Looking for some lineup advice? You've come to the right place. Week 7 brings us four more byes, and the most impactful ones of the season with Christian McCaffrey and the receiving options for Carolina out, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans off for Tampa, Nick Chubb and the rest of the Browns resting and Pittsburgh and their less-explosive but still-notable offense rounding it out.
With all those Fantasy-relevant names on benches, you'll have some tough decisions this week. Luckily, you can go through every game on the schedule right here to find out who Dave is starting and sitting for all 28 teams on the Week 7 schedule.
Miami (0-5) at Buffalo (4-1)
1 p.m. ET (CBS)
Point spread: Bills -17
Start Them
Projections powered by
Sportsline
In 4 of 5 games, the Dolphins pass defense has allowed at least one touchdown of 15-plus yards to a speedy receiver. Nobody fits that bill better for Buffalo than Brown. But he's been more than that for them — he's also worked in the red zone and as a catch-and-go chain mover. Brown has at least five receptions in 4 of 5 games, just not always for a grand yardage total. And that's why he can't be counted on as a bona fide starter in non-PPR; he's got 75 or fewer yards without a score in four straight. If there was ever a matchup to get Brown flying again, this is it. He's tremendous for DFS play ($5,500 on DraftKings, $5,900 on FanDuel) and better used as a PPR starter and a high-end non-PPR flex.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Allen should be next in line for good numbers against the Tankers, but will he do enough to have GREAT numbers? Based on the Dolphins' track record, there's a chance: No quarterback has had to throw more than 32 times against Miami all season and all but one has hit for at least two touchdowns. Only one, Case Keenum last week, has delivered under 24 Fantasy points. The Bills' conservative offensive nature is a little worrisome but Allen's propensity to run (at least 21 yards on the ground per game) helps swell his Fantasy floor. He should give at least 20 Fantasy points.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Jacksonville (2-4) at Cincinnati (0-6)
1 p.m. ET (CBS)
Point spread: Jaguars -3.5
Sneaky Sleeper in PPR
Projections powered by
Sportsline
The Bengals are decimated at cornerback and are thin on pass rushers, too. It's a perfect storm for the Jaguars to make gains through the air after several miscommunications last week. One matchup to watch is Westbrook against 5-10 cornerback Tony McRae, who has a history of covering slot receivers and timed 40-yard dash speed of 4.6 seconds. McRae has allowed a catch rate north of 80% over his last two seasons. This should be a good opportunity for Westbrook to land some numbers after notching 10-plus PPR points in two of his past three. He's a fantastic lineup add on DraftKings, where his $4,900 price tag is his lowest since Week 1 (he's $5,400 on FanDuel, which isn't bad either).
| ||||||||||||||||||
Sneaky Sleeper
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Four of six Fantasy quarterbacks to face the Bengals have cleared 20 points this season. How close were the two who didn't? Russell Wilson was 5 yards shy of 20 points in Week 1, and Josh Allen was 4 rushing yards away from hitting the mark in Week 3. Not only will Minshew get a crack at breaking the 20-point barrier, but he's in a fabulous rebound spot against a Bengals pass defense missing its top two cornerbacks and its top edge rusher. Seriously, two of the three cornerbacks the Bengals are forced to play have posted completion rates north of 80% over the last two seasons. They stink. His DFS prices ($5,400 on DraftKings, $6,900 on FanDuel) are incredibly generous and his opportunity to help seasonal lineups would cost pennies in trade if not an easy waiver add. He's an easy starter to go with over Philip Rivers, Matthew Stafford or Jimmy Garoppolo.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Risky Starter
Projections powered by
Sportsline
I subjected myself to watching every play from Joe Mixon last week against the Ravens. His offensive line was a nightmare. On every single carry, one of his linemen either missed a block or was slow to block or started blocking a defender but couldn't keep it up or was stood up by a stronger, tougher guy. Obviously, it cost Mixon some yardage. What especially frustrated me was seeing how the Bengals didn't try different things to get Mixon going. On a screen pass in the second quarter, Mixon was caught at the line of scrimmage by three Ravens defenders and broke free for a 23-yard gain. Why not do more of those?! By the second half he barely played — 10 snaps to Giovani Bernard's 21. These coaching decisions could further hurt Mixon's upside. He's more of a flex in PPR.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota (4-2) at Detroit (2-2-1)
1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: Vikings -1
Sit Him
