Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings

Welcome to week 7 of the fantasy football season! This is a pivotal week in the season. You have gotten a 6 game sample size of the players on your team and have hopefully come out on top in the majority of your match-ups. The time is now to make trades and waiver pick-ups to shape the rest of your season and lead you to a championship this year. Many of the players listed in the Fantasy Projection rankings below are available on the waiver wire or can be bought on the cheap in trades. Please use the rankings below to help you make these decisions and maximize you Potential Fantasy Points for this week and future weeks going forward.

On a sadder note… we have lost Ben Roethlisberger for at least the next 2 weeks (including a BYE week) and potentially 4-6 weeks. Big Ben underwent surgery on his meniscus (knee) this week and is also dealing with the accumulation of other knee issues from past seasons. This is not only bad news for owners of the top 5 fantasy QB, but it is also bad news for owners of Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. Although there is almost no way for you to be able to sit these fantasy superstars, any owners of Roethlisberger will need to find other options…luckily you have come to the right place.

Quarterbacks
  1. Tom Brady, NE QB at PIT
  2. Matt Ryan, ATL QB vs. SD
  3. Philip Rivers, SD QB at ATL
  4. Andy Dalton, CIN QB vs. CLE
  5. Drew Brees, NO QB at KC
  6. Blake Bortles, JAC QB vs. OAK
  7. Aaron Rodgers, GB QB vs. CHI
  8. Kirk Cousins, WAS QB at DET
  9. Andrew Luck, IND QB at TEN
  10. Marcus Mariota, TEN QB vs. IND
  11. Jameis Winston, TB QB at SF
  12. Alex Smith, KC QB vs. NO
  13. Derek Carr, OAK QB at JAC
  14. Russell Wilson, SEA QB at ARI
  15. Tyrod Taylor, BUF QB at MIA

Andy Dalton makes an appearance within the top 5 QB rankings for week 7 and for very good reason. Dalton has been performing as expected over the course of the 2016-17 season. He has had 3 out of 6 games of over 290 passing yards 2 of which he threw for over 350. He has also thrown for 6 touchdowns and rushed for 1 while only throwing 2 interceptions. These are good stats for a starting fantasy QB and they should be even better against a feeble Browns pass defense. The Browns have allowed 290 passing yards per game and are 2nd worst in the league in passing touchdowns allowed with 16  over the young season.  Additionally, they are coming off a week where they allowed Marcus Mariota (a lesser talent than Dalton in my opinion) pass for 284 yards and 3 TDs with lesser weapons at his disposal than A.J. Green.  I expect Dalton to tear through the Browns defense like tissue paper and put up 325 passing yards and 2 TDs in week 7.

Marcus Mariota finds himself in the top 10 fantasy QB rankings for week 7 and makes a great streaming options for anyone who has lost Big Ben. Mariota had an amazing week 6 (as mentioned above) against the Browns defense and I expect him to have similar results against the Colts who are 29th in the league in passing yards allowed per game (297 yards) and have allowed 9 passing TDs. I project Mariota to throw for 225 yards and 2 TDs in week 7.

Running Backs
  1. DeMarco Murray, TEN RB vs. IND
  2. LeSean McCoy, BUF RB at MIA *
  3. David Johnson, ARI RB vs. SEA
  4. Melvin Gordon, SD RB at ATL
  5. Lamar Miller, HOU RB at DEN
  6. Le’Veon Bell, PIT RB vs. NE
  7. Devonta Freeman, ATL RB vs. SD
  8. Christine Michael, SEA RB at ARI
  9. Todd Gurley, LA RB vs. NYG
  10. C.J. Anderson, DEN RB vs. HOU
  11. Jacquizz Rodgers, TB RB at SF
  12. Jamaal Charles, KC RB vs. NO
  13. Mark Ingram, NO RB at KC
  14. LeGarrette Blount, NE RB at PIT
  15. Jordan Howard, CHI RB at GB

*Player has injury concerns, ranking is dependent on if the player is active

Le’Veon Bell’s drop in the week 7 rankings is directly correlated to the loss of QB Ben Roethlisberger. Bell is taking on the Patriots this week who are very good at taking away the best option on your team and I believe that option to be Bell. I believe they will also be able to take away WR Antonio Brown (see ranking below) although they most likely will not have to try too hard seeing that back-up QB Landry Jones will be throwing him the ball…or attempting to. In addition, the Patriots are only allowing 92 yards rushing per game (9th) and 3 TDs (tied for 5th) over the entire season. I still expect Bell to be near the top 5 RBs for the week strictly due to the amount of volume he should still see. Bell is going to be the easiest option for the young QB and should see plenty of touches. I project 75 rushing yards and 4 catches for 20 receiving yards in week 7.

