if it’s going to be a game-script thing between these two backs in each week, it has the potential to get ugly. That said, Dowdle retained some of his efficiency and still ended up with almost 100 yards from scrimmage. Pretty good!
In the passing game, I thought it was hilarious that in a game that Jalen Coker (three targets, no receptions) returned, Xavier Legette (9-92-1) put up by far the best game of his career. Granted, a lot of that was because Tetairoa McMillan (3-33, five targets) was bottled up by Sauce Gardner. Still, Legette’s game very much felt like Will Ferrell’s debate answer from the movie ‘Old School’.
Bears Notes From Week 7:
The Chicago Bears dominated this game by running the ball (-9.1 percent PROE – second-lowest mark of Week 7), and when you have the success you’re having with D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai as a backfield tandem, you’ve got to lean into it. Swift (19-124-1 rushing; 1-14 receiving) crushed for the second consecutive week and has come out of the bye firing on all cylinders.
Monangai (13-81-1 rushing; 2-13 receiving) was excellent alongside Swift; the key word being “alongside.” This isn’t likely to be a “rookie takes over the lead role” type of running back room. This is more of a “both backs work in tandem” backfield, where Swift will obviously have fantasy value, but in lean weeks where teams are on bye, Monangai becomes startable and, more importantly, viable.
There wasn’t any volume in the passing game for the Bears, as not one Bear caught more than three passes. Rome Odunze (2-31) had a team-leading six targets, but only 26 Caleb Williams pass attempts. There just wasn’t volume. Nothing on the Luther Burden III (1-22) front, as Burden still isn’t getting anywhere close to the routes (33 percent) we want. Olamide Zaccheaus (2-9) remains a brutal combination of unproductive, way too involved (59 percent of routes per dropback), and annoying.
Bengals Notes From Week 7:
For the Bengals in Week 7, everything begins with the absolutely NUCLEAR game from Ja'Marr Chase, with a 16-161-1 line on an incredible 23 targets. Tee Higgins added a strong 6-96-1 line on a night where, besides these two wide receivers, only three other players earned a target. Noah Fant caught a touchdown on a season-high 76 percent of routes. Without Mike Gesicki, Fant could have a moment or two of fantasy relevance with Joe Flacco directing this offense.
The offense is now functional in most weeks with Flacco at the controls in a way that could never be with Jake Browning. With defenses now having to account for a legitimate threat in Flacco that can get rid of the ball and get it to the guys who should be getting the ball, that allows a player like Chase Brown (11-108 rushing; 2-(-8) receiving, +66 RYOE) to succeed in spots where couldn’t before, having to deal with increased defenders in the box.
With the offense as is, you’re going to get some variance with Flacco; he IS 40 years old, after all. But he knows exactly what to do with the ball: get it to Chase. Higgins, Brown, and Fant. As one of the more condensed offenses in the NFL, getting this quarterback upgrade has been one of the saving graces for fantasy for the top options here.
Browns Notes From Week 7:
The Browns’ game plan for this game, which featured heavy winds, was excellent: lean on defense, don’t let Dillon Gabriel do too much, and run the ball against one of the worst rush defenses in the NFL: the Miami Dolphins. The Browns did all these things and, to nobody’s surprise, won handily 31-6.
Quinshon Judkins (25-84-3) was the star, getting a ton of rushing volume and scoring three times, including a 44-yarder in the second quarter, plus a short score in their next drive, and then the final score in the fourth quarter after a turnover gave the ball to Cleveland at the Miami two-yard line. He was the engine, took 76 percent of the team rush attempts, and grinded out carries and yards en route to the win.
The passing game didn’t need much, but Harold Fannin Jr. (4-36, team-leading five targets) led everything with a meager line. Minus David Njoku, Fannin got to stretch his legs with a season-high 87 percent of routes as well. No other pass-catcher caught more than two balls, and only Jerry Jeudy (2-17) earned more than two targets.
Cowboys Notes From Week 7:
CeeDee Lamb returned for the Dallas Cowboys in his first game action since Week 2. He picked up right where he left off with 110 yards receiving on 100 percent route participation. Besides Lamb, the Cowboys’ targets were consolidated to their big three of Lamb, George Pickens, and Jake Ferguson, comprising 71 percent of the total for the team against the Commanders. No other Cowboy earned more than three targets.