Projections powered by
Sportsline
You know the phrase "You Had One Job?!" Hockenson has had one primary job lately: Catch passes when in the end zone. He was not able to do it last week, having a ball bounce off his hands when it would have counted for six and not being able to make it across the goal line when he actually did catch a ball in enemy territory. This also isn't the first time (or second, or third) that Hockenson has gaffed in the end zone. Eventually, Matthew Stafford will tire of missing out on these easy scores and will throw to someone else. The matchup especially hurts Hockenson considering that the Vikings have yet to let up a touchdown to a tight end this year and yielded six in their last 38 games.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Oakland (3-2) at Green Bay (5-1)
1 p.m. ET (CBS)
Point spread: Packers -5.5
Sit Him
Projections powered by
Sportsline
A dropped touchdown. Another possible touchdown missed because of tight coverage. Zero explosiveness left in his legs. This is what the whole world saw last Monday against the Lions when Graham turned in a 2-17-0 line. If you're still starting Graham, it's on name-recognition only. I thought he'd be a reliable red-zone option for Rodgers, but he's wound up being unreliable despite several opportunities. And those opportunities have been fleeting — after latching 6 of 9 targets in Week 4, Graham has caught 5 of 8 targets in two games since with declining yardage totals. Of the three touchdowns the Raiders have allowed to tight ends, one was a garbage-time deep ball fluke, one was to Travis Kelce and one was a schemed-up crossing route for Jack Doyle. You better hope Graham gets as fortunate if you start him.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Sneaky Sleeper
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Any receiver slated to play a lot with Aaron Rodgers has to be considered for Fantasy usage. Lazard is a big dude, 6-foot-5, and he's physical, but he's not explosive and may not quite have the most reliable hands. Remember that touchdown he caught last week? He was draped in coverage and managed to hold on to an absolute dime from Rodgers. I mention this because on the very play before, a deep lob from Rodgers got knocked out of his grasp by the same defender, who was on his hip. If you're starting Lazard, you're hoping for a lot of passes from Rodgers, especially in the red zone. But in a matchup where the Packers might prefer to lean on the run (because, hello, their starting receivers aren't playing), Lazard could disappoint. Keep expectations in check -- 10 PPR points is doable. 15 might be asking for too much. On the plus side, he's priced as low as possible on the DFS slates and gives Fantasy drafters plenty of salary space to play with.
| ||||||||||||||||||
L.A. Rams (3-3) at Atlanta (1-5)
1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: Rams -3
Start Him
Projections powered by
Sportsline
Take what you saw from Goff last week and erase it from your mind! His O-line failed him against one of the best defensive fronts in football, but now they'll play against a Falcons defense that struggles to rush the passer (28th in quarterback pressures, league-low five sacks) and has a secondary that has played incredibly poorly. Only the Dolphins give up more Fantasy points per game to quarterbacks than Atlanta, and only one passer, Kirk Cousins on 10 pass attempts in Week 1, has failed to hit 20 Fantasy points on the Falcons this season. This should be a high-scoring game, forcing Goff to keep chucking it. Given his talented receiving corps and the matchup they have, it should lead to some incredible numbers.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Houston (4-2) at Indianapolis (3-2)
1 p.m. ET (CBS)
Point spread: Colts -1
Start Them
Projections powered by
Sportsline
I could spend time watching the Colts' defense to try and get a grip on their tendencies. I could spew historical data on how Fuller's only had one decent game in four career matchups against Indy. And I could remind you of how many touchdowns he could have had last week (three) after scoring in bunches in Week 5. But you know the deal with Fuller by now: He's going to get a handful of deep targets every week, and if he can catch one or two of them, he'll be a hero. It's worth mentioning that the only rival he's roasted is Atlanta, who is among the worst in the league in most pass defense metrics, and he got 16 targets that game. Last week he had nine targets in a pretty high-scoring game with the Chiefs and SHOULD have had another monster game. Before these past two games, he had four in his career with nine-plus targets. But if he's going to keep getting a big target share and find himself in high-scoring games against non-elite defenses, then Fantasy managers should keep starting him as at least a flex given his massive upside. Just be careful putting him in your lineups ahead of more reliable players.
