5 Yard Rush is here with another week seven dynasty football rankings update. As I state every week, this fantasy football season has been unlike any other. All-time great Quarterbacks Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, and Matthew Stafford have struggled mightily to this point. Furthermore, there have been injuries and fantasy busts at Running Back that has left a volatile position even more volatile. In dynasty leagues, it’s important to know that rankings and trade calculators adjust slowly. So it’s vital to identify changes in the dynasty landscape quickly to take advantage of changing values before others do. In this article, I hope to help you do just that with some of my biggest risers and fallers through this point in the season.

Week Seven Dynasty Football Risers

Kenneth Walker

Walker has risen as quickly as any player I have seen over a three-week span. He’s been great rushing for over 353 yards and 4 touchdowns in that time. Many analysts thought he was the best pure rusher in college football last year and that has clearly translated to the NFL. His combination of speed and evasiveness is rare even at the NFL level. Despite limited playing time through the first four weeks of the season, he has 22 evaded tackles and ranks third in the NFL in breakaway run rate (PlayerProfiler). In addition, many of the top Running Backs in the NFL are entering an age where we typically see a decline in play. Given the talent he’s displayed already Walker checks in as the RB6 in this Week Seven dynasty football update. He has the opportunity to go even higher with the injuries to some of the top players like Javonte Williams and Breece Hall as well.

Bailey Zappe

In a shocking twist, after making his debut returning from a high ankle sprain Mac Jones was pulled from the game in the second quarter for Bailey Zappe. Zappe came into a cheering crowd and immediately threw a touchdown. This caused a frenzy online as many were convinced that a changing of the guard was happening at Quarterback. He had little success after though throwing for 185 yards and finishing with two interceptions in the fourth quarter. It’s hard to say what the New England Patriots plan on doing at Quarterback going forward. Bill Belichick was noncommital after the game and it wouldn’t surprise me to see either Quarterback get the nod in Week Eight. Nonetheless, particularly in superflex leagues, Zappe is a big riser as a potential low-end QB2 option for the rest of the season.

Pat Freiermuth

Freiermuth has been remarkably consistent when he’s been on the field this season averaging 12.36 PPR points per game in five healthy games. This is even more impressive considering he’s only scored a single touchdown. At a position that is mostly touchdown-dependent, Freiermuth is drawing consistent volume that few Tight Ends receive. This is evident by his target rate which ranks seventh in the NFL among Tight Ends. Although Freiermuth isn’t overly athletic, he’s smart with reliable hands. At a position devoid of true difference-makers, fantasy managers could do worse than a player with 9+ targets in three games this year. The hope is that the touchdowns come as the offense improves under Kenny Pickett. He’s a Week Seven dynasty football riser and could enter that Dallas Goedert and TJ Hockenson range of Tight Ends soon.

Week Seven Dynasty Football Fallers

Matt Ryan

This was a disastrous season for Matt Ryan as he failed to generate much fantasy success through seven weeks and is no longer the starter according to Head Coach Frank Reich. He injured his shoulder this past Sunday, but backup Sam Ehlinger would have been the starter regardless. This speaks volumes coming from a team that is still in playoff contention. It shouldn’t come as a surprise though as Matt Ryan is responsible for a remarkable 20 turnovers already this season. He’s been considerably worse than even Carson Wentz was last year and his time as a starter in this league could be at an end. Even with an $18 million dead cap hit he likely won’t be back in Indianapolis and will be fighting for a job next year. He could also opt for retirement at this point and is simply a backend QB3 in dynasty rankings.

Joe Mixon

Mixon is still very talented, but age, decreasing usage, and a lack of efficiency have him moving down my dynasty rankings. After averaging nearly 25 touches through the first four weeks of the season, Mixon is down to just 16 since Week Five. Still a solid workload but with only 3.9 yards per touch and only one run over 15 yards, he’s not meeting expectations. As the Bengals’ offense finds its rhythm passing more and more, it’s not a guarantee Mixon gets an elite workload going forward. This is his fifth year in the league as well, and his dynasty ranking was dropping considerably after this season regardless. Mixon is exiting my top 10 dynasty Running Back rankings. At his age, there is little chance of him returning either.

Keenan Allen

We are running out of time for Allen to make an impact this season as he is on bye in Week Eight with only 13.7 PPR points total for the year. This is traditionally when we have seen injuries pile up for Wide Receivers. Julio Jones, AJ Green, and Dez Bryant are examples of this as it takes longer for players to heal as they get older. Hamstring injuries don’t typically take six weeks to heal and it was a surprise he even made it on the field this past Sunday. While he could make an impact down the stretch this season, Allen will be 31 years old this April. Along with an increased risk of injury, elite Wide Receivers have shown a steep decline in production around their age 30 season too. Unfortunately, this leaves Allen dipping into back-end WR3 territory in my dynasty rankings. Managers should be looking for a breakout game that could open up a sell window to a contending team.

That’s all for this week! You can follow Emerson on Twitter @Dynasty_Analyst to keep up with his work. Keep your eyes peeled for more articles from our great Dynasty team, coming soon. Remember to tune into the 5 Yard Dynasty livestream every Tuesday at 8pm (GMT or 3pm EST).