Here are my fantasy football rankings, tiers and outlook for notable players Week 7.
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Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Week 7
Quarterbacks Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Quarterbacks
Jared Goff is in a great spot this week at home in Ford Field against a pass-funnel Tampa Bay defense, in a game with a Vegas total of 52.5. I have him ranked as a midrange QB1.
As of this writing, I have C.J. Stroud ranked QB16, but it’s possible I’ll be moving him down. I’m worried about a quarterback with a bad offensive line going up against a Seattle pass rush that’s sixth in the league in pressure rate and tied for second in sacks. The only reason I have Stroud ranked as a potential streamer is because the Seahawks have been playing without their two best cornerbacks, Devon Witherspoon (knee) and Riq Woolen (concussion), and starting safety Julian Love (hamstring). If more than one of those two injured defensive backs are able to return this week, I’ll drop Stroud into the non-streaming zone of my rankings.
I’m fading Justin Fields this week and recommend not starting him in fantasy this week. Fields was already working with arguably the thinnest group of pass catchers in the league, and now he’ll be forced to play without his only high-quality receiver, Garrett Wilson, who has a knee injury. Last I checked, the prop for Fields’ passing yardage on Hard Rock Bets was 173.5 passing yards, and I’ve bet the under. Veteran WR Josh Reynolds is dealing with a hip injury, so Fields top two wide receivers could be rookie Arian Smith, who’s really fast but had a 12% drop rate in his final college season, and Tyler Johnson, who has 80 career catches in 54 career games. For Fields to have even a decent fantasy day, he’s probably going to need at least one TD run. I’m well below consensus on Fields, barely ranking him inside the top 20 at quarterback.
There’s a lot of enthusiasm for Giants rookie Jaxson Dart, but Dart has a brutal Week 7 matchup against a relentless Denver defense that leads the league in sacks and is giving up 175 passing yards per game. Don’t play Dart if you can help it.
Running Backs Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Running Backs
Ranking D’Andre Swift as a midrange RB2 feels like a case of chasing last week’s points. He averaged 3.1 yards per carry or worse in three of his first four games. But Swift had 14-108-0 rushing and 2-67-1 receiving against a solid Washington defense last week and looked genuinely explosive. I’m cautiously optimistic that Bears head coach Ben Johnson figured out sustainable upgrades to the running game during Chicago’s bye week.
J.K. Dobbins gets a juicy Week 7 matchup against a Giants run defense that ranks 31st in DVOA. Dobbins hasn’t been catching many passes, with just five receptions in five games. But the rushing volume has been more than adequate, with Dobbins getting at least 14 carries in each of his last three games.
If a player is a lead back for his team, you’re starting him unless he’s terrible or his offense is terrible, and I don’t think either of those caveats apply to Kimani Vidal. No doubt Vidal benefitted from the matchup with Miami and its abysmal run defense last week when he ran for 124 yards and added a TD catch. Vidal averaged 6.9 yards per carry in that game. His matchup against the Colts this week won’t be quite as easy. But Vidal’s usage last week was lead-back material: a 67.2% snap share, 21 touches, usage in the passing game. If you picked him up on waivers, you’re playing him.
No one is excited about playing Rhamondre Stevenson, who might be one fumble away from a benching. But Stevenson gets a soft Week 7 matchup against a Titans defense that has given up 4.7 yards per carry and a league-high nine rushing touchdowns to RBs. The Tennessee run defense ranks 27th in DVOA. I’m slotting in Stevenson as a high-end RB3.
There seemed to be a usage shift in the Chiefs’ backfield last week. After splitting work pretty evenly with Kareem Hunt for the first five games of the season, Isiah Pacheco out-snaped Hunt 49-19 last week vs. the Lions and out-touched Hunt 13-7. It’s hard to tell whether the increase Pacheco usage is going to stick. Rookie RB Brashard Smith is in the mix, too, and the Chiefs have a league-high +9.7% pass rate over expected. Even in a game where the Chiefs are double-digit home favorites against the Raiders and figure to have a run-friendly game script, I can only rank Pacheco as a midrange RB3.
With Tyjae Spears on injured reserve for the first four games of the season and Tony Pollard having the Titans’ backfield mostly to himself, Pollard ranked RB29 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game. Spears returned in Week 5, and in Week 6 he out-snapped Tony Polard 36-26. Spears also looked better than Pollard. It’s possible Spears played more than Pollard because Spears is a pass-catching back and the Titans were trailing the Raiders for most of that game. But, hey, the Titans are a bad team and are going to be trailing in most games they play. Pollard is now a midrange RB3 at best and getting close to unplayable.
Bam Knight has scored a touchdown in each of his last two games, but I’m ranking him as a low-end RB3 and don’t really want to play him against the Packers. Last week against the Colts, Knight played five more snaps than Michael Carter and out-touched Carter 12-11. This looks like a split backfield, with Knight as the primary early-down guy and Carter the passing-down guy. Carter seems like the better option if the Cardinals are in chase mode, and that seems likely to be the case this week with the Cardinals a 6.5-point home underdog against the Packers. Green Bay’s defense is giving up a league-low 66.2 rushing yards per game to RBs.
