Have a tough lineup decision to make? Of course you do, we all do, and you’ve come to the right place on the internet to help you in making your decision. The following breaks down the best start and sit candidates in fantasy for Week 7.
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Quarterbacks
Start
Josh Allen vs Dolphins
Despite what you think of him as an NFL quarterback, Josh Allen is an okay fantasy QB in a pinch. And that’s all you should need to hear if you have any doubts at all about your current starter at QB. A matchup at home against the Dolphins all but guarantees that Allen will score several touchdowns with ease, while eliminating the turnover baggage that Allen tends to drag around with him. Miami has intercepted one pass all year, and they have allowed at least 30 points to every team that isn’t the Case Keenum-led Washington Redskins (and even Keenum scraped together over 15 fantasy points). The Bills’ offense should be humming all game, and if Allen scores fewer than 3 touchdowns it’ll be a surprise.
Daniel Jones vs Cardinals
The last three weeks haven’t been fun by any means, and hopefully you left him on your bench or on waivers during this stretch, while the Giants’ skill players have been dropping like flies. Jones has been going up against some of the league’s best defenses without the talent to make nearly enough meaningful plays happen. That isn’t a good recipe for any quarterback, let alone a rookie making the first starts of his career, but Jones and the Giants should stop their freefall on a dime this week and start trending back upwards. With the possibility of Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, and Sterling Shepard all returning to face the floundering Cardinals defense, this offense is brimming with fantasy potential again, with Jones benefiting most of all.
Sit
Philip Rivers at Titans
With the way both of these teams are playing, this game could quickly devolve into one of the uglier games of the week when it comes to offense. The Titans are one of the defenses that you’d be well advised to keep away from, especially with Philip Rivers, who you should be starting solely by matchup. In fact, take this section as my telling you to avoid Rivers until his Week 10 game at the Raiders. His schedule gets ugly for a while so do what you can to find a good replacement. Kirk Cousins has turned a corner and has an easy schedule the next few weeks, so I’d rather look his way if you can.
Matthew Stafford vs Vikings
Although a dropped touchdown pass from TJ Hockenson was partially to blame, Stafford finished his Week 6 Monday Night game against Green Bay with his third of five starts in which he finished with under 15.1 fantasy points. He’s been inconsistently productive, and his matchup against the Vikings doesn’t offer much hope in the way of upside. Minnesota has allowed the 6th fewest points per game (15.5) and they have yet to allow more than 21 points to any of their opponents.
Running Backs
Start
Royce Freeman vs Chiefs
You can RUN on the Chiefs. Once Carlos Hyde runs on your defense 26 times for 116 yards and a touchdown, that serves as a green light to start whatever running back you have against Kansas City. You can start Phillip Lindsay pretty confidently as an RB1, but even Royce Freeman is worth FLEX consideration this week. The Chiefs can’t stop anybody, and with Patrick Mahomes, coming off a short week, clearly not 100%, the Broncos should be able to commit to the run.
Frank Gore vs Dolphins
For as bad as the Dolphins are against the pass, they’re somehow even worse against the run. Miami is allowing the most fantasy points in the NFL against running backs, so Frank Gore should be started without hesitation this week. Devin Singletary is back this week too, and though I don’t recommend playing him yet (he hasn’t received more than 6 carries in a game yet), if you’re feeling lucky, you could do a lot worse.
Sit
Kerryon Johnson vs Vikings
The Vikings are flat-out impossible to run on, and Johnson hasn’t had much success running as it is. He’s not a “Sit” for everybody, but he isn’t a plug-and-play starter this week. If you have Frank Gore on the bench? Seriously give making a switch some thought. Johnson is averaging 3.3 yards per carry this year, and without his breakout against the Chiefs (who everyone runs on) that number falls to 2.6. He’ll catch a few passes to boost his floor, but facing off against the Vikings, who have still allowed just 1 touchdown on the ground all year, he’s likely in for another inefficient and mediocre week.
