If nothing feels like it makes sense anymore, why would the same not be true in football? There is a sense of unreality when it comes to watching J.J. McCarthy with the Giants. This was a young man on the Josh Rosen fast track. We “knew” it “just wasn’t going to work” after one of the league’s pre-eminent “quarterback whisperers” in Kevin O’Connell gave up on “Nine” after only two years and 10 starts.
But then again, this is what was supposed to happen. This is what we expect it to look like when a 23-year-old former No. 10 overall pick finally gets comfortable in his third NFL season. So perhaps it is time to adjust our priors.
Now, just as it was perhaps reckless to declare McCarthy the next Trey Lance after only 10 games in two years, the same would be true of declaring him “back” after five quarters in New York. But this is just the latest in a long line of data points in the modern game’s most frustrating trend — In a league where offenses have never been more demanding and defenses have never been more complex, quarterback progress no longer occurs on a linear trajectory. There are stops, starts, and yes, McCarthys.
There are instances almost everywhere you look. Although Bryce Young, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfiel are the most famous of the league’s current “whiplash developers,” there are other more subtle examples. Jacoby Brissett started playing his best football in his 30s. Michael Penix Jr. was holding on for dear life until he wasn’t. So on and so forth.
That has become our new normal. We don’t know which way McCarthy will go. But that is to be expected. The clear bust case that seemed to unfold in Minnesota was the outlier.
Five Week 7 Storylines
Omar Cooper Jr. again looks like a fantasy football star. Coop has played two full games as a pro. He’s cleared 100 yards in both of them, as well as provided a touchdown. He has done so on only 12 targets, but that is three more than Garrett Wilson has commanded in the same timespan. Although primarily a slot receiver, Cooper has notched catches of 48 and 60 yards. This, after his lone Week 1 reception before getting hurt went in the ledger for 30 yards. In short, these are the things you hope for out of a first-round receiver but rarely get this quickly. In addition to pushing Wilson, Cooper is crowding out Adonai Mitchell, who seemed to miss his breakout window as his injury timeline mirrored Cooper’s. There’s a good chance this will go down as Cooper’s best two-game stretch, but he is an every-week WR3 with room to grow until further notice.
Josh Jacobs quickly reasserts himself as a high-end fantasy option. The Packers never tried to pretend Jacobs would be eased back in. That manifested Sunday in Detroit. Jacobs handled three carries on the Pack’s opening drive and went on to lead the team with 11 rushes. He also tied for the team lead in receptions (five) and was third in targets (seven). Although his snap percentage of 52.2 didn’t blow the doors of the building, it actually wasn’t that far off his 2025 mark of 59.3, which was obscured a bit by a few injury-shortened appearances. The Packers desperately needed Jacobs’ return and confirmed as much with their Sunday usage. For fantasy, it should translate to an option on the RB1/2 borderline, especially for matchups like Thursday’s short-week date with the Panthers’ awful run defense.
Broncos’ backfield becomes three-man committee in Jonah Coleman’s return. Coleman’s 30 snaps against the Cardinals were as many as J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey — combined. Although Dobbins and Harvey remained involved and found the end zone as Coleman did not, the rookie led in carries and tied Harvey in targets. Maybe coach Sean Payton just wanted Coleman to get his feet wet in a contest the Broncos led 20-6 early in the third quarter — only two of Coleman’s carries came in the first half — but it’s not as if the game was over and done with. It’s also similar usage to what Coleman experienced in Week 1 before getting hurt. Coleman is not a particularly strong play with Dobbins and Harvey still involved, but he is probably “the” play heading into Week 8 against the Chiefs.
The Vikings’ offense looks as uninspiring as ever. Kyler Murray has now overseen four touchdowns in four completed starts. The Vikings are averaging 19 points in that timespan. Oh, they’ve also gone 4-0 and are the NFL’s lone remaining undefeated team at 6-0 on the season. You can’t ignore that, but you can forgive fantasy managers for not being impressed with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison’s depressed numbers under Murray. Will better play ever be ahead? It does not seem terribly likely for the now 29-year-old Murray, who has settled into something of a mid-career stasis. He is evidently good enough for a defensive-minded team to win with. Good for the Vikings. Not enough for fantasy players.
Things continue to happen in Jaylen Waddle world. Some good, more bad. The worst news is that Waddle did not finish the contest with a “chest” injury. Of course, it was late in the game and Waddle had already been listed with a chest issue. Maybe his removal was more precautionary than anything else in a largely settled contest. If that was bad news that could be good, good news that could be bad is that Waddle posted his second most yards of the season — at 48. This is Week 7. This is a player acquired for a first-round pick. You can’t be heading into Week 8 having exceeded 48 yards only one time. Now we just have to hope a banged-up Waddle has the opportunity at all in Week 8 against the Chiefs. If he does, he will be ranked as a low-end WR3.
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Five More 7 Storylines
Ashton Jeanty falls even farther as a rusher. For the first time all season, Jeanty finished below 10 carries and 20 yards rushing. Awful, though more concerning is the fact that the performance did not come out of nowhere. Jeanty has now been held below 30 yards rushing in three straight appearances. He has not cleared 60 since Week 1. That was also the last time Jeanty averaged more than four yards per carry. He is simply not producing on the ground, though his 34 receptions have provided some PPR salve. That includes a season-high eight against the Rams. Jeanty has caught fewer than four balls only twice all season, and has never caught fewer than three. That is why, despite his nonexistent ground production, Jeanty will remain a stubborn fixture in the RB2 ranks for the time being.