Wide Receivers Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Wide Receivers
If you’re a Rashee Rice investor, you didn’t wait six long weeks for his suspension to end just to leave him on the bench. The guess here is that Rice plays full snaps for the Chiefs this Sunday against the Lions. A lot of the best stuff in Andy Reid’s playbook has Rice as the beneficiary — wide receiver screens and other quick-hitting passes. Reid has probably been itching to call those plays. Hallelujah.
The Dolphins have played two games since Tyreek Hill sustained a season-ending knee injury. In those two games, Jaylen Waddle had 6-110-1 against the Panthers and 6-95-0 against the Chargers on eight targets. This week he goes against a Browns defense that’s easier to throw on than to run on. Cleveland is ranked No. 1 in DVOA against the run, 24th against the pass. I would rank Waddle as a low-end WR1 if not for a windy and potentially rainy forecast in Chicago on Sunday that’s forcing me to rank Waddle as more of a midrange WR2.
With the Panthers facing the Jets this week, Tetairoa McMillan is going to be shadowed by Sauce Gardner, who’s only allowed 10 catches and 170 receiving yards on throws into his coverage this season, according to PFF. Panthers QB Bryce Young is averaging 5.8 yards per pass attempt this season. McMillan profiles as a low-end WR2 with an unstable floor.
Terry McLaurin is practicing this week and seems to have a good chance of returning from a quad injury. If indeed he’s back, McLaurin will have an inviting matchup against a Dallas defense that has given up the most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Dallas has yielded a league-high 12 touchdown catches to wide receivers, and McLaurin had a touchdown in both of his games against the Cowboys last season.
Chris Olave ranks second in the NFL in targets (64) behind only Puka Nacua and is seventh in receptions (39). But Olave is averaging 5.3 yards per target, well below his career YPT of 8.0, and he’s scored only one touchdown. Olave could also be playing in windy conditions Sunday in Chicago. Regard him as a low-end WR2 or high-end WR3.
Romeo Doubs‘ ECR casts him as a high-end WR3. I think that’s overly optimistic, with Doubs coasting on the fumes of his three-TD game against the Cowboys in Week 4. Doubs is averaging 5.6 targets a game, and his season high in yardage is 68 yards. Even in that three-touchdown game against Dallas, Doubs had a modest 58 receiving yards. Packers QB Jordan Love spreads the ball around, and the run-heavy Packers have a pass rate over expected of -4.2%, tied for seventh lowest in the league. I consider Doubs more of a midrange or low-end WR3.
Kayshon Boutte hasn’t been heavily targeted this season, with 23 targets in his first six games. But Boutte has been ruthlessly efficient, averaging 13.1 yards per target and 1.86 yards per route run. He’s also scored three touchdowns and is tied for 35th in half-point PPR fantasy points per game. With the low target total, Boutte doesn’t offer a safe floor, but I consider him a flex-worthy WR4 this week against the Titans.
Jerry Jeudy is currently WR57 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring. But he leads all wide receivers in number of routes run, he ranks fourth among receivers in air yards, and he’s tied for 10th among receivers in targets. Obviously, the quality of targets hasn’t been great. His quarterbacks this season have been the elderly Joe Flacco and third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel. Only 60% of Jeudy’s targets this season have been deemed catchable. Because the usage is far outpacing the surface stats, I want to rank Jeudy as at least a flex-worthy options. But the Sunday forecast for Cleveland, where the Browns will be hosting the Dolphins, calls for wind in the 20-30 mph range, with rain likely. I’m ranking Jeudy well outside the top 40 at receiver this week.
Tight Ends Rankings & Tiers
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Lineup Advice: Tight Ends
The only skill player in the Eagles’ offense who seems to be benefitting from the playcalling of new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is Dallas Goedert. The veteran tight end is TE2 in half-point fantasy points per game (13.3) and has seen 20 targets over his last two games. Goedert is also on a touchdown blitz, with five TDs in his last four games. He’s become a weekly must-start.
If David Njoku is out with a knee injury this week — and it seems like he will be — rookie Harold Fannin becomes a playable option. Browns tight ends have 29 targets and 20 catches in Dillon Gabriel‘s first two NFL starts. Obviously, Fannin wouldn’t get all of Njoku’s vacated targets, but Fannin’s target outlook would certainly improve. He’ll be facing a Dolphins defense that has allowed the fifth-most receiving yards to TEs. But with the grim weather forecast in Cleveland, Fanning is still outside of TE1 range.
Yes, Mason Taylor flopped last week, with one catch for two yards against the Broncos. But he gets a much softer matchup this week against the Panthers, who gave up the most fantasy points to tight ends last season and have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends in 2025. And with WR Garrett Wilson out with a knee injury, Jets QB Justin Fields has to throw to someone.
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