Staff Fantasy Football Draft Recap: Aaron Rodgers Falls Far
Round 7
| Owner | Pick Number | Selection |
|---|---|---|
| JJ Zachariason | 73 | Ryan Mathews, RB |
| JZ Mazlish | 74 | Torrey Smith, WR |
| Keith Black | 75 | Greg Olsen, TE |
| Dan Pizzuta | 76 | Nelson Agholor, WR |
| Jordan Hoover | 77 | Russell Wilson, QB |
| Sam Hauss | 78 | Anquan Boldin, WR |
| Amar Rao | 79 | Alfred Blue, RB |
| Ryan Ward | 80 | Tre Mason, RB |
| Tyler Buecher | 81 | Giovani Bernard, RB |
| Jim Sannes | 82 | Larry Fitzgerald, WR |
| Aaron Watson | 83 | Arian Foster, RB |
| Tony DelSignore | 84 | Joique Bell, RB |
Round 7 was perhaps our most interesting round as a lot of the "chalk" players had already been selected.
JJ wrote several reasons for why he's been targeting Ryan Mathews in best-ball leagues, but he felt comfortable enough that the Eagles will provide Ryan Mathews some stand-alone value in redrafts as well. The well rumored "50-30-15" split that's supposed to be divvied among Philadelphia's backs should provide value to Mathews and is one of the few immediate top-flight running backs if Murray faces any injuries.
Russell Wilson fell to the seventh round. The numberFire staff weren't willing to pay up for his ceiling. Our projections expect Wilson to have a major decline in rushing yards in favor of more yards through the air. Only Luck and Rodgers had more top-six weeks than Wilson last year.
Alfred Blue was taken several spots before Arian Foster as the fantasy landscape is still trying to acclimate how to respond to Foster's injury. Conflicting reports have stated Foster could be back in as little as 4-6 weeks or up to as much as 12. Foster is sure to be a wildcard until the Texans release more concrete news with their intentions. Alfred Blue is slated as second on the depth chart to claim Foster's carries but had the fourth-worst Rushing NEP among all backs last year. Facing base defenses last year, Blue averaged a league-worst 2.7 yards per carry according to PFF's Mike Clay. Buyer beware.
Another trio of running backs -- Tre Mason, Giovani Bernard, and Joique Bell -- figure to have declining roles but could still provide fantasy relevance. The running back well quickly dried up as the numberFire staff had prioritized taking multiple running backs and wide receivers early.
