Four of the top 10 quarterbacks in Week 6 were rookies, and we're not sure that was a fluke at all. Obviously, we're all used to Jayden Daniels being there. He's QB4 on the season, and with a matchup against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7, Daniels actually ranks as my number one quarterback this week. Caleb Williams was the number one quarterback last week, and that should be a huge surprise, either. He's immensely talented, he has elite weapons, and he was playing the Jaguars. Williams is a must-hold on his bye week, and you should add him if you can. The other two were the surprised.
Well, maybe Bo Nix being a top-10 QB should be that big of a surprise. He's QB11 since Week 3. Nix ranks sixth amongst QBs with 180 rushing yards this season and is tied for third with Josh Allen with three rushing touchdowns. While the passing production hasn't been good, he's only thrown one interception since Week 2, and he's now thrown multiple touchdown passes in back-to-back weeks.
The fourth rookie to crack the top 10 was Drake Maye. What a welcome change this was for the Patriots. Maye threw for 243 yards, which was a season-high for New England. He also threw three touchdown passes, and Jacoby Brissett had two TD passes in five starts. Don't overlook the fact that Maye ran five times for 38 yards.
For now, view Daniels and Williams as starters in one-QB leagues, while Maye and Nix are Superflex starters or matchup-dependent streamers. But if the latter two keep running like they have been, we may see four rookies in the top 10 more often.
Let's get to the rest of the preview:
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I don't love the matchup against the Steelers, but I do believe there is a legitimate chance that Rodgers is a top-12 QB rest of season now that Davante Adams is on the team. Rodgers has played a terribly difficult schedule that gets much easier in the second half, and he's still thrown multiple touchdown passes in four of his last five games.
Jones was a letdown last week, but this is a good matchup, and we expect him to have Malik Nabers back. Deshaun Watson and Derek Carr are the only QBs to fail to score 20 Fantasy points against this defense, and neither one threw more than 25 passes. Jones has at least 34 attempts in five of six games and double-digit rush attempts in his last two outings.
I'm holding back on the excitement because it's still the Patriots, and the environment around him isn't great. But you must roster a QB that throws three TDs and runs for 38 yards in the first start of his career, especially when that QB was a first-round pick. This is a fantastic matchup, but I don't like that Jacksonville has already been in London for a week.
Daniels is a top-five QB playing against a top-six matchup, which should make him the chalk in cash games. He's scored at least 20 Fantasy points in five of his first six NFL games, and he's topped 25 in three of those. With Lamar Jackson in primetime, Daniels is the easy cash game choice.
A mobile QB with his number one wide receiver back, chasing the score against a mediocre-at-best defense. If you just forget what his name is, Jones seems like a pretty easy tournament choice.
QB Preview
Heath's projections
My full set of Week 7 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 7. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
