This fantasy football season has been a blast and my Starts and Sits column is halfway over. In Week 6, seven out of my 10 starts hit. As for the sits, four out of nine hit with one player not playing. Now, there are six teams on a bye in Week 7.
With that many teams on byes, fantasy teams out there will be short-handed in Week 7. Therefore, the starts and sit decisions that will be made for your team are crucial.
Week 7 Starts and Sits
Quarterback Sits
Kirk Cousins vs. San Francisco 49ers
First, Kirk Cousins is the QB9 on a ppg basis. He has been playing the best football of his career. There is a giant problem, though. His top weapon is on injured reserve. Justin Jefferson suffered a hamstring injury and his return is in question with the state of the Vikings and how many wins they can get while he is out.
In the first game without Justin Jefferson, Cousins faced the Bears. The Bears are a bottom-five team in ppg allowed to QBs. Cousins finished as the QB25 with a season-low 5.8 YPA (yards per attempt). Now, the Vikings face the San Francisco 49ers who just lost to the Cleveland Browns. All in all, sit Cousins in what will be a one-sided game come Monday night.
Russell Wilson vs. Green Bay Packers
First of all, the Broncos are a lost cause. Then, the Green Bay Packers had a Week 6 bye. At this time. the Broncos and Packers are opposite in terms of defending the QB position. The Broncos are the worst team in defending the QB. The Packers are in the top ten in the fewest ppg allowed to the position.
Therefore, this match-up will not be easy for a Broncos offense that has no spark in it. Wilson is playing his best football since 2021, but the entire offense is not clicking. All in all, fade Wilson and pivot to guys like Matthew Stafford, and the return of Deshaun Watson.
Running Back Sits
Jonathan Taylor vs. Cleveland Browns
Overall, the Cleveland Browns have one of the three best defenses in the NFL. With PJ Walker starting at quarterback, the Browns defeated the 49ers. Their defense was so amazing, that Brock Purdy had his worst game ever as a starting quarterback. Now, the Browns face Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts.
Honestly, Taylor has not done anything in his first two games. He has accumulated 14 carries and 37 yards in those two games. Zack Moss’ great play has not allowed Taylor to fully be used. Moss is currently the RB4 in ppg, and he has four RB1 finishes in five games. Currently, the Browns are in the top ten for the fewest ppg allowed to the position. Brock Purdy was brought back to reality in Week 6. Gardner Minshew will have a tough time in Week 7. Sit the once RB1 king in an extremely tough AFC match-up.
Rachaad White vs. Atlanta Falcons
Rachaad White was a consensus pick to have a breakout year. All in all, through six weeks, White has not lived up to it. Besides his Week 2 finish of RB8, White has not lived up to much. The expectations were much higher than his current RB24 ranking. Also, the Atlanta Falcons are the next test for White.
The Atlanta Falcons defense has been far better than previous years. They are allowing the seventh fewest ppg allowed to the position. A low-scoring affair is on the horizon for this match-up and White is a sit for Week 7.
Alexander Mattison vs. San Francisco 49ers
Practically speaking, Alexander Mattison is doing the same things he was doing as a backup. The only thing that has gone up is his PPG. Currently, the Rb21 in ppg, Mattison has not shown any flashes from previous years. At times when he filled in for Dalvin Cookin in the past Mattison had delivered RB1 games. As of now, he has just one RB1 finish in being the lead running back for the Vikings.
As stated for Kirk Cousins, Mattison has to face the San Francisco 49ers. With the Vikings assumingly playing from behind in this game, Mattison will not be a factor. Drafting someone in the fifth round or sixth round does not mean he has to be started every week. Look for better options in Week 7. Mattison is my favorite sit in starts and sits for Week 7.
Wide Receiver Sits
Courtland Sutton vs. Green Bay Packers
The Packers are tied for the fourth-fewest TDs allowed to receivers. In addition, Courtland Sutton’s good fantasy games have come when he has scored a touchdown. Now, much was said about this game in the Russell Wilson write-up.
With that being said, if a quarterback is having a bad game, his weapons will, too, Sit Sutton this week as Jaire Alexander will make it rough on him to get decent looks to produce in the Week 7, byes of death.
Michael Pittman Jr. vs. Cleveland Browns
First of all, Gardner Minshew as the starting quarterback is a good thing for Michael Pittman Jr., but the Cleveland Browns are no small task. Furthermore, the Browns made Brock Purdy and the Niners offense look normal for the first time in a long time. Purdy had just 125 passing yards. Brandon Aiyuk had 76 yards on four catches, too.
Pittman has seen the fourth most targets in the entire NFL but has not faced a defense as good as the Browns. Additionally, the Niners have a much better offense than the Colts. A tough Sunday lies ahead for Pittman Jr and the Colts offense. Even with the amount of targets, lower expectations and sit Pittman Jr in Week 7.
Chris Godwin vs. Atlanta Falcons
First things first, the Atlanta Falcons are a decent football team this season. Although they have a quarterback problem that Arthur Smith is in denial from. Nonetheless, the defense has been playing its best football in recent memory. Currently, the Falcons are allowing the seventh fewest ppg to the receiving position.
Chris Godwin has seen double-digit points in all but one game, but at just 12.4 ppg, he sits as the WR33. That is his worst ranking since the 2018 season. Godwin has seen just four fewer targets than Mike Evans, yet he is still just a WR3 through five weeks compared to Evans’ WR16 ppg ranking. Godwin makes the starts and sits for Week 7 in what should be a low-scoring game.
Tight End Sits
Cole Kmet vs. Las Vegas Raiders
To begin with, Justin Fields is more than likely missing Week 7 with a hand injury. Fortunately, Fields avoided a major injury and is expected back this season. The bad news is that Tyson Bagent is likely to be the Bears starter in Week 7. Kmet had his worst game of the season with just 2.9 fantasy points.
It is safe to say if Fields is not out there, Kmet is a sit in starts and sits until further notice. Lower expectations on all the Bears’ offensive weapons as Week 7 will be a very rough outing for this team.
Logan Thomas @ New York Giants
Logan Thomas is defying the odds at his age, coming off a serious injury two years ago and missing the final few weeks of last season. He is currently the TE9 on a ppg basis, but the Week 7 match-up and usage from Week 6 is concerning. Thomas had just 1.2 fantasy points with a single two-yard catch in week 6.
With the Giants as the next match-up, Thomas makes the sits for starts and sits in Week 7. The Giants have allowed only George Kittle and Zach Ertz to post good games against them. After a stellar performance in a close loss against the Buffalo Bills, Thomas does not make my line-up this week as this will be a tough division battle.
Quarterback Starts
Jordan Love @ Denver Broncos
Jordan Love had the first atrocious game of his NFL career. Three interceptions in Week 5 and then a Week 6 bye to get things right for a Week 7 match-up against the worst team against quarterbacks, the Denver Broncos. Love has a chance to make people forget about his poor outing against the Raiders two weeks ago.
The Broncos have given up the second most ppg, the most yards, and most passing touchdowns to the position this season. Now is the time for Jordan Love and the Packers to get back on the right track after being losers of two games in a row. Fire Love up with the most confidence with quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and CJ Stroud on a bye this week.
Geno Smith vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have allowed over 25 plus points in three consecutive games. Geno Smith is putting up the 12 most YPG (yards per game) at the position. With a man like Kenneth Walker III behind Smith, it makes it easier for Smith to get to his weapons. The Cardinals are also giving up the fifth most ppg and the fourth most passing yards to the position through six games.
Start Geno Smith as his best game of the 2023 season will come against a hard fighting, but struggling Cardinals team.
Running Back Starts
Javonte Williams vs. Green Bay Packers
This is the moment we have all been waiting for. The Javonte Williams game is here. The Packers, my Packers cannot stop a parked car even if they tried. Currently, the sixth worst team in terms of ppg allowed to running backs. Williams has not seen a big game yet this season, but quickly took over as the team’s RB1 after missing Week 5.
In Week 7, Williams has a chance to make amends with all his fantasy managers who drafted him with expectations of a breakout year. Also, the Packers are giving up over 140 ypg (yards per game) to the position. Expect the best game from the Broncos running attack in Week 7 and start Williams. My favorite running back start in starts and sits for Week 7.
Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Buffalo Bills
Rhamondre Stevenson had two RB18 finishes against the Bills last season. He just came off his best performance of the season last week against the Raiders. Now, in a division match-up, Stevenson has a chance to keep the momentum going for fantasy. Although he had just ten carries, Stevenson had the most total yards since Week 1 and the most receptions and targets since Week 1.
With a struggling Bills defense with key injuries on defense, Stevenson is in a prime spot to deliver another RB1 week in Week 7. Fire Stevenson up as that RB12 ADP will finally start paying off.
Brian Robinson @ New York Giants
Brian Robinson has not done much since his RB1 finish in Week 2. Since then, he has zero RB1 games with two of them being inside the top 20. His snap share is just 29th overall amongst running backs, but the match-up in Week 7 is a great one. The Giants are currently a bottom-five team in defending the run and giving up over 20 ppg to the position.
I expect Robinson to find his way into the end zone twice in Week 7 and give him his first top-12 finish for the first time in over a month.
Wide Receiver Starts
Drake London @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Desmond Ridder is finally throwing the football. Still, he is not the franchise guy to save the Atlanta Falcons, but for fantasy football, this is good news for Drake London. London had a phenomenal stretch of football in the last month of last season with Ridder as the quarterback.
Fast forward to this season and that is exactly what we thought would happen from Week 1 which was not the case. The last two weeks have been nothing but great if you have Drake London on any fantasy football teams. London has seen 15 receptions and 203 yards in the last two games. He was the WR19 in Week 5 and the WR5 in Week 6. This is what we all wanted coming into this season and it is finally happening.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a bottom 10 team in ppg allowed to the position and London should once again be in starting line-ups when Week 7 rolls around.
Jakobi Meyers @ Chicago Bears
Jakobi Meyers might be the best value at the WR position this season. Meyers was drafted as the WR53 in the off-season. He is currently the WR14 in total points and the WR12 on a ppg basis. He is currently averaging more points than Davante Adams, too. With the Chicago Bears in Week 7, a team in the bottom half of ppg allowed to the position, Meyers is in a perfect spot to keep on smashing once again. With eyes on number 17, Meyers is a perfect start candidate almost every week with the upside of 15 plus points each week.
Michael Thomas vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Michael Thomas has not found the end-zone this season, but that will change in Week 7. Chris Olave is an obvious line-up lock, but for Michael Thomas, the once sure-fire WR has been nothing but a flex this season. He will still be a flex this weekend, but the expectations should be high against a Jaguars team giving up the ninth most ppg to the position.
The Jaguars are also missing their top cornerback which will make things even easier for Thomas and the rest of the offense. Fire Thomas up in what should be his best outing of his 2023 season.
Tight End starts
Luke Musgrave @ Denver Broncos
It is pretty simple. The Denver Broncos are giving up the most ppg, most yards, sixth most catches, and fourth most TDs to the tight end position. Luke Musgrave has gained the trust of Jordan Love seeing four or more targets in three games. This includes a seven-target game last week with six catches. Musgrave is a sneaky start in an amazing match-up to grab the first touchdown of his NFL career.
Kyle Pitts @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I think Kyle Pitts and I have a toxic relationship. I love him so much, but the uncertainty of starting him weekly is terrifying. He has not started for me for two weeks and has seen two top ten weeks. Safe to say he is in my line-up this week as with Ridder passing more, it means more chances for Pitts and others.
I expect the Buccaneers to hold the Falcons’ running game in check, forcing Ridder to get to his other weapons. Give me Pitts once again as a TE1 in Week 7 and my bold prediction is that Pitts finishes as a top 3 TE in Week 7.
More 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