Names that appeared on the Week 7 running back leader board include: Ronnie Hillman (owned in 58% of Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football leagues), Denard Robinson (8%), Stepfan Taylor (1%), and Tre Mason (15%), all of whom finished in the top 15 at their position on Sunday. In a fantasy football season that has been shaped by second and third-string running backs, Week 7 may be the most important week yet to secure a top waiver wire pick.
Other players that should be signed in every fantasy football league: Doug Baldwin (owned in 47% of Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football leagues), Bryce Brown (38%), and Anthony Dixon (25%). Both Buffalo Bills running backs are listed because only Head Coach Doug Marrone knows how carries will be split.
For a better sense of how pivotal these free agents may be, check the 2014 running back leader board. The top 25 fantasy backs include: Ahmad Bradshaw, Branden Oliver, Lamar miller, Justin Forsett, Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas, Ronnie Hillman, Shane Vereen, and Chris Ivory. None of whom were the starter on their team to start the year and most weren’t even drafted in your league. Free agency will play a pivotal role in any fantasy football season, but none more so than running backs this year. If you haven’t signed a running back in free agency yet, good luck winning the championship.
In other news around the league, Demaryius Thomas has caught 26 passes for 526 yards (20.0 YPC) and four touchdowns in his past three games. The perennial first round pick saw 37 targets in weeks four through seven, compared to 27 targets in the first three weeks. So much for that early season slump. If you sold-high on the star wide receiver now’s the time to panic.
Rob Gronkowski, Martellus Bennett, Julius Thomas, and Jimmy Graham all finished with less than seven points on Sunday. Since Week 4, Antonio Gates and Greg Olsen have both put up at least eight points every single week. In fact both have more double digit games than tight end points leader Julius Thomas. After a 27.6 performance against the Seahawks, Gates has proven he’s still very much relevant in fantasy football, averaging 8.52 fantasy points since Week 2. Olsen leads all tight ends with five double digit fantasy games (three in a row) showing the position is full of dominant players. Julius Thomas is no longer alone as the elite fantasy football tight end option.