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Each passing week of the NFL season means that we have more information about teams, players, and strengths and weaknesses of defenses.

Terry McLaurin has been predictable the past three weeks. He struggled against a top corner in Week 4 when he faced Trevon Diggs, put up top-30 numbers against a porous Titans secondary in Week 5, and finished with another bad performance against Jaylon Johnson and the strong Bears pass defense in Week 6.

The Indianapolis Colts stepped on the gas from Week 5 to Week 6. They were No. 17 a week ago with a 1.979 Pace of Play mark. Now, they sit No. 9 at 2.059. This is something to consider moving forward and makes the ancillary pieces of their offense interesting. This is especially true if they can retain their 80-percent neutral pass rate from Week 6, not to mention their 57-percent no-huddle rate. It could even elevate Matt Ryan back into the streamable conversation if he can cut down the danger plays.

The Saint’s 2022 QB Carousel has been frustrating for fantasy gamers, and the picture isn’t getting any clearer this week. On another short weeks rest, head coach Dennis Allen states that he wants to get Jameis Winston “…fully healthy and go from there,” and appeared pleased with Andy Dalton’s performances. The likely event is that Winston is active again as an “emergency quarterback” and Dalton gets the start. The human Red Panda is an effective real-life game manager but not an effective fantasy quarterback. He’s posted a season-high 13 fantasy points, so it’s best to look for other options even in 2QB leagues.

Tyler Lockett returns to the Paying Up section again this week after posting a dud performance last week scoring only 3.7 fantasy points against the Arizona Cardinals. Despite his poor performance Lockett saw 79 Air Yards and is essentially seeing the same opportunities in the Seahawks’ passing game as D.K. Metcalf. Lockett has five more Air Yards than Metcalf on the season despite seeing five fewer targets. Priced at $800 less than Metcalf, Lockett is the preferred value play in a game against the Chargers that has the potential of being the highest-scoring game on the slate.

Pollard averaged 6.3 (No. 4) yards per touch through Week 5 and added 52 yards on 13 touches in Week 6. While he has just three top-30 fantasy finishes this season, Pollard is a threat for big plays any week as he chips away at Elliott’s workload. He’ll get a good shot at exploding Week 7 against the Lions.

Denver’s offense has often sputtered this season. Courtland Sutton has been a serviceable fantasy asset while Jerry Jeudy has been on-and-off. Russell Wilson has disappointed, leading to shaky fantasy output from Denver weapons. Facing a good secondary and a defense that has been riding high the last few games, Denver WRs are unlikely to produce a big output for fantasy.

Welcome in to the Week 7 edition of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to RB! This is the place where we talk all things running back streaming. Each week we discuss running back usage, matchups, and waiver opportunities to convert the least amount of capital into a playable running back position on your fantasy teams.

Justin Fields displayed great promise to end his 2021 rookie season. He posted QB1 scores in four of his last five games on the strength of great rushing metrics, a 15.5 (No. 3) Production Premium, and solid Deep Ball and Red Zone Accuracy Ratings. His 2022 QB16 ADP showed we expected him to take the next step this year. That clearly hasn’t happened, though. This is highlighted by his 13.0 Fantasy Points Per Game. This ranks him No. 27 in that category.

Week 7 is another week featuring that nasty B word: Bye Weeks. For fantasy purposes, this week is an absolute killer. Minnesota, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Rams are all on byes. Some of the best players in fantasy football will be unavailable. This will be a tough week for many fantasy managers, but the glass-half-full argument is that getting the bye out of the way early on can be a lot less stressful than missing them in Week 13 or in the dreaded Week 14 when some formats start their fantasy playoffs. 

The worst part of our beloved game is the frequency of injuries. It’s an unfortunate byproduct of such a fast-paced, contact-heavy sport. It’s something that is important to remember as we approach the first full week of the preseason. Luckily for the NFL players, they have access to some of the best doctors in the world and can usually return to form at least by the next season. Unfortunately for us fantasy players, it’s not always easy to know when a player will get hurt. To another degree, sometimes your roster isn’t big enough to plan ahead for an injury. This series, the Infirmary Report, will give you advice on the injuries that have happened every week during the season. Without further ado, here is the Infirmary Report: Post Week 6 of regular season action.

The priority spend-up and Hogfather pal: Austin Ekeler, is a top-tier RB1. Among qualified running backs, Ekeler ranks No. 1 in Receptions (27), No. 3 in Targets (29) and No. 4 in Rushing Touchdowns (3).