Last week, we were panicking about Josh Downs, Michael Wilson, Cam Skattebo and Jaylen Waddle. Here we are heading into Week 7 still very much panicking about those guys in fantasy football.
Skattebo was essentially benched for a three-man rotation of Najee Harris, Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. Downs and Wilson, while talented, are being double-teamed and prioritized by opposing defenses, making it tough for them to break loose. And for Waddle, well, it's probably over with the way Bo Nix is playing.
As a reminder, this article will highlight the duds from the previous week. I'll provide a score (0-5) on the panic meter. Zero means no panic whatsoever, while five means alarm bells are going off. Let's see who's on the panic meter heading into Week 7.
Week 7 Panic Meter
Kyren Williams - RB, Los Angeles Rams
Panic Meter: 0/5
Williams had a season-low 9.7 fantasy points in Week 6 so it's time to panic, right? Wrong! As a matter of fact, it's time to buy low on King Kyren should his manager be worried. Despite a "down" game, Williams still had 16 total opportunities while playing 72% of the snaps. Despite being outscored by backfield mate Blake Corum, Williams' RB opportunity share was still nearly 60% against Arizona.
Then he came out after the bad loss and hinted about wanting to be on the field more.
Kyren Williams on the Rams being 2-4 this season after being upset by the Arizona Cardinals at home. pic.twitter.com/FomZE47F07
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) October 19, 2026
Williams is Sean McVay's guy through and through. He's also going to continue to play more on passing downs, in the two-minute drill, and in the red zone over Corum. Through six games, he has 11 rush attempts and three targets inside the 10-yard line compared to just one rush attempt and zero targets for Corum down deep. Do not panic on King Kyren.
Jaylen Warren - RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Panic Meter: 3/5
Warren was incredible in three games without Rico Dowdle. In those games, he turned 21.7 opportunities into 24.3 fantasy points per game. Per Fantasy Points Data, his 73.9% route participation rate ranked second among all running backs. His workhorse role gave him an incredible floor/ceiling combination each week.
However, with Dowdle back in the fold for Week 6, Warren's opportunity dipped slightly. He was still the "lead" back, but he wasn't a bell cow by any means. In two full games with Dowdle (Weeks 1 and 6), Warren's route participation rate drops to just 35.1%.
Remember, Dowdle was in Dallas for five years with Mike McCarthy, and they signed him to be the 1A for the Steelers' backfield. It's certainly possible he'll get back to a relatively even split with Warren in the coming weeks. Truthfully, that doesn't bode well for either one of these backs, as the Steelers have rushed just nine times in the red zone compared to 27 pass attempts through six games.
A.J. Brown - WR, New England Patriots
Panic Meter: 1/5
Brown returned from a high ankle sprain in Week 6, and guess what? He looked like a guy returning from a high ankle sprain. These things tend to affect performance for a couple of weeks, and that's OK. Now is the time to buy low on Brown considering the opportunity that was thrown his way immediately after missing four games.
The Patriots threw him into the fire right away. He earned 10 targets (33% target share) with a 97.1% route participation rate. He had a couple of drops and looked a bit rusty on some deep balls, but the opportunity was there. That's all you can ask for in his first game back from a bad ankle injury. Instead of panicking, you should be buying.
More: Early Week 7 fantasy football rankings: 15 risers and sleepers
Garrett Wilson - WR, New York Jets
Panic Meter: 2/5
I know it's just a tiny one-game sample size, but Omar Cooper Jr. looked like the Jets' alpha in Week 6 despite missing four games due to an ankle injury. The Christian Gonzalez matchup might have had something to do with it, but Wilson and the Jets haven't shied away from that historically.
With Cooper on the shelf from Weeks 2-5, Wilson had the fifth highest first read target share (39%) and 12th-most expected fantasy points per game (16.5) among wide receivers (Fantasy Points Data). He ran 27% of his routes from the slot in those four games. In Week 6, Wilson had just a 19% first read target share while running just 15% of his routes from the slot. Cooper ran 66% of his routes from the slot and had a 33% first read target share.
Again, this could all just be a product of Gonzalez locking up Wilson. However, there's a world where Cooper is more valuable from a fantasy perspective because of his alignment across the formation. And what happens when Adonai Mitchell and Breece Hall enter back into the mix? Wilson's future fantasy value could take a hit.
Ashton Jeanty - RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Panic Meter: 3/5
Jeanty was apparently the healthiest he's been all season heading into Week 6. That led to just 22 rushing yards (and a touchdown) on 10 carries. He's now averaging just 2.8 yards per carry since Week 2. Jeanty was inefficient as a rookie, but people wrote it off as being in a bad offense with a bad offensive line. That same excuse doesn't exist this season with the Raiders averaging 27 points per game.
Luckily for his fantasy managers, his 16.3% target share on the season is giving him a safe weekly floor in PPR leagues, but the inefficiency is a concern. In Week 6, it led to a season-low 57.1% RB opportunity share, with Mike Washington Jr. getting 10 touches in a relatively competitive game. If he continues to struggle, it wouldn't be surprising to see Washington handle even more work in the coming weeks with how well he's ran in a limited role thus far.
Bonus names: Rome Odunze (2/5), Juwan Johnson (4/5), Rhamondre Stevenson (2/5), Harold Fannin Jr. (4/5)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football Week 7 panic meter: A.J. Brown, Ashton Jeanty and more