Off weeks bring new challenges to fantasy football landscape
Week 7 officially marks the halfway point of the fantasy football regular season, which can mean only one thing: winter is coming …
Week 7 brings us six teams on bye, including fantasy stars we rely on week in and weekout.
As of this writing we also have no idea if Christian McCaffrey will play on Monday Night Football.
Same goes for Deebo Samuel, Kareem Hunt in Cleveland, Aaron Jones in Green Bay, and DK Metcalf in Seattle.
The list is much longer, trust me. But for the sake of not personally requesting an entire extra page in our PostGazette Sunday paper, I’ll cap ithere.
Bye weeks will be back with a vengeance in Week 9, too, and the ever-mounting list of injuries to our fantasy stars will only get worse.
If you’re 1-5, 2-4, or even 3-3 and teetering on the brink of a postseason berth, it’s time to wakeup.
You might have McCaffrey or Travis Kelce and have a losing record, with severe holes onthe rest of your roster.
Just know that the longer you cling to one elite player and don’t ensure your entire starting lineup can collectively win week to week, the longer you will continue to plummet in the standings.
If you’re in a position to trade a currently questionable McCaffrey to a first-place team and receive three quality starters, you should at least explore it.
If you need wins in a bad way, then it’s time to look to trading away other injured stars such as Kyren Williams, De’Von Achane and David Montgomery.
These players could be back in Weeks 10-11, sure, but by that point it will be too late.
And if you’re sitting pretty atop your fantasy standings — yes, I saved the best teams for last— then simply do ... the opposite. Package and trade away your WR3/RB3 for one star in return.
Remember, a single player can’t win you a fantasy playoff berth or eventual title ... but a single trade can.
Players I love (Start ’em)
QB. Justin Herbert, Chargers (+3)
Dell’s rank QB3; Consensus rank QB6; Whose got 10 fingers, a star running back fully healthy (finally) and a veteran all-star wide receiver over the middle field? OK, Herbert might not have technically have 10 fully functioning fingers at the moment. But even while wearing a glove for the injured finger on his nonthrowing hand in Week 6, he still finished as the QB6 overall. He’s finished no worse than QB11 in any game this season and has been QB6 or better in four of his five starts, including overall QB1 in Week 3. His matchup this weekend is a juicy one, too. LAC-KC has the second-highest total in Week 7 (47.5).
Honorable mention: Tua Tagovailoa QB4, Geno Smith QB7, Brock Purdy QB8, Matthew Stafford QB9
RB. Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs (+3); Dell’s rank RB4
Same game. Same 47.5 total. Same potential for a ton of fantasy points. We’re keeping things simple here in Week 7. Pacheco has finished inside the top 14 RBs for four consecutive weeks, turning in RB11 (17 touches), RB7 (23 touches), RB13(17 touches) and RB14 (22 touches) performances over that stretch. Most important is the new role that the second -year back now finds himself in. His snaps, routes and targets have all increased massively since Week 3, and he now he gets to face the fourth friendliest fantasy defense( to all positions) in the Chargers, and coming off a career-high 6 targets in Week 6 no less.
Honorable mention: Saquon Barkley RB10, Jahmyr Gibbs RB11, Jerome Ford RB13, D’Onta Foreman RB16
WR. Tyler Lockett, Seahawks (+2); Dell’s rank
WR14
DK Metcalf is a true gametime decision for Sunday’s Seahawks tilt against the bottom-feeding Arizona Cardinals defense. Enter the venerable veteran, sir Tyler Deron Lockett, who is coming off a season-high 94 yards in Week 6 and could see another double-digit target outing in Week 7. Did I mention his Week 7 matchup? Arizona ranks second-worst in PFF coverage grade and is also allowing +13.8% points to opposing WRs this season, according to Fantasy Pros.
Honorable mention: Drake London WR20, Christian Watson WR21, Joshua Palmer WR28, Rashee Rice WR37
TE. Luke Musgrave, Packers (+3); Dell’s rank TE8
Musgrave’s matchup againstthe Denver Broncos in Week 7 is literally as good as it gets. No team in the NFL is worse at defending tight ends than the Broncos. Denver’s secondary ranks dead last in PFF coverage grade as well, and it has also allowed a mouth-watering +37.2% more TE points per game. Cole Kmet looked like the next coming of Travis Kelce (spoiler: he’s not) with 85 yardsand two touchdowns vs. the Broncos in Week 3.
Honorable mention: Kyle Pitts TE9, Jonnu Smith TE11, Michael Mayer TE12, Gerald Everett TE13
Players I hate (Sit ’em)
QB. Russell Wilson, Broncos (-7); Dell’s rank QB19
“Broncos Country, let’s ride!” — to your benches. You know what, forget all that. Russell Wilson needs a swift ride to the deepest, darkest doldrums of your waiver wire for that matter. Russ has now finished as QB20 or worse in twoof his past four games, and he now faces a formidable Packers secondary ranked ninth in coverage grade by PFF. Rumors have swirled that Denver could bench him before certain kickers mix in. That could indeed come as soon as Week 7.
Dishonorable mention: Jared Goff QB16, Baker Mayfield QB21, Kenny Pickett QB22, Gardner Minshew QB25
RB. Alexander Mattison, Vikings (-10); Dell’s rank RB27
Despite the preseason vitriol by some in the fantasy community against Alexander Mattison, he’s actually been quite the serviceable fantasy back in 2023. Mattison has finished RB23 or better in all but one game this season, including one RB10 finish and four others inside the top 20. That one down week I so politely glossed over for the Vikings back came in Week 2 against Philly, where he finished with 39 scoreless yards to finish as the RB51 in halfPPR scoring.
Dishonorable mention: Rachaad White RB28, Tyler Allgeier RB32, Gus Edwards RB34, Najee Harris RB37
WR. Mike Evans, Bucs (-17); Dell’s rank WR30
The Falcons’ A.J. Terrell has “been on one,” as the kids love to say these days. Atlanta’s star cover corner has given opposing WRs fits all seasonand is a big reason why his team ranks third-best in opposing fantasy WR points allowed per game. Evans himself has struggled with efficiency since his hot start to 2023. The veteran wideout has turned in WR56 and WR44 performances in his past two weeks, combining for a lowly seven catches and 89 scoreless yards. Dishonorable mention: Wan’Dale Robinson WR42, Courtland Sutton WR47, Jerry Jeudy WR48, Jahan Dotson WR52
TE. Zach Ertz (-4); Dell’s rank TE23
Contrary to previous reports, I’m now sorry to announce that no, Zach Ertz’s early 2023 campaign was not the second coming of Benjamin Button. The clock was properly reset in Week 7, as Ertz finished with just two catches for 22 scoreless yards, 3.2 measly fantasy points and an overall TE25 finish. More important to note here is that Ertz, for the first time all year ran BEHIND talented secondyear TE Trey McBride, playing less snaps and running less routes. Dishonorable mention: Logan Thomas TE14, Cole Kmet TE16, Tyler Higbee TE17,Hunter Henry TE22