Top 8 Fantasy Football Takeaways from Week 7 Usage

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Playing time and touches are the backbone of fantasy scoring. 

Chasing one-week box scores can be dangerous. Investing in players who are on the field and getting the football is more reliable.

That’s why we study playing time and usage every week during the season. It can give us a tangible edge in start/sit decisions, waiver moves, and trades.

Here are the top 8 takeaways from Week 7 usage:

1. Panthers Split Backfield Down The Middle

The Panthers took "split backfield" to a whole different level in Week 7. Hubbard and Dowdle quite literally rotated series. Here's how it broke down, courtesy of Fantasy Points' Chris Wecht:

Hubbard wound up playing more than Dowdle only because his drives were longer. Dowdle out-touched Hubbard 18 to 16, though. And he was easily the more effective back, out-gaining Hubbard 96 to 55.

Does that mean we'll see more Dowdle and less Hubbard going forward?

It doesn't sound like it. Here's what HC Dave Canales said about his backfield plans on Monday:

"I anticipate we’ll go the same way, to have both guys who I trust. This was Chuba’s first game back. I fully expect that both guys will continue to give us the confidence to call whatever we need to call. I’m glad that Rico contributed the way he did, but Chuba had a couple really nice runs and a really nice screen play. I’m excited to go out this week with two backs that I really trust, that will run with the type of style that we expect."

The Panthers played with the lead for most of the Week 7 win over the Jets, allowing them to rack up 34 RB touches. That won't be the case most weeks.

If Dowdle and Hubbard continue to split work down the middle, they'll both struggle for more than RB3 value.

The Panthers are also strapped with the seventh most difficult remaining RB schedule.

2. Kyle Monangai Ascending In Red-Hot Bears Running Game

Lots to discuss here.

First: Monangai's growing role. The rookie came out of the Week 5 bye and registered his second-biggest snap share of the season. Then he set a new season high at 46% in Week 7. He also set season highs in carry share and target share.

RB D'Andre Swift out-touched Monangai just 20 to 15 in the win over the Saints. And the playing time was even closer. Swift played 36 snaps and ran 14 routes to Monangai's 31 snaps and 10 routes. Monangai even out-snapped Swift five to four on third downs.

The rookie has seemingly worked himself into a 1B role in this backfield. And his fantasy value gets another boost thanks to a shifting Bears offense.

Bears Running More ... and More Effectively

The Bears have come out of their bye week with a clear emphasis on the run game. Check out the splits:

The run game has been more effective, too. Chicago has racked up 367 yards and three TDs on 5.5 yards per carry over the last two weeks. Swift and Monangai deserve plenty of credit. But the blocking in front of them has also been much better. The Bears averaged just 1.28 yards before contact per carry prior to the bye (26th in the league). That's jumped to 3.48 (2nd) over the last two weeks.

With a growing role in a rejuvenated run game, Monangai has quickly ascended to RB3/Flex status.

3. Rashee Rice Pops On Limited Playing Time

Rice delivered 23.2 PPR points in his 2025 debut. And he did it on limited playing time.

That was due in part to the Chiefs pulling starters in the fourth quarter of the blowout win over the Raiders. But Rice was limited even before that, running a route on just 55% of QB Patrick Mahomes' drop backs in the first half.

Reason to worry? Nah.

This was Rice's first game in nearly 13 months. I'd expect his playing time to ramp up quickly.

And, despite the reduced playing time, Rice still hogged 29% of Chiefs targets. He was targeted on 10 of his 19 routes!

Rice looks like the clear focal point of Kansas City's offense -- and a top-10 fantasy WR going forward.

4. Travis Hunter’s Big Week 7: Trend or Mirage?

Hunter's Week 7 production looks a little fluky. He went catch-less on three targets in the first half. And he caught four balls for 71 yards and a score in the fourth quarter of a game that had already been decided.

But the bigger -- and more optimistic -- takeaway from this game is Hunter's growing role. He's now set season highs in route rate in two straight games. And he registered season highs in targets (14) and target share in Week 7. 

