NFL Player News

The Texans got contributions from several role players in Monday's 30-23 loss at Pittsburgh. Backup running back Alfred Blue ran five times for 14 yards and took a dumpoff pass 11 yards for his first career touchdown.

Tight end Garrett Graham caught two of three targets for 24 yards, and wideout Damaris Johnson had a 15-yard reception and a bad drop. Tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz hauled in a 9-yard pass, while receiver Keshawn Martin added a 5-yard grab.

They'll all visit the Titans in Week 8.

Lions tight end Joseph Fauria, who's missed four straight games, ran Monday on his injured ankle for the first time and said he felt fine, reports the Detroit News.

Cowboys second-year tight end Gavin Escobar, who entered the day with just four catches all season, wasn't highly targeted Week 7 against the Giants, but he made the three targets he did get count, scoring two touchdowns, including one on an impressive 26-yard grab between two defenders in the third quarter.

In all, he had three catches for 65 yards -- numbers that would be easier to overlook if not for the two touchdowns and the fact that fellow tight end Jason Witten, to this point a mainstay in Fantasy, had only two catches for 27 yards. And it's not like he and quarterback Tony Romo were just failing to connect. Witten was targeted only twice the whole game.

Witten's production hasn't been up to his usual standards this season -- in seven games, he's averaging 3.3 catches for 38.0 yards -- but just based on their history together, you figured Romo would have a need for him sooner or later. Now with the emergence of Escobar, it's no longer so clear.

Escobar himself isn't worth adding except in deep leagues of 16 teams or more that don't have enough tight ends to go around. In those formats, he's the new Timothy Wright. But in leagues of 12 teams or fewer, Witten may be on the outs. He deserves a couple more weeks given his history, but keep an eye out for the next big thing at the position.

After catching just one pass in his previous two games combined, Giants tight end Larry Donnell got back on track Week 7 at Dallas, catching seven passes for a season-high 90 yards.

Considering it was the Giants' first game without star wide receiver Victor Cruz, Donnell was expected to play a bigger role in the passing game, but a resurgence of this magnitude should remind us all how he came to be owned in 83 percent of Fantasy leagues in the first place. Over the first four weeks, he averaged 6.3 catches for 59 yards, scoring four touchdowns.

One potential pitfall for Donnell is that he lost two fumbles in Week 7, giving him three fumbles lost for the season, but with so few tight ends capable of his kind of production in a given week, the Giants would have to suggest his playing time is in jeopardy for me to pass on Donnell in Fantasy.

His production fell when rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham entered the mix in Week 4. Now that Cruz is out of the mix, Donnell's production figures to rise again.

Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar hauled in two scores Week 7 against the Giants.

Escobar finished with just three catches, but made them count. In the first quarter, he hauled in a 15 yard strike from Tony Romo for his first score of the game. Escobar would strike again in the third quarter, this time from 26 yards out. Escobar finished with 65 yards, which was good for second on the team.

He'll look for more Week 8 against Washington. 

Giants tight end Larry Donnell had a mixed game Week 7 against the Cowboys.

Donnell led the club with seven receptions and 90 yards during the game. He also turned the ball over twice, losing two fumbles. Both fumbles came in the fourth quarter, as the Giants were attempting to come back against the Cowboys. Donnell is on a bye Week 8.

The Packers received minor contributions from several role players in a comfortable Week 7 victory over the Panthers on Sunday.

Tight ends Andrew Quarless, Brandon Bostick and Richard Rodgers each came down with one receptions. Rodgers was targeted twice and finished with 1 yard while Quarless finished with 9 yards. Bostick had just 2 receiving yards. Kevin Dorsey was targeted twice and finished with one catch for 4 yards.

Meanwhile, Jarrett Boykin, who was active for the first time since suffering a groin injury, but did not receive a target in a 38-17 victory.

When you see that tight end Cooper Helfet had 61 yards on three catches, including an impressive 19-yard touchdown in which he caught the ball over the top of a defender while keeping his feet in bounds, your natural reaction might be to say, "Hey, it's because Percy Harvin is no longer with the team."

But that wasn't the biggest contributing factor to his performance. Above all, he saw more time on the field because the Seahawks' top two tight ends, Zach Miller and Luke Willson, were sidelined by injuries. Miller has now missed three games following ankle surgery and will likely miss a couple more, but Willson (groin) was a game-time decision for Week 7. He could certainly return in Week 8.

True, maybe Helfet's touchdown grab earns him a bigger slice of the pie going forward, but sharing the tight end spot on a run-first team probably won't yield much in Fantasy. Again, even in this one, he had just three catches total.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce caught all four of his targets for 33 yards in his team's 23-20 win over the Chargers in Week 7.

Kelce came into the week with touchdowns in three straight games but watched fullback Anthony Sherman grab the only passing touchdown of the day for Kansas City. It's Kelce's second straight game falling short of 10 yards per catch after crossing that mark in each of his first four performances. Kelce has tallied 24 receptions, 307 yards and three touchdowns. The Chiefs face the Rams in Week 8.

The Lions got contributions from a variety of players in their 24-23 comeback win over the Saints. Among them, wideout Jeremy Ross caught three of his four targets for 32 yards, and tight end Brandon Pettigrew hauled in four of his six targets for 28 yards.

They'll face the Falcons in London in Week 8.