It appears as if Doug Martin will be out for week 7 which leaves the door wide open for a surging Jacquizz Rodgers. Rodgers made his last start in week 5 prior to a BYE in week 6 against the Carolina Panthers where he rushed for over 100 yards and had 5 receptions for approximately 30 yards. After that incredible game against the Panthers, Rodgers now faces the 49ers rush defense who are allowing the most rushing yards per game of any team in the NFL at over 170 yards per game. In addition, they have given up 9 rushing touchdowns since the beginning of the season. I project 70 rushing yards and 5 receptions for 35 yards for Rodgers in week 7.

Wide Receivers
  1. Julio Jones, ATL WR vs. SD
  2. A.J. Green, CIN WR vs. CLE
  3. Mike Evans, TB WR at SF
  4. Allen Robinson, JAC WR vs. OAK
  5. Odell Beckham Jr., NYG WR at LA
  6. Brandon Marshall, NYJ WR vs. BAL
  7. Brandin Cooks, NO WR at KC
  8. Jordy Nelson, GB WR vs. CHI
  9. T.Y. Hilton, IND WR at TEN
  10. Antonio Brown, PIT WR vs. NE
  11. Alshon Jeffrey, CHI WR at GB
  12. Amari Cooper, OAK WR at JAC
  13. Jeremy Maclin, KC WR vs. NO
  14. Jarvis Landry, MIA WR vs. BUF
  15. Larry Fitzgerald, ARI WR vs. SEA
  16. Demaryius Thomas, DEN WR vs. HOU
  17. Marvin Jones, DET WR vs. WAS
  18. Cameron Meredith, CHI WR at GB
  19. Ty Montgomery, GB WR vs. CHI
  20. DeSean Jackson, WAS WR at DET
  21. Travis Benjamin, SD WR at ATL
  22. Terrelle Pryor, CLE WR at CIN
  23. Mike Wallace, BAL WR at NYJ
  24. Kendall Wright, TEN WR vs. IND
  25. Julian Edelman, NE WR at PIT

Cameron Meredith has exploded as Brian Hoyer’s favorite option in the passing game for the Chicago Bears. Over the past 2 weeks Meredith has been on the receiving end of 20 passes and has racked up over 240 receiving yards and 1 TD. I was weary of Meredith’s performance after the first week, but now that he has gone back out and repeated it I think he is deserving of a WR2 rankings for week 7. Meredith is playing Thursday night against the Packers defense that is falls in the bottom half of the league in receiving yards allowed per game (287 yards) and TDs allowed over the season (10). I expect Meredith to continue his hot streak this week with 8 receptions for 80 yards and the possibility of a TD.

Kendall Wright was injured at the beginning of this season, but appears to be coming back to form after last weeks dominating performance. Against the Browns in week 6 Wright’s fantasy owners (very few at the time) were the beneficiaries of 8 receptions for 133 receiving yards and 1 TD.  He seemed to be the “go to” target for QB Marcus Mariota and the two seemed to be on the same page. I don’t quite expect a repeat of this in week 7, but against a poor Colts pass defense I can see Wright performing as a WR2 this week. I project 7 receptions for 65 yards and a lower possibility of a TD.

Tight Ends
  1. Rob Gronkowski, NE TE at PIT
  2. Delanie Walker, TEN TE vs. IND
  3. Travis Kelce, KC TE vs. NO
  4. Hunter Henry, SD TE at ATL
  5. Jimmy Graham, SEA TE at ARI
  6. Martellus Bennett, NE TE at PIT
  7. Zach Miller, CHI TE at GB
  8. Julius Thomas, JAC TE vs. OAK
  9. Coby Fleener, NO TE at KC
  10. Kyle Rudolph, MIN TE at PHI
  11. Cameron Brate, TB TE at SF
  12. Gary Barnidge, CLE TE at CIN

Cameron Brate is coming into his own as a receiving option for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is facing the 49ers defense in week 7 that has allowed 12 TDs over the course of the 2016-17 season, one of the worst in the league. I expect Brate to have the opportunity for a TD in week 7 making him a viable low end TE1 option this week. Not only is he facing a susceptible defense, but after the loss of Vincent Jackson, Brate finds himself as one of the few receiving options left for QB Jameis Winston. I expect an increase in targets for Brate starting in week 7  which leads to an immediate increase in fantasy upside.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*