Fantasy football Week 7: Ranking the top Arizona Cardinals fantasy options

This post comes from Justin Becker of FantasyFootballOverdose.com. You can follow him on Twitter@NBAandNFLInfo or on the Fantasy Football Overdose Google+ Page, and for more NFL Fantasy Projections visitFantasy Football Overdose.

The Arizona Cardinals finally looked completely like themselves in week six, as quarterback Carson Palmer made his return from a shoulder injury. Palmer's injury had kept him out since a solid showing in Arizona's week one game, yet he returned in week six and performed as if he had never left.

Naturally, the Cardinals' top weapons in the passing game benefited and Arizona played a complete game en route to their fourth win of the year. The writing seems to be on the wall for Week 7, that as long as Palmer can keep playing the way he has in his two starts on the year, the Cardinals can keep winning and league managers can keep using AZ players in fantasy football.

To see exactly which Arizona Cardinals players are your best bets to put up big numbers in fantasy football for Week 7, however, let's hit the Week 7 rankings:

1. Andre Ellington (RB)

Oakland stinks against the run this year and Ellington is still in search of his first 100+ yard rushing day of 2014. I think he gets that and his first rushing score of the year this week, as well. That makes him the top Cardinal to use and one of the better intermediate level fantasy options overall for week seven.

2. Carson Palmer (QB)

Palmer comes in at number two, simply because he's hard to trust yet with his shoulder issue and he faces a fairly stingy Oakland Raiders pass defense. Philip Rivers worked them pretty good last week, though, so Palmer definitely has the ability to do the same. He's a borderline QB1 this week.

3. Michael Floyd (WR)

Floyd now has nine catches for 166 yards and a score in two games with Palmer under center. Obviously there is a connection here and with Floyd locked in as Arizona's top passing weapons, he'll have high-end WR2 upside on a weekly basis.

4. Larry Fitzgerald (WR)

Fitzgerald was highly involved in Palmer's return last week, as he caught six passes for over 90 yards and his first touchdown of the year. He's no longer the clear cut #1 option in the desert, so he's going to be fairly hit or miss. However, last week was promising and his matchup this week isn't too bad. He'll be a quality WR3 for week seven.

5. Arizona Cardinals (DEF/ST)

Arizona's defense is in shambles in terms of health and their pass defense has given up a ton of production. They could easily get torched this week, but it's worth noting they're going up against a rookie passer in Derek Carr. That makes them a nice high risk/high reward stream in week seven.

6. John Brown (WR)

Brown caught four passes last week and has some interesting upside with Palmer back (they connected for a touchdown in week one). He's only AZ's third option at receiver and probably fourth overall option in the passing game (behind Ellington), however.

7. John Carlson (TE)

Palmer's return aided Carlson a bit, as he hauled in four of six targets in week six. Unfortunately, they only got him 14 yards. The reality is, as solid as Carlson can be, the tight end isn't featured in Bruce Arians' offense. If he does anything of merit, it will mostly be due to plays breaking down. He's mostly off the fantasy radar.

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