As your fantasy football roster continues to deal with bye weeks and injured players, you also have to contend with some of your players failing to meet expectations. At this point in the season, you have a pretty good idea which players have outplayed their draft capital – and which ones have not, making the Week 7 panic meter an important barometer.
As always, the following list provides cases for why you should not worry at all, be a little bit worried, and be in a full panic for bigger names on your fantasy football rosters. This is not any advice to move on from any players in the ‘Full Panic’ section, but you should absolutely be exploring moves to try and move that problem somewhere else.
No Need to Panic
It was quite the uncommon performance from the Detroit Lions on Sunday against the Ravens, as they were blown out, 38-6. The offense struggled mightily, and it was the worst performance of the 2023 season for Jared Goff.
53 pass attempts and Goff still was held without a touchdown pass, although he did throw an interception. But things are still looking up for Goff, who has an 11:4 TD:INT ratio on the season and has been the QB8 on the year. Don’t expect Sunday’s performance for Goff to become a regular occurrence, especially with the Raiders, Chargers, and Bears next up.
Isiah Pacheco
It may seem odd to include Isiah Pacheco on this list, especially after he produced a solid performance against the Chargers (17 touches, 60 total yards, 1 receiving TD). But there are some questions to be answered about his usage this season.
Pacheco has only had three games this year of 18 or more touches, limiting his potential impact. But he has taken advantage of these opportunities as best as possible, including in the passing game, where he has already eclipsed his reception total from last year. While seeing an RB1 earn fewer than 20 touches on average is tough, Pacheco is clearly the lead back in Kansas City, so there’s nothing to be worried about.
Some Panic
As a whole, the Los Angeles Chargers have stunk up the place this year. Justin Herbert has only thrown multiple TDs in three games this year, and he is on pace to easily best last season’s sack total of 38.
If Austin Ekeler can return to form to help offset the loss of Mike Williams, and Keenan Allen can remain healthy, then the pieces are in place for this offense to improve. But as it currently stands, you have every right to be concerned about Herbert leading your fantasy football roster moving forward.
Rachaad White
Two games this season – in only two games has Rachaad White rushed for more than 50 yards. While some of this can be tacked up to growing pains for White as he ascends into the RB1 role, his lack of efficiency (and usage is puzzling).
As Baker Mayfield holds down the starting QB role and helps keep both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin relevant for your fantasy football teams, White has had to rely on his receiving work to contribute. Keep an eye on White moving forward, as his role is there but there are some concerns to be had.
Full Panic
Brian Robinson
The first two games of the season made it seem like Brian Robinson was going to flourish in Eric Bieniemy’s new offensive system in Washington. But after his fast start, Robinson has come back down to Earth, making his role for your fantasy football team uneasy.
Outside of Terry McLaurin, the whole Commanders offense is on thin ice. Robinson clearly has the lead-back role for Washington, but if they continue to have to play from behind, the negative game script does not favor Robinson, who is involved enough in the passing game but not a heavy player in it.
An offseason full of big storylines have not really come true for Calvin Ridley and the Jacksonville Jaguars. His role in the offense, which on paper looks to be as the WR1, has looked quite subdued compared to what type of impact he should be having.
Outside of his eight-reception outing against the Colts and his 122-yard performance against the Bills, Ridley has mostly struggled to acclimate. Plus, with Christian Kirk still holding the role as Trevor Lawrence’s top receiver, all of the offseason hype for Ridley could very well be ready to crash to a halt.
It is quite clear that Ridley has a high ceiling every week still because of the potency of this Jacksonville offense, but he has been unable to convert the hype into actual results. If you can find someone in your fantasy football league willing to still buy into Ridley’s role, go ahead and move him – but don’t be too cheap.
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