After a dud game against the Panthers in Week 6, Javonte Williams followed that up with 118 yards from scrimmage, a touchdown, and +36 RYOE; the fourth-best RYOE mark of Week 7. His role is awesome; he bounced back from his only bad game of the season, and he’s been one of the biggest early-season fantasy winners. Jaydon Blue (7-29) got loose for a 14-yard run on his first carry, but five of his seven carries in the game came in the fourth quarter with under five minutes left.
Broncos Notes From Week 7:
In one of the most ridiculous games and comebacks I’ve ever seen, the Broncos came back from down 19-0 at the end of the third quarter en route to a gargantuan 33-point fourth quarter and steak victory from the jaws of defeat against the New York Giants.
In that comeback, there needed to be a lot of passing. We got a season-high 56 dropbacks from Bo Nix, and that pass volume created some fantasy goodness, albeit a bit spread out. Troy Franklin led the Broncos with 10 targets, but an inefficient 3-19-1 line, which had Franklin as the beneficiary of a tipped pass touchdown in the end zone by Courtland Sutton, which caromed back to Franklin for the score. Sometimes, you need to be luckier than good.
Outside of Franklin’s 10 targets, Sutton led the way with a 6-87 line on his typical 93 percent routes per dropback. Marvin Mims Jr. (6-85) took advantage of strong target volume and production on 59 percent of routes. In comeback mode, Evan Engram (5-42, seven targets) saw more routes than he typically does as he came up to a season-high 67 percent, well above his season average of 50 percent.
Because of the game script, J.K. Dobbins (14-81 rushing; 1-(-1) receiving) wasn’t used as much as he normally was, but still had 18 yards rushing. RJ Harvey (4-0 rushing; 1-2-1 receiving) and Tyler Badie (2-19 receiving) each saw at least 23 percent of routes apiece, with Harvey on the receiving end of one of Nix’s two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
Lions Notes From Week 7:
Detroit got out ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and never really looked back… well, not as much the Lions, but DEFINITELY Jahmyr Gibbs. He hit paydirt twice with an 78-yard score in the second quarter that really set the tone for how this game was going to go. Gibbs (17-126-2 rushing; 3-82 receiving) added another touchdown early in the second half to put the Lions comfortably ahead. Not only that, but all three of his receptions were 24 yards or longer. He’s an absolute machine.
David Montgomery (13-21 rushing; 2-18 receiving) was much less efficient in this one, but the clear star was Gibbs.
The passing game was not the focal point by any means, with Jared Goff’s 241 passing yards barely edging out Gibbs’ 222 yards from scrimmage. Amon-Ra St. Brown (6-86-1) is nearly automatic in this offense as the clear top target, and his 10 targets comfortably led the Lions’ pass-catchers. No other Lion had more than three targets or receptions. Of course, that previous sentence means underwhelming games from both Jameson Williams (two targets) and Sam LaPorta (3-15).
Packers Notes From Week 7:
Josh Jacobs was on the injury report with an illness and a calf injury and was a game-time decision for the Packers in their Week 7 game against the Arizona Cardinals. He was active, and Jacobs (13-55-2 rushing; 1-3 receiving) was still the focal point of the offense despite fewer snaps and routes than he typically runs, likely out of some caution with his previous status.
Also, why are the Packers SO weird? Matthew Golden (4-37) got three targets in the first drive of the game: a bubble screen for two yards, a third-down conversion where Golden got ahead of the sticks and sat in a zone, and then a short out to the sideline for a fourth-down conversion. Then, Love and the team forgot about him until mid-way through the third quarter, where he caught a mesh pattern that got him some YAC. That’s it. Pretty bad!
Earning targets is a huge part of the skill equation for any pass-catcher, and it’s on the receiver to earn that from a quarterback. Golden has never meaningfully earned targets through his college career, and we're seeing a little bit of that now in a small sample with Green Bay after seven weeks. Once a player shows you who they are, believe them. I’m not saying they can't improve, but if the things he's doing (or not doing) are in line with what he's done, it’s hard not to correlate that with his skill rather than an anomaly or one-off.
to preface, yes, I 100% understand the general thesis of drafting him in fantasy
BUT..
Nothing Matthew Golden has ever done in his entire body of work (high school AND college) has shown me that he can earn targets at the NFL level, as he's only hit 6+ targets per game ONCE, his HS senior season.
— Kevin Tompkins (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social) August 9, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Two players that quarterback Jordan Love HAS targeted are Romeo Doubs and Tucker Kraft. Doubs (6-72) now has three straight games of eight or more targets, with at least five receptions and 55 yards in each game. For the first time in Doubs’ career, he has a stable points floor for fantasy. He’s been Love’s go-to wide receiver lately and is taking full advantage of the fact that the Packers’ receiving group has been hit hard by injuries, with Jayden Reed on IR, Christian Watson out for the first seven games, and Dontayvion Wicks (1-5) leaving the game with a calf injury.
