Only two teams are on bye in Week 7, the Eagles and Bucs, which shouldn’t create too many issues for fantasy owners. Last week’s advice featured starting Branden Oliver and Mohamed Sanu along with sitting Zac Stacy, Sammy Watkins, Doug Martin and Cordarrelle Patterson.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 7
We’ve got your lineup advice for Week 7 with some key names you need to put in your starting lineup this weekend.
Cliff McBride
We missed on a few, like recommending starting Eli Manning and sitting Zach Ertz. But for the most part, the list looked good. This week we have a few streaming options and lower-percentage plays to start and some bigger names you might want to sit in Week 7.
QB Russell Wilson at Rams
The Rams are in the middle of the pack in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks, but this defense has allowed at least two passing touchdowns in all but one game this season (that one outlier was Josh McCown). Colin Kaepernick torched St. Louis for 343 yards and three scores through the air in Week 6.
Wilson is coming off one of the worst performances we’ve seen from him in a while. Aside from Week 6, he’s thrown two touchdowns in every game in 2014. He also has a rushing touchdown in back-to-back games. After watching Kaepernick dismantle a struggling Rams defense, I’m confident Wilson will bounce back nicely. The rush yards always help.
QB Carson Palmer at Raiders
Oakland's stats look a bit inflated after facing Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tom Brady (when New England was playing terrible offensively). Philip Rivers posted 313 yards and three touchdowns on the Raiders in Week 6.
The Cardinals are passing 60.4 percent of the time on offense. Palmer attempted 44 passes in his return. Bruce Arians doesn't seemed too concerned about that nerve issue in his quarterback's arm. Palmer should provide a solid stat line for quarterback streamers. He's also a good value on FanDuel.
RB Justin Forsett vs. Falcons
According to Pat Thorman from Pro Football Focus (PFF), Forsett is averaging 3.9 yards per carry before contact. That's an unreal number that shows how good the Ravens offensive line has been in run blocking.
Forsett nows faces a Falcons defense that allows 30 points per game to opposing running backs. Yes, 30. That’s the worst mark in the league, and you should take advantage. While Forsett broke out for 111 yards in Week 6, his price is still just $6,200 on FanDuel. He won’t be the best play in guaranteed prize pools (GPP), but you should be playing him in 50/50 and head-to-head entries.
RB Isaiah Crowell at Jaguars
While Ben Tate continues to operate as the No. 1 back, the Browns clearly value Crowell's talent enough to warrant 10+ touches as well. Terrance West was a healthy scratch last week, which means Crowell is the one to own.
Crowell now faces a Jaguars defense that has allowed 637 yards rushing and seven total touchdowns to running backs. Kyle Shanahan wants to run the ball. Crowell’s chances will be there against a weaker run defense.
WR Andre Holmes vs Cardinals
No longer a sneaky play, Holmes broke out for two touchdowns in Week 6 and now has back-to-back games with a score. Arizona allows the second-most points to opposing wide receivers, which should yield another good day for the Raiders passing game.
Holmes will see a lot of Antonio Cromartie in coverage. Cromartie gets targeted 5.4 times per game and has allowed 55 fantasy points this year. It's not the best matchup for Holmes, but he saw 20 targets over the past two games and will continue to get looks near the goal line.
WR Justin Hunter at Washington
Washington’s secondary does not know how to stop opposing wide receivers. Some notable stat lines against this defense in 2014:
DeAndre Hopkins: 4/89/1
Andre Johnson: 6/93
Jeremy Maclin: 10/154/1
Jordan Matthews: 8/59/2
Victor Cruz: 6/108
Rueben Randle: 8/89
Larry Fitzgerald: 6/98/1
Michael Floyd: 4/47/1
That's probably more than enough information to make you feel confident about Hunter. He's played 121 of 128 snaps over the last two games. The Titans move him around, so he'll see David Amerson and Bashaud Breeland. Hunter scored two weeks ago and came within a yard of his second touchdown last week. I can't help but hope for big things from him again.
TE Dwayne Allen vs. Bengals
The Bengals are tied with the Cowboys for most points allowed per game to tight ends. Greg Olsen, Tim Wright and Rob Gronkowski have all scored on this defense over the past two weeks.
