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Marcas Grant: That's a tough and quite unexpected blow. But the good news is that it's at the position that's arguably the deepest in fantasy football. This week there are a number of quarterbacks with good matchups that are available in plenty of leagues. Alex Smith gets a crack at the Saints defense. Brian Hoyer faces Green Bay (albeit in a less-than-appealing Thursday night game) and Colin Kaepernick lines up against the Buccaneers. I'm certain none of these names excite you the way Roethlisberger or Newton would have, but any port in a storm, amirite?
M.G.: I don't need to tell you how the Chiefs running back split went last week. But for those who didn't see, Graham Barfield breaks it down. It's worth noting that the Chiefs and Raiders played on an extremely wet and sloppy field and with Kansas City taking a sizable lead, it made sense not to risk Charles. However, I still believe Spencer Ware has earned the right to get a significant number of snaps and carries. The good part for Week 7 is that against the Saints turnstile run defense, there's a pretty good chance that both of Kansas City's running backs can eat. I also think this week will give us a better idea of how Andy Reid will use his two backs for the remainder of the season.
M.G.: True wisdom is knowing what you don't know and I don't know anything about what the future holds for the Dolphins backfield. My Magic 8-Ball seemed optimistic about Ajayi's chances, but pieces of liquid-filled plastic aren't always the best way to forecast what's going on with a running back that was left at home for Miami's season-opening road trip then spent the next four weeks as an afterthought in the offense. With Arian Foster back, you have to believe Adam Gase will get the veteran involved. There's far too much uncertainty to trust your fantasy future to a back that the team has shown little enthusiasm for. But it looks like you've already made the deal, so ... good luck?
M.G.: Normally, I'd say you answered your own question. Running was a big part of Smith's game in the past, but I was flabbergasted to find out he's only rushed 13 times for 15 yards. All is not lost. As poor as New Orleans' run defense has been, the team has made up for it by playing awful pass defense. The Saints have allowed a 300-yard passer in four of their five games. Oddly enough, the only quarterback that hasn't thrown for three bills against them is Matt Ryan. Weird, right? As long as there are no major storms in Kansas City this week (the forecast is currently 76 and sunny), it should be all systems go for the Chiefs passing game.
M.G.: Feel free to make a move any time now. The crazy part about Edelman's fantasy struggle this year is that in many ways, nothing new is going on. He's leading the team in overall targets as well as red-zone targets, although Martellus Bennett has been the preferred red-zone option since Tom Brady's return. If he's not scoring, he's of little use to your non-PPR fantasy roster. Edelman has just two 100-yard games in his last 29 outings and will be hard-pressed to hit the century mark in the future with so many mouths to feed in New England's offense. My only advice would be to see if you can work out a trade before just releasing Edelman back into the wild.
M.G.: If that deal is on the table, by all means take it. But I think this is a good time to talk about trades in general. I was reminded of this by J.J. Zachariason on Twitter Wednesday morning. Sometimes fantasy managers get too locked in on trying to acquire specific players to their own detriment. The idea behind making a trade is to upgrade at a certain position. In that respect, it's better to look at a certain tier of player than just one or two names. Similar to breaking players into groups for draft purposes, it's wise to consider trade targets the same way. Instead of looking at only Christine Michael, see if there are several RB1 types that you can potentially make offers for. That approach is likely to increase your chances of trade success.
M.G.: First off ... kudos for taking a wide aim at trade targets. You're sort of in a tough spot with a couple of WR1s who haven't performed up to that standard. Dez has easily been the most confounding of them because even before he was injured, he trailed Cole Beasley in targets and catches. Moreover, Bryant's fantasy value appears tied to whether Tony Romo gets the starting job back when he's healthy which looks dubious at the moment. Hilton and Hopkins have been inconsistent but they're both easily their team's most-targeted players. But Dez still has plenty of name value and that -- combined with a decent RB2 -- could help you get a solid RB1 in return.
M.G.: I can't advocate buying a ticket for this ride. Certainly not this week. Davis is a stopgap measure for a team missing its top two running backs but the Packers are probably going to go with a mishmash at the position in Week 7. Green Bay elevated Don Jackson from the practice squad and will probably use a heavy dose of Ty Montgomery in the backfield. It's risky to place your hopes on a newly-acquired running back on a short week in a sputtering offense. However, with reports that Eddie Lacy could be out for multiple weeks, Davis could have some fantasy upside in the very near future.
M.G.: This is here just so we can address something. You're starting Matt Ryan. All the time. Unless you have Tom Brady. There are a couple of potential speed bumps left on the schedule for Ryan -- trips to Philly and Los Angeles and a home date with Arizona -- but his final two playoff weeks are a match made in heaven with the 49ers and Panthers on tap. After playing well on the road in Denver and Seattle, why are you still doubting?
M.G.: This is a tough one. No one has been a bigger advocate of Hunter Henry than me. He is a talented player who landed in a perfect situation. Meanwhile, it appears that the Seahawks have figured out how to incorporate Graham into their offense. Graham is seeing more targets while Henry is seeing more red-zone targets. It might seem like a cop out but there isn't a wrong answer here. I'd go with Henry just to validate my own personal narrative that this would be the year we see a rookie tight end succeed, but if you went with Graham you're likely to end up just as satisfied.
Bonus question:
M.G.: Come for my tots at your own peril. Just know that there will be problems.
In the latest episode of the NFL Fantasy LIVE podcast, the crew plays fantasy "buy or sell" with the Packers struggling offense, before looking at the top options on the Week 7 waiver wire. Don't forget to subscribe to the show or download each episode HERE!
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com and a man who hopes Daniel Murphy gets a paper cut on his tongue. Send him fantasy football questions or diabolical tortures of extreme inconvenience on Twitter @MarcasG or Snapchat at marcasg9.
