15 Fantasy football scoring leaders from NFL Week 7

There is just one game left in fantasy football Week 7, so let’s take a look at the top 15 fantasy football scoring leaders so far in a fun and exciting week of NFL action.

San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon (28) powered his way into our fantasy football scoring leaders with a big game for San Diego in the Georgia Dome. The Chargers won 33-30 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Week 7 was another important fantasy football week as starts stepped up to teh plate and carried their teams to big wins. The Vikings went down on the roadie Philadelphia leaving no team undefeated, but hopefully your fantasy team is rolling right along. To take a look at the best of the fantasy performances in Week 7, check out my fantasy football scoring leaders on the following slides.

Some of these players are stars who stepped up while others are sleepers who came through with a big game. To see who led the way in fantasy football this week check out the next few slides where I’ll also outline what I think these players’ value is moving forward.

In this weekly list of fantasy football scoring leaders, you can find the top options at each of the main fantasy positions. I try to highlight the players who went off and powered their fantasy teams to win. You want your players to be on this list and not on the fantasy football busts which will come out later today. Make sure to check back later today for the busts and our our fantasy football sleepers who emerged out of Week 7.

To stay locked in to all our weekly coverage make sure to drop a bookmark on our fantasy football hub so that you’re ready to have your own bounce back week in Week 7. You can also check out our new start/sit tool and follow @FansidedFantasy on Twitter to help you get into the winners’ circle for next week.

Let’s kick off our fantasy football scoring leaders for today with a look at the top fantasy defense that come up large against a divisional foe.

Oct 23, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) runs after a catch against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. New England won 27-16. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gronkowski-TE-New England Patriots

Gronk is back as an elite option every week and was the top tight end in our fantasy football scoring leaders for the second week in a row. He tore up the Steelers all day long and continues to be a top target in the Patriots’ potent passing attack.

This week, Gronk caught four passes for 93 yards and a touchdown giving him trips to the end zone in each of the last two weeks. He has averaged 121.3 yards in the last three weeks since Tom Brady came back, and he’s back to being the top TE option in the NFL.

He is the clear No. 1 TE moving forward with a good matchup against the Bills next week before his bye in Week 9.

Oct 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) gestures after a catch against the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter at Levi

Mike Evans-WR-Tampa Bay Buccaneers

One of just two players with multiple receiving touchdowns this week was Mike Evans who helped the Bucs cruise past the 49ers out West in San Francisco. Evans is clearly the go-to receiver for Jameis Winston and will get lots of work moving forward with Vincent Jackson out for the season.

On Sunday against San Francisco, Evans was targeted 13 times and hauled in eight passes for 96 yards. His two receiving touchdowns were what earned him a spot in our fantasy football scoring leaders this week on a week where WR scoring was a little bit down.

Moving forward, Evans is a WR1 and has great matchups in the next four weeks agains the Raiders, Falcons, Bears, and Chiefs. He can be started with confidence going forward and could be one of the best receivers to own coming down the stretch.

Oct 23, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) drops back to pass during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Detroit won 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Kirk Cousins-QB-Washington

Whatever QB takes on the Lions seems to always end up in our fantasy football scoring leaders. Week 7 was no exception as Detroit welcomed in Washington and ended up with a 20-17 win.

Washington didn’t get any running game going, but QB Kirk Cousins came through with a big game. He threw for 301 yards on 30-of-39 passing while throwing a touchdown strike to Rob Kelley. Cousins added a second score on the ground while rushing for 19 yards on three carries.

It’s been an up-and-down season for Cousins, but he has been playing much better since the team’s 0-2 start. Next week, Washington will take on the Bengals in the final game of the season in London leaving Cousins as a mid-range QB2.

Oct 23, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) runs against Cleveland Browns cornerback Jamar Taylor (21) during the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Green-WR-Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals rolled over the hapless Browns on Sunday cruising to a 31-17 win and knocking out another Cleveland QB in the process. One of the stars for the Bengals was A.J. Green who demolished the ailing Cleveland secondary.

Green was only targeted eight times, but he was able to catch all eight passes thrown his way for a solid total of 169 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came on a Hail Mary which he hauled in at the end of the first half for a 48-yard touchdown.

Even though the Bengals didn’t throw the ball much after halftime, Green ended up with a big week and has over 80 yards in three of his last four contests. Next week, he’s in a great matchup against the banged-up Washington secondary, and he’ll be one of the best WR plays next week before the Week 9 bye.

Oct 23, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount (29) runs the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first half at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

LeGarrette Blount-RB-New England Patriots

The Steelers had no answers for the Patriots balanced attack on Sunday, and New England picked up a 27-16 road win. While Tom Brady came through again, it was LeGarrette Blount who did the heavy lifting.

