The Fantasy Top Two According To Talon; Week 7

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LeSean McCoy Photo Credit: Keith Allison-Under Creative Commons License

Quarterbacks

Dak Prescott

Who knows when or if Ezekiel Elliott will serve a suspension in 2017 but he is playing this week against the 49ers. At some point, the Cowboys must at least start preparing for the absence of Elliott. This week is a pretty good opportunity to do just that. Dak Prescott should be the center of the gameplan this week. The 49ers are winless while going through a massive overhaul. Their defense is nothing compared to where they used to be and it has shown. The Cowboys should let Dak go out and sling it on Sunday while they still have Zeke to fall back on if they need to because waiting until next week may be too late.

Carson Wentz

The young Philadelphia quarterback is having a superb year so far with over 1,500 yards in the air while he has 13 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions. He is proving himself yet again in his second professional year and this week he faces a banged up Washington secondary. The Redskins will be without Josh Norman for sure while the other corner Bashaud Breeland‘s status is still up in the air. In their opening week matchup, Wentz threw for over 300 yards and had a couple of touchdown throws.

Runningbacks

LeSean McCoy

This pick is strictly a gut feeling. LeSean McCoy has not had a 100-yard rushing game since week 1 and hasn’t scored all year. Shady is 29 years old and has a lot of miles on his tires but he has had the bye week to rest up. Tampa Bay has a fairly stingy run defense but the Bills have a good offensive line and with the Buccaneers having to account for Tyrod Taylor‘s legs as well, I can see McCoy finding holes during read-option plays

Chris Ivory

Leonard Fournette is as good as advertised. He is giving Jacksonville everything they were hoping he would. He has taken the pressure off of Blake Bortles, provided them with a real rushing attack, and they are in a position to compete for the AFC South. I am not sure what else you could ask for from a rookie running back.Unfortunately, Fournette is not expected to play on Sunday due to an ankle injury. His backup, Chris Ivory, along with the rest of the Jaguars roll into Indianapolis this week to face a Colts defense who has allowed opponents to rush for over 110 yards a game on the ground. Ivory hasn’t been used too much this year, for obvious reasons, so he should be fresh-legged and a dangerous sleeper this week.

Wide Receivers

Dez Bryant

I already mentioned how the Dallas Cowboys should unleash the passing game this week and while Prescott is the most important part of that plan, Dez Bryant is the second most important part. Bryant has been relatively quiet this year but if “America’s Team” wants to make a serious push for the playoffs, they need Dez to take over games the way he used to. As valuable as Elliott is to the team’s success, the rest of the playmakers have almost seemed to rely too much on him. Dez needs to show up this week in a big way and I expect him to.

Julio Jones

A rematch of last years unbelievable Super Bowl game that saw the Patriots come back from a large deficit to cement themselves as one of the greatest teams ever. Atlanta has probably had this game circled for a while now. Julio Jones is one of the most competitive players in the league and he wants redemption. Just like Buffalo’s LeSean McCoy, Jones is scoreless this year and that will change this week against the Patriots defense.

Tight Ends

Zach Ertz

Where have all of the playmaking tight ends gone? The tight end position is pretty weak this year in terms of fantasy production. A guy who hasn’t been mentioned very often with the likes of Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce is the Philadelphia tight end, Zach ErtzHe had a season-low two receptions against the Panthers but both receptions were touchdowns. Before the Carolina game, Ertz didn’t have fewer than five receptions in a single game.

Jimmy Graham

The days of Jimmy Graham putting up Gronk-like numbers are in the past but he can still go off for a big game. The Giants limped into Denver and limped back out with a win and now face Graham and Seattle. New York has a knack for allowing tight ends to hurt them and the Seahawks has a pretty good tight end. I am expecting a big game from Graham.

Defense

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville has a top ten defense this year but it’s almost every other week that the top ten defense shows up. The total points allowed in weeks 1-6 have been 7, 37, 7, 23, 9, and 27. You can guess which ones the wins are. If I learned anything (and I really do mean anything) from math classes it is that patterns are repeating so Jacksonville should have a great game against the Colts.

New Orleans Saints

If you would have told me a month ago that I would be telling you to start the Saints defense in a fantasy article, I would have looked at you the same way I look at someone when they claim they have never seen the movie Christmas Vacation. The Saints have played really well lately and this week they face a Packers team without Aaron Rodgers. I am not saying that Rodgers was the entire Green Bay offense, but he was what the offense was centered around. Keep an eye on the Saints this week.