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THE SHADOW KNOWS Week 7 2019

By Gary Davenport

So, I hear that there was a trade or two in the NFL this week.

And by "trade or two in the NFL this week," I mean "the Los Angeles Rams dropped a bunker buster on their secondary."

First, the Rams sent former Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens for reserve linebacker Kenny Young and a Day 3 pick-the NFL equivalent of a 12-pack of Natty Light and a bag of Combos.

The cracker ones, too. Not the good ones.

As it turns out though, that was just Phase One-the real blockbuster was yet to come. Later on that same day (Tuesday), the Rams acquired Jalen Ramsey from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a package that includes L.A.'s next two first-rounders.

Did the Rams get a big upgrade on the back end? Yep. The return the Rams got for Peters tells you just about all you need to know about how "former" of a Pro Bowl-caliber player he is-never mind that he's now been traded twice before his 27th birthday. But the Rams will also now go five full seasons without a first-round pick. The franchise's last was in 2016-some guy named Goff. The next will be in 2022-maybe.

The Ravens, on the other hand, didn't give up nearly as much draft capital for a guy they hope will upgrade the back end of a bad defense. That's right-I said it. The Ravens are bad defensively. Only the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals have allowed more yards per play.

All that said, this is a fantasy football article, so I should probably address the fantasy implications of all this moving and shaking. Thing is, I can do that in two words.

Not much.

Both young cornerbacks, even if they play, will all but certainly do so on a limited basis-less than a week isn't much time to learn zone nuances or terminology.

Even when they are on the field, it's not like Seattle's Tyler Lockett isn't plenty familiar with Peters, and in Lockett's last game against the Rams he posted a 4/51/1 stat line. Ramsey's first game with the Rams comes against Julio Jones and an Atlanta offense that leads the NFC in passing offense at 317.8 yards per game.

Both the Ravens and Rams may well celebrate these deals for years to come. But in Week 7 at least, neither's apt to be a real hindrance to the receivers they'll face.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (Stefon Diggs vs. Darius Slay)

Last week, Stefon Diggs either finally delivered for fantasy owners who continued to exercise patience with him or sent the ones who didn't scrambling for a Xanax. Diggs had more PPR fantasy points last week by himself after hauling in seven catches for 167 yards and three scores than the entire Los Angeles Rams offense.

For reals. That actually happened. Good times.

Too bad it's not going to last. At least not at that rate.

After sitting out Week 4 and getting an extra week to get right thanks to a Week 5 bye, Darius Slay was back in his full-time role last week against the Packers. He appears to be 100% (or close to it), and when that's the case he's one of the top-five corners in the game-whether people realize it or not.

With Diggs and Slay playing in the same division, there's history here. In four career matchups, Diggs has topped 100 receiving yards only once and scored twice. The first was the first time they squared off-said 100-yard game. The second was their last…Week 16 in 2018, when Diggs caught two passes for 10 yards.

Diggs' average stat line in those games is 4.5/70.5/0.5.

Make of it what you will.

San Francisco 49ers at Washington Redskins (Richard Sherman vs. Terry McLaurin)

To say it's been a depressing season in Washington both works on several levels and is a massive understatement. I heard something about the baseball team being good, but I have no idea what "baseball" is, so whatever.

However, there's been a nugget of gold amidst all the mud. A kernel of corn amongst the…maybe that's not the best analogy.

Terry McLaurin has been outstanding.

Despite playing for the worst team in the NFC, "Scary Terry" (not my first choice, but OK) has posted top-15 numbers in PPR leagues-as a third-round rookie. His numbers are that much better with Case Keenum under center, which may be the first time anyone has ever said that.

And if there's one Redskins player worth starting Sunday against the undefeated 49ers, it's him.

McLaurin's fantasy owners got a reprieve of sorts in Week 7-he and Richard Sherman play on opposite sides of the field, and neither's especially likely to switch much.

The 49ers pass rush is another matter.

New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears (Marshon Lattimore vs. Allen Robinson)

There's good news and bad news regarding this matchup if you're considering rolling out Robinson in Week 7.

The bad news is that Lattimore's put his slow start behind him and then some-over the Saints recent winning streak (in Teddy we trust), Lattimore has consistently not only matched up with No. 1 receivers but locked them down. There hasn't been a better cover man in the league over the last 3-4 weeks, which is pretty remarkable given just how bad Lattimore looked the first couple weeks of the 2019 campaign.

The good news is that Lattimore rarely kicks inside, but Robinson does a lot-over a third of his 2019 snaps have come in the slot. It won't be that hard for the Bears to scheme Robinson into better matchups.

That makes the most pressing issue, just as it's been all year, scheming Robinson a quarterback who averages more than 5.5 yards per attempt.

Welcome back, Mitch, No one missed you.

Baltimore Ravens at Seattle Seahawks (Marlon Humphrey vs. Tyler Lockett)

Yes, I just mentioned that Lockett would be OK if he draws newcomer Marcus Peters in coverage this week. And that's the truth as I see it. But as my Rotoworld colleague Ian Hartitz pointed out, it's entirely possible that it also won't be the case in Week 7.

"I expect Humphrey to consistently follow Lockett into the slot after spending 44% and 51% of his snaps inside in matchups against JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyler Boyd over the past two weeks, respectively," Hartitz wrote. "This probably isn't the week to expect a major bounce-back performance from Lockett. Note that Humphrey helped make up for the meh performance in coverage against the Steelers with what turned out to be a game-winning forced fumble on JuJu in overtime."

It's one of the more interesting potential maybe matchups of the week. But it isn't like Lockett's not a receiver prone to variance anyway. Just as I said in the intro, whether it's Peters or Humphrey on him I'm no more or less likely to start Lockett than I would be any other week.

The game's in Seattle, at least. Plus, I hear Russell Wilson is good…ish.

New England Patriots at New York Jets (Stephon Gilmore vs. Robby Anderson)

Not that long ago (say a fortnight or so) this wasn't a consideration. But the return of Sam Darnold under center for the Jets and a 92-yard catch-and-run from Anderson last week sent many a fantasy owner screaming toward their bench-assuming they didn't drop him during the thousand years of darkness that was the Luke Falk era.

Amazing what the ability to throw a forward pass can do for an offense.

However, there's a problem-the same silver-helmeted problem that has existed in the AFC East since the dawn of the rule of Emperor Thomas the Golden and his dark overlord Darth Hoodie.

Am I laying it on too thick yet? Kinda feels like it.

On Monday night Anderson will face off (again) with arguably the best cornerback in the NFL in Stephon Gilmore. To say that Anderson's had a rough go of it against the Pats is an understatement. He has the same number of career 100-yard games and touchdowns against New England that I do. His career stats against the Patriots are (per Hartitz) 15 catches for 171 yards…total.

That's over six meetings, And 38 targets.

Numbers, as they say, do not lie.