Blount tore up the Steelers for 127 yards on his 24 carries and got into the end zone twice. He scored early in the second quarter to put the Patriots up 14-0 and capped the scoring in the fourth quarter with a five-yard score to put the game away.

Blount has been excellent all year for the Patriots and now has four touchdowns in his last three weeks and eight scores on the season. Blount has three games with over 100 yards and was the only running back with any carries on Sunday. He’ll be a strong RB2 in next week’s matchup against Buffalo before the Patriots take a week off in Week 9.

Oct 23, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) throws a pass over Miami Dolphins defensive tNdamukong Suh (93) during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins won 28-25. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Tyrod Taylor-QB-Buffalo Bills

The Bills offense was incredibly short-handed on Sunday with Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods sidelined to start the game and LeSean McCoy less than 100% to start the game. McCoy left early after aggravating his hamstring injury leaving Taylor as the team’s primary play-maker.

Taylor ended up completing 14 of 28 passes for 221 yards and a passing touchdown. He added 35 rushing yards and a second touchdown on the ground while also taking on a successful two-point conversion. Taylor couldn’t rally the Bills to a win in Miami, but he ended up as one of the better QB plays of the day.

Taylor has multiple touchdowns in each of the last three weeks, and he’ll try to get the Bills their second win of the season over the Patriots next week. Taylor will be asked to carry the load again next week, and he’ll be a solid QB2 with QB1 upside in Week 8.

Oct 20, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) throws a pass while under pressure from Chicago Bears linebacker Willie Young (97) in the first quarter at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Rodgers-QB-Green Bay Packers

After a week of “What’s wrong with Green Bay?” coverage, the Packers started slowly on Thursday Night Football. They came out strong in the second half, though, and helped their fans and fantasy owners to take it easy based on their big totals at the end of the game.

Aaron Rodgers was all the offense the Packers had with all their running backs banged up. He stepped up with 326 passing yards and three touchdowns. He threw 56 passes completing a career-high 39.

Rodgers and Green Bay will continue to try and silence their critics as they face the Falcons in Atlanta this week. The schedule ahead is a very favorable one for Rodgers, so hopefully he can regain his weekly elite status.

Oct 23, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill (32) carries the ball against the Cleveland Browns in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Jeremy Hill-RB-Cincinnati Bengals

After a few quiet weeks, Hill went off for a monster week against the Browns. He still got fewer carries than his teammate Giovani Bernard, but he made the most of his carries averaging over 18 yards per carry.

Hill ended up with 168 rushing yards and a touchdown on his nine carries. He hauled in a pair of passes for 24 more yards. Most of his rushing yardage came on a 74-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but he consistently ripped off big chunks of yardage.

The Bengals are in another great matchup for Hill next week against Washington, but it’s hard to count on him since he’s still losing so much work to Bernard. Unless the situation changes, he’ll be a boom-or-bust low-end RB2 next week even with six teams taking the week off.

Oct 23, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) points to the Kansas City Chiefs defense during the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Drew Brees-QB-New Orleans Saints

Brees seems to be on our list of fantasy football scoring leaders just about every week. He’s especially effective at home in the Superdome, but he took his team on the road this week and played a good game in Kansas City. The Chiefs still got the win 28-21, but Brees put up good numbers for his fantasy owners.

Brees threw for 367 yards against KC’s secondary giving him at least 350 yards in three of his last four games and four of his six contests overall this season. He connected for three touchdowns to three different receivers continuing to spread the ball around effectively to his many different weapons.

Brees is one of the top QB options for fantasy football every week, but he’s in a rough matchup next week at home against the Seahawks. Brees has proven to be pretty matchup-proof at home, but it will definitely be a strength vs strength matchup in the Big Easy next week.

Oct 23, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles tight end Trey Burton (47) reacts after a recovering a fumble in the 2nd half against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Eagles D/ST

The Vikings got off to a 5-0 start to the season relying on a hard-hitting defense and creating turnovers. On Sunday, they fell to 5-1 as they ran into a team that gave them a test of their own medicine as the Eagles knocked off the Vikings 21-10.

The Eagles not only held the Vikings to just ten points, but they forced four turnovers including a pair of Sam Bradford fumbles. Philadelphia also got a special teams touchdown from Josh Huff who returned a kickoff 98 yards to the house for one of the Eagles’ two touchdowns on the game.