As for Kraft, he earned a career-high 10 targets and scored yet another touchdown. Quietly, Doubs and Kraft combined for over 60 percent of the team’s targets in Week 7. It’s probably time to toss Doubs in most fantasy lineups, but we HAVE seen this song and dance before with him.
Texans Notes From Week 7:
I guess we’re doing another week where we’re chastising the Houston Texans for not being smart or forward-thinking enough to get their Day 2 rookie wide receivers more work? Jaylin Noel showed a bit more of what he could do, as he paced the wide receivers with a 4-77 line on seven targets. That was on just 48 percent of routes, so that’s just dandy.
Fellow rookie Jayden Higgins went catchless on three targets and 61 percent of routes – admittedly, a season high for Higgins. Still, it’s borderline malpractice that without Christian Kirk active, Braxton Berrios (1-(-1) ends up with 48 percent of routes, and Xavier Hutchinson (1-13) runs the most routes on the team at 78 percent of dropbacks. There’s just no need for that. Behind a terrible offensive line that failed to adequately replace their All-Pro left tackle that they traded away, the Texans are in danger of ‘David Carr’ing’ C.J. Stroud.
Nico Collins (4-27) typically runs the most routes, but he left this game early with a concussion after 10 targets. He probably will not play with a short turnaround to a Sunday game after playing on Monday Night Football.
Woody Marks (10-15 rushing; 3-20-1 receiving) saw a season-high 63 percent of snaps, while Nick Chubb (5-16) was at a season-low 25 percent. While Marks won out in opportunities and time on the field, it’s probably much more complex than that, with a coaching staff and offensive coordinator Nick Caley, who seemingly has difficulty managing younger players’ workloads if the receiving room can’t even be managed properly.
Colts Notes From Week 7:
This is totally a first-world problem that nobody but fantasy football content creators can relate to, but it’s getting to the point where I can only say “Jonathan Taylor is really freaking good” in a finite number of ways. Taylor (16-94-3) scored three touchdowns, perhaps in protest of the retina-burning yellow uniforms the Los Angeles Chargers were wearing. Who’s to say? Taylor just keeps chugging, and he’s crushing everything for the league’s most efficient offense.
With Josh Downs inactive in Week 7, targets were primarily focused on Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, and Tyler Warren. Pittman (7-58-1) scored a fun four-yard touchdown where he was lined up in the back of trips formation, slot receiver Anthony Gould (1-3) goes in motion to the weak side, comes back in motion before the snap and after a play-fake to Taylor, Pittman runs along the back of the line post-snap to chip the defensive end and leak out for the easy touchdown. It was a super cool play design, and that’s why the Colts are so fun to watch every week.
This might be my favorite play of the week, I love the play design here and everything syncs up for the Colts to make a lot of motion and moving parts into an easy Pittman TD.
— Kevin Tompkins (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social) October 22, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Warren (4-69-1) continues his assault on fantasy tight end scoring with another quality game with a touchdown, and Pierce was a downfield menace. Even if Pierce (5-98, team-high 10 targets) didn’t convert all of his Week 7-leading 244 air yards into actual yards, 10 targets on a 24.4-yard aDOT is crazy.
Jaguars Notes From Week 7:
The Jaguars got down 21-0 heading into the fourth quarter and then still allowed 14 points in the final frame of the game. Their only score was a Travis Hunter garbage touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter. Hunter (8-101-1, 90 percent of routes per dropback) also co-led the team in routes while playing a three-week low of 14 snaps on defense.
It’s abundantly clear that Hunter’s skill set is being heavily prioritized for the passing game rather than on defense. I’m not sure if this specific utilization will continue post-bye, but as a drop candidate before this, he probably bought himself another couple of weeks to see if this sticks, especially with the health concerns of Brian Thomas Jr.’s shoulder.
Thomas (3-31, seven targets) was decently targeted, didn’t produce too much in the game, and then hurt his shoulder very late in the blowout. Not great! Apparently, the Jaguars think enough of Parker Washington to give him not just 10 targets but send him deep a ton of times to the tune of 205(!) air yards.
Not much meat on the bone for Travis Etienne Jr. with the game so out of hand. The Jaguars only had 17 non-quarterback rush attempts and 57 dropbacks in the game to further drive the negative game script home.
