Fantasy football projections, Week 7: Chargers-Falcons featuring Hunter Henry, Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, more

The Week 7 matchup between the San Diego Chargers and the Atlanta Falcons should be a high-scoring affair. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Fantasy owners who drafted future Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates this season are a little late to the party. It looks like he has been supplanted by surprising rookie standout Hunter Henry. Henry sat out one of the team’s first three games but he’s played very well since then. He has scored a touchdown in each of the last three games and has clearly become a red zone favorite for quarterback Philip Rivers. Only three teams have conceded more points to fantasy tight ends than the Falcons. Henry is in for a big game this week and could very well score for the fourth straight game. His fantasy projections are about to get blown out of the water in Week 7.

Henry’s emergence will certainly help open up running room for Melvin Gordon. Gordon has been held out of the end zone in back-to-back games. The good news is he put up 94 yards against a tough Denver Broncos team in Week 6. His 27 carries were the most he’s had this season. It doesn’t appear to matter who the Chargers are up against, Gordon is going to continue being a focal point in the offense. Atlanta ranks near the bottom of the league at defending the run. Gordon should join his tight end as a top fantasy performer on Sunday.

The Falcons lost their second game of the season in Seattle thanks to a tightly contested 26-24 defeat to the Seahawks in Week 6. The defeat didn’t exactly hurt the fantasy stats of quarterback Matt Ryan. In fact, the close finish did nothing but help his numbers. Ryan finished with 27 completions for 335 yards and three touchdowns. He now leads the league in passing yards to this point in the season. San Diego has given up at least 300 passing yards four times in six games this season. Matty Ice is likely going to make it five. Who needs fantasy projections? Ryan is a midseason MVP candidate. Enough said.

Along with Ryan’s impressive performance against the Seahawks came an equally impressive bounce-back game from wide receiver Julio Jones. Jones caught seven out of nine targets for 139 yards and a touchdown against Seattle. He’s posted a 100-yard game every other week this season giving him three on the year. Week 7 will more than likely represent the first time this season that Jones crosses that plateau in back-to-back games. San Diego only ranks in the middle of the pack at defending wide receivers. They pose a far from intimidating defense. Both Jones and his quarterback will post fantastic numbers this Sunday.