The Jaguars now head into their bye week, where they'll have time to re-assess their plan for Hunter the rest of the season.

"We are going to play the best 11 as much as humanly possible after this bye," HC Liam Coen said Monday. "We have gotten a sample size in totality and specifically with him ... that is going to be a discussion these next few days."

With WR Brian Thomas Jr. continuing to struggle -- and now dealing with a shoulder injury -- don't be surprised if Hunter is a much bigger part of the offense over the second half of the season. I'd be trying to buy him this week.

5. TreVeyon Henderson's Pain Is Rhamondre Stevenson's Gain

We've spilled a lot of ink this season on Henderson's disappointing usage. Let's flip the script and talk positively about Stevenson, who's taken an even stronger grip on this backfield lately.

Week 7 brought season highs for Stevenson in snap rate, route rate, and carry share. He played a whopping 93% of the offensive snaps in the first three quarters, before the Patriots called off the dogs in an easy win over the Titans.

Stevenson finished 13th among RBs in PPR points and 14th in expected PPR points on the week.

Over the last two weeks, Stevenson has played 74% of New England's offensive snaps and handled 62% of the designed carries. Those marks rank ninth and 22nd among RBs. He sits 12th at the position in expected PPR points per game over that stretch.

With Henderson's role heading in the wrong direction, Stevenson is looking like a weekly RB2 for the time being.

Just note that he has the second most difficult RB schedule over the next four weeks. He then gets the second easiest schedule from Week 12 on.

6. Is Oronde Gadsden For Real?

Gadsden just produced the 36th most yards by a TE in a game in NFL history. And the fourth most by a rookie TE.

It was the culmination of an increased role for an impressive player.

Through the first seven weeks of his rookie season, Gadsden ranks third among all TEs in both yards per route and Pro Football Focus receiving grade. He's the real deal.

And now he's a big part of the Chargers offense. His route rate has climbed each game since his Week 3 debut. He's topped 75% in two straight, drawing 18% of the team's targets over that span.

The target competition remains tough, so Gadsden might not maintain that share. But he's playing in an offense that ranks:

• 3rd in pass rate
• 3rd in neutral pass rate
• 2nd in pass rate over expected
• 1st in pass attempts per game
• 3rd in pass yards per game

If Gadsden can settle in around a 15-16% target share -- and I think he can -- he has a good chance to be top-12 fantasy TE the rest of the way.

7. Jaylen Warren Takes Back Steelers Backfield

We wrote last week about the Steelers coming out of their bye with a three-man backfield committee. But we closed that section with this: 

"OC Arthur Smith has a special ability to keep fantasy players guessing. We'll continue to keep a close eye on this backfield."

Old Art was up to his tricks again in Week 7, turning this back into a two-man committee, with Warren as the clear leader. He registered his second-biggest snap share of the season and his highest carry share, finishing ninth among RBs in expected PPR points.

Zooming out, Warren has now handled 67+% of Pittsburgh's carries in three of his last four games. We can never be sure what Smith will do on a weekly basis. But Warren is looking like a relatively safe weekly fantasy starter. And he could flirt with RB1 production if the Week 7 usage sticks.

8. Don't Worry About George Kittle

Kittle's return from a five-game absence couldn't have gone worse in the box score. Literally. He went catch-less on two targets.

I'm not worried about him going forward, though. He was probably a little rusty coming off the extended absence. He also faced a Falcons defense that ranks first in adjusted fantasy points allowed to TEs. And the 49ers went extremely run heavy, throwing a season-low 26 passes. (They averaged 40.2 over the first six games.)

Kittle posted an elite 86% route rate, a mark he topped in just four of 15 games last year. Big games are coming with that type of usage.

There aren't more than three TEs I'd rather have than Kittle the rest of the way. See if there's a buy-low opportunity on him this week.

Next Up

Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: Spend Up for Monangai?

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Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.