5 NFL Stats to Know Through Week 7

Week 7 was perhaps the toughest one yet for fantasy managers due to an onslaught of byes.

With the dust settling and just one game left on the docket, how are things looking across the fantasy landscape to this point?

Here are five stats to know -- both traditional and our advanced statistics -- from the season's first seven weeks.

Allen Robinson Recorded a 12.9% Target Share in Week 7

It's no secret that Allen Robinson has been one of the biggest disappointments in fantasy, and for many managers, Sunday's game against the Buccaneers represented perhaps his best chance to finally come through with a big performance.

The theory was that Justin Fields would be forced to pass in order to keep up with Tom Brady and even more so against a defense that's usually stout against the run.

Well, sure enough, Fields did in fact post a season-high 32 pass attempts. The problem? Robinson only saw 4 of the 31 targeted throws (12.9%), catching 2 for a season-low 16 yards.

Perhaps we have finally hit rock bottom.

Obviously, much of this falls on Fields, who looked completely lost for much of the game, accumulating a paltry 184 passing yards with 3 interceptions and no touchdowns.

For the season, Fields now ranks last among starting quarterbacks in Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back with a disastrous mark of -0.24. For some comparison, Zach Wilson (-0.17) and Davis Mills (-0.13) are the only other signal-callers with at least 100 drop backs who come anywhere close.

Fields' 40.52% Passing Success Rate is second-to-last, and only Wilson comes in below that (39.50%).

In deep leagues, you're probably stuck holding onto Robinson and hoping for the best. But in most formats, if there's an intriguing option who can help you now, it might be time to move on.

Khalil Herbert Logged a Season-High 23 Opportunities in Week 7

The Bears would go on to lose to the Bucs 38-3, so it was a pretty rotten day all around for Chicago.

But the lone positive -- at least from a fantasy perspective -- was that Khalil Herbert still came through, tallying 18 carries for 100 rushing yards while also catching 5 of 5 targets for another 33 yards.

Those 23 opportunities (carries plus targets) were a season-high, and that's particularly notable because Damien Williams returned this week, and he ultimately saw only 4 opportunities. Herbert was the clear lead back, owning a 78.5% snap rate compared to 15.4% for Williams.

And as previously noted, running against Tampa Bay is no easy task. The Bucs entered the week as numberFire's fourth-best schedule-adjusted rush defense.

David Montgomery will eventually return, so Herbert's time in the sun may not last, but given the way he's played, he could still find himself with a fantasy-relevant role even when Montgomery is back.

Robby Anderson Has Tallied 101 Yards on 38 Targets Over the Last Four Games

Sam Darnold and the Panthers enjoyed a promising start to the season with three straight wins, but things have quickly gone south ever since, as they're now mired in a four-game losing streak and Darnold was even benched late in Week 7.

But over this losing streak, we've seen Robby Anderson's usage on the upswing. He has averaged 9.5 targets per game with a 25.3% target share and 33.1% air yards share. That's pretty good!

Well, all that volume has resulted in 13 catches for 101 yards total over those four weeks without a single touchdown. Welp.

Obviously, with Darnold's play plummeting -- as reflected by a Fields-esque -0.23 Passing NEP per drop back across those four weeks -- Anderson might not necessarily be someone to go out of your way to get on your roster. But the way he's being utilized should eventually lead to more fantasy points down the road.

Rashod Bateman Owns a 17.6% Target Share and 15.6% Air Yards Share in Two Games

Many in the fantasy world are excited to see how a healthy Rashod Bateman performs this season and rightfully so given that the Ravens spent a first-round draft pick on him this year.

Early returns over his first two career games fall somewhere in the middle, though, reminding us that we should exhibit some patience while also acknowledging that this is a reasonable start for the rookie.

Bateman's now seen exactly six targets in both games, coming to a solid if unspectacular 17.6% target share that ranks third on the team over that span behind Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews. He also ranks second in route rate (63.6%) and snap rate (64.0%) among pass-catchers, just barely ahead of Andrews in both categories.

That said, a 15.6% air yards share leaves something to be desired, and it's worth remembering that Sammy Watkins was out for both games.

Again, Bateman's situation and usage is a mixed bag all around thus far, so it's fair to question his ceiling in Year 1. But if he can hold off Watkins when he returns, he should have value in PPR formats.

Robert Tonyan Posted 63 Yards in Week 7, Nearly Double the Prior Four Games Combined

There's a good chance Robert Tonyan was dropped in your league before this weekend, and it's easy to see why.

Entering Week 7, Tonyan was on a streak of four straight games with 10 or fewer receiving yards, failing to exceed 2 catches in any of those weeks.

So, naturally, once everyone had left Tonyan for dead fantasy-wise, he notches season-highs in receptions (4) and yards (63) while cracking the end zone for the second time this year. In fact, Tonyan's prior four yardage totals added up to 32, so he nearly doubled that mark in Week 7 alone.

Is this a sign of better days ahead? Well, "better" certainly isn't saying much, but Tonyan's 5 targets on Sunday led to an improved 14.7% target share, and he also had a respectable 68.4% route rate and 67.9% snap rate.

Tonyan also saw a 14.3% target share in Week 6, though it may be difficult to read too much into that because that was a low-volume game for Aaron Rodgers where he only attempted 23 passes.

Maybe a glimmer of hope for Tonyan here, though I'm not sure there's enough to think that he's suddenly going to be a consistent option moving forward.

That being said, if you're desperate at the barren position, possible shootouts against Arizona (on Thursday night with Davante Adams' status uncertain) and Kansas City could improve Tonyan's chances of staying more involved in the passing game for at least the short term.