The Eagles defense has been one of the most positively surprising units this season, and they’ll look to keep the fantasy points flowing in the coming weeks. They’ll face some stiff tests in the next few weeks, though, as they go on the road to play division foes Dallas and New York before coming home for Atlanta and heading to Seattle. The Eagles will be an option for fantasy as long as they stay aggressive and keep making big plays.

Oct 20, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (17) catches a pass for a touchdown in the fourth quarter during the game against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Davante Adams-WR-Green Bay Packers

The top WR in our fantasy football scoring leaders put up his numbers on Thursday Night Football in the Packers win against the Bears. Davante Adams wasn’t expected to play on Thursday after sustaining a concussion last week, but he was able to clear the protocol and get back on the field for Aaron Rodgers and the Pack.

Adams was targeted a team-high 16 times while star Lord Nelson only drew four throws. Adams made the most of Rodgers’ attention hauling in 13 passes for 132 yards and a pair of scores. He was a monster in both PPR and standard leagues while joining Mike Evans as the only players with multiple receiving touchdowns

Unfortunately for Adams’ owners he was probably on their bench after he posted just two catches for 34 yards against Dallas. The good news for Adams’ owners is that he has good matchups ahead against the Falcons, Colts, Titans, and Washington and the Packers are already past their bye week. He’ll have to show he is going to be this involved moving forward, but he should be in the starting discussion in almost every format for next week.

Oct 23, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back Matt Forte (22) celebrates his touchdown run during the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Ravens 24-16. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Forte-RB-New York Jets

The Jets started Geno Smith, lost him to injury, and somehow ended up getting a win. Ryan Fitzpatrick came off the bench, but it was Matt Forte who had a monster game to carry New York to the W.

Forte ran for 101 rushes on 30 carries and added 54 more yards while hauling in all four passes thrown his way. Coming into the game, it looked like Forte was losing work to Bilal Powell, but he was clearly the go-to running back in this week’s win.

Forte will be in a great matchup next week against the Browns and can be considered an RB1 with so many teams on a bye week. Look for Forte to continue to be a starting option the rest of the season as long as he gets the workload like he did Sunday against Baltimore.

Oct 23, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi (23) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Dolphins defeat the Buffalo Bills 28-25. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Jay Ajayi-RB-Miami Dolphins

For the second week in a row, Jay Ajayi is on our fantasy football scoring leaders list after tearing up the Bills in the Dolphins surprising 28-25 win. Miami has knocked off the Steelers and Bills in back-to-back weeks as home underdogs.

Ajayi ran for over 200 yards for the second week in a row racking up 214 yards on his 29 carries and scoring a touchdown. He has four touchdowns in his last three games and 418 rushing yards in his last two contests.

After a slow start, Ajayi has clearly established himself as the workhorse back in Miami and will be a fantasy factor moving forward. Next week, Miami is one of six teams on a bye week, but when Ajayi and the Dolphins return in week 9 he’ll be a borderline RB1 even in a matchup against the Jets.

Oct 23, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) looks to pass against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Luck-QB-Indianapolis Colts

Luck was the top scoring QB of the week as he led the Colts pst the Titans in an important AFC South matchup. Luck carried the team to a 34-26 win on the road with a monster game.

His final totals are even more impressive when you remember that he didn’t have his second or third WR options or his starting TE. He was able to connect on a bunch of passes to Jack Doyle and T.Y. Hilton, though and rack up 353 yards on 27/39 passing. Luck threw three touchdowns and added 17 yards rushing for 370 total yards.

Luck will continue to carry the offense regardless of the weapons he has to use. Next week, he and the Colts host the Chiefs when he’ll again be a top QB option. He is back among the top producers each week at QB.

Oct 23, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon (28) celebrates after he scored a rushing touchdown in the first quarter of their game against the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Melvin Gordon-RB-San Diego Chargers

The Chargers and Falcons played one of the most exciting games of Week 7 going into overtime knotted 30-30 before the Falcons went for a fourth down conversion at midfield and ultimately gave the game to the suddenly-surging Chargers.

San Diego got a big game from Phillip Rivers who threw for 371 yards, but the member of the Chargers offense that leads our fantasy football scoring leaders this week is running back Melvin Gordon. Gordon totaled 29 fantasy points in standard scoring formats which was two more than any other player in the NFL for Week 7.

He got most of his fantasy points on the ground where he ran for a pair of scores to go with 68 yards on his 22 carries. Usually, Gordon doesn’t get too involved in the passing game, but he was able to add a third touchdown while catching six passes for 53 more yards.

His three total touchdowns made him the fantasy star of the week, but next week he and the Chargers face a tough test as they head to Denver for a rematch with the Broncos. Gordon will still be an RB1, but he probably won’t be a top-five option.