Welcome to bye-maggedon!

By Martin Richardson

If you have anyone who is on a bye this week, you may well be scrambling to make the right moves to field a competitive team this weekend. With the Cardinals, Seahawks, Jags, Lions, Rams and Raiders all on bye weeks now, there are some big time Fantasy contributors who are missing this week.


Now that could be a good thing. You may well be up against someone who had Jahmyr Gibbs and was giving the big ‘uns in the group chat. Or someone who has been smug about drafting Jaxon Smith Njigba in the ninth round of your draft. Well, they can’t this week. So capitalize and grab some much-needed wins to help your cause.


But, for balance, if you are one of those people who needs a streamer, I’ve got you covered with some names.


But first, a closer look at someone who people will have drafted very high in the summer.

SAQUON BARKLEY:

Yes, I’m going there.

So many people in the off season said that there would be a drop off for someone like Barkley and as the summer wore on, there was always the comeback of: but it’s Barkley, if anyone can repeat it, he can. Most people had him as the first RB off the board in Fantasy drafts, and after last season, rightly so, but something isn’t right here in 2025.

Breaking down the numbers, Barkley has the third most carries with 113 after 7 weeks, behind Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor, which is expected for Barkley. However, Taylor has ten rushing touchdowns and CMC has the same as Barkley with three. Compared to Taylor, Barkley is averaging 3.3 yards per carry, compared to Taylor’s 5.3, so the production is down across the board and McCaffrey is being used a lot more in the air game this season compared to the others.

For Fantasy football players, those who have endured weeks of silence from AJ Brown and average Davonta Smith games, maybe it is no surprise that when those two have their biggest games of the season, Barkley’s numbers are down. What I will say is that for Barkley, those three rushing touchdowns can also be attributed to his overall usage, not just when you have good air games. Barkley is yet to have over 100 yards rushing in a game this season, whereas by this time last year he had six. SIX. He also had over double the amount of rushing touchdowns with seven by this time as well. His average yards per game was over 5.5 yards in all bar two games. I say again, something isn’t right with Saquon and Eagles in 2025. Does this mean you drop him? Absolutely not. Does it perhaps mean you need to look at pieces around your team to being up the numbers to help make that playoff push if you’re in the hunt? More than likely. You drafted Barkley on the hope of him being similar to last season, but right now the likes of Rachaad White, Zach Charbonnet and even Daniel Jones have more rushing touchdowns that Saquon Barkley.

CHRIS OLAVE

Last week reminded everyone exactly what Chris Olave is all about. His two touchdowns increased his tally to three on the year and he showed real signs of finally making the leap with QB Spencer Rattler. These touchdowns helped his overall numbers but if you look back at each game, he is getting a massive number of targets from Rattler, putting him in the top 10 for targets so far, but it is only now that he is getting that separation and making the most of his targets and receptions. With an average of 10 yards per reception, he is guaranteed to get to Fantasy players points in the back end of the season, it’s just whether it will be for yardage alone or those all important touchdowns too. 


Speaking of which, looking at his next few games, this will be a nice test for Olave’s Fantasy productivity. Why, well they have the Bucs this week, followed by the excellent Rams post bye week, then the Panthers. So, there is a chance to put a dent in two division teams looking to make positive gains in 2025. When it comes to the Bucs this week, Olave could draft on a secondary that was put the sword by Jahmyr Gibbs single-handedly. If Olave can find space in the Bucs secondary, he could be on for a big game and have a chance to push onto big Fantasy yardage. The Bucs secondary is on my radar as a part of my team’s fragility going forward, and someone like Chris Olave is giving me cold sweets thinking how much he could be an issue.

 
In terms of the week after, Olave and the Saints will be up against a very impressive Rams side that showed they will be NFC contenders, so if Olave and Rattler et al want to show they have the chops to mix it with the best and be Fantasy important, the Rams will be a stern test. If you are in a position where you need to sure up your playoff push in your fantasy league, you could do worse than trying to get someone like Olave on your roster to get you those all important points down the stretch.

XAVIER LEGETTE

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Speaking of NFC South players, one player who seems to be finding his feet in a resurgent Panthers team is Xavier Legette. With two touchdowns in three games, Legette and the Panthers face a bit of a test with the Bills and Packers on the horizon. If the Panthers want to continue to be a disruptive force in the NFC, stealing wins and causing chaos, then how they get Legette the ball is going to be a massive part of that success.

Against the Jets he got an enormous volume of targets, eleven in total compared to the two and three of Dallas and Miami. Which when you think that neither defenses are in sparkling form, it begs the question why he hasn’t Ben involved more. You could say a different role given that Tet McMillan stepped in as WR1 down in Carolina, but clearly when you get Legette as a deep threat, he can make some plays when it matters. As the title of these articles suggests, Legette is one to watch to see if he continues to be a near 100-yard contributor, or if this was just a flash in the pan and you steer away from him.

CHIMERE DIKE

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I do love a good waiver wire deep dive every now and again and it seems only right to take a closer look at someone who could well be an explosive part of the Titans offense down the stretch. Last year, a deep dive into the waivers saw Fantasy players clamoring for Nick Westbrook-Ikhine during a hot streak in the middle of the 2024 season.

Now it is another Tennessee Titan in Chimere Dike peaking Fantasy players’ interests with an impressive week 7 performance against the Patriots. With a very impressive 40 speed of 4.34s, Dike has that speed that will be vital in this new look offense following the sacking of previous Head Coach, Brian Callaghan. Should Calvin Ridley remain sidelined, Dike will certainly get the opportunities to get those passes and make something happen. The Colts are leaky when it comes to receivers, so look to someone like Dike to be a streamer if you have been hit hard by Bye-maggedon.

MARTIN RICHARDSON

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31

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