Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

It's the end of another exciting week of football which means it's time to put your claims in for available free agents in your fantasy league to strengthen your team. I'll be going over who I think are the top five picks for you to target this week so don't miss out on them. Good luck!

Note: %owned is based on Yahoo! leagues at the time of publication.

5) Josh Doctson (WAS) - 14% owned - Doctson looks to move into the top receiver role on the Redskins' offense after Pryor and Crowder have seemingly run out of chances. A good candidate to really break out over the next few games, and he has already had a bye week which makes him a great fill-in play.

4) DeAndre Washington (OAK) - 4% owned - Washington played (along with fellow RB Jalen Richard) on Sunday, filling in for the ejected Marshawn Lynch. As Lynch will be heading for a one-game suspension, Washington will get the same opportunity to put up fantasy points in week 8 and it's important to note that Washington got the goalline touchdown call, not Richard. On a high-powered offense like the Raiders, he'll have more of these opportunities against Buffalo.

3) JuJu Smith-Schuster (PIT) - 15% owned - Smith-Schuster is really stepping up this season and, after quickly rising past incumbent slot receiver Eli Rogers, has also started to clearly become the #3 option in the passing game (after Brown and Bell). With the rumor mill going into high gear about a possible trade or suspension for troubled speedster Martavis Bryant, even more opportunities may open up for Smith-Schuster going forward.

2) Marlon Mack (IND) - 41% owned - Mack is going to be involved in every Colts game going forward after Robert Turbin's injury knocked him out for the season. With Andrew Luck out indefinitely, the Colts will continue to lean on the running game where they can, and Mack will continue to perform (especially in the receiving game - 4/6 for 40 yards in week 7 with another 30-yard catch called back).

1) O.J. Howard (TAM) - 14% owned - 6 receptions for 98 yards and 2 scores in last week's matchup was exactly the breakout game that Howard owners were looking for (if they were still hanging on), and we'll still see Cameron Brate involved just as heavily in the offense, but there may be room for both to be productive depending on how the offensive schemes develop in Tampa. I'm betting he'll be a flex option going forward, which makes him worth owning (and spot starting) in every league.

We hit on more than a few guys this past week, and with all of the bye weeks upon us it's more important than ever to pick upside players that can dish out a good performance as a fill-in for your roster. Hopefully you're going into week 8 with a good record and a lot of confidence, but even if you have not been doing so well it's not too late to turn the ship around. Pay attention to this week's rankings, with special consideration to a few guys: Tyrod Taylor, Ameer Abdullah, Matt Forte, Michael Crabtree, Robby Anderson, Austin Hooper, Steven Hauschka, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Week 7 is on the horizon and in addition to losing some more big names out there in fantasy-land, we've really begun to see a trend in RB production that is surpassing the last several years. Generally WRs outperform RBs early in the season, but this year we're seeing a return to more touches for a primary ball-carrier. We'll see how it all shakes out! These rankings will be updated throughout the week, but the players that I'm looking at outperforming the consensus this week are: Jared Goff, Jerick Mckinnon, Derrick Henry, Adam Thielen, Eric Decker, Jimmy Graham, Nick O'Leary, and the Minnesota Vikings.