| ||||||||||||||||||
With a touchdown in three of his last four games and at least 15 touches in each of his last three, Hyde is rapidly evolving from an unwanted Fantasy eyesore to a startable running back. Neat! Most of his recent matchups haven't been particularly hard and his offensive line has improved a little bit. The Colts' run defense has managed to rebound after a poor start and will get stud linebacker Darius Leonard back from a concussion. No running back has found 10 non-PPR Fantasy points against Indy since Week 2, including Devonta Freeman and Josh Jacobs, each of whom had 19 touches. Maybe Hyde is a little too touchdown-dependent for our liking, but his status as a good-volume workhorse in a not-tough matchup puts him in play as a low-end No. 2 Fantasy running back.
| ||||||||||||||||||
San Francisco (5-0) at Washington (1-5)
1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: 49ers -9.5
Sit Him
Projections powered by
Sportsline
The only reason to consider Breida is because the 49ers run game should have great success against the porous Redskins defense. Washington gives up the seventh-most Fantasy points to running backs complete with at least one rushing score allowed in four of its last five. The problem is that Breida has seemingly been phased out of the red-zone offense for the Niners, getting two snaps in there in the 2.5 games he's played with Tevin Coleman. By comparison, Coleman has 25 red-zone snaps this season. He's been hovering around 15 touches per game, which helps, but without a breakaway run, he could leave Fantasy owners disappointed. Breida has four runs longer than 15 yards this year and the Redskins have given up six 20-plus-yard runs in five games.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Arizona (2-3-1) at N.Y. Giants (2-4)
1 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: Giants -3
Sit Him
Projections powered by
Sportsline
There are a couple of things that scare me about starting Tate in Week 7 but Patrick Peterson's return isn't one of them. The Giants have made it clear through the first two weeks that Tate is a slot receiver (18% of snaps have been out wide), and Peterson played all of 16 snaps in the slot in 2018 and 91 snaps in 2017. The stud cornerback has a better chance of lining up against Evan Engram than Tate. That's a plus for Tate, but it might be the only one. Engram's return and Saquon Barkley's return means fewer targets for Tate, who had 15 in his past two. I wouldn't put it past him to find 10 or 12 PPR points, but I'd be surprised if he had another long touchdown catch, or any touchdown catch for that matter.
| ||||||||||||||||||
L.A. Chargers (2-4) at Tennessee (2-4)
4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)
Point spread: Titans -2
Risky Starters
Projections powered by
Sportsline
| ||||||||||||||||||
Man, the Chargers offensive line is bad. All five starters got graded poorly by Pro Football Focus after Week 6 and none of them have graded well consistently all year. Not surprisingly, Melvin Gordon has come back to a nauseating 2.5-yard rushing average while Ekeler is slightly better at 2.6 over the last two weeks. I can no longer say the Titans run defense is strong — they've allowed two running backs from the same team to get 11-plus PPR points in two of their last three games. But even with their flaws, the Chargers run game has proven to be capsized by their front five. It's a risk starting either guy in non-PPR — Gordon could be a smidge safer considering he's been cutting into Ekeler's playing time. But in PPR, Ekeler's pass-catching prowess should give him an edge. Tennessee has allowed a 90% catch rate to running backs.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Sneaky PPR Sleeper
Projections powered by
Sportsline
This is just a friendly reminder that quarterback Ryan Tannehill has made a career out of checking-down to his slot receivers. Jarvis Landry earned a monster contract because of Tannehill! Humphries assumes that role the most for the Titans, and as recently as last week enjoyed four targets for a 4-34-0 stat line in a little more than one quarter with Tannehill. Tack on what's become a favorable matchup against struggling slot corner Desmond King (85.7% catch rate allowed) and Humphries has appeal as a solid-floor PPR flex. He's also at his lowest price of the season on DraftKings ($3,400) and FanDuel ($5,100).
| ||||||||||||||||||
Baltimore (4-2) at Seattle (5-1)
4:25 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: Seahawks -3.5
Start Them: Seahawks DST
DSTs against the Ravens have posted 11-plus points in standard scoring leagues weekly since Week 4. That's thanks to Lamar Jackson's five interceptions in Weeks 4 and 5 and a lucky kickoff-return for a touchdown by the Bengals in Week 6. It wouldn't be surprising in the least to see Jackson lose a couple of turnovers in an unfriendly road environment. Visiting offenses have six turnovers in three games at Seattle this season.
