Fantasy halfway point

With week 7 in the books, the majority of fantasy leagues are now at the midseason point. So, what have we learned after 7 weeks?

We now know that Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden are major busts. Adrian Peterson and Peyton Manning are, and always will be, fantasy studs despite major injuries. Arian Foster is clearly the best running back in the league, and Chris Johnson is a solid start only when the Titans face the worst defensive teams.

We have also witnessed that despite his touchdown celebrations Cam Newton is not Superman, and that Robert Griffin III is this year’s fantasy phenom.

If you were one of the lucky ones and picked up RG3 as a back-up in the draft, trade the quarterback that was drafted as your starter.

Seven weeks in and the preseason question of who will have a better sophomore campaign A.J. Green or Julio Jones has been answered. Green is the best fantasy receiver in non PPR leagues and is a fantasy stud.

Julio Jones isn’t even the best receiver on his team. If you have Jones, wait for another big game and ship him away. Roddy White is the number one option and will produce on a weekly basis.

For those that got burned by selecting Jones-Drew early in the draft and stuck with him, you must be desperate at the running back position. Gamble on Rashard Jennings who had a decent game in place of Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew will miss at least a few games and there are some favorable matchups against questionable run defenses in the Jaguars forecast.

The first half of the season has also revealed that the Saints, Bills, and Patriots defenses can cure any fantasy team’s scoring woes. Keep this in mind when dealing with bye weeks as we head into the second half of the season. When dealing with byes, pick up players that are facing these sieve-like defenses.

As we head in to week 8, the Ravens, Bills, Bengals, and Texans are on their bye weeks and as always, some big names need to be replaced.

Ray Rice and Arian Foster will be the most difficult points to makeup this week because of the byes. If you’re looking to the waiver wire for a running back for just this week, don’t jump the gun on LaRod Stephens-Howling as the Cardinals travel to San Francisco this week.

A good start at running back this week is Willis McGahee. The Saints defense will have their hands full with Manning and Denver’s no-huddle attack will allow McGahee to pick up big yards and maybe even take one in to the end zone.

Steven Ridley will get back on track this week as well. The Patriots will be in London, England to face the Rams and the Patriots should have more of a balanced attack as they did prior to the Seattle loss.

On the other side of the ball in London, is Sam Bradford who is a sleeper this week. Bradford has developed a strong chemistry with Brandon Gibson and Chris Givens who will have big games against the Patriots pass defense.

Bradford could be a good start for those who have Matthew Stafford as their starter. Stafford has been inconsistent and should be benched this week. The Lions are hosting the Seahawks this week and if Monday night is an indication of how the Lions offense fairs against aggressive defenses like the Chicago Bears, they’ll have a repeat performance against Seattle.

Another sleeper I’ll gamble on this week is Dwayne Bowe. Bowe and the Chiefs have not produced at all as of late and this week they are at home against their divisional rivals the Raiders. Historically, Bowe follows up a few brutal weeks with a big game and he has had some good ones against the Raiders.

Since the Colts travel to Tennessee, Chris Johnson owners don’t have to stress about making a decision this week. Starting Johnson against Indianapolis is a no-brainer as he may come close to last week’s performance.

Another good start in the Titans and Colts game is wide receiver Kenny Britt. Britt is now healthy and his production should increase, especially against the weaker defenses.

Rashard Jennings is a good start at running back this week as the Jaguars face the Green Bay Packers. Jennings has made the most of his opportunities when Jones-Drew has been out and should help out some fantasy teams.

Once again, Vincent Jackson remains as one of the most traded players on Fantasy Moves this week. We at Fantasy Moves labeled him a potential stud in our preseason rankings and he has been exactly that the last few weeks.

If you’re one of those managers that are trading him away, ensure that you are receiving what he is currently worth in the market. Don’t settle for players who may have had one, or two, monster games.

Last week, many questioned me when I advised Larry Fitzgerald owners to bench him. Hopefully they listened as Fitzgerald pulled in a dismal 29 yards. Fitzgerald owners should gamble and bench him again this week, as he’ll be facing the No. 1 pass defense in the league.

With Nate Burleson out for the season, Titus Young is a great pick up off of waivers (if he’s still available) for those looking to improve their wide receivers. During Monday night’s loss, Young was targeted eight times and pulled in 81 yards. With teams having to fear Calvin Johnson and Burleson out, Young should have many opportunities to make big plays.

Don’t let late season trades ruin your league, register for free with fantasymoves.com to ensure all fair trades are accepted and unfair trades rejected.

Jessy Sandhu is the founder of Fantasy Moves, you can follow him on Twitter @FantasyMoves

Tags: sports, football, nfl