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And just like that, we’re over a third of the way through the 2024 regular season.

Already we’ve seen teams start slow and then pick things up, as well as some teams that got off to strong starts before sliding away in recent weeks. Every team has at least one win on the board, with two teams still eating at the unbeaten table.

After a fleeting recap of some of the past weekend’s talking points, as well as some trade news, I’ll go over the players that you should be targeting in fantasy this week.

Dark Day For Dallas

The Dallas Cowboys, in front of their home fans, suffered one of the worst defeats in the franchise’s proud history, losing 47-9 to Dan Campbell‘s relentless Detroit Lions.

The Cowboys’ biggest defeat since 1988, saw the Lions mercilessly destroy a helpless Dak Prescott & Co in Arlington, even beginning to scheme throws to offensive linemen late on, as the score got out of hand.

38 points is the joint-fifth largest points differential in a Cowboys loss on record and leaves the team 3-3 going into a much needed bye week.

On a sour note for Detroit though, NFL sack leader Aidan Hutchinson is out for the season, having fractured his leg sacking Dak Prescott.

Saints Lose Four Straight

Another game landing high-up in the record books this week was Tampa Bay’s road win in New Orleans. The game ended 51-27, the seventh-highest points total recorded in an NFC South divisional game.

The Saints scored all 27 of their points in the second quarter, rallying to earn a half-time lead. They then fell flat on both sides of the ball though, losing the second half 27-0.

Rookie stand-in Spencer Rattler showed flashes of what he can do and definitely had the Saints crowd excited at times, but the scoreless second half should temper expectations. The former high-school phenom has some learning to do at the top level, but the talent is certainly there.

Time Running Out For Pederson

The Jacksonville Jaguars moved to 1-5 for the season with their latest defeat, this time, at the hands of Caleb Williams and the Bears in North London.

In a game that never really threatened to go a different way, what could have been six straight end-zone drives for Chicago was only interrupted by a second-quarter interception, Williams under-throwing a ball with DJ Moore clear for a score.

If the Jags weren’t midway through a brand-building trip in the British capital, head coach Doug Pederson would most likely be out of a job. After it was announced yesterday (Tuesday) that NFL owners had unanimously approved Jacksonville’s $1.4billion stadium renovation, it’ll be all smiles for the time being.

At this point though, I believe it would take a defensive shutout or a high-scoring win over the Patriots this weekend for Pederson to keep his job beyond week 7.

MNF Teams Both Make Big Moves

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Monday night saw the New York Jets host the Buffalo Bills in a 23-20 victory for the visiting side. Less than 24 hours later, both teams had completed trades for veteran wide receiver talent.

Aaron Rodgers‘ attempt to play down his influence in the Jets building, after former head coach Robert Saleh‘s firing last week, is almost comical at this point.

Davante Adams is an outstanding receiver, one of the leagues best, but it continues to feel more and more like Rodgers is being allowed to treat the Jets like his own Madden franchise. Adams revealed back in July that Rodgers was “in his ear” about a trade.

The future hall of famer’s apparent control in New Jersey likely means that he will eventually leave the Jets as either a hero or a villain and the success of this season will go a long way to deciding that.

The Jets acquired Adams for a conditional third round pick, saving the Raiders a small fortune in the process.

Amari Cooper posted the words “move or rust” to his Instagram story following his move from Cleveland to Buffalo – slightly more straight forward communication.

The receiver has really struggled to get going this year as the Browns offense continues to disappoint with Deshaun Watson. It’s unclear whether Cooper’s frustrations were aimed more at Watson himself or the coaching staff, who remain reluctant to drop the controversial QB.

Cooper, along with a 2025 sixth round pick, cost Buffalo a 2025 third round pick and a 2026 seventh.

Both the Jets and the Bills should be significantly improved through the air after these trades, with Adams the more likely to settle in immediately having worked with Rodgers for eight years in Green Bay.

