Week 7 of the 2017 regular season is just about coming to a close with the Monday Night game remaining. Most fantasy football leagues will run their waiver wires late Tuesday or early Wednesday, but we are here to help you get a jump on the best options to consider.
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We will be ranking the top five players likely to be available in your league at each of the four major positions. Some weeks there might not be five good options available, but we’ll scour for the best we can find. Additionally, throughout the week, we will update each of these articles as ownership percentages change and news arrives. The following ownership percentages come via CBS Sportsline entering Week 8.
Latavius Murray, Minnesota Vikings (65 percent owned)
We have to dig a little deeper than usual at running back this week, as most lead backs stayed healthy and not many understudies made a bid for the big time. But a couple of guys are reminding us of past glory. In Minnesota, Murray is trending up and Jerick McKinnon’s star is falling. Murray outcarried McKinnon 18-14 and made the most of it with 113 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens. McKinnon gained just 47 yards and managed just 10 yards on three receptions. Murray’s carries the past five weeks: 2-7-12-15-18. That, my, friends, is a trend.
Matt Forte, New York Jets (62)
Forte is another back we kind of left for dead who has now re-emerged as a weekly threat. Even with Bilal Powell back in action this week, Forte still got seven carries (to Powell’s nine) and had five pass targets (to Powell’s two). Forte caught all five targets for 41 yards, for a 13-point day in PPR leagues. That’s two straight double-digit fantasy outputs.
Jalen Richard (19), DeAndre Washington (6), Oakland Raiders
One of these guys is going to be the lead back this week with Marshawn Lynch suspended, and both figure to play prominent roles against the Bills. It’s a tough matchup against Buffalo, and the workload split could work against them both. Keep an eye on news out of Oakland in terms of who is expected to start and get the majority of work before committing to either one.
Ekeler found the end zone again on Sunday and seems to be carving out a change-of-pace role for himself ahead of Branden Oliver, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday. If anything happens to Melvin Gordon — and he has enough of an injury history already to be mindful of it — Ekeler could be in for a major role in this productive offense. He’s a great handcuff right now.
Yeldon got his first action of the season on Sunday with Leonard Fournette inactive and Yeldon made the most of it with 122 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. With Fournette likely back after the bye — he probably could have played Sunday if it was a playoff-type scenario — Yeldon is probably only worth a handcuff-type stash.
