Even with six teams on a bye, there were still a lot of fantasy football studs and duds in Week 7. Some of the studs were previously unknown, and some of the duds were high draft picks.
Here are a few of each that I think saw their trade value change the most, thanks to their performance last week – for better or worse:
Fantasy Football Week 8 Trade Values
Trade Value Risers
Once Anthony Richardson was injured and the Colts’ offense turned to Gardner Minshew, fantasy managers and Colts fans alike had questions. The biggest one for both was, “Can he do this?”
Well, after his above-average Week 7 performance, the answer might be “Yes,” after all. Minshew struggled in his previous outings with the Colts, never scoring more than 13.08 points in a week. Last week, thanks to his 305 yards and four total touchdowns (two passing and two rushing), Minshew finished as QB3 on the week. That’s not nothing, and could be a sign that things have turned around. It’s only one week, but it was a good week, so he’s trending upward in trade value for now.
D’Onta Foreman was the top-scoring fantasy football running back in Week 7, just as we all predicted. That’s sarcasm, obviously, but it shouldn’t have been all that shocking. Both Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson missed the game, setting Foreman up for success.
However, the Bears scoring 30 points without Justin Fields and actually looking good was the shocking part. With Fields expected to miss Week 8, I fully expect both Foreman and backup QB Tyson Bagent to see their trade values go up again if they perform as they did in Week 7. If you missed on Foreman, don’t beat yourself up. His rise might be short-lived as both Johnson and Herbert are expected back at some point this year. Because of that, I would trade Foreman away while you can.
In a week with a lot of fantasy points scored, the most surprising receiver for me was rookie Jake Bobo. He played in place of DK Metcalf, who was a gameday inactive. In Metcalf’s place, Bobo caught four of his five targets for 61 yards and a touchdown in the Seahawks win over the Cardinals.
I don’t expect Metcalf to miss much time, if any, and I don’t expect Bobo to get a touchdown every week, but in deeper formats, he’s worth a stash. He showed that he can be relied upon to get the job done, and in today’s NFL, that’s not something to be taken lightly. Bobo went from zero to something in terms of value, and I want that kind of player on my roster if I can stash him.
Dalton Kincaid earns a spot on this list for two reasons. The biggest one is that he finally showed some signs of life, scoring 15.5 PPR points, the highest of his career. He also caught all eight targets for 75 yards, all career highs for the rookie.
In addition, he makes the list because his competition at tight end will miss time. Dawson Knox had wrist surgery and will be out for an unknown number of games. This thrusts Kincaid into the starting lineup for the Bills and fantasy managers. We will just have to wait and see if he can produce as TE6 consistently like he did in Week 7.
Trade Value Fallers
In a week where only 26 teams played, Deshaun Watson finished as QB33 with a negative 1.8 points. He completed one pass for five yards to his team and threw an interception to the opposing one before leaving the game. Anyone who started Watson would have been better off starting themselves, that’s how bad he did.
The writing has been on the wall, too. He just hasn’t looked like himself. Despite being medically cleared, Watson hadn’t taken the field since Week 3, and it just feels like he’s giving up on the team. It almost reminds me of another Browns quarterback who had high hopes but just never got it figured out in Johnny Manziel. Regardless, his trade value definitely took a hit because of it.
I hate putting Bijan Robinson on this list, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it. There were no indications that Robinson was injured or unhealthy in any way leading up to their game against Tampa Bay. Rumors swirled that he was benched due to a rule violation, but the team ultimately said that he had a headache issue.
The fact that he went into the game for a single carry and three yards messed with everyone. If he wasn’t healthy, why was he playing at all? And if he was healthy, why wasn’t he playing more? There is a lot of smoke here, and the Falcons’ offense always leads to head-scratching. If I can get out from Robinson for full value, I’d consider it. This might be your last chance in redraft leagues.
After missing the first four weeks due to injury, Cooper Kupp hit the ground running in his first two games back. He scored 19.8 and 27.8 PPR points in Weeks 5 and 6. He then followed that up with a WR53 performance in Week 7, only scoring 6.9 PPR points.
Not counting the game last season when he got hurt, he hadn’t had fewer than 30 yards since Week 6 of 2020. This is clearly a fluke, but it still hurts. Some Kupp managers might be looking at this as the new norm and panic selling. I’m not advocating for that. But I also can’t say that his value didn’t change due to this bad game. I’m holding on to him, but I’m keeping an eye on him in case this is the start of a negative trend.
The tight end position is a wasteland in fantasy football after the top handful of players. That includes Kyle Pitts now. His amazing rookie season two years ago is long in the rearview, and all we’re left with is an offensive weapon the Falcons seem unable to use. Much like Robinson, the talent is there, but I just can’t trust the team to use it correctly. Pitts finished as TE17, but he’s only gone over 50 yards once this year. He also has only one touchdown. He’s just not being used effectively enough for me at the moment. This lowers his trade value – whether you want to believe it or not – and that’s just a shame.
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Andrew Hall is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his profile and follow him @AndrewHallFF.