The Browns and Raiders, meanwhile, will both be looking to rebuild their offenses after cutting ties with their best receivers.

Fantasy Football Trade Targets And Waiver Adds

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Heading into week seven, I’m looking at six players for potential trades or sneaky waiver adds.

Jonathon Brooks (Carolina)

Brooks’ IR eligibility likely means that he’ll be rostered in your league already. The fact that he’s an exciting rookie and almost certainly the number one back on his team when healthy may cause some hesitancy from his current owners.

Still sidelined with an ACL tear he suffered last season at Texas, Brooks has now officially entered the 21-day practice window. Upon his return, Brooks will no-doubt take a little while to fully get going in Carolina, especially as Chuba Hubbard is taking care of business so effectively in his absence.

Whilst only a stash at this point, from weeks 13-17, Brooks faces Tampa Bay twice, Philadelphia, Dallas and Arizona. With the exception of Dallas (tied-13th worst), all of those teams are in the bottom ten in efficiency against the run (yards/attempt) this year.

If you have room to stash Brooks, he has a chance to pay off big when it really matters.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (Carolina)

Sanders will be on a lot of dynasty taxi squads but will still be more than affordable in that format. In redraft however, Sleeper has him listed as only 6% owned, so this is a free add for anyone with a spot for him.

The rookie tight-end now appears to be the starter in Carolina, averaging a 74% snap share and six targets over his last two games.

Andy Dalton has been a big upgrade over Bryce Young this year and, having gained the veteran’s trust, 6’4″ receiving tight-end Sanders could become a regular end-zone target for the red rocket.

If you have good depth at tight-end, consider trading one away to strengthen elsewhere and then adding Sanders for free.

Audric Estime (Denver)

This one is another stash.

Denver has really struggled to get any of their backs going on the ground this year. Audric Estime was a player that I really liked going into the draft, his enormous frame making him a powerful runner and a fearless pass-blocker.

If Javonte Williams continues to struggle on the ground then I expect Estime, now back from injury, to get a shot at replacing him. One good game will make Estime a priority waiver add, so consider saving your FAAB dollars and getting in early.

Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville)

Currently the QB19 in fantasy (per FantasyPros), Trevor Lawrence has disappointed so far this year.

Now though, is a perfect buy-low opportunity for a talented quarterback with a talented support group, that is most likely a week away from getting a brand new head coach and offensive coordinator.

Lawrence has faced the sixth lowest pressure rate of all starting quarterbacks this year and has the second highest intended air yards per attempt. Christian Kirk remains a reliable target while Brian Thomas Jr should continue to grow as the season progresses, having dropped a perfect pass in the end-zone on Sunday.

Lawrence has finished as the QB8 and QB13 in his last two seasons, so I expect an improvement in the second half of the year.

Christian Kirk (Jacksonville)

If we’re expecting Trevor Lawrence’s numbers to improve then we have to be predicting the same for Christian Kirk.

Kirk has been outshone by his rookie receiving partner Brian Thomas through six weeks, with Thomas currently the WR11 in half-ppr. Kirk is currently the WR43, 32 places behind Thomas, despite almost identical usage.

If you remove the first two weeks of the season however, Kirk has been the WR22 overall and should improve further if changes are made in Jacksonville.

George Pickens (Pittsburgh)

George Pickens is even further down the current wide receiver rankings, in 46th.

Things just haven’t worked out for Pickens this season. The Steelers number one receiver has struggled to find chemistry with Justin Fields, after the latter made his move from the Bears. But things should improve from this weekend onward.

That’s because Russell Wilson is finally off of the team’s injury report heading into their game against the Jets. Pickens put up two WR1 weeks in a four game stretch with Diontae Johnson sidelined last year, something he could finally get the chance to do consistently with Johnson gone and Wilson throwing him the ball.

That’s all for this one, I’ll be back with my week 7 start/sit article, as well as the betting preview, later in the week.