These rankings were updated Friday evening.

One Texas-sized pinkie injury is dominating the headlines, but the Cowboys are no longer the only fantasy football juggernaut in the Lone Star State. Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton, Andre Johnson, and Owen Daniels now comprise one of the most valuable "Big Four" groups in the league.

After a slow start, there is every reason to believe the Texans' offensive emergence is here to stay. They've scored 27 or more points in three straight games and face the Lions and Bengals the next two weeks. Matt Schaub is prone to mistakes, but he stands tough in the pocket and is developing his aggressiveness. The team is averaging over 260 yards-per-game passing after topping 245 last year. The Texans are very tough to defend because they can throw from an running formation when two tight ends and a fullback are on the field. And they can run just as well from any passing formation with Steve Slaton in the backfield.

People jumped off the Andre Johnson bandwagon quickly, but there is no receiver I'd rather own moving forward. Schaub is an every-week play the rest of the season aside from matchups against the Ravens and Titans. Owen Daniels is finding huge holes in the middle of zones and is on his way to a top-five tight end season. Even Kevin Walter has emerged into a steady WR3 who can't be benched this week against Detroit.

The Texans hinted at this explosiveness in 2007, but their improved running game is the final piece of the puzzle. Vonta Leach is having an All Pro caliber season at fullback and opens holes incredibly well for Slaton, who is also a plug-and-play fantasy starter. Ahman Green is actually looking solid in a change-of-pace role, but Slaton owners shouldn't be too concerned. Slaton will still get tons of receptions and a quality backup will help keep him fresh.

The X factor for this offense is the reason why Houston can't win games: their defense. A woeful back seven has opponents scoring points at will and will have the Texans in weekly shootouts. Their situation isn't too different from the "It" fantasy team of the year in Denver. The two squads run the same offense and I wouldn't be surprised if they finish with similar offensive numbers when the dust settles in December.

Week 7 Quarterbacks

Rank	Player Name	Opponent	Notes
1	Jay Cutler	at NE	-
2	Drew Brees	at CAR	-
3	Peyton Manning	at GB	-
4	Matt Schaub	vs. DET	-
5	Aaron Rodgers	vs. IND	Probable(shoulder)
6	Brett Favre	at OAK	-
7	Eli Manning	vs. SF	-
8	Tony Romo	at STL	Ranked as if he'll start, Game-time decision
9	Ben Roethlisberger	at CIN	-
10	Trent Edwards	vs. SD
11	Philip Rivers	at BUF	-
12	Jake Delhomme	vs. NO	-
13	Jason Campbell	vs. CLE	-
14	Matt Cassel	vs. DEN	-
15	Derek Anderson	at WAS	Coming back to Earth
16	Gus Frerotte	at CHI	Bears CBs may play
17	Kyle Orton	vs. MIN	-
18	J.T. O'Sullivan	at NYG	-
19	Brad Johnson	at STL	Ranked as if he'll start
20	Jeff Garcia	vs. SEA	-
21	Dan Orlovsky	at HOU	-
22	Marc Bulger	vs. DAL	Probable(finger)
23	Seneca Wallace	at TB	Decent redraft pickup
24	Kerry Collins	at KC	-
25	Chad Pennington	vs. BAL	-
26	JaMarcus Russell	vs. NYJ	-
27	Joe Flacco	at MIA	-
28	Ryan Fitzpatrick	vs. PIT	-
29	Brodie Croyle	vs. TEN	Probable(shoulder)

For Week 7 projections for all the players ranked here, head to Season Pass

QB Notes: Don't worry about Jay Cutler's two-week slowdown. The gameplan was conservative against the Bucs two weeks ago and he was missing three of his top four receivers for most of the game against Jacksonville. He should get Eddie Royal back this week and faces a Patriots secondary that is prone to giving up big plays. … Drew Brees should get Marques Colston and possibly Jeremy Shockey back this week. The Panthers defend the pass well, but Brees is matchup-proof by now. … This is a tasty matchup to keep the Peyton Manning revival going. The Packers are like a destitute man's Ravens team. Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson are aggressive and make plays, but they can be beaten deep with some pump fakes. … Aaron Rodgers threw some ugly passes last week, but he manages to put up numbers. He also took a number of hard hits and emerged no worse for wear. It will be hard for him to remain the top fantasy quarterback all season, but he can stay in the top-five.

If Tony Romo starts, which looks increasingly likely, he is a top-eight play, injury and all. Brad Johnson isn't worth playing … Look for Eli Manning to bounce back strongly against a 49ers defense that doesn't do anything particularly well. … The Raiders secondary is starting to look a lot more like their '07 unit than the tough squad from '06. Nmandi Asomugha can only do so much. Brett Favre was inconsistent last week, but the Jets can make yards when they need it. … Seneca Wallace has averaged 186 passing yards and 21 rushing yards in his last six appearances where he received significant playing time. He threw ten touchdowns with seven picks in those games. Tampa is a tough matchup on the road, but you could do worse if looking for a bye week replacement.

I'm so impressed with Washington's secondary. Look for them to stop Derek Anderson's resurgence before it starts. … Willie Parker's injury may help Ben Roethlisberger because the Steelers may pass more. It's not that easy a matchup against an improved Bengals secondary – probably the strength of Cincy's whole team. … Gus Frerotte never looks particularly good, but he's averaging 247 yards-per-start. Life with Adrian Peterson is nice for a quarterback, the T-Jack era notwithstanding.

Dan Orlovsky looked worse on Shortcuts than his numbers indicated. He was skittish in the pocket. On his infamous safety, he was actually running one play, while the rest of his team ran another. That could make it the worst individual play in NFL history. Orlovsky has a sweet matchup against a terrible Texans secondary this week, so we'll learn a lot about the Lions' ceiling this week. … I'm not a Matt Cassell believer, but the Patriots will have to throw a ton to keep up and the Denver secondary is terrible. … Marc Bulger didn't really show much improvement against Washington, so he remains hands off, especially if Orlando Pace is out. … I'll be interested to see how Chad Pennington fares this week. If he can compete with Baltimore, he could start looking like a bye option for owners in easier matchups.

Continue story ...