Last week, our Fantrax fantasy football contributors were in the ballpark for a few of our bold predictions, specifically making the call to start Zay Flowers as well as calling a bounce-back game for Rhamondre Stevenson! So, let’s keep the momentum heading into Week 7! These bold predictions won’t always have a 100% success rate, but should at least help sway decision-making for your dynasty, redraft, or even Daily Fantasy Sports lineups.
2023 NFL Week 7 Bold Predictions for Fantasy Football
Rashee Rice, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Bold Prediction: 6 receptions, 80 yards, 1 touchdown
20.0 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Colin McTamany, @Colin_McT
Colin’s Breakdown: There are six teams on bye in Week 7. Naturally, our options at just about every position are thinner than most weeks when putting together a starting fantasy football lineup. As of late, rookie wide receiver, Rashee Rice, deserves weekly flex consideration. He has posted scores of 13.3 and 11.2 points over the last two weeks. My bold prediction is that he posts career-high numbers in receptions, yards, and finally hits that 20.0-point mark with a touchdown.
Rice has the best matchup possible for a wide receiver. The Kansas City Chiefs play host to the Los Angeles Chargers who are allowing the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. That includes the fifth-most total yards and seven total touchdowns in the first six games which is tied for the third-most in the league to the position. The big key here is that the Chargers are allowing just over 15 yards per reception to wide receivers, the second-highest average amongst defensive units. Rashee Rice can make them pay, especially after the catch, as he’s averaging a respectable 11.66 yards per reception as is. He even has one reception of 15 yards or more in five of six games this season.
The Chiefs passing game will continue to move through tight end Travis Kelce. However, Rice is second in targets on the team and should stand out in Week 7. Kansas City does spread the ball around, but you can play the odds the Patrick Mahomes will look for Rice, especially in the red zone. He and Travis Kelce both lead all Chiefs pass catchers with eight red zone targets each this season. In a week with limited options, you can do a lot worse than Rashee Rice in your lineup.
Michael Mayer, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Bold Prediction: 5 receptions, 80 yards, 1 touchdown
19.0 fantasy Points
Fantrax Writer: Michael Reedy, @MikeReedyFF
Michael’s Breakdown: Michael Mayer’s snap counts have increased in each of the last four weeks. Starting at 40% of the snaps in Week 2 and going all the way up to 81% of the snaps in Week 6. The Raiders rookie tight end was also second on the team in targets in Week 6 with a 27% target share. He drew six targets which he turned into five receptions for 75 scoreless yards. That’s his best stat line yet. My bold prediction is that he builds upon it and even finds the end zone for the first time in his career.
The Las Vegas Raiders pass the ball 57% of the time. There are not a lot of branches on the passing tree as wide receivers Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers and running back Josh Jacobs typically make up 90% of the target volume. Their Week 7 opponent, the Chicago Bears, rank inside the bottom 10 at defending tight ends. That is enough for me to plug Michael Mayer into my Week 7 starting lineup.
A.J. Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers
Bold Prediction: 16 carries, 70 yards, 1 touchdown; 2 receptions, 15 yards
16.5 fantasy points
Fantrax Writer: Colin McTamany, @Colin_McT
Colin’s Breakdown: When someone refers to a player finishing as “an RB1” any given week, generally speaking, that player finished inside the top-12 at the position. So far this season, the 12th-best running back any given week is averaging 16.43 points in Points Per Reception formats. Given that there are six teams on bye in Week 7, there’s less competition, however slight, at the position to finish as an RB1. I’m making the bold prediction that A.J. Dillon meets the average points criteria and finishes as a top-12 running back in Week 7.
It shouldn’t be a secret to anyone that the Denver Broncos defense is the worst in the league this season. The team is allowing a league-high 33.3 points per game. As it pertains to this bold prediction, they’re also allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Through six weeks this season, five different running backs have logged 80 or more rushing yards against the Broncos.
Enter A.J. Dillon and the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay enters Week 7 off of their bye fresh and in need of a win. Running back Aaron Jones is still questionable to play as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury, but claims he currently feels the best he has since pulling his hammy in Week 1. I don’t foresee the Packers giving Jones a full workload in this one. As the clear-cut starter in Week 5, A.J. Dillon handled 20 carries for 76 yards and a score. Against a worse run defense in Week 7, I’ve got Dillon producing similarly but on fewer carries and even mixing in a few receptions. Given the amount of running backs dealing with injuries or on bye, I think you can play the matchup here and start Dillon.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty