The fantasy football week gets started in Arizona on Thursday night for a Week 7 matchup of the Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks and for the NFL Network presentation, some players to watch out for includes Andre Ellington, Larry Fitzgerald, Marshawn Lynch, Michael Floyd and Rashard Mendenhall.
Ellington has established himself as one of the best sleepers in fantasy this season and he could continue getting more and more carries for the Cardinals if Rashard Mendenhall struggles. Ellington has shown some explosiveness and versatility on the field, including out of the backfield, as he has 18 catches for 180 yards this season. Ellington came into the season as a possible third down option, but he has been getting more touches each week and he had a season-high 12 in the loss to the Niners on Sunday.
Ellington has increased his yards, touches and carries in each of the last three weeks and he rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown against the Niners while also adding five catches for 36 yards, making him very valuable in keeper leagues. Ellington has had 14 carries and nine catches in the past two weeks and he has averaged over seven yards per carry in the last three games while averaging that on the dot for the season. Ellington is an interesting START option on Thursday, as he could be a big factor in the game against the Seahawks.
Mendenhall is the leading rusher for the team and while he has been solid, Ellington has been better on third downs and catching the ball, as Mendenhall has just 10 receptions this season. The former Steelers back has been solid over the past couple weeks, but he has only one touchdown since the opening game of the season and his carries decreased in the past two weeks. He had 10 carries for 40 yards on Sunday and 17 carries for 43 yards last week and if Ellington continues to emerge, he could be taken over at the starting position. This season he has over 250 yards rushing and he will be facing a tough Seahawks defense on Thursday night.
Larry Fitzgerald and Marshawn Lynch are players to watch that are dealing with injuries, although both are expected to play on Thursday, making them solid START options unless news changes. Fitz is dealing with a hamstring issue and he is coming into the game with 30 catches this season for 405 yards and he is officially listed as probable for the game. He had a great game last week with six catches for 117 yards on 12 targets with one touchdown, but if he is limited, Michael Floyd is a good replacement for fantasy owners, as he has 26 catches for 345 yards this season.
Lynch is dealing with a hip issue and he likely will be playing after having 77 and 102 yards the past two weeks with two touchdowns. Lynch is in the top five in touchdowns, yards and yards per game and he should be fine on Thursday against a Cardinals defense that is allowing 90 yards per game on the ground, ranked fifth in the NFL.