The fantasy football schedule is into Week 7 and some of the best fantasy free agents to pick up heading into matchups include Odell Beckham, Brandon Bolden, Andre Holmes, Malcom Floyd, Antone Smith, Austin Davis, Eddie Royal, Rueben Randle, Isaiah Crowell, Ben Tate and Zac Stacy, as those players have the chance to make an impact going forward for owners.
Brandon Bolden and James White are strong pickup options, as Stevan Ridley is now out for the season. Shane Vereen will be getting carries for the Patriots, but losing Ridley is huge and he was coming off of two of his best games of the season. Bolden could end up with some carries and he is a solid pickup in deeper leagues and for fantasy owners without a decent backup for Ridley now that he is done for the season.
There were a number of significant injuries over the weekend and names like Stevan Ridley, AJ Green, Calvin Johnson and Victor Cruz are all hobbled, making Odell Beckham and others strong pickups. Beckham and Rueben Randle could be solid starters moving forward after Cruz was injured for the season, while Brandon Bolden and Shane Vereen are the main options in New England after Ridley was lost for the year as well. The Giants offense had just been clicking and now Beckham will have the chance to step up into a starting role.
Ben Tate returned for the Browns and had another solid game and Isaiah Crowell also made it into the endzone, continuing his run of scoring TDs for Cleveland. Andre Holmes had a breakout game for the Raiders and he was one of the hot pickups after Sunday's games and he could slide in as a WR3 option for fantasy owners. Antone Smith had another long touchdown and he has been a surprise this season, while Brandon LaFell was another hot pickup after he had a second straight strong performance for the Patriots with Tom Brady.
Holmes scored two touchdowns for the Raiders on Sunday and now he is being looked at as a strong pickup moving forward. Derek Carr isn't going to toss that many TDs each week, but it was a big improvement from what the Raiders have been going and he ended up with four catches for 121 yards in the game. Even more impressive was the eight targets and that could be good news for fantasy owners moving forward.
Bolden is a risky add since the Patriots have not used him much, but with Ridley out, fantasy owners could be getting desperate and he is a solid option. Antone Smith is another pickup to look at and while he can be boom or bust, he has been more boom this season and he added another long TD to his resume. Smith ended up with a 41 catch for a touchdown on Sunday and that gave him over 70 totals yards in the game with six touches and while that isn't much, it can be enough for some fantasy owners in need of a boost.
Beckham and the Giants WRs are also smart pickups this week, as they should keep throwing the ball moving forward. Cruz is out for the season and that is a major blow for the Giants to recover from.
