7 Deep Fantasy Football Sleepers for Week 7

Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Yahoo! Ownership: 23%

The Cincinnati Bengals' offense hasn't lived up to the hype this season, ranking 30th in the league at 16.8 points per game. The Bengals' struggles to score, plus their Week 6 bye, has led to a mass dumping of a few of their skill players by fantasy owners, running back Giovani Bernard included.

The Bengals' passing down back is owned in fewer than 25% of leagues despite putting up a pair of double-digit fantasy point performances in Weeks 4 and 5. Even with Joe Mixon emerging as the team's primary ball carrier, Bernard has managed to maintain his role as a third-down pass-catcher, and a change-of-pace back. Over his last two games, Bernard has played 33.0% of the snaps, and we'd expect him to continue to do so in Week 7.

This Sunday, Cincinnati faces the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers, who allow the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, in a matchup the Bengals are projected to lose. Our algorithms give the Steelers a 63.1% win probability, while Vegas has Pittsburgh as 5.0-point favorites. If the Bengals are trailing, we can expect them to be passing often, leading to more potential targets/touches for Bernard. The diminutive back has excelled when given the rock, averaging 8.5 yards per touch this season, which makes him a crafty dart throw this week.