Week 7 Monday Night Fantasy Football Takeaways: Ravens' Rashod Bateman Shines; Chris Godwin, Bucs' Mike Evans Hurt; Cardinals' James Conner Delivers; Chargers' Justin Herbert Finally Passes

Week 7 of the NFL season wrapped up with two Monday night games. Let’s go over some fantasy football takeaways from those contests.

Also be sure to check out the fantasy takeaway story from Sunday’s games, along with the IDP roundup.

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Ravens’ Offense Rolls Behind Jackson, Henry, Bateman

Baltimore racked up 508 total yards of offense in its 41-31 victory over Tampa Bay.

Lamar Jackson completed 17 of his 22 passes for 281 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He added 52 rushing yards on nine carries and also lost a fumble. Jackson is one of the best fantasy QBs in the game and showed why on Monday night - he needs to be in your starting lineup every week.

Derrick Henry only got 16 touches, but turned those into 182 total yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries, including an 81-yard rumble. Henry had a 13-yard touchdown catch on his lone target. He’s another fantasy stud that needs to be in your lineup weekly.

Baltimore’s top receiver was Rashod Bateman. He caught all four of his targets for 121 yards and a touchdown. Bateman has quietly gone over 50 receiving yards in three straight games, and he has two touchdowns over that span. He’ll be a waiver wire target this week, but determining whether or not to play should still come down to the defensive matchup.

Mark Andrews had four catches for 41 yards across four targets, but scored twice to post a good fantasy total. Andrews now has three touchdowns over the past two weeks, and has gone for at least 40 yards and three catches in those contests. He’s not a locked-in fantasy starter anymore, but he’s proving he’s still got some gas left in the tank and deserves starts in a lot of leagues.

The only other Baltimore offensive player over 25 receiving yards was backup running back Justice Hill. He rushed five times for four yards and had three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown across three targets. In deeper PPR formats and in the right matchups, Hill is at least worth considering for starts. His lack of consistent touches is a concern, so make sure the matchup is right before putting him in those starting lineups.

Two guys who were fantasy disappointments on Monday were Zay Flowers and Isaiah Likely.

Flowers had a 19-yard run and 11-yard catch (on his only target). He got banged up early in the game, but still played 42 offensive snaps, so those final numbers were underwhelming. The injury could have played into things, but this is now the third time he’s had 30 or less total yards in a game. He’s not a confident starting option in standard league, but his upside is too good to pass on. I have a feeling he might appear in our start/sit articles going forward, so check back for those.

Likely had two catches for 17 yards across four targets. Likely played three more offensive snaps than Andrews, and 14 more than Charlie Kolar. Likely hasn’t topped 30 yards in a game since week 1, and can safely be dropped in standard leagues. He’s maybe still worth holding in deeper leagues, but he’s not a good starting option right now.

Bucs Lose, Plus Lose Godwin, Evans

Tampa Bay had 481 total yards of offense in the game, so several players had big fantasy days, but the big takeaway from the game was losing Chris Godwin and Mike Evans to injuries.

Godwin dislocated his ankle and is likely going to miss the remainder of the season. Evans has a hamstring injury.

Godwin got hurt in the waning moments of the game, so he was still able to provide fantasy owners with 65 yards on seven catches and nine targets. Evans had just a 25-yard touchdown catch across three targets before exiting.

Tight end Cade Otton caught eight of his 10 targets for 100 yards. He needs to be added in a lot of fantasy leagues after the injuries to the top wideouts - Otton likely won’t lead the team in receiving, but he could be a top-end fantasy TE from here on out.

No other pass catcher had over 25 receiving yards, which is a concern moving forward if Evans is also out. Trey Palmer played 72% of the snaps, Jalen McMillan was at 60% and Sterling Shepard played 45% of the snaps - those are the players who are most likely to help replace Godwin and maybe Evans - unless another wideout is brought in via trade or free agency.

We’ll probably cover this situation in a separate story later in the week, so check back for that.

Conner Powers Cardinals

Arizona tallied just 326 total yards of offense in its 17-15 win over Los Angeles on Monday.

