At the midpoint of the fantasy regular season, fantasy managers should be looking for every advantage they can get to make sure they’re putting the best lineup together every week! One of the best attributes a player can bring to a lineup is the massive upside of getting touches near the goal line on a consistent basis. That’s why we are back here weekly trying to find who’s getting those all-important red zone carries and targets!
You can always get more from the interactive Red Zone report!
Let’s dive into the Week 7 red zone report!
Red Zone Rushing
Despite plenty of talk this offseason about how much Ben Johnson didn’t like D’Andre Swift during their last stint together in Detroit, Swift has been as solid as they come for fantasy managers this season. Week 7 saw Swift get a huge boost in red zone work, which could be a sign of even better things to come for his fantasy prospects. Swift led the league in carries inside the 20 this week, seeing the second-most carries in a single game in his career inside the red zone. It is worth noting that rookie RB Kyle Monangai also saw three carries in the red zone and converted one for a TD, while Swift’s TD came from further out. Still, it’s hard to see a fantasy manager deciding to move away from the production Swift has been giving lineups to start the year.
An odd name near the top of the list this week comes in the form of Chiefs rookie RB Brashard Smith. Smith has been slowly getting worked into the Kansas City offense, but saw a season-high 35% of snaps this week and a massive 19 opportunities (14 carries, five receptions). While a lot of that work could have likely come as a result of the Chiefs absolutely destroying the Raiders, Smith should be on fantasy managers’ radars mainly due to the amount of receiving work he’s seeing. Over the last four weeks, Smith has averaged four targets and 30 receiving yards per game. While that isn’t massive production, Smith definitely brings something different to the Chiefs’ backfield that could be useful down the stretch of the season.
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The puzzling usage of the RBs in Seattle continues, but Zach Charbonnet was the beneficiary in Week 7, punching in two TDs inside the five-yard line. Charbonnet played just 51% of snaps for the Seahawks in their win Monday night, but when the offense gets close to the goal line, he’s their RB of choice. On the season, Charbs has nine carries inside the 5-yard line compared to Ken Walker’s three. While it may not be very predictable, Charbonnet is the goal-line RB on a good offense and seems the better choice of the two week-to-week for fantasy managers.
After really disappointing for fantasy managers before the Texans’ bye week, Woody Marks should be back on the fantasy radar after Week 7. While Marks’ two red zone carries for one yard isn’t much to write home about, it’s two more than Nick Chubb saw Monday night and could be prescriptive of things to come for the rookie RB. What should be more exciting for Marks’ outlook is the pair of red zone targets that he turned into a TD that propelled him into the RB18 on the week. It may be difficult to buy into the Texans’ offense,but it seems Marks is the RB to have going forward for fantasy purposes.
2025 Season Red Zone Carries:
Red Zone Receiving
The return of Rashee Rice was worth the wait for fantasy managers who stashed him in draft season. Rice’s debut saw him tie for the league lead in red zone targets for Week 7 and punch in a pair of TDs to boot. The Chiefs made a direct effort to get Rice involved, especially around the end zone, so it’s likely that he’ll be a consistent presence in the red zone going forward for a Kansas City offense that feels like the fantasy monster from years past yet again.
It may have taken Andy Dalton getting into the game, but Xavier Legette had himself a day in Week 7, finishing as the WR12 overall. Legette saw a career-high 11 targets against the Jets and, more importantly, set a career-high in red zone targets, catching his second TD inside the 20 this season. Currently, Legette has more red zone targets (8) than rookie Tetairoa McMillan (7) and the same number of TDs (2). Getting involved in this Panthers passing attack seems like a risky choice, but at the very least, Legette should be on rosters to see if he is going to continue to be an option going forward.
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It’s not often that a rookie TE comes out of nowhere to finish as the TE1 on a week, but that’s what Oronde Gadsden did for the Chargers in Week 7. Gadsden’s huge 164 receiving yard day was capped by a 15-yard TD catch, the first of his career. While Gadsden didn’t lead the team in red zone targets, his pair of targets inside the 20 matched what Keenan Allen had this week and outpaced Quentin Johnston against the Colts. It still remains to be seen if the rookie can hold onto this lead receiving TE role for LA, but being a part of their plans near the end zone should put Gadsden on rosters to wait and see.
Grouping a pair of Pittsburgh TEs together here, both Darnell Washington and Pat Freiermuth were studs in the red zone this week for the Steelers. Washington and Freiermuth combined for five targets and a pair of TDs against the Bengals on Thursday night. While Freiermuth was able to add in a huge TD catch late in the game, it’s clear what the plan for Aaron Rodgers was around the goal line, and that was getting his TEs the football. For Washington, this is a new involvement with the three red zone targets, setting a new career high, so it remains to be seen if this can continue forward. Freiermuth, on the other hand, had his first multi-TD game since Week 9 of the 2021 season. The Steelers may be a tough team to put a finger on in their passing work, but this type of involvement at least puts these TEs in the “can catch a TD and help your team” category.