Chiefs Notes From Week 7:
Kansas City was on cruise control from the opening kickoff and coasted to a 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at home. Up 21-0 at halftime, most of the Chiefs' offensive starters were off the field well into the second half, but not without some fireworks in the first half to get their lead.
Rashee Rice (7-42-2) played his first game since his six-game suspension by the NFL, and he made his presence immediately felt with a team-high nine targets and two touchdowns. He ran just a 2.0-yard aDOT, which is totally fine and very normal for him. Welcome back, king!
A muted game from Xavier Worthy (3-35), but they didn’t need a lot of heavy lifting in this game. The same goes for Travis Kelce (3-54), Marquise Brown (2-14-1), and the rest of the main cogs in this offense. A lot of the route percentages were depressed in this game because of the blowout, so there’s nothing we can take away here with the blowout.
Isiah Pacheco (15-57-1 rushing; 1-(-3) receiving) kept up most of his increased time on the field from last week and had a solid game. Pacheco and Brashard Smith (14-39 rushing; 5-42 receiving) get a bit of a bump in fantasy value because those are the two backs that will be out there much more with this Chiefs’ offense finally at full strength. 11 of Smith’s 14 carries came in the Chiefs’ final three drives with the game well in hand.
Raiders Notes From Week 7:
The Las Vegas Raiders football team (football, used loosely) ran a total of 30 plays (league average is 61.2 plays) on offense in their Week 7 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. They scored zero points. They had two first downs via their offense and one more first down via penalty. The Raiders had 49 total air yards. Perhaps their Week 8 bye will allow them to find a new hobby or go pro in something other than football, because this was an abomination of the highest magnitude.
Only Tre Tucker (5-33) and Jack Bech (2-13) caught at least two passes from Geno Smith. Besides those two, only Dont'e Thornton Jr. (three targets, no receptions) earned more than one target.
Ashton Jeanty only had six rushing attempts in the game on a team that totaled just 11 rushing attempts and eight non-quarterback rush attempts.
I don’t know how to further illustrate the ugliness, so let’s move on.
Chargers Notes From Week 7:
The Chargers, the most pass-friendly offense in fantasy football, had 61 Justin Herbert dropbacks – a season high for any team this season – and had three top-30 fantasy wide receivers plus the overall TE1 on the week.
Keenan Allen (11-119-1, team-high 14 targets) and Ladd McConkey (9-67, 13 targets) combined for 27 targets in excellent games for each. Quentin Johnston (2-30-1) missed Week 6 but returned for Week 7 to score a touchdown and not much else.
Now, we come to the point in the article where we have to talk about Oronde Gadsden II, who blew the doors off of fantasy football in Week 7 to the tune of 164 receiving yards and a touchdown, plus 103 air yards on nine targets.
Gadsden has put both Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin in the shadow realm in the past couple of weeks in his slow burn to becoming the undeniable top tight end on the Chargers.
who wants to see a league-winning tight end? 😏
— Kevin Tompkins (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social) October 19, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Gadsden’s entire profile is everything that we want from a tight end for fantasy football: he’s a former wide receiver at Syracuse, he’s the son of a former NFL wide receiver, Gadsden has improved each week, he earned routes and earned targets immediately from Gadsden’s first game in Week 3, and not just that, but he produced MASSIVELY in a game where all three wide receivers were on the field, so you can’t make any sort of excuse about a player being out.
The one knock is some of the volatility that comes with having three other productive targets on the field as well. Not every game is going to have 55 pass attempts and 61 dropbacks in a trailing script for all the players to get there. It’s the same problem we saw with the San Francisco 49ers with players like Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel Sr., and McCaffrey: there’s only one football. That said, the 49ers offense had nowhere near the consistent pass volume that this Chargers’ offense DOES have.
Kimani Vidal’s (9-20 rushing; 4-15 receiving) role was strong at 65 percent of snaps, but he took a backseat thanks to the Chargers getting down and ceding the way for Herbert and company to pass their way through it for the rest of the game. Hassan Haskins (1-3 rushing; 2-2 receiving) picked up a hamstring injury as well, so he’s doubtful for the Chargers’ Week 8 Thursday Night Football game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Rams Notes From Week 7:
The Rams made the jump across the pond to London in Week 7 to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in a matchup of 4-2 teams. They dominated Jacksonville from start to finish, to the tune of 35-7.
