With six teams without a break and numerous injuries, the Week 7 fantasy football rankings are going to look weirder than ever this year. Finding sleepers and Hail Mary pieces will be just as interesting as this week’s Halloween-themed fun series. Is Zach Evans, Craig Reynolds and Diontae Johnson worth starting with? Find out below.
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WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL PREVIEW
** BYES: CAR, CIN, DAL, HOU, NYJ, TEN **
Jaguars at Saints, TNF
- Calvin Ridley has just 5.6 FPPG with 18.8 TmTGT% when Zay Jones is out, compared to 8.3 and 25.6 for Christian Kirk. When Jones is on the field, Ridley is at 9.6 and 25.3, Jones is at 7.9 and 24.0, and Kirk is at 6.0 and 20.0.
- The Saints are the only team whose game doesn’t reach Vegas with the lowest combined PPG (34.2 – CLE 34.4 and TB 35.6 in the next two).
- Over the last two weeks, Travis Etienne is RB1 in FPPG (28.1), third in rush yards (191), first in rush TDs (4), sixth in receptions (7) and fifth in receiving yards (76), while Alvin Kamara is seventh in FPPG (15.6), seventh in rush yards (148), second in receptions (10) and 13th in receiving yards (53).
Raiders at Bears, 1 p.m
- When Aidan O’Connell starts, he’s a boom/bust streamer (see below). If it’s Brian Hoyer, he’s at the bottom with little potential.
- The Bears are the only team to have beaten the Vegas Over in five games (83.3% of their games) – the next closest are DEN, IND, MIA (four games, 66.7%).
- The Raiders converted just 9.1% of third downs with Aidan O’Connell in Week 4 (MIN 12.5% and CIN 22.2% were the next two).
Browns at Colts, 1 p.m
- Despite giving up 41% of touchdowns in Week 6, Jerome Ford still has 11.7 FPPG (16th) and 54.2 RBTouch% (24th) since being acquired in Week 3.
- Jonathan Taylor went from 16.4 Snap% to 42.7 and from 21.9 RBTouch% to 50.0 in Week 6. I expect Taylor to lead in Week 7.
- The Colts run the least on man (10.3%) with zone coverage at 82.3% and Amari Cooper drops from 2.71 YPRR vs. man to 2.00 vs. zone.
- The Browns force a 3-and-out more often than any other team (59.4% of the time), while the Saints are second at 47.2%. The Colts had the 11th highest rate of 3.0% last week with Gardner Minshew (38.5).
Bills at Patriots, 1 p.m
- James Cook’s nice rushing matchup (14-for-71) was a double-edged sword as he posted a season-low RBTouch% (51.9) with zero targets.
- Rhamondre Stevenson again had a comfortable lead over Ezekiel Elliott, with Elliott suffering the most damage when Stevenson was briefly sidelined.
- Latavius Murray has the fifth-most goal-line rush attempts (seven) but only two rushing touchdowns.
- The Patriots lead the league, tied with the Browns, with a run rate of 55.6%.
Commanders at Giants, 1 p.m
- Jalin Hyatt had an 83.3 route % with an AirYD/TGT of 16.5 in Week 6 – a worthy Hail Mary play.
- The Commanders allow the most receiving yards per game to outfield receivers (159.8) – the Browns allow the fewest (63.0).
- The Giants were the last team to cover their spread this year and are now tied with ATL, CAR, DEN and NE in five of six games.
- The Giants have the second-highest man coverage (33.9%, CLE first at 42.0%), and Curtis Samuel jumps from 1.37 YPRR to 1.92 when playing man.
Falcons at Buccaneers, 1 p.m
- Of the running backs with a 67.0+ RBTouch% since Week 3, only two running backs have less than 10.0 FPPG – Dameon Pierce (9.2) and Rachaad White (6.8).
- The Falcons have a lowest 11 set percentage (three-wide) per dropback at 15.3%. According to calculations, the next lowest value is 47.9%. Not surprisingly, they have the highest 12 sets with two tight ends at 41.1%.
- Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith were TE5 and TE8 (overall and FPPG) over the last two weeks.