Sit Them: Ravens DST
Meanwhile, the Ravens DST will have the unenviable task of slowing down MVP candidate Russell Wilson. He hasn't thrown an interception all year and had three in eight home games in 2018. Baltimore has given up just six passing scores all season but has played Andy Dalton, Steelers backup quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray in his first NFL road start and the Dolphins duo as part of their slate. Patrick Mahomes lit them up for three scores and so too can Wilson. That alone is enough to bench the Ravens -- seeing them go on bye in Week 8 and then play the Patriots in Week 9 is enough to cut them.
New Orleans (5-1) at Chicago (3-2)
4:25 p.m. ET (Fox)
Point spread: Bears -3
Risky Starter
Projections powered by
Sportsline
It's probably a safe assumption that Robinson will frequently line up across from Marshon Lattimore. He's been great over the past three games, holding Amari Cooper, Mike Evans and D.J. Chark in his coverage to a total of 60 yards and no scores. The Bears might choose to go after him like the Jaguars did last week, or they might throw elsewhere like the Buccaneers did two weeks ago. Either way, the results should limit Robinson to a dozen PPR Fantasy points or less. Besides, the Bears anticipate getting speedster Taylor Gabriel back and could find ways to utilize their tight ends and running back Tarik Cohen against weaker parts of the Saints defense.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Philadelphia (3-3) at Dallas (3-3)
8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
Point spread: Cowboys -3
Start Him
Projections powered by
Sportsline
This one's kind of gross to write, but there's a chance Witten can contribute beyond the typical touchdown-or-bust label we usually drop on him. He's actually run 40-plus routes in each of the past two weeks, a staggering number for him considering the Cowboys' O-line injuries and his slow-moving style. Last week those routes combined with the Cowboys playing from behind led to a season-high seven targets and five catches from Witten. It's unlikely he'll see double-teams in the red zone given Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys receivers drawing tough coverage, so perhaps the one or two targets he tends to get near the stripe will cash in. He's just as good (or bad) an option as Delanie Walker.
| ||||||||||||||||||
New England (6-0) at N.Y. Jets (1-4)
Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Point spread: Patriots -9.5
Flex Starter in PPR
Projections powered by
Sportsline
We know Bill Belichick relishes taking away one key contributor from an opposing team. That might wind up being Le'Veon Bell. We also know the Patriots pass defense has been amazing, especially cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He's erased Robby Anderson in the past. Crowder has established himself as a short-area target for Sam Darnold, catching 20 of 26 targets from the second-year passer for nearly 200 yards. Crowder figures to draw lighter coverage than Bell or Anderson, making him an easy option for Darnold to connect with while chasing points against the powerful Patriots. He's a much tougher option to trust in non-PPR for obvious reasons -- the Patriots have given up just one touchdown to a receiver all season, and only Golden Tate, who scored that touchdown on a deep throw last week, has accrued more than 80 yards against New England.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Kansas City (4-2) at Denver (2-4)
Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL Network)
Point spread: Chiefs -3
Sit Them
Projections powered by
Sportsline
| ||||||||||||||||||
For two straight weeks the Broncos' run defense has been great, allowing 2.03 yards per run from the Chargers and Titans. Vic Fangio's insertion of beefy D-tackle Mike Purcell has paid off as the linebackers have made plays off the big lane cloggers in front of them. The Chiefs' O-line remains a concern, but the larger issue is Andy Reid's forgetfulness of his run attack. Chiefs rushers have combined for 10 carries in each of the last two weeks! How can we count on any of his running backs when he's not utilizing them? How can any one of them be reliable for Fantasy when they've each been below 15 touches each of their last three games (McCoy has yet to have a game with 15-plus touches)?! If the Broncos' run defense were still the mess they were a couple of weeks ago, then maybe there would be optimism in Reid using his runners more. But that's not the case. Don't use Williams or McCoy as anything more than above-average flex choices.
| ||||||||||||||||||
PPR Flex Starter
Projections powered by
Sportsline
The great news is that the Chiefs have been shredded for at least 150 rush yards in each of their last four games. The bad news is that Freeman is still sharing touches with Phillip Lindsay. He's actually had 15-plus touches in four of his past five, four or more receptions in four of his past five and delivered a baseline of eight PPR points in each of his last five. If the Broncos are to follow the blueprint left for them by previous Chiefs opponents, Freeman should get a hefty dose of touches (along with Lindsay) on a short week. And even if the Broncos find themselves playing from behind, Freeman can make an impact catching the ball.
| ||||||||||||||||||
So who should you sit and start this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 7 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.