The typically condensed Rams didn’t have Puka Nacua, who was out with an ankle injury, and then, combined with a Week 8 bye, likely plays in Week 9. Without Nacua, the Rams were basically the Denver Broncos, with Matthew Stafford getting 10 players at least one target.
Playing the role of Sutton was Davante Adams (5-35-3), who led the Rams in routes and had a lackluster target-earning line but scored three touchdowns, so those sins can be forgiven. With no Nacua, Jordan Whittington (2-9) was his backup on the day and ran the second-most routes (68 percent) to meager results. If the game script were a little more conducive to passing the ball, I’m sure there would have been much more meat on the bone there.
In the overwhelmingly positive script for the Rams, Blake Corum (12-37 rushing; 1-6 receiving) matched Kyren Williams (12-54 rushing; 2-11 receiving) in carries, but the bulk of Corum’s work came in the fourth quarter stuff as the game ticked away.
Dolphins Notes From Week 7:
The reports leading up to this game called for wind gusts upwards of 60 mph, but it was well-managed by the Cleveland Browns as they won 31-6 in Cleveland. Not so well-managed by the Dolphins. In fact, anything but. Tua Tagovailoa threw three interceptions and was eventually benched for rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers to mop up a few pass attempts and mercifully end this game.
Darren Waller hurt his pectoral muscle after just 24 percent of routes. In the time he was on the field, he didn’t earn a target. Jaylen Waddle (1-15) only had one catch on four targets, but Malik Washington (5-30, team-high seven targets) saw a solid uptick in routes as he got to a season-high 76 percent, up from a season-low 61 percent just last week. Waller was placed on IR on Wednesday, which could open things up in the short term for Washington to be part of the consolidated stuff in Miami.
Interestingly enough, the Dolphins did elevate tight end Greg Dulcich from the practice squad. He’s always been a receiving-first tight end, and as a rookie, he ran 316 routes and earned 51 targets on a 12.7-yard aDOT. Dulcich was primarily used in the slot (58 percent) that season for the Broncos and was a solid producer from his 2022 Week 6 debut through the end of the season. I'd be looking to add him if you need tight end help, as he's a great profile to make a speculative add for.
As the receiving component in this offense next to Julian Hill (1-1) and Tanner Conner (1-28), I’d be speculatively adding Dulcich in most leagues because of the condensed nature of the Dolphins’ offense. If he can be a 1:1 replacement for the things Waller did, he’d immediately be fantasy relevant if he ended up getting near the route volume Waller received up to his pectoral injury.
Not as much of a factor in the passing game this week for Achane, but that’s due to the wind being a factor in how they could attack defenses with designed stuff short. On the ground, Achane was excellent given their offensive environment, but the Dolphins could truly use a Raheem Mostert-type running back for Achane to play off. If Ollie Gordon II (5-11 rushing; 1-2 receiving) was going to be in that role, I feel like Gordon would be featured much more to this point. Jaylen Wright was active for the first time this season but didn’t earn a touch.
Vikings Notes From Week 7:
This game was the “well, the other shoe had to drop at some point” game for Carson Wentz, as the statue building outside of U.S. Bank Stadium probably must go on hiatus for the time being. On my Sunday night show, “The Express”, where Nate Polvogt and I review each game on the slate, we talked about “fun bad” quarterbacks, and if Wentz was in that category. Wentz may have thrown two interceptions and looked bad in some instances in this game, but he understands the assignment of getting the ball to his playmakers.
There’s something to be said about backup quarterbacks getting in the game and knowing exactly what to do. That’s why these guys stick around forever. Players like Joe Burrow, Tyrod Taylor, Brissett, and I’d throw Wentz into that pile as well. Wentz is just the dopey golden retriever of that backup quarterback group; he’s a good boy, but he’s going to get into stuff he shouldn’t.
Wentz directed 31-of-40 targets to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson on the afternoon, with only Jalen Nailor (2-37) and Adam Thielen (1-10) being the only other receivers to earn more than one target.
Jefferson (5-79, 10 targets) took a bit of a backseat to Addison (9-128, team-high 12 targets) here, as he is just so, so good at the catch point. While Addison had his three-game suspension to start the season, he was incredibly underrated by fantasy drafters for his actual skill in earning targets, downfield work, and work at the catch point. He won a Fred Biletnikoff Award, people! It’s time we talk about Jefferson and Addison like we talk about Chase and Higgins, Lamb and Pickens, and other top receiving duos.
Hockenson (6-43, nine targets) lost out on a touchdown via a booth review that could have boosted his day as well, but he feels very much like the Dallas Goedert to Jefferson and Addison’s “Brown and Smith” in terms of the condensed nature of the target tree.