Lions at Ravens, 1 p.m
- When Jahmyr Gibbs plays, he is a strong RB2 as he hit 69.2 RBTouch% in Week 3 while Craig Reynolds hit 15.4. I would expect more from Reynolds this time and call him a touchdown-hopeful RB3. With Gibbs out, Reynolds is a mediocre RB2 like D’Onta Foreman was last week.
- The Lions are one of three teams (MIA, SF) that have covered the spread in all but one game.
- The Ravens are the stingiest on drives, resulting in a 7.1% touchdown run – the Browns are second lowest at 10.9%.
Steelers at Rams, 4 p.m
- When Kyren Williams plays, he is an injury-prone RB1, which makes Zach Evans an RB3. If Williams is out, Evans is like Reynolds (if Gibbs is out) with a little more upside. Royce Freeman could be a thorn in his side like Damien Williams was for the Cardinals.
- Only PJ Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson have lower Comp% Over Expectation values than Kenny Pickett (-9.2%), and Pickett is fourth worst in OffTGT% (24.5) – those two and Aidan O’Connell are worse .
- The Rams have the fourth-lowest CPOE percentage allowed (-5.1%).
Cardinals at Seahawks, 4 p.m
- Speaking of Williams, he was second in fantasy points and touches, but Emari Demercado led in snaps but was last in points and touches, while Keaontay Ingram had the most points and touches and was second in snaps. Avoid it where possible.
- Since Week 3, Geno Smith is 28th in TD/INT (2.1) and 27th in FPPG (11.7) as the Cardinals moved to the most favorable PassEPA for the defense. It’s a crucial week for Smith.
- Michael Wilson has just one target and zero receptions in man coverage, with all of his numbers coming against zone, and the Seahawks score the most in zone (83.7%).
- The Cardinals have allowed the second-most end zone targets (17), with Tyler Lockett tied for the league lead in EZ targets (seven) (Courtland Sutton, Jordan Addison).
Packers at Broncos, 4 p.m
- The matchup isn’t as compelling as it once was (Broncos had the best PassEPA allowed through Week 4, and over the past two weeks they’ve been just 19th), but Jordan Love is one given injuries and byes Worth the effort, and I wouldn’t cast it Apart from Romeo Doubs…yet.
- Love leads qualified quarterbacks in first read percentage (75.8%), and Christian Watson had 28.6% (22nd overall), Luke Musgrave 28.5% and Romeo Doubs 19.0% in Week 5 ( 45.).
- The Broncos lead the league with 34.4% of opponent drives resulting in a touchdown.
Chargers at Chiefs, 4 p.m
- After Justin Watson’s departure, Rashee Rice saw a massive increase in usage. If Watson played, Rice would take some damage.
- The Chargers allow the most YPR (12.7) and Rashee Rice leads the Chiefs in YPRR (2.75) and YAC (7.05).
- The Chargers also allow the third-most YPG to place receivers (97.4), and Rice is in the slot more often than any Chief (55.6%).
Dolphins at Eagles, SNF
- If Jeff Wilson returns, he’s an RB3 upside/risk play, and if Wilson doesn’t, Salvon Ahmed returns to the same position as last week…albeit with a little less risk since Wilson is returning from injury.
- The Dolphins lead the league with 0.23 EPA/Play – the 49ers are second (0.14) and the Patriots are last (-0.23, ahead of CLE -0.21 and NYG -0.20).
- The Eagles have the most plays per game (71.3) despite ranking just 15th in passes per game (37.8).
- The Dolphins have the highest combined PPG (63.2), with DEN 54.8 and WSH 51.5 the next two.
49ers at Vikings, MNF
- Normally I wouldn’t wait without a backup plan, but with Christian McCaffrey I would wait and even risk a zero. There is so much upside potential. However, it even makes sense to hide a Brandon Powell. If Elijah Mitchell returns and CMC is out, Mitchell would be a mid-risk RB2 and Jordan Mason would be an RB2/3. If CMC goes down and Mitchell doesn’t return, Mason is in the top 15 discussion.
- The 49ers are the worst matchup for tight ends according to the EPA, and TJ Hockenson was 8-6-50-0 with a team-high 26.7 TmTGT% last week (TE12) without Justin Jefferson.