Dwayne Allen isn’t a model of consistency, but he saw a season-high seven targets in Week 7 and he has a touchdown in four of six games. Considering the Bengals allow the most receiving yards per game to his position, I’m betting on Allen if I’m looking for a streaming option at tight end.
Sell
QB Eli Manning at Cowboys
Victor Cruz is now out for the year. Andre Williams isn't quite providing the same boost as Rashad Jennings out of the backfield. There are flaws in the Cowboys defense, but Dallas controls the ball on average nearly 34 minutes per game. Ball control is helping the defense stay fresh and limit opportunities for opposing quarterbacks. I'm not buying Manning in many formats at the moment.
QB Matt Ryan at Ravens
According to Rich Hribar of XN Sports, Ryan only has two top 12 scoring weeks in 2014. Both of those games were in home. Ryan threw two touchdowns passes over the past two games. The Falcons offense is not performing at the level it was to start 2014.
The Ravens have given up 300-plus passing yards in three of six games, but they’ve only allowed multiple passing touchdowns in one game so far. It’s tough to bench a player like Ryan, and it would actually be nice to be proven wrong here, but I would exercise caution in starting him on the road after seeing his recent struggles.
RB Jerick McKinnon at Bills
Another play I love long-term, McKinnon finished with 17 touches in Week 6. Why don’t I like starting him after seeing that kind of usage? A few reasons stand in the way of endorsing him against Buffalo.
1) McKinnon has yet to score a touchdown after 55 total touches. Another stat from Hribar, McKinnon is the only running back in the top 40 for PPR scoring who hasn’t found the end zone.
2) The Bills defense leads the NFL in run defense, giving up just 2.8 yards per carry and 67.5 rush yards per game.
3) Mike Zimmer publicly expressed an interest to get Matt Asiata more touches. He took an indirect shot at McKinnon with a comment about running backs who can't pass protect. "In today's NFL, if a running back does not know who to block in pass protection he is not very good because he's going to get your quarterback killed," Zimmer said.
It appears he wasn’t too thrilled with McKinnon in Week 6. I don’t think you’ll be too thrilled if you start him in Week 7.
RB Zac Stacy vs. Seahawks
This might be an obvious choice seeing that Stacy didn't practice Wednesday, but it's hard to love any running back operating out of a three-man backfield. Benny Cunningham and Tre Mason both fared better than Stacy in Week 6. Now the Rams take on a Seahawks defense that has been stingy against opponent's run games in 2014. The Cowboys got the best of them, but we're not talking about DeMarco Murray here.
WR Wes Welker vs. 49ers
Welker is not going to see a single target every week. His last game is most likely an outlier for the year, but it is still somewhat concerning for fantasy owners to see him finish with one catch.
Welker will face off against Jimmie Ward or Perish Cox in Week 7. Ward left Week 6 with a quad injury, so his status is up in the air. Cox stepped into the slot when Ward left. Cox has allowed just 50 percent of his targets to be completed and he has a 39.4 opposing passer rating when targeted. Manning has been known to feed his receivers when they've been struggling, so it's not out of the question to see Welker bounce back. But looking at his body of work so far, I'd wait to see more usage out of Welker.
WR Marques Colston at Lions
A lot of owners seemed excited about Colston’s potential when they heard Jimmy Graham would likely be sidelined, but that’s certainly not a given with the number of weapons the Saints have. Pierre Thomas has stepped up recently. Brandin Cooks and Kenny Stills are both in the mix. Mark Ingram is back for Week 7, which means New Orleans can rely more on the run game.
The Lions have only allowed four receivers to hit double-digit fantasy points in PPR scoring, and they allow the fewest points to the position on average. I’m not ready to invest all my stock in Colston.
TE Heath Miller vs Texans
Miller just doesn’t see enough targets to warrant starting. Ben Roethlisberger threw his way seven times over the past two games. The Texans haven’t allowed a tight end to hit 60 yards receiving since Niles Paul did it in Week 1. There are plenty of streaming options for tight end.