Patriots Notes From Week 7:
Somehow, and bewilderingly, the split between Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson got even wider. Stevenson (18-88-1 rushing; 2-0 receiving) saw a season-high 77 percent of snaps and 69 percent of routes, while Henderson (2-5) earned just two touches on the afternoon. It’s not as though this was a neutral script game throughout, either. We were at the 31-13 final score midway through the third quarter after the Patriots’ defense recovered a fumble for a score.
Third-string running back Terrell Jennings (5-18) actually closed out the game for New England, as they couldn’t even get Henderson on the field in THAT instance. Then, head coach Mike Vrabel called Jennings his "five-minute" back. Just incredibly weird stuff here in New England as it relates to their backfield.
Drake Maye has been great this season. Full stop.
Drake Maye deserves a damn statue
— Kevin Tompkins (@ktompkinsii.bsky.social) October 22, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte led the way for the pass-catchers as Diggs (7-69) led in target volume while Boutte (2-55-1) had a 39-yard touchdown reception. Of course, this Patriots’ passing game is a “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” kind of deal. Maye is lifting all boats here, and we love to see it. With “bye-mageddon” here, I don’t mind tossing Boutte into the flex spot as he’s getting routes and earning a bigger market share within the offense.
Saints Notes From Week 7:
In a game where the “Narrative Street” was a bit quieter than usual for the Dennis Allen revenge game as former Saints head coach and now current Bears defensive coordinator, the normally indoor Saints were predictably sloppy in a game with rain and wind concerns.
Spencer Rattler threw three interceptions and fumbled for four total turnovers as the Bears just ran up and down on the Saints. The passing game was condensed with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Juwan Johnson combining for almost 75 percent of the team’s total targets. Olave (5-98-2) was very good with a couple of scores, plus a 57-yard pass play close to halftime. Shaheed (4-40) led the team with nine targets, and we got a return to form for Juwan Johnson.
After starting the season on fire with three top-10 finishes to start the season, Johnson suffered an ankle injury in Week 4 but played through it for a few weeks. It clearly affected him as he put up three weeks with a combined nine targets, seven receptions, and 60 yards. Week 7 saw a return to form of sorts, where Johnson just missed being a fantasy top-12 tight end on the week, but still put up a 5-79 line on seven targets with his strong role.
Below 4.0 yards per carry for the fourth consecutive week was Alvin Kamara (11-28 rushing; 3-1 receiving), who keeps a massive role for some reason. It’s not like the backs behind him are knocking on Kamara’s door anytime soon, as Kendre Miller (1-7)left the game very early on and will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
It’s likely Devin Neal (1-1) backing up Kamara, but he’s not a strong option in case Kamara gets hurt. Neal will likely get first crack, though, and he could surprise. But the Saints also lost center Erik McCoy for the season with a torn bicep as well, so that’s also not great!
Giants Notes From Week 7:
In the maelstrom that was the Broncos coming back to win the game after being down 19-0 in the third quarter, the Giants still scored 13 points in the final stanza. That missing point is crucial, because it was from a missed extra point off the foot of now-released kicker Jude McAtamney. That made the field goal from the Broncos’ Wil Lutz a game-winning try rather than a game-tying try.
Somehow, only four Giants even caught a pass in the game. Two of the three touchdowns were scored by tight ends Theo Johnson and Daniel Bellinger. Johnson (3-66-1) caught his touchdown score on a deflection intended for Wan'Dale Robinson. Johnson caught it and ran upfield with his momentum, taking advantage of an accidentally fortuitous block by Robinson to help Johnson get down the sideline and muscle his way in for six. The score by Bellinger (3-88-1) was a total busted coverage with no Broncos within 10 yards of him.
Robinson (6-95) earned a team-high 10 targets and was the main chain mover and consistent deep threat all game with 121 air yards on the afternoon.
The only other Giant to catch a pass was Cam Skattebo, who was awesome in a very tough matchup with 94 yards from scrimmage plus a touchdown reception early on. He’s so ingrained within the offense that even if the Giants aren’t a great team, the offensive plan is built around him, so he needs to be started in fantasy, no matter who Skattebo's opponent is.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. was involved in the run game and broke a 31-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Tracy (9-46-1 rushing) still isn’t a fantasy-relevant back, but he is still used a bit and at least showed a sign of life.
Jets Notes From Week 7:
There are bad football teams, there are awful football teams (see Raiders, Las Vegas), and then there are the New York Jets. I mean, at least they scored points, right?
