Scott Pianowski Fantasy analyst Sun, October 25, 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC · 7 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Injuries and variance are an unfortunate fact of life for fantasy football managers. But if you were counting on the 49ers and Panthers in Week 7, you probably don't need the reminder. Let's start with San Francisco, who fell from the undefeated ranks with a 29-20 loss at Atlanta.
In a lot of ways, this was a trap spot for the Niners all the way. San Francisco was playing on a short week and asked to compete at 10 a.m. body clock time. And the wide receiver room has turned into a hospital unit.
Brock Purdy actually had a respectable day, all things considered (27-of-40, 288 yards, one TD, two picks). Remember, the Niners had six receivers inactive or on IR when this game started. Asking Purdy to perform miracles with receivers like Jordan Watkins (3-56-0), Jacob Cowing (3-38-0) and Christian Kirk (no targets in limited time) was asking a lot. And Christian McCaffrey (100 total yards, TD) missed some time with an in-game calf injury.
McCaffrey and George Kittle (8-88-0, 10 targets) were close to their projections for Week 7, so we'll take that. San Francisco probably appreciates the convenient Week 8 bye. After that is a couple of get-right opponents, the Raiders and Cowboys.
The Niners pulled a trick on us on the eve of Halloween, but they'll be a treat again in November.
The anxiety level is higher for the Caroline offense. The Bryce Young breakout year was put on hold, as Young put up a stinker in a 43-13 loss to Tampa Bay: 163 yards passing, one touchdown, two picks, five sacks taken. Young also lost a fumble, a play that turned into a Tampa Bay score. And Young couldn't get much going with Tetairoa McMillan (4-40-0, six targets) or Jalen Coker (1-9-0, four targets).
With the game out of hand, Dave Canales mercifully pulled Young early in the fourth quarter. It's a reasonable play, but fantasy managers would have liked some garbage time. Alas, Kenny Pickett did orchestrate one touchdown drive, punctuated by Anthony Tyus III's touchdown run. Chuba Hubbard (60 total yards) was on the sidelines, too.
The Panthers will need to fix things quickly — they travel to Green Bay for a Thursday game. The Packers' pass defense has been decent most of the year, although Detroit shredded it in Week 7.
Tampa Bay's runaway victory allowed the Buccaneers to run a 1970s-style offense. The Bucs ran for 258 yards (Bucky Irving had the best of it, 24-106-2) and Baker Mayfield attempted just 11 passes. The Buccaneers finished with 43 points and just 64 net passing yards, a combo you don't see too often . Mayfield will need to do some cooking next week against Atlanta.
On many Sundays this year, C.J. Stroud has been a saving grace. That play didn't work in Week 7, unfortunately. Stroud was held to 5.5 YPA and 153 passing yards, and the Texans lost to the Giants in overtime. Stroud's two touchdown passes went to Marvin Harrison Jr. (1-6-1, throw a parade) and Xavier Hutchinson (3-17-1). Meanwhile, fantasy staple Nico Collins (2-6-0, six targets) and trendy sleeper Jaylin Noel (2-minus-3, two targets) were held in check.
Collins remains an uber-talent, but the spread-it-out shape of this passing game is capping his upside. Even with the touchdown, I don't understand why Harrison is still on fantasy rosters. Noel is interesting, but he also has to share with this wide tree, which now includes Tank Dell. Good luck in Houston, friends.
J.J. McCarthy (99.1 rating, 252 yards) pushed the ball downfield, though he didn't account for any scores. At least he kept pumping the ball to Malik Nabers (7-111-0, nine targets). Isaiah Likely (2-12-0) was quiet, but he's obviously a top-10 tight moving forward. And Cam Skattebo (17-124-1) got his job back, though an early injury to Tyrone Tracy Jr. (6-15-1) cleared the path some. The Giants are off next week.
— For most of 2026, Tony Pollard has been an empty-calories back, a player who gets the touches but not the touchdowns, a struggler for efficiency. But something clicked against a respected Cleveland rushing defense — 25 carries, 129 yards, three touchdowns. Pollard even tacked on 3-26-0 through the air, taking advantage of Tyjae Spears' absence. Pollard deserves RB2 trust privileges for the Bengals next week.
— I never know what column to put Jaylen Warren in, because he usually plays well and still is a mild disappointment for fantasy. Sunday morning was that frame, as he rolled up 137 total yards but didn't score a touchdown, his sixth game without a spike this season. The Steelers are still stuck on one rushing touchdown for the year. Warren received 21 touches in the game, while Rico Dowdle (86 total yards) handled 15. That's the 60-40 type of ratio we can expect moving forward.
— Omar Cooper Jr. had a breakthrough last week and then a clear validation this week, with a 5-115-1 beauty against the Dolphins. Keep in mind, this was with Adonai Mitchell back and the New York passing game ostensibly healthy. Geno Smith chucked for 287 yards and three scores, with two of them surprisingly going to overlooked tight end Mason Taylor (5-62-2, plus a conversion). Give Garrett Wilson (2-26-0, three targets) a pass, and just cut Mitchell outright. The Jets host Vegas next week.
— I passed on Ollie Gordon II a few weeks back and it's going to haunt me all year, it seems. Gordon has looked legit in every one of his starts, including a 25-103-1 pile-moving day at the Jets. Miami finally got its first win and this club has been competitive in most of its losses, too. Gordon has probably earned set-and-forget RB2 status moving forward.
— The theory of the Chase Brown second-round case was tied to a heavy share of the workload, no real competition in Cincinnati. But things haven't played out that way. Brown had a modest 15 touches in the win over Baltimore (58 total yards), losing a goal-line touchdown to Samaje Perine and some late-game carries to Tahj Brooks. At least the Bengals already had their bye week, and Joe Burrow (292 yards, four touchdowns) is keeping the offense moving. But if we redrafted today, Brown would likely slide into the dead zone for running backs. Tennessee is next on the schedule.
— Juwan Johnson was a favorite draft target of mine and the first month was great. But the stock has fallen apart the last three games, with just five catches for 23 yards. Johnson had a mere one catch in the loss to Pittsburgh, seeing just three targets. The Saints are throwing to their wideouts and even their backs (Alvin Kamara was a PPR scam Sunday), and Jordyn Tyson might be back soon, too. Johnson isn't good enough to be carried through a Week 8 bye in most leagues.
— The Vikings continue to be all defense, a little running and no passing game. Kyler Murray threw for just 150 yards and one score in an ugly win over the Colts, and no Minnesota pass-catcher made it to 45 yards. Jordan Mason (15-68-0) was the best of the backs, in part because Aaron Jones Sr. (8-26-0) was dinged up. But when it comes to Minnesota fantasy value, short of the defense and the kicker (Will Reichard is a dream) and hopefully Mason, there's not much fun. Perhaps higher-scoring games will come with the shape of the schedule about to change — the next four Minnesota games come against Detroit, Buffalo, Green Bay and San Francisco. But Murray hasn't played well all year.
Source: Sports
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