Fantasy Football Week 7 Running Back Preview: Rankings adjustments, waiver adds, stashes, and more

I have talked plenty about the running back cesspool in Fantasy Football. It is that area of low-end RB2s and high-end RB3s that you really do not want to start. Some of them get great volume, but never do anything with it; some of them we think are talented, but can't get enough touches. After Week 6, there appears to be a bit of separation in that group; the cesspool is drying out. Part of that is because Jacory Croskey-Merritt is seeing more touches, and D'Andre Swift has started being more productive. Those are the positives. The negatives are Chase Brown and Tony Pollard, who may be losing the one thing they had going for them.

Brown was the poster boy for the borderline RB2 you hope you don't have to start. Now, Fantasy managers aren't the only ones avoiding him. Brown had 41 touches the first two weeks. He has averaged 13.25 touches per game since. He has not had more than 10 carries in a game since Week 2. He's also losing playing time, with just one game over 60% snap share since Week 2. In Week 6, Samaje Perine had eight touches to Brown's 11. When you are averaging 2.7 yards per carry and 4.3 yards per target, you need all the touches to even be considered as a starter. Brown has lost that benefit. I would start both Steelers RBs over him this week.

Pollard's path is more understandable because Tyjae Spears is back. Spears played just 25% of the snaps in his Week 5 return, but that spiked to 59% last week. Unsurprisingly, that resulted in Pollard seeing a season-low 12 touches. This looks like a 50/50 timeshare, and the Titans are the worst offense in the league. As low as I am on Brown, I would start him over Pollard this week.

Now let's get to the rest of the Week 7 RB Preview:

Week 7 RB Preview

• 5.3 -- D'Andre Swift is averaging 5.3 yards per touch after a spectacular Week 6. That is his best mark since 2022 in Detroit, when Ben Johnson was his offensive coordinator.
• 52.5% -- Over the past two weeks, Rico Dowdle has a 52.5% opportunity share. That's 10 points higher than number two, Bijan Robinson. Dowdle is a must-start at least until Chuba Hubbard returns, maybe after.
• 72% -- Kimani Vidal's 72% rush share was higher than anyone expected and good for sixth best at the running back position in Week 6. This does not look like a committee, and Vidal also looks like a must-start running back.
• 31.7% -- Almost a third of Zach Charbonnet's rush attempts have gone for zero or negative yards, the worst mark in the league. Hopefully, Seattle gives some of his carries to Kenneth Walker moving forward.
• 33.3% -- Amongst players with at least 30 rush attempts, only Bijan Robinson has a higher avoid rate than Jaylen Warren's 33.3%.
• 16.5% -- Kenneth Gainwell has a 16.5% target share this season and had a 20.7% share in Week 6 with Jaylen Warren back. They may both be starters against the Bengals.
• 30.83 -- The Bengals are the only defense giving up more than 30 PPR FPPG to opposing running backs.

Week 7 Adds (RB Preview)

Kimani Vidal RB LAC L.A. Chargers • #30 Age: 24 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs IND LAC -1.5 O/U 48.5 OPP VS RB 8th RB RNK 20th ROSTERED 61% YTD Stats RUYDS 142 REC 4 REYDS 15 TD 1 FPTS/G 8.6 What a strange week last week was. Vidal was the top guy in this spot last week, but by the time we got to Sunday, people were dropping him for Hassan Haskins and Zonovan Knight. Now he is 61% rostered and the clear top add at the position after producing 138 yards and a touchdown on 21 touches against the Dolphins. Don't expect him to be that efficient against the Colts, but do expect him to be the clear top back. Teams that are under .500 and weak at running back should be very aggressive with their FAB. Vidal could be a must-start running back for the next month or more.

Zonovan Knight RB ARI Arizona • #20 Age: 24 • Experience: 3 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs GB GB -6.5 O/U 44.5 OPP VS RB 6th RB RNK 30th ROSTERED 14% YTD Stats RUYDS 45 REC 2 REYDS 33 TD 2 FPTS/G 5.5 Knight's takeover of the Cardinals' backfield wasn't quite as impressive as Vidal's. Michael Carter is still involved and could be the better option against the Packers this week if he continues to see more targets than Knight. But Knight is the clear goal-line back, and I wouldn't be surprised if his rush share goes up again this week. Consider him a flex in Week 7, but he could be a Fantasy starter in Week 9 against the Cowboys.

Tyjae Spears RB TEN Tennessee • #2 Age: 24 • Experience: 3 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs NE NE -7 O/U 42 OPP VS RB 7th RB RNK 40th ROSTERED 46% YTD Stats RUYDS 45 REC 4 REYDS 19 TD 0 FPTS/G 5.2 Spears was in the stash section several times this year, and in Week 6, he gave a glimpse of why. Spears turned nine touches into 50 yards and played more snaps than Tony Pollard. It is quite possible he plays more than Pollard when the Titans are chasing the score, and it is quite possible they will be chasing the score every week.

Stashes (RB Preview)

Jaydon Blue RB DAL Dallas • #23 Age: 21 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs WAS WAS -1.5 O/U 54.5 OPP VS RB 18th RB RNK NR ROSTERED 47% YTD Stats RUYDS 7 REC 0 REYDS 0 TD 0 FPTS/G 0.4 Miles Sanders is on injured reserve for the rest of the year, which means Blue is just one Javonte Williams injury away from being the starting running back on the best offense in football. That guy needs to be rostered.

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Quinshon Judkins RB CLE Cleveland • #10 Age: 21 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs MIA CLE -3 O/U 40.5 OPP VS RB 26th PROJ PTS 16.4 RB RNK 5th YTD Stats RUYDS 383 REC 9 REYDS 62 TD 2 FPTS/G 13.1 Judkins was disappointing in Week 6, but there is no better team to bounce back against than the Miami Dolphins. They have given up over five yards per carry four weeks in a row and at least 16 PPR Fantasy points to a running back in every one of those games. Judkins' 3.87 yards per carry after contact ranks fourth amongst running backs with at least 30 carries.

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Alvin Kamara RB NO New Orleans • #41 Age: 30 • Experience: 9 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ CHI CHI -5.5 O/U 47.5 OPP VS RB 28th PROJ PTS 13.7 RB RNK 23rd YTD Stats RUYDS 314 REC 22 REYDS 122 TD 1 FPTS/G 11.6 The Bears were better against the run coming out of the bye, but they're still giving up a league-worst 5.6 yards per carry to running backs this season. Kamara is sharing time with Kendre Miller, but has seen at least five targets in three straight games. Even with 15 touches, the Bears could make him look like Alvin Kamara once again.

My full set of Week 7 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 3. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.