- After the game against the Browns – the second toughest PassEPA (49ers first) – Brock Purdy gets a rebound spot as the Vikings are sixth cheapest and have the best matchup for the slot (Seahawks second).
- Jauan Jennings has the highest slot route percentage (58.5%), while all other receivers were at 26.7% (Ray-Ray McLoud) or lower.
WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL SLEEPERS
These are sleeper (DuckTales and Darkwing Duck style – Woo-oo is worthy of risk in most leagues, and Dangerous is when you need a Hail Mary). You will not 100% imitate my ranking. This is about aiming for the upside and it often comes with a higher level of risk – to put it simply, they are upside plays that you might consider over a firm bottom option.
Woo-oo worthy
- QB: Sam Howell, WSH
- RB: Zach Evans, LAR; Roshon Johnson, CHI
- WR: Curtis Samuel, WSH; Michael Wilson, ARI
- TE: Pat Freiermuth, PIT
Let’s get dangerous
- QB: PJ Walker, CLE
- RB: Craig Reynolds, DET; Keaontay Ingram, ARI
- WR: Jauan Jennings, SF; Jalin Hyatt, NYG
- TE: Luke Musgrave, UK
WEEK 7: BUY LOW, SELL HIGH
These are players to maximize value on, because buying low doesn’t mean you have to trade them everywhere, and selling high doesn’t mean you have to get rid of them at any price. These are just potentially undervalued and overvalued players in trading.
Buy cheap
- QB: Daniel Jones, NYG (big increase when Saquon Barkley plays) again; Patrick Mahomes, KC
- RB: Jonathan Taylor, IND (before returning to 100%); Miles Sanders (Health); Joe Mixon, CIN (was mediocre, with a bye, managers see SF after the bye); Jerome Ford, CLE (if he keeps the lead he gets the CHI, HOU, NYJ playoffs)
- WR: Davante Adams, LV (yes, the QB situation could ruin Adams, but don’t forget the first three weeks); DeVonta Smith, PHI (SEA, NYG, ARI Playoffs); DK Metcalf, SEA (PHI, TEN, PIT Playoffs)
Sell high
- QB: Tua Tagovailoa, MIA (NYJ, DAL, BAL for playoff schedule); Desmond Ridder, ATL (probably not, but with injuries and free games someone might get desperate)
- RB: Breece Hall, NYJ (only if top 10 value); Raheem Mostert, MIA (if RB1 has any value as Jeff Wilson could spoil it) – Replays from last week
- WR: Curtis Samuel, WSH (may not get WR2 rating, but if so, he also saw a surge last year and volatility will return); Adam Thielen, CAR (obvious and may not get a WR1 rating, but ATL, GB and JAX playoffs are a concern)
FUN WITH RANKINGS!
Halloween is almost here, and with the best Halloween candy rankings coming out next week, this week’s lineup features the best Halloween/horror villains/villains of all time. You may not agree with my stance, but I didn’t include Jaws, Jack Torrence, or The Facility (Cabin in the Woods is one of the best ever) because they are slightly different on this list.
Top 10 Halloween or Horror Villains (Big Bads)
Recognitions
- Ghost face — Definitely comedic, but the voice is just as recognizable as the mask. However, the fact that there are always new “Ghostfaces” means that it is not a “single big bad”.
- Pazuzu – Another “If You Don’t Know the Name” character, as this is the name of the devil possession in The Exorcist. Also, another lasting image that will haunt your dreams was Regan MacNeil walking headfirst down the stairs.
- Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster – Two OGs. They deserve a mention.
- The nun – One of the scariest horror villains. Too reliant on jump scares.
WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL PROJECTIONS
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨 These may differ from my rankings and mine Ranks are the order in which I would start players outside of additional context, such as “Need the highest upside potential, even if it’s risky.” Also based on 4 point TDs for QB, 6 point break and half PPR
Projections download link
WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS
🚨 HEADS UP 🚨
- Unfortunately, there is still no perfect widget. I know many see this on your phone, but 1) use the rankings widget on a PC/laptop etc if possible, or 2) open in your phone’s browser, especially for Android users, for scrolling to work properly .
- ECR = “Expert” consensus ranking (which not everyone updates regularly, so use with caution).
- Will be updated regularly. Please find out about the blocking of the lineups.
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)