3) Derrick Henry vs. Bears
Father Time is undefeated, but right now he’s falling behind in his game vs. King Henry. The rumors of Henry’s demise have been greatly exaggerated after he posted four straight games with under 12 fantasy points between Weeks 2 and 5. He bounced back in week 6 with a stellar 122 yards on 24 carries, and while he didn’t score a touchdown, he quelled his fantasy owners’ worries that Father Time had, in fact, caught the 31-year-old back. Now he gets Lamar Jackson back and, more importantly, Patrick Ricard, which will only help open up holes in opposing defenses. The defense he will look to exploit this weekend is the Bears and their 28th-ranked unit vs. the run. Look for a healthy dose of King Henry, while the Ravens will likely limit how much Jackson is used as a runner as he returns from a hamstring injury that held him out of two games prior to the Ravens’ bye in Week 7.
4) Christian McCaffrey vs. Texans
Talk about an early round pick that has been paying off in spades. If you drafted CMC, he likely fell to you in the mid-to-late 1st round, as many owners were worried about his injury history. Not only has he remained healthy, but he has taken on a workload that has far surpassed his usage rates from previous seasons. Through 7 games, McCaffrey has amassed 132 carries along with 53 receptions on 68 pass targets. That puts him on pace for over 320 rushing attempts, with over 128 receptions on 165+ targets for a projected total of 428 touches. Whether he can keep up this pace or not is definitely a concern, but if you drafted him, you have to start him and enjoy the fantasy points while they pour in. This week, he gets a Texans defense that just allowed Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet to combine for 115 yards and two scores. Keep him in your lineup as long as he’s able to stay upright.
5) Javonte Williams vs. Broncos
We do love a revenge game narrative, and we get one this weekend as Javonte takes on the team that drafted him out of North Carolina back in 2021. While Williams never seemed to live up to his hype in Denver, he has looked like a different player in Dallas. He has already surpassed his rushing yardage total from last season in just 7 games and will look to add to that number this weekend as he returns to the Mile High City for this matchup against the Broncos and their 9th-ranked rush defense. While the Bronco defense does rank inside the top 10 against the run, we have seen a few backs put up great fantasy days against them this season. Jonathan Taylor ran wild on them for 165 yards back in week 2, while Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy combined for over 100 yards and a score this past weekend. This game will be one of the higher-scoring games of the week, and we want to play as many pieces of it as we can. If you have Javonte, you’re certainly playing him with so many other backs on bye.
