Braelon Allen gains value as Breece Hall sits, per CBS Sports Week 7 analysis
Four teams are on bye and injuries are reshuffling depth charts, so CBS Sports’ Dave Richard weighs Braelon Allen, Hunter Henry and the Bears’ passing game.
In brief
- Four teams are on bye in Week 7, and the fantasy regular season is nearing its halfway point.
- Hunter Henry is rated a borderline start after a 12-154-2 line on 14 targets over three weeks.
- Caleb Williams, Aaron Rodgers and Tyler Shough are the quarterbacks Richard examines against pressure schemes.
- Yahoo’s Week 7 toolkit gathers rankings, waiver advice and an injury tracker.
Patrick Mahomes is the headline name on a tricky Week 7 slate, because CBS Sports flags a difficult matchup for him against Seattle. Michael Wilson and Jameson Williams also come with concerns, even though both have opportunities in their offenses.
The backdrop for Week 7
Four teams are idle, injuries are reshaping depth charts, and the fantasy regular season is approaching its midpoint. That makes each lineup decision heavier. Dave Richard’s breakdown leans on defensive coverages, pass-rush pressure, backfield workloads and target distribution.
On the positive side, CBS says Braelon Allen is worth trusting. Breece Hall’s injury opens the door for him against a vulnerable Dolphins run defense.
Hunter Henry, a borderline start
Henry has averaged more than 11 PPR points per game in that stretch. He has become a red-zone option for Drake Maye, with first reads and a team-high four targets near the paint. Six of his 14 targets since Week 4 came when Maye was pressured or needed a checkdown. Richard rates him a low-end starter, in a short week against a depleted defense.
The Bears: Williams, Burden and Loveland
Against the Falcons, Caleb Williams posted a season-low 3.23-second time to throw and a 3.9-yard average depth of throw. Richard reads that as a sign he is likely not fully recovered from his hamstring injury. When he was not pressured, Williams completed all 26 throws for 255 yards.
Luther Burden III went 8-95-0 on eight targets but played only 39% of snaps and ran a route on 44% of dropbacks, both season lows. Chicago used two or more tight ends on 67% of plays. New England ranks 13th in pass-rush pressure rate and 16th in sack rate, which could push the Bears toward receivers instead.
Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor said they “weren’t forcing it to (Colston Loveland) or anything like that.” He added: “The ball found him a couple times,”. The Patriots have played the second-most man-to-man coverage since Week 2, and the only tight end to top 7.5 PPR points against them this year was Brock Bowers.
Quarterbacks against pressure defenses
| Player | Opponent trait | Richard’s call |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Rodgers | Saints bottom five in overall pressure rate, second-worst without a blitz | Start |
| Tyler Shough | Steelers blitz under 30% with a 7.4% sack rate | Sit (high-end No. 2 QB) |
Rodgers’ average depth of target has dropped to 4.2 over two games from 9.3 through four weeks, and his time to throw to 2.46 seconds from 2.85. Richard expects him to get a bit more time against New Orleans. Shough may be without guard Cesar Ruiz, and it would take Steelers errors for him to post big numbers.
Yahoo’s Week 7 toolkit
- Justin Boone’s Start ’Em, Sit ’Em advice
- Scott Pianowski’s waiver sleepers
- Hayden Winks’ RB/WR Blueprint
- An injury tracker for Week 7
- A piece on the fallout from Jalen Hurts being ruled out for the season
For another angle on sleepers, see Isaiah Likely and Tony Pollard.
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels
