Starting decisions can be frustrating, even for the best fantasy football managers. If you need help setting your fantasy football lineups, Scott Pianowski has some help with his Week 7 traffic report.
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QB Jordan Love to Lions: You may have drafted him as a backup, but he’s now the starter, tied with a Green Bay offense that’s been forced to rely on the pass. Detroit’s offense and secondary defense almost guarantee a shootout, and the indoor fast track doesn’t hurt either. The first team to 30 points wins.
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RB Bucky Irving to Panthers: He survived a poor start from the team and challenges from his teammates, and the offensive buoyancy should improve with the expected return of Baker Mayfield. Carolina’s ground defense was workable, allowing 5.1 yards per carry.
WR Omar Cooper Jr. vs. Dolphins: He’s only played two games in the NFL, but the Patriots had no answers for Cooper last week. Now he faces a Miami back-end that has allowed a juicy 115.0 passer rating to opposing QBs. Even with the potential return of Adonai Mitchell, Cooper’s genie is likely out of the bottle.
WR Germie Bernard vs. Saints (France): It can sometimes take years for receivers to enter Aaron Rodgers’ circle of trust, but Bernard did it in the span of two months. Rodgers prefers quickly set routes and getting the ball out of his hands quickly, which suits Bernard’s game perfectly. The music will continue to play during week 7.
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QB CJ Stroud vs. Giants: He’s having a great comeback season, despite a bad offensive line and some injuries in the WR room. As wonderful as Nico Collins is, Houston’s offense seems to work best when the ball is spread around. The Giants haven’t allowed much passing yardage, but they have already allowed 12 passing touchdowns. With Houston’s ground game stuck at a standstill, Stroud will steer the ship on Sunday.
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RB Jaylen Warren vs. Saints (France): Warren has been too effective to be benched, although it was frustrating to see Rico Dowdle get so much work last week. We also have to recognize that the Steelers do most of their scoring through the air ā they only have one rushing touchdown all season.
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RB Jordan Mason vs. Colts: It looks like Mason is ready to return from his thumb injury and the Colts’ front seven is a tasty matchup. But Aaron Jones Sr. has been steady all season, so top Mason managers can reasonably hope for some sort of split time, at least for now. Mason could participate in the Week 7 flex talk.
RB Chase Brown at Ravens: He had to share more than usual with Samaje Perine in Week 5, but the oppressive heat in Miami probably played a role in that. Baltimore’s run defense has been steady, but Brown is playable as a starting back likely to see 15-20 touches.
TE Tyler Higbee at Raiders: The Rams love to deploy diverse tight ends and Higbee also has a holiday to celebrate: It’s National Tight Ends Day on Sunday. But Colby Parkinson also appears to be involved as Los Angeles tries to find answers without Davante Adams. Higbee is more of a reasonable substitute than a proactive play.
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QB Brock Purdy at Falcons: It’s a short week and the Niners might not have veteran WR Mike Evans. At some point, the endless parade of receiver injuries has to affect the octane of this offense. San Francisco plans to work the phones aggressively as teams go through the trade season.
QB Patrick Mahomes to Seahawks: The offense officially goes through Kenneth Walker III now, and the Seahawks have the meanest defense in the NFL ā and legitimate home-field advantage. Mahomes probably won’t have Rashee Rice (hamstring) out this week either.
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WR Devaughn Vele vs. Steelers (France): He’s been under 60 yards for four straight weeks and sledding could be tough at this spot because Pittsburgh is exceptional against slot receivers.
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RB Cam Skattebo to Texans: At least Najee Harris is out of the mix, but the Giants still have three backs they can throw to to solve the problem in Week 7. And even though Houston’s defense has taken a step back this year, it’s still only averaging 3.4 yards per carry. I hope you don’t have to play NYG backfield roulette on Sunday.
WR Josh Downs at Vikings: Downs will always struggle to score touchdowns given his physical characteristics, and quarterback Daniel Jones has been funk all season. It’s hard to see how things will turn out this weekend against a rested and nasty Minnesota defense.
WR Denzel Boston at Titans: He appears on film almost every week, but the Browns haven’t allowed him to exceed seven targets in any game and Deshaun Watson tops everyone’s upside in this passing game. Boston is a talent, but he’s fighting for position with Harold Fannin Jr. and KC Concepcion on Cleveland’s roster.
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