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Unexpected Week 7 fantasy football performances. Will these players sustain their Week 7 success and be fantasy football waiver wire pickups?
Week 7 had to be one of the toughest weeks for fantasy managers in recent memory. There were some really good offenses on byes this week (Buffalo, Minnesota, Philadelphia) that left managers having to roll out players off their bench or go ransacking the waiver wire for scraps.
And then once the games started, it seemed like every game had its own devastating injury to a star player that negatively impacted fantasy football. Hopefully, most managers were able to make it out alive, but due to the number of injuries, there were likely some team casualties.
With this uncharacteristically high number of impactful injuries, a decent amount of unexpected performers had to crawl out of the woodwork to help their teams on the offensive side. That being said, let’s look at some of the most unexpected boom performances from Week 7 and hope for a less treacherous Week 8.
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Fantasy Football Risers - Surprise Performances
Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts
These performances are starting to look like a trend. After being heavily involved in Week 6, Parris Campbell returned in Week 7 with similar usage. Against the Tennessee Titans, Campbell caught 10-of-12 targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. That statistical total led to exactly 18 Half-PPR fantasy points on the day, pleasing anyone that had to start the fourth-year receiver in a pinch.
Parris at the pylon. 🙌#BudLightCelly | @BudLight | 📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/ddqTvglfqQ
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 16, 2022
The Colts carried their game plan from the previous week into Week 7 with Matt Ryan chucking a ton of short passes to his wide receivers. Clearly, that strategy didn’t carry over into another win for Indianapolis, but this could easily be the new norm for this Frank Reich offense that is attempting to help Ryan in any way it can.
Parris Campbell has seen 21 targets in his last two games. If the Colts continue to roll with this pass-heavy game plan, Campbell should continue to hold fantasy value as the WR2 behind Michael Pittman in this Indianapolis offense.
Marquise Goodwin, Seattle Seahawks
When fans watch Seattle Seahawks games, they expect solid performances from their top two receivers in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Instead, in Week 7, we had a different speedster take over as the team’s most productive receiver for fantasy. Marquise Goodwin had a strong game against the Los Angeles Chargers as he caught four-of-five targets for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Those stats resulted in 20.7 Half-PPR fantasy points on the day.
Marquise Goodwin TD x2! @Seahawks
📺: #SEAvsLAC on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/HyjkGpXIek pic.twitter.com/1FVMjS0UQq— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2022
This was an interesting day for Goodwin as it was his first touchdown as a Seahawk, and there may be an expanded role for him that just recently opened up. Unfortunately, D.K. Metcalf was carted off the field with what was reported to be a knee injury. The severity has yet to be released, but it’s safe to assume that he may be missing some time. With one of their top playmakers out for a period of time, an increased opportunity could be available for Goodwin. He’s not a player I’d scramble to the waiver wire to grab, but he could be an interesting speculative add.
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals
In Week 7, there were many beneficiaries of the monster passing performance that quarterback Joe Burrow put on display. One of the more surprising ones of the bunch was Tyler Boyd. Among a few other monster performances from his teammates, Boyd caught eight-of-nine targets for 155 yards and a touchdown. That output resulted in 25.5 Half-PPR points on the day.
THAT'S how you start a football game.#ATLvsCIN | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/2Zgb01VCeg
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 23, 2022
Boyd looked like a man possessed at times, making highlight catches and dominating a struggling Atlanta Falcons secondary. However, this should not be considered the norm for him. The Bengals were taking on a rough Atlanta defense that lost cornerback A.J. Terrell to a non-contact injury early in the game.
This offense has definitely taken a step forward from its early season struggles, but Boyd is still the WR3 in this offense behind Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. So this heavy involvement shouldn’t become the norm. However, he’s still in a strong offense and should be on rosters already. If he’s available, make sure he’s on your roster after this huge performance.
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
The New York Giants might be the real deal, and Daniel Jones isn’t just along for the ride. In the Giants’ Week 7 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Daniel Jones was a man on a mission. He completed 19-of-30 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown while also running the ball 11 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. That accumulation of stats resulted in 28.78 fantasy points, his highest-scoring total of the season.
20+ yard run for Daniel Jones and *almost* breaks it! Most athletic klutz i've ever seen pic.twitter.com/XLn5wvyfWt
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) October 23, 2022
Jones looked like the player that many were excited about with Brian Daboll coming over to coach this team after years as the offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills. He excelled with his mobility and even showed his adequacy as a passer. Call it a lazy comparison, but Jones has the look of a store brand Josh Allen out there with Daboll coaching this team. He’s not afraid to tuck the ball and run at times, so his ceiling is much higher as a fantasy asset than most quarterbacks.
With so many high-profile fantasy quarterbacks struggling, Jones should definitely be on the radars of fantasy managers that have big names like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers putting up duds week after week. Jones has that same floor that those two have shown continuously this season, but he offers the possibility of a massive performance like the one seen in Week 7 due to his rushing ability.
Mecole Hardman, Kansas City Chiefs
Well, this one came out of left field, but I guess we’ll take it. Coming into Week 7, it was safe to say that out of all the playmakers in the Kansas City Chiefs offense, there weren’t too many people thinking about Mecole Hardman. While Hardman has shown flashes in the past, this offense has been way too crowded for the speedster to have any consistent value. But here in Week 7, fans saw a splash performance.
Against the San Francisco 49ers, Hardman caught all four of his targets for 32 yards and a touchdown along with two carries for 28 yards and two touchdowns. This random performance resulted in an output of exactly 26 Half-PPR fantasy points.
TURBO ENGINES 🛩
📺: #KCvsSF on FOX pic.twitter.com/rn83FKWDVj
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) October 23, 2022
While this was an interesting performance, this is not something that fantasy managers should get too excited about heading into Week 8. On Hardman’s six total touches on the day, he scored on three of them. That kind of scoring efficiency would be the stuff of legend if he could keep it up for an entire season.
Sure, this scoring output makes Hardman an interesting speculative add as the Kansas City offense can create huge performances at a moment's notice. However, there are many mouths to feed here and Mecole’s usage could be supplanted by another receiver in any given week.
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