Your weekend fantasy playbook for Week 7
The latest fantasy football news, rankings, start/sit advice, and more to help you avoid misery on Sunday.
Hey all,
Just a heads up that I’ve been “limited at practice”, so to speak — yes, that means under the weather, so this is an abbreviated edition of the playbook. Please accept my apologies and I should be back to full strength for Week 8; best of luck this weekend!
Best - Justin
🤕 Pain index
🚫 Nope: Jerome Ford (hamstring), Dallas Goedert (hamstring), Jauan Jennings (hip), Tyjae Spears (hamstring), Jonathan Taylor (ankle)
🫤 Not looking great: Quentin Johnston (ankle), Travis Etienne (hamstring), Jakobi Meyers (ankle)
🙏 Cautiously optimistic: Marvin Harrison Jr. (concussion), Jordan Whittington (shoulder), Ladd McConkey (hip), Zamir White (groin), Rachaad White (foot), Aaron Jones (hamstring), Tyler Conklin (hip), Nick Chubb (knee)
🤷 Truly questionable: Cooper Kupp (ankle), Brian Robinson Jr. (knee), Mike Evans (hamstring), Michael Pittman Jr. (back), Josh Downs (toe), Dontayvion Wicks (shoulder), Travis Etienne (hamstring), Rhamondre Stevenson (foot), Will Levis (shoulder)
✅ Good to go: Jordan Mason (shoulder), Trey Sermon (knee), JuJu Smith-Schuster (hamstring), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness), Anthony Richardson (oblique), Christian Watson (ankle), Evan Engram (hamstring), Joe Mixon (ankle), James Cook (toe)
Note: The above are estimates based on the latest news and injury reports. Always double-check your own rosters before Sunday kickoff!
📋 Weekend update: Latest player rankings
🚨 My Week 7 fantasy football rankings for PPR, Half-PPR, and Standard scoring formats will be updated throughout the weekend up until kickoff on Sunday.
📈 3 guys up
Austin Ekeler - RB, WAS (vs. IND)
My current half-ppr rank: RB25 (+3 vs. avg expert ranking on Fantasy Pros)
“Ekeler saw 88% of the opportunity share last week with Brian Robinson Jr. out, and he gets a much easier matchup Sunday. The Panthers have allowed an NFL-high 12 rushing scores and by far the most fantasy points to running backs this season. … Ekeler looks far healthier this year, so he can be started even if Robinson returns from his ongoing knee injury [and] has RB1 upside should Robinson sit again.” — Dalton Del Don, Yahoo! Sports
Demario Douglas - WR, NE (at JAC)
My current half-ppr rank: WR30 (+6 vs. avg expert ranking on Fantasy Pros)
“Pop Douglas has emerged as the Patriots’ clear No. 1 receiver. Following two quiet weeks to start the year, Douglas has earned 26 percent of New England’s targets with a 28 percent air yards share. He is averaging 13.1 PPR points over that stretch. With Drake Maye on the sticks, the outlook of the entire passing game is on the rise. That will be amplified by a matchup with a Jaguars defense that ranks 29th in EPA per dropback allowed.” — Kyle Dvorchak, NBC Sports
JuJu Smith-Schuster - WR, KC (at SF)
My current half-ppr rank: WR33 (+5 vs. avg expert ranking on Fantasy Pros)
“The last time we saw Smith-Schusterin Week 5 against the Saints he looked awesome with seven catches for 130 yards on eight targets, and I'm excited to see what he can do against the 49ers coming off the bye in Week 6. San Francisco has allowed six receivers to score at least 12.8 PPR points this season.” — Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports
📉 3 guys down
Jordan Mason - RB, SF (vs. KC)
My current half-ppr rank: RB18 (-4 vs. avg expert ranking on Fantasy Pros)
“Mason's status for Week 7 is murky as he deals with a shoulder injury, but trusting the 49ers' running backs against the Chiefs doesn't sound like a great plan either way. Kansas City has allowed a league-low 263 rushing yards to running backs this season (52.6 yards per game), so the 49ers backs may just be low-end flex plays, especially if Kyle Shanahan tries to split the workload to protect Mason evenly.” — Jacob Camenker, USA Today
George Pickens - WR, PIT (vs. NYJ)
My current half-ppr rank: WR31 (-2 vs. avg expert ranking on Fantasy Pros)
“The Jets are elite against receivers. They have allowed the fourth-fewest yards and FPPG to the position. Pickens runs just under three-quarters of his routes out wide. He runs 44 percent of his routes from the left side. That is Sauce Gardner territory. Pickens could always catch a deep ball, but if you are able to get away this week, do so.” — Michael Florio, NFL.com
Tucker Kraft - TE, GB (vs. HOU)
My current half-ppr rank: TE10 (-2 vs. avg expert ranking on Fantasy Pros)
“Tucker Kraft finished as the overall TE1 in both Week 4 and Week 5. However, he only caught two passes for 13 yards last week. So which Kraft will show up this week against the Texans? Chances are it's the latter because Houston has given up the third-fewest fantasy points to tight ends, and the Packers playmaker has seen five targets or less in five of six games this season. Therefore, he's a risky TE1 option in Week 7.” — Joey Pollizze, RotoBaller