The Rams have a big opening at running back with Kyren Williams (ankle) and Ronnie Rivers (knee) both out heading into Week 7 against the Steelers. Both running backs have been placed on injured reserve, meaning the earliest they can return is Week 12. That's awful news for Williams, who was having a breakout season as the lead running back for the Rams.
It would be great if we had a direct replacement ready to step up in Los Angeles, but Sean McVay isn't revealing the plan for his backfield. According to The Athletic, when asked Friday if he has a sense on how the rotation will look against Pittsburgh, McVay said "I have a sense, yes." When asked if he could share his rotation, McVay said "no, I will not."
Thanks, coach.
The candidates to replace Williams are Zach Evans, Darrell Henderson Jr., Royce Freeman and Myles Gaskin, and all four could play in Week 7. The Athletic reported that in practice, the order for the running backs in drills has been Freeman, Evans, Henderson and Gaskin.
It seems like a mess, and Fantasy managers are likely best off avoiding this backfield if you can. However, with six teams on a bye and the usual injuries at running back, we're looking for help at the position, so hopefully we can make sense of the Rams backfield in Week 7 and find a sleeper.
I hope Evans, the sixth-round rookie from Ole Miss, can take the lead of this group. He's been third on the depth chart behind Williams and Rivers, and I'd love to see what he can do in an increased role. But he only has four carries for 10 yards in his rookie campaign, and McVay might not be ready to trust him yet.
Freeman, who's been on an off the practice squad for the Rams this year, has only played on special teams. He played the past two years in Houston after spending the first three seasons of his career in Denver, and the best year of his career was in 2019 with the Broncos when he averaged 8.9 PPR points per game. I'm not excited to see Freeman get the majority of touches.
Henderson started his career with the Rams, and in 2021 he averaged a career-best 13.1 PPR points per game. Before being waived last November, he spent four seasons with the Rams, appearing in 50 regular-season games and scoring 17 touchdowns while averaging 4.4 yards on 396 carries and 7.2 yards on 66 catches.
McVay spoke highly of Henderson this week, but he soured on him last season for a reason. And Henderson also has been out of work until the Rams called this week. We'll see how much his knowledge of the offense matters to McVay, and Henderson is the wild card of this backfield right now.
Gaskin doesn't seem like he'll have a big role with the Rams, and he didn't have any offensive touches with the Vikings. However, Gaskin shouldn't require much time to get up to speed with the Rams' terminology given his recent stint in Minnesota under head coach Kevin O'Connell, who is a disciple of McVay.
As you can see, we don't have much clarity heading into Sunday's game. I'm leaning toward Henderson as the one to target, followed by Evans, and we'll see if that's right. Freeman is more of a desperation play, and I don't think Gaskin will do much.
The frustrating thing is this could be a great situation. Williams has been fantastic this year and has scored at least 17.4 PPR points in four of six games, so hopefully it's the system as much as the player. And it's a good matchup since the Steelers have allowed a running back to score at least 11.0 PPR points in all five games this year (Christian McCaffrey, Jerome Ford, Josh Jacobs, Dameon Pierce and Justice Hill).
Hopefully, by Sunday we get an answer on who will be the lead running back for the Rams. And that player can be considered a flex option in all leagues until Williams returns.
Now, let's look at other sleepers to target in Week 7. Hopefully, they deliver in a big way to give your lineup a significant boost. And if you're looking for my Week 7 DFS plays, you can find my million-dollar contest tournament lineups for both DraftKings and FanDuel over at SportsLine.
Week 7 Sleepers
Smith had a rough game at Cincinnati in Week 6 with 323 passing yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, along with 20 rushing yards. His 10.9 Fantasy points were a season-low, but hopefully he can rebound this week against Arizona. It's a beautiful matchup since the Cardinals are No. 5 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and three quarterbacks in the past five games have scored at least 23.2 points. The only concern I have with Smith is Seattle can run all over the Cardinals if they want with Kenneth Walker III since Arizona is also No. 3 in most Fantasy points allowed to running backs. But given the matchup at home, I like Smith as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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We'll be waiting to see the injury report for the 49ers this week to determine if Christian McCaffrey (ankle), Deebo Samuel (shoulder) and Trent Williams (ankle) can play Monday night at Minnesota, and their status will impact Purdy. With all three healthy, I like Purdy as a top-10 Fantasy quarterback, but he's still a low-end starter no matter what given his overall level of play this season and the matchup. The Vikings allow an average of 20.6 Fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and only Bryce Young in Week 4 and the Bears in Week 6 when Justin Fields (thumb) was injured failed to score at least 20 Fantasy points against this defense. Purdy only scored 9.7 Fantasy points at Cleveland in Week 6, but I expect him to rebound Monday in Minnesota.
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We'll be watching the 49ers practice reports closely to see if Christian McCaffrey (oblique) can play Monday night at Minnesota. If he's out then expect a tandem of Mitchell and Jordan Mason, and Mitchell will likely get the majority of touches. It's not an easy matchup against the Vikings, who are No. 6 in fewest Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. But if Mitchell is going to get the bulk of the touches then I'd view him as a No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues. He has 11 games in his career with at least 13 total touches, and he's averaging 14.6 PPR points over that span. One of those games was against Minnesota in Week 12 in 2021 when he scored a career-high 27.8 PPR points. Also, keep an eye on Deebo Samuel (shoulder), and if he's out along with McCaffrey, then Mitchell could be in line for a big game. As for Mason, consider him a flex if McCaffrey is out.
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Roschon Johnson (concussion) is out again in Week 7, and Khalil Herbert (ankle) remains on injured reserve. That means Foreman will once again be the lead running back for the Bears against the Raiders, and he's worth using as at least a flex option in all leagues. Foreman was in the lead role in Week 6 against Minnesota, and he had 15 carries for 65 yards, along with one catch for 2 yards on one target. Justin Fields (thumb) was hurt in that game, and Fields is out against the Raiders as well. Chicago will likely lean even more on Foreman to limit putting quarterback Tyson Bagent in a bad spot, and it's a favorable matchup against the Raiders. Las Vegas has allowed six running backs to score at least 11.1 PPR points this season (Samaje Perine, James Cook, Latavius Murray, A.J. Dillon, Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott), and the Raiders have also allowed three rushing touchdowns in the past two games.
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It would be fantastic if the Steelers came off their bye in Week 6 and made Warren the featured running back ahead of Najee Harris, but that's not likely to happen. Still, even in tandem with Harris, Warren has led the Steelers backfield in PPR points in every game this season. He's scored at least 10.9 PPR points in three of his past four games, and if he reaches that total again he'll likely be a borderline top 20 running back this week given the landscape of the position. The Rams have allowed three running backs in their past five games to score at least 14.0 PPR points (Christian McCaffrey, Joe Mixon and D'Andre Swift), and if a Steelers running back is going to approach that total it's more likely to be Warren than Harris.
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I'm going to start Javonte Williams ahead of Jaleel McLaughlin if I had to pick one of the Denver running backs, but I still like McLaughlin as at least a flex option against Green Bay. It's a great matchup against the Packers, who are No. 4 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. So far this season, Green Bay has already allowed four running backs in five games to score at least 17.5 PPR points (Roschon Johnson, Bijan Robinson, David Montgomery and Josh Jacobs). In Week 6 at Kansas City, McLaughlin led the Broncos in snaps with 21 (Williams had 18) but finished with just seven carries for 30 yards and two catches for 12 yards on two targets. Prior to that, with Williams dealing with a quad injury, McLaughlin had at least 17.9 PPR points in each of his previous two games. We'll see if Williams and McLaughlin can both produce at a high level -- and Sameje Perine is also in the mix -- but I'm hopeful the Broncos can get enough touches for Williams and McLaughlin to perform at a high level in Week 7.
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The last time we saw Watson in Week 5 at Las Vegas he showed off his play-making ability with three catches for 91 yards on seven targets, including a 77-yard reception. I'm hoping he can build off that performance after the bye at Denver this week. The Broncos have allowed every opposing receiver who has led his team in targets except one this season (Garrett Wilson in Week 5) to score a touchdown or gain at least 100 receiving yards, including Jakobi Meyers, Terry McLaurin, Tyreek Hill, D.J. Moore and Kadarius Toney. In total, six receivers have scored at least 12.9 PPR points against Denver this year, and I like Watson as a No. 2 Fantasy receiver in all leagues. I also like Romeo Doubs as a high-end No. 3 receiver, and he has scored at least 18.3 PPR points in three of five games this year.
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As of Friday afternoon, we still don't know if Daniel Jones (neck) or Tyrod Taylor will start at quarterback for the Giants in Week 7 against Washington. Whoever it is will hopefully help Robinson build off his performance in Week 6 against the Bills when he had eight catches for 62 yards on eight targets. That came from Taylor, but the Giants should continue to feature Robinson, who is worth using as a No. 3 PPR receiver against Washington. The Commanders have allowed seven receivers to score at least 14.8 PPR points this year, and Robinson will hopefully continue to show he's all the way back from last year's torn ACL.
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I hope the addition of Mecole Hardman doesn't ruin the upside for Rice, who is starting to emerge as the best receiver for the Chiefs. He comes into Week 7 against the Chargers having scored at least 11.2 PPR points in each of his past two games, and he could be a sneaky No. 3 Fantasy receiver in all leagues in this matchup. The Chargers are No. 2 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers, and nine receivers have scored at least 11.2 PPR points against Los Angeles this year. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the breakout game for Rice in Week 7 at home.
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Terry McLaurin should go off against the Giants this week -- he has scored at least 13.0 PPR points in each of his past five meetings with New York -- but I'm hopeful Samuel could also have a quality outing in Week 7. The Giants have allowed seven receivers to score at least 11.7 PPR points this season, and Samuel has actually been the most consistent Fantasy receiver for the Commanders with at least 14.2 PPR points in three games in a row. He has a touchdown in all of those games, but he also has two outings over that span with at least seven targets, six catches and 51 yards. We'll see if he can keep this up, but Sam Howell continues to give him chances to succeed. He's worth using as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver in all leagues in Week 7
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Wilson is worth a look in deeper leagues as a boom-or-bust No. 3 Fantasy receiver given the matchup with Seattle. The Seahawks are No. 1 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers, and nine receivers have scored at least 13.7 PPR points against Seattle this year. I love the setup for Marquise Brown this week -- he's scored at least 16.1 PPR points in four of six games this season -- but hopefully Wilson takes advantage of this matchup as well. He has at least 62 receiving yards in three of his past four games, but he's only topped 10.6 PPR points once over that span when he scored his first two touchdowns of the season at San Francisco in Week 4. Hopefully, Joshua Dobbs and Wilson can hook up for a big play or two, and it would be great if Wilson found the end zone again in Week 7.
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Mayer is coming off a big game in Week 6 against New England with five catches for 75 yards on six targets, and this could be the start of something big for the rookie tight end. I expect the former Notre Dame product to do well in Week 7 against the Bears. Chicago has allowed five tight ends to score at least 8.0 PPR points this season, including Logan Thomas and T.J. Hockenson in each of the past two weeks. Mayer is worth starting as a low-end No. 1 option in Week 7.
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Smith has done a great job this season as the most consistent tight end for the Falcons, ahead of Kyle Pitts. While Pitts is hot coming into Week 7 at Tampa Bay with at least 14.3 PPR points in each of his past two games against Houston and Washington, Smith has scored at least 8.7 PPR points in five games in row, including two games over that span with at least 13.6 PPR points. I expect Smith to remain a low-end starter in all leagues against the Buccaneers, and Desmond Ridder has helped Smith produce with at least 6.4 targets per game in each of his past five outings.
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Thomas was a disappointment in Week 6 at Atlanta with one catch for 2 yards on one target, but I expect him to rebound in Week 7 at the Giants. Prior to Week 6, Thomas had scored at least 10.2 PPR points in two of his previous three games, and he had nine catches for 77 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets against the Bears in Week 5. The Giants have allowed four tight ends to score at least 8.3 PPR points this season, and Thomas is worth using as a low-end starter in all leagues.
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Defense/Special Teams
- Seahawks (vs. ARI)
- Commanders (at NYG)
- Raiders (vs. CHI)
Kickers
- Brett Maher (vs. PIT)
- Younghoe Koo (at TB)
- Chris Boswell (at LAR)