Dolphins’ young guns have a nice outing. The Dolphins understand the assignment — evaluate their young skill corps players. They first showed this in the offseason with their veteran additions — none, besides Jalen Tolbert. If you want to evaluate young players, don’t even give yourself the opportunity to feature go-nowhere vets instead. The Dolphins didn’t, and know they have seen promising returns from each of Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell and third-year pro Malik Washington. Ollie Gordon II has popped as, as well, with even reclamation project Greg Dulcich finally posting a usable box score on Sunday. The production will undoubtedly remain stop/start, but this is a situation where fantasy managers can have real optimism the young players they have been stashing might play their best football in the second half of the season.
Aaron Jones Sr. gets injured in Jordan Mason’s return to the lineup. It turns out the only thing keeping Jones healthy was his massive workloads. Jones held up stunningly well under his 97-touch deluge between Weeks 2-5. It was only coming off bye with Mason in the fold that Sr. could no longer go on. Maybe this is because the Vikes finally had an alternative in Mason. Whatever it is, it is the signal to remove Jones from our RB2 spots. It was too good to be true, but for longer than anyone could have hoped for. If you don’t have that luxury, Jones is at least “day to day” rather than “week to week.” There’s just no way he will see an RB2 workload even if he is out there for Week 8 against the Lions.
The Titans suddenly come to life. Playing fast, the Titans were, dare we say, even playing a little loose. Beginning their youth movement in earnest — Calvin Ridley was healthy scratched, with second-year pros Elic Ayomanor and Gunnar Helm returned to relevance — the Titans were not rewarded with a strong Cam Ward box score, but the spreadsheets were a little more forgiving. As Denny Carter pointed out in his post-game blurb, Ward posted a positive EPA per dropback, and produced slightly over his expected completion rate. The smallest of victories, but we’ll take those in a situation where there had only previously been Ls. The biggest W belonged to a dominant Tony Pollard, though he could immediately revert to RB3 status ahead of a Week 8 road date against the Bengals where the Titans will undoubtedly be playing from behind.
Texans’ receiver corps grows more confusing. Six Texans receivers played at least 13 offensive snaps against the Giants. The question is, why? Why is Nico Collins losing targets and gadget handles to Xavier Hutchinson? Why is Tank Dell cutting into Marvin Harrison Jr.’s development? Why is Kayshon Boutte still in the rotation at all? Why why why. We don’t know, but we at least don’t have to think about it again until the Texans come off bye in Week 9. Hopefully the open date provides clarity for an offensive attack that could really use some of it about now. Until then, it could be difficult to hold onto MHJ or a banged up Jaylin Noel (toe) if you need the roster spot. They have promise, but just as much downside in this confused, inconsistent offense.
Questions
1. Seriously, does Aaron Glenn understand time?
2. Were the bookmakers familiar with which Texans team they were installing as two-score favorites?
3. Are the Chiefs familiar with the wide receiver position?
Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Sam Darnold (vs. CHI), Michael Penix Jr. (@TB, Baker Mayfield (vs. ATL), Geno Smith (vs. LV), Jacoby Brissett (@DAL), Malik Willis (vs. NE)
RB: Jonah Coleman, Dylan Sampson, Mike Washington Jr., Bam Knight, Seth McGowan, Kendre Miller, Devin Singletary
WR: Omar Cooper Jr., Jordyn Tyson, Brian Thomas Jr. (potential trade), Khalil Shakir, Ja’Kobi Lane, Caleb Douglas, Malachi Fields
TE: Chig Okonkwo, Brenton Strange, Pat Freiermuth, Dalton Schultz, AJ Barner, Colby Parkinson, Mason Taylor
DEF: Jaguars (vs. IND), Bengals (vs. TEN), Eagles (@WAS), Cowboys (vs. AZ), Falcons (@TB)
Stats of the Week
JJ Zachariason on KC Concepcion’s long-awaited breakout: “Concepcion had a 29 percent target share against the Titans, catching 8-of-10 targets for 129 yards. He’s now hit a 20 percent target share in every completed game this season.
Brady Henderson on the Seahawks’ overwhelming defensive dominance: “Per ESPN Research, the Seahawks are the first team since the 1984 Browns to hold their first seven opponents under 180 passing yards. They’re allowing a league-low 3.99 yards per play, which is the fewest through seven games by any team since the 2019 Patriots (3.96).”
Adam Levitan on Xavier Worthy’s obscene lack of production: “Xavier Worthy has played 37 regular season games, and never topped 83 receiving yards.”
Awards Section
Week 7 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Joe Burrow, RB Tony Pollard, RB Bucky Irving, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR Zay Flowers, WR Tee Higgins, TE Trey McBride
Week 7 All Bank Examiner Squad: QB Bryce Young, RB Derrick Henry, RB Chase Brown, WR Nico Collins, WR Jalen Coker, WR Germie Bernard, TE Isaiah Likely
Tweet of the Week, from Andy Behrens: My platinum elite subs were all over Davis Allen this week. All other subscriber levels got Mumpfield. It pays to upgrade, folks.
The Not Sure I Would Miss That Many Field Goals in Front of Tom Brady Award: Trey Smack.