Fantasy football rankings 2017: Quarterbacks for NFL Week 7

Let’s get ready for another week of fantasy rankings! Tom Brady has struggled to put up strong fantasy numbers over the last two weeks. That should change this week, as he’ll face Atlanta. The Falcons defense has been struggling recently and will still be without its best pass rusher. As long as Rob Gronkowski is healthy, look for Brady to have one of his best games of the season. He should be able to boost his fantasy points for the week into the high 20s or low 30s.

Marcus Mariota returned in Week 6 and had a decent game. You could see that he didn’t have the mobility to escape the rush. He would just give himself up when there was any pressure. It gave us an opportunity to see that he does have the ability to wait in the pocket. Mariota faces the Browns in Week 7 and should be able to have a good game despite his limitations. Following Week 7, the Titans have their bye and Mariota should be close to full health after that.

Bye weeks this week for only Detroit and Houston. That means we’ll be without Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson. It’s too bad that Watson’s bye is early, since he’s been on a hot streak. He currently leads all fantasy quarterbacks in points. Stafford rounds out the top ten fantasy quarterbacks. Stafford hasn’t really had a great game since Week 1. Maybe the bye week will help get him back on track. Philip Rivers and Jared Goff should be looked at as bye week replacements.

The huge injury news last week was the loss of Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay hasn’t given up hope that he might return before the end of the season. Unfortunately, if he returns in Weeks 16 or 17, it’ll be too late for the majority of fantasy owners. Rodgers is going to have surgery, which should speed up his recovery time. Stash him for now but it may be four or five weeks before we have some definite answers. Brett Hundley has upside and should be picked up because of the great Green Bay receiving options.

Jameis Winston sprained his AC joint but may be able to play in Week 7. The Bills defense is a tough matchup for any quarterback. It may be practical to go with your backup plan for Week 7. Andrew Luck is progressing but remains a few weeks away. He’s still not practicing in full and probably won’t be ready to play until that happens. Trevor Siemian sprained his non-throwing shoulder against the Giants. Denver believes he’ll be able to start but it’s best to avoid Denver quarterbacks at present.

Sam Bradford’s knee injury is more serious than we thought. He may not be ready to return until after Minnesota’s Week 9 bye. Teddy Bridgewater has been cleared to return to practice. He may be ready to return sooner than Bradford. Bridgewater still needs to be removed from the PUP list. He may be moved to the active roster by next week. Case Keenum will remain the starter in Minnesota until something changes.

My sleeper pick for Week 7 is Carson Palmer. The running game in Arizona returned and it helped Palmer have his second best performance this season. As long as they have a strong running game, Palmer should have more performances like this. I think he’ll pass for 290 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams.

(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)