Fantasy Football Reaction: Winners, Losers And Surprises From Week 7

Is there another team in the NFL that has the high-end fantasy football stars of the Kansas City Chiefs?

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce, after all, could enter any given slate as the top player at their respective positions.

In Week 7, though, those three players might have put fantasy football owners in a tough spot given that Kansas City was handed a 27-3 loss by the Tennessee Titans. Mahomes failed to record 40% of his projection, while Kelce and Hill recorded just over 50% of their respective projections. It was a down day for the Chiefs, and perhaps for those who roster them, as well.

Here is our latest rundown of winners, losers and surprises from Week 7 of the fantasy football season. Of note, all data and statistics included are based on full-point PPR scoring and according to SportRadar.

Winners
Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots
Harris put together his best performance of the season during a Week 7 shellacking of the New York Jets. The Patriots lead back ran with an explosiveness that he hasn’t shown much this season, despite the fact he’s scored in double figures in four of his first six games. Harris, who entered the slate as Yahoo’s RB12, finished as the second-highest-scoring running back behind only D’Andre Swift. He recorded 1.58 points per touch on 16 touches from scrimmage with two rushing touchdowns on his two goal-line looks. Harris also tallied first downs on 50% of his rushing attempts (!) en route to 113 yards from scrimmage.

Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Kupp is the highest-scoring receiver in all of fantasy football this season, meaning it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that he went off — especially against the Detroit Lions. Still, it’s impossible to overlook Kupp’s most recent performance of 10 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Kupp was Week 7’s highest-scoring wideout as he scored 3.76 points per touch on 10 touches. He ranked second among receivers with seven or more touches behind only Ja’Marr Chase. Kupp’s 13 targets (2.89 points per target) were third behind Tee Higgins and Marquise Brown.

C.J. Uzomah, TE, Cincinnati Bengals
There were a number of impressive performances for the Bengals in a stunning, one-sided win over the Baltimore Ravens, and Uzomah was among them. Uzomah, who entered as Yahoo’s TE13, led all tight ends in scoring for the second time this season, despite seeing just three targets. He averaged 8.03 points on those three passes thrown to him with three explosive plays of 16 yards or more. He averaged 16 air yards per target en route to a total of 91 receiving yards with two touchdowns.

Honorable mentions: Ja’Marr Chase, Mike Evans

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Losers
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes, as mentioned, entered the Week 7 slate as QB1 in what was thought to be a get-right matchup against a struggling Tennessee secondary. That proved to be false, as the Chiefs failed to score a single touchdown. Mahomes finished the week as QB20 in points scored behind Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenum, Jared Goff and Jets backup Mike White, who split the game with Zach Wilson after the latter’s injury. Mahomes, who left Sunday’s game late with an injury, tallied merely five air yards per completion and just three plays of 20 or more yards while just 57% of his passes were deemed catchable (caught or dropped).

Mike Davis, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Davis’ slide continued during Week 7, with Cordarrelle Patterson taking more snaps between the 20s, more snaps in the red area and more snaps at the goal line. Davis entered the slate as Yahoo’s RB18 and finished RB61 in points scored. He averaged a mere 0.25 points per touch on just four touches — for, yes, literally a single point. His four rushing attempts went for 10 total yards and the bruising back didn’t register a broken tackle.

Brandin Cooks, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Kupp’s dominant day meant Cooks wasn’t nearly as productive for fantasy owners. Cooks, who entered as WR17, finished as WR43 behind 1.01 points per target, which ranked WR66, on seven targets. Usually one of the league’s best deep threats thanks to his speed, Cooks averaged just 3.8 air yards per reception, which ranked WR71.

Honorable mentions: Justin Fields, Allen Robinson, Robby Anderson

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Surprises
D’Ernest Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns
If you were an owner who grabbed Johnson off the waiver wire after the injuries to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, you were treated to quite the performance. Johnson, who entered as RB19, was the third-highest-scoring running back after recording 1.03 points per touch and 2.10 points per target. His 24 touches ranked second behind only Derrick Henry. And with Keenum starting behind center in Cleveland, Johnson was forced to do it against stacked defensive fronts — a league-high 4.6% of his attempts came with eight men in the box, while 57% of his yards came after contact.

Brandon Bolden, RB, New England Patriots
Another Patriots running back?! Yes, and it’s well-deserved. Bolden continued to take over the third-down, pass-catching void after James White’s injury. Bolden entered the week as Yahoo’s RB57 and concluded fourth in points scored among all players at the position. Bolden tallied 2.84 per target, which ranked fifth among all running backs, but first among running backs with four or more targets. His eight touches from scrimmage (six receptions) went for 79 yards and one touchdown. Bolden, of note, is owned in just 6% of Yahoo leagues.

Honorable mentions: Tua Tagovailoa