No Garrett Wilson, but nobody on this team had more than three receptions. Josh Reynolds (3-29) led the team with nine targets and ran a ton of routes. This is the worst receiving group that I can remember. It’s bad. Oh, Tyler Johnson (3-60) led the Jets with 60 yards in a game which Justin Fields was pulled from the game for Tyrod Taylor.
Things are trending toward Tyrod Taylor being the starter in Week 8 after famed Madden ratings guy and Jets owner Woody Johnson trashed Fields to the media. So, things are working out great for the 0-7 Jets in head coach Aaron Glenn’s first season!
Breece Hall (11-38 rushing; 2-14 receiving) was present and accounted for, with 52 yards from scrimmage. If you’re into that! It’s a bad, bad environment.
Eagles Notes From Week 7:
We’ve never been closer to 2024 Philadelphia Eagles football on offense, well, except Saquon Barkley, who continues to struggle big time after a 2024 season where he carried the ball 436 times, including the playoffs and Super Bowl.
Barkley (18-44 rushing; 1-(-2) receiving) remains inefficient with just 2.4 yards per carry in Week 7, and the Eagles’ run game remains one of the worst in football after crushing and destroying worlds last season.
Luckily, Jalen Hurts threw for 326 yards on just 23 pass attempts, as he dominated the Minnesota Vikings’ secondary en route to long plays like A.J. Brown’s 37-yard touchdown in the first quarter, DeVonta Smith’s longest reception of his career: a 76-yard touchdown, and then back to Brown in the fourth quarter with a 26-yard touchdown reception.
Brown (4-121-2) and Smith (9-183-1) combined for 304 of Hurts’ 326 passing yards, with Dallas Goedert (3-18) adding 18 yards of that 326-yard total. It’s the most clear and concise way of explaining a condensed offense as the trio of Brown, Smith, and Goedert combined for 20-of-23 targets and all but FOUR receiving yards on the afternoon.
This is why you don’t ask questions about these Eagles’ receivers, because they will all have their moments, and you don’t have to worry about the secondary players in most games pilfering touchdowns and looks from Hurts.
Steelers Notes From Week 7:
The Steelers – well, Arthur Smith – have never met a tight end they didn’t like. Case in point, Week 7. All four of Aaron Rodgers’ touchdowns went to tight ends. Pat Freiermuth caught two touchdown passes, Jonnu Smith got in the end zone, and Darnell Washington caught one as well. It’s no wonder that the Steelers lead the NFL in target distribution to tight ends, with 37 percent of targets directed to the position.
Despite four touchdowns and 249 yards passing from Rodgers, it didn’t really benefit DK Metcalf, as he put up just 50 yards on three receptions. If you’re able to turn in unrealized air yards for cash and prizes, Metcalf has you covered with 151 air yards. Metcalf was targeted downfield a bunch with a 25.2-yard aDOT – the second-highest aDOT of any pass-catcher in Week 7 with five or more targets.
Putting a huge gap between himself and Kenneth Gainwell is Jaylen Warren, who was incredibly efficient and, with his play, relegated Gainwell to mostly pass-blocking duty. Warren put up 158 yards from scrimmage and put to bed any workload split between the two backs. Kaleb Johnson didn’t play a snap. If you haven’t dropped him, go ahead and do so.
49ers Notes From Week 7:
In a game where the 49ers were in control for most of the proceedings, San Francisco had 34 non-quarterback rush attempts. McCaffrey (24-129-2 rushing; 7-72 receiving, team-high eight targets) had by far his best game of the season on the ground, with 5.4 yards per carry. Because he’s McCaffrey, he also added 7-72 receiving to lead the team, just to toy with everybody who didn’t draft him in fantasy football. He scored 39.1 fantasy points; he’s completely unfair.
No other 49ers player earned more than two targets outside of Jauan Jennings’ seven targets and 4-31 line. With three separate injuries Jennings was on the injury report for, he still managed to run routes on 93 percent of dropbacks. Kittle returned to 86 percent of routes but earned two targets without a catch. The only way to go is up from that performance!
Seahawks Notes From Week 7:
In a disappointing game in Seattle, only because the Seattle Mariners lost their Game 7 against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Seahawks ran away with this late, late game, as it wasn’t close except for the final score.
The East Coast Dads™️ weren’t having it.