The Chiefs Running Backs at Broncos
A backfield that has so much promise is currently a total and complete mystery, that only the boldest or the most desperate fantasy owners would attempt to solve against the Broncos. Damien Williams only touched the ball twice against Houston, and although he got in for a touchdown, it feels better to just consider yourself lucky and not risk it with him again. LeSean McCoy is running the ball well, but he only touched the ball twice two weeks ago. Even Darrell Williams is seeing usage, but only enough to hurt the value of the other two, without providing value on his own. The whole situation is a mess and you should wait it out until it clears up.
Wide Receivers
Start
Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks at Falcons
Star WR1 Cooper Kupp aside, the Rams might be the most disappointing team for fantasy purposes so far. Woods and Cooks have been extremely unreliable starters, but if there is any team that can bring out some of the old Rams magic, it’s the Falcons. Atlanta was just humiliated by the Texans, and followed that game up by allowing Kyler Murray to throw for 340 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Falcons are spiraling to the bottom of the league, and Woods and Cooks (and Jared Goff if you need him) should be able to capitalize, and hopefully get some momentum going for the second half of the season.
Michael Gallup vs Eagles
I have no problem riding with Gallup again after last week’s disappointment, because he still has seen no fewer than 7 targets in a game, and the Eagles up to this point have been abysmal versus the receiver position. No defense has been more susceptible to receiver points than the Philly, so a competitive matchup at home in the dome should yield excellent results. With Amari Cooper banged up too, Gallup should be a play for every league.
Sit
Allen Robinson II vs Saints
I think it’s fair to say that nobody in the NFL is doing their job better than Marshon Lattimore is right now. After completely shutting down Amari Cooper, Mike Evans, and DJ Chark in his last three games, Lattimore is going to put your team’s best receiver into a box and you won’t see him again until the following week. This week, that player is Robinson, who to his credit has been enjoying an excellent season. But the Lattimore effect is real, so if you don’t want to run the risk of one of your WRs getting blanked like Mike Evans did, try to look anywhere and everywhere else.
Robby Anderson vs Patriots
With the return of Sam Darnold, Robby Anderson is finally back in business as a potential starter, but it’s just his luck this season that once he finally gets a little momentum going, he gets clotheslined by some Stephon Gilmore shadow coverage and the rest of the suffocating Patriots defense. Anderson should be a solid starter in the back end of the season, but let this storm blow by first.
Tight Ends
Start
Gerald Everett at Falcons
Why not? Somebody besides Kupp is going to benefit from this Falcons defense. Atlanta is going to give up yards upon yards in this game, so with the limited options out there at tight end, take a chance on Everett bouncing back from his Week 6 dud and pulling in a few long passes. The Falcons have been about average against tight ends, but they haven’t faced many dangerous ones. When they did, they allowed 72 yards on 8 catches to Zach Ertz, and a combination of 7 catches for 93 yards to Jack Doyle and Eric Ebron.
Jared Cook at Bears
At the Bears? Yes, at the Bears. Chicago hasn’t been anything special against tight ends so far, and Cook has finally come through with two consecutive touchdown weeks. If you’re one of the many people who (with good reason) dropped Cook in search of greener pastures, double back right now and pick him up if nobody else did at the waiver period. He’s as good as it gets once you get past the top eight or so names at the position.
Sit
Chris Herndon vs Patriots
There’s a chance that Herndon doesn’t even play in this game, and if he does, you’d be lucky to expect anything out of him on limited snaps against New England, but I’m including him here to remind you that he’s out there and that he is barely owned in any leagues. The Jets have a cupcake schedule once they get past New England, so Herndon, who broke out in the second half of the 2018 season, could become another much-needed fantasy TE1 in the coming weeks. Pick him up and wait.
Jimmy Graham vs Raiders
Yes, it’s a good matchup- does it matter? Can Jimmy Graham be started, even in a 12-team league? Aaron Rodgers was throwing it to every receiver on the depth chart Monday, and Jimmy Graham was the least of the Lions’ worries. Marcedes Lewis looked like the best tight end in Green Bay. Maybe the discussion changes if Graham doesn’t let an extremely catchable touchdown pass go through his hands, but drops are yet another issue that should keep Graham out of your lineup. Maybe the return of Davante Adams simplifies the pecking order on offense a little bit and it somehow helps Graham, but right now he’s bordering on unplayable.
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