James Conner did it all for the Cardinals. He rushed for 101 yards on 19 carries and added 51 receiving yards on two catches and four targets. 

It was the fourth time this season that he’s gone for 100 or more scrimmage yards. It was a tough matchup against the Chargers too, which shows you can keep trusting Conner to deliver every week.

Kyler Murray was just 14-of-26 passing for 145 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He added 64 yards and a touchdown on six rushing attempts to make a weak fantasy performance pretty average. 

Murray continues to struggle as a passer, with just three games over 200 passing yards and just one over 250 yards. He’s got a touchdown pass in every game, but just one with multiple TD passes. Murray’s running ability helps him make up for poor passing days and keeps him as a pretty safe fantasy option every week.

Trey McBride was the only Arizona pass catcher over 25 yards. He had 51 yards on five catches and seven targets. After a slow start to the season, he has 200 yards on 19 catches and 24 targets over the past three weeks, so you can get him in those starting lineups every week now.

Marvin Harrison Jr. was held in check again, tallying 21 yards on three catches and six targets. Harrison hasn’t had the rookie season we expected, with just two games over 50 receiving yards. At some point you expect him to take off, but right now, I wouldn’t be confident putting Harrison in my starting lineup.

Herbert Goes Off in Losing Effort

Justin Herbert hasn’t been a very good fantasy player inside the new-look LA offense, but against the weak Cardinals’ defense, he put up solid totals.

Herbert was 27-of-39 passing for 349 yards, with no touchdowns or picks. He added eight rushing yards on two carries. Herbert is a streaming option in fantasy leagues right now, but not one to put a lot of trust in given his season totals so far.

J.K. Dobbins was surprisingly held in check. He rushed 14 times for 40 yards and added 26 yards on three catches and targets. Dobbins didn’t have a ton of touches taken away by other backs on the team, but it was still a pretty underwhelming fantasy showing for LA’s top back. He’s still a pretty good starting option every week.

Tight end Will Dissly was a surprise performer, going for 81 yards on eight catches and 11 targets. He hadn’t been over 30 yards in a game this season, but does have 16 targets over the past two weeks, so in some deeper leagues, Dissly is worth adding and maybe streaming in the right matchups.

Joshua Palmer went for 63 yards on four catches and five targets. Ladd McConkey had 46 yards on five grabs and seven targets. Simi Fehoko added 45 yards on three receptions and six targets. 

Quentin Johnston was inactive for the game, so that opened some opportunities for other pass catchers. Given the Chargers’ run-based offense, it’s tough to trust any of the team’s receivers. They’ll remain streaming/flex options in the right matchups.

IDP Standouts

Baltimore’s Roquan Smith had 18 combined tackles and a forced fumble. He’s reached double figures in tackles four times now this season, and that alone makes him a great IDP option.

Baltimore’s Kyle Hamilton had 11 tackles and a pass defensed. He’s up to 47 tackles and two passes defensed over seven games, which is good production out of a defensive back, and shows why he’s a solid IDP option.

Tampa Bay’s Antoine Winfield Jr. had 10 total tackles and a sack. It was just his third game of the season, so he might be available in a decent amount of IDP leagues - scoop him up if you need some secondary help.

Baltimore’s Marlon Humphrey had two tackles, two passes defensed and two interceptions before leaving with a knee injury. His status is one to watch moving forward, but he needs to be in IDP starting lineups if he’s active.

Arizona’s Kyzir White had 10 combined tackles on Monday. It was his third game in double figures for tackles, but after some inconsistent showings, he’s not the locked-in IDP starter like Smith is. 

Arizona’s Max Melton had nine combined tackles, a pass defensed and a forced fumble. Melton had just 15 tackles coming into the game, so this is more of a one-game outlier than anything. He’s still worth a roster spot in deeper IDP leagues.

Los Angeles’ Cam Hart had seven combined tackles, a pass defensed and a forced fumble. It was just his fourth game of the season in which he recorded a tackle, and this looks like another one-week outlier performance. Hart is still one to add and possibly start in a deep IDP league.