Who else, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba? At this point, you yawn at *just* an 8-123-1 line on almost half of Seattle’s targets. He’s automatic and inevitable at this point as what will almost assuredly be a 2026 top-6 overall fantasy pick. He must be, right? Cooper Kupp (1-32; passing INT) was slightly involved at 86 percent of routes. Only Elijah Arroyo (4-42) caught more than one pass amongst the wide receivers and tight ends.
In a saga between both running backs that rivals soap operas like One Life to Live and General Hospital, the installment in Week 7 saw Zach Charbonnet (12-49-2 rushing; 2-6 receiving) get the better of Kenneth Walker III (17-66 rushing) with Charbonnet’s two touchdowns and also slightly better efficiency on five less carries than Walker did on 17 totes. Both Charbonnet and Walker are fantasy relevant, of course, but it’s purely at the whim of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak for the workload split each week if both are active.
Buccaneers Notes From Week 7:
You know what would have been nice? Not what the Buccaneers gave us in the opening game of this doubleheader that ended up devouring my soul by the time 1:00 am hit. Tampa Bay only scored nine(!) points in a game where Baker Mayfield threw the ball 50 times and the Buccaneers only had 11 non-quarterback rushing attempts.
Obviously, the big news is that we got the return of Mike Evans (four targets) to the Tampa lineup, but as quickly as he returned, he got hit hard and broke his clavicle. That likely ended his ironman streak of 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, but Evans is likely to return at some point this season, but it may not be until the fantasy playoffs or, conservatively, later when the actual NFL playoffs begin – should Tampa Bay get there.
Awful, awful news, for sure, for one of the most celebrated wide receivers in the NFL and certainly for fantasy football.
Emeka Egbuka (4-58) played 82 percent of routes per dropback after being a game-time decision due to a hamstring injury. Egbuka was inefficient, catching just four of his team-leading 11 targets. Tez Johnson (4-58-1) has been a real shot in the arm for the Tampa pass-catching group over the last few weeks, as all he’s done in his limited time on the field is produce. Cade Otton (7-65) ran a ton of routes and, with multiple Buccaneers injured, put up a solid effort in the defeat.
With Tampa Bay choosing to get everything going in the passing game while in a trailing script, Rachaad White (10-38 rushing; 4-6 receiving) was noticeably quiet.
Titans Notes From Week 7:
Yup, Tennessee is still pretty bad with or without Brian Callahan. Was there any doubt?
Calvin Ridley remained out with his hamstring injury in Week 7, but with or without Ridley, this team may be doomed for the rest of the season. It’s not an offense we’re specifically targeting for fantasy purposes, but anything can happen as young players get more routes and opportunities.
Famed real estate agent and part-time wide receiver Tyler Lockett was released from the team per his request, so presumably, that should open some more opportunities for Chimere Dike (4-70-1) to expand his slot utilization and overall routes. Hopefully, with interim head coach Mike McCoy, the team leans further into the rookies like Dike, Elic Ayomanor (2-29), and tight end Gunnar Helm (4-36).
In the running game, Tony Pollard (6-18 rushing; 6-43 receiving) compiled as a pass-catcher after being game-scripted out with the Patriots leading 31-13 in the third quarter, which ended up as the final score. All three of Tyjae Spears’ (5-22 rushing; 3-18 receiving) receptions occurred in the fourth quarter during garbage time.
Commanders Notes From Week 7:
It was a game that didn’t end great for the Washington Commanders as Jayden Daniels left early, but frankly, this team is in shambles right now offensively. The receivers were already missing Terry McLaurin and Samuel, so it was a patchwork group to begin with. In a game with the highest over/under total of the slate at 54.5, it was certainly high scoring, but Washington was blown out 44-22 on the road against the Dallas Cowboys.
Zach Ertz (3-37-1) led the team with seven targets and scored their only receiving touchdown. Chris Moore (2-59) ran 80 percent of routes per dropback, but he shouldn’t be more than a bit player at his advanced age of 32. Jaylin Lane (3-60) ran 75 percent of routes as well and led the Commanders with 60 receiving yards on three catches. The team had to take Robbie Chosen (4-36) out of mothballs to be able to field a group of pass-catchers. That’s where we’re at here with this team.
Unfortunately, the problems extended to the running backs as well, with Jacory Croskey-Merritt (13-33 rushing; 1-(-1) receiving) not being able to get going in that department either. In fact, the top two rushers by yards were both Daniels and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. Chris Rodriguez Jr. (3-12-1) scored their other touchdown on offense. This team needs to get its health in order if it’s going to be anything close to competitive this season. It’s ugly out here.
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