It’s another two-step for Monday night Football in Week 7. The Buccaneers travel to Detroit in what should be a high-scoring game with plenty of fantasy football points produced. Then later, the Texans try to right their season as they head west to Seattle and take on a 4-2 Seahawks squad.
Let’s take a look at these two games and see what impact they may have on your Week 7 fantasy football matchups.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions (-6) O/U: 53.5
Clear Starts: Baker Mayfield, Rachaad White, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta
Mike Evans – WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Despite a setback for Chris Godwin and an injury for Emeka Egbuka, it looks like this WR room will be healthy very soon. Mike Evans returns just in time to fill in and operate as the team’s WR1. Despite a down year, he is still a target hog. Evans has drawn at least 8 targets in each of his 3 games this year. That shouldn’t change this week, and he could easily hit double digits.
The Detroit Lions are once again injured in the secondary. Kerby Joseph and Terrion Arnold have been ruled out. D.J. Reed is still on IR, and Avonte Maddox will miss another week. Evans will likely draw Amik Robertson and Rock Ya-Sin. Robertson allowed 8 catches for 104 yards and 2 TDs on 11 targets against the Bengals before letting up a 6-yard TD on his lone target against the Chiefs, according to PFF. Robertson is no slouch despite those numbers, but he won’t face Evans every snap, and he is their best CB heading into the game.
Baker Mayfield is playing out of his mind despite injuries to his top 3 WRs. He gets a trusted veteran back for Monday Night Football in Week 7. Start Evans with confidence.
Emeka Egbuka – WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After suffering a hamstring injury, the expectation was that Egbuka could miss multiple weeks. However, the rookie receiver logged a limited practice on Saturday ahead of Week 7’s Monday Night Football matchup. Officially, Egbuka is a game-time decision. Many fantasy platforms have given him a projection, too.
It’s unlikely that fantasy managers are in a position where they can start Egbuka while also having a backup option. If you are in a league that allows you to drop bench players who already played, pick up someone like Sterling Shepard or Tez Johnson. They’re available in about 50% of Fantrax leagues. Baker Mayfield will likely spread the ball out and both receivers could benefit from it.
The Lions are still dealing with injuries in the secondary, and they give up the 10th most points to WRs. Baker is playing at an MVP level right now, so getting any piece of this offense could pay dividends. Again, though, the odds that you are in a situation to benefit are slim.
Cade Otton – TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Otton has benefited from Tampa’s WR injuries. In consecutive weeks, he has scored double-digit fantasy points without scoring a TD. This week, he faces a Lions defense that ranks middle-of-the-pack against the position. Detroit’s secondary injuries should lead to more WR targets, but Otton often lines up as a receiver. There’s a serious chance that he finishes as a TE1 this week.
Travis Kelce feasted against Detroit last week, catching 6 of 7 targets for a season-high 78 yards. Tampa’s offense is still thin on weapons, and the game has a point total of 53.5. Even if he doesn’t score, Otton has a good floor and should start at your TE slot.
Houston Texans at Seattle Seahawks (-3) O/U: 41.5
Clear Starts: Nico Collins, Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet – RB, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle’s backfield split has been frustrating. Based on just raw numbers, it looks like Kenneth Walker should dominate touches. Despite only having 18 more carries, Walker has 209 more yards than Charbonnet. To be fair, Charbonnet does get much more of the red zone work. He sees a lot of work within 5 and 10 yards, too, so he has less room to work with. He should be expected to get fewer yards in that area of the field than on his team’s own territory.
Regardless of what Charbonnet’s efficiency looks like, he clearly has a role on this team and can easily hawk a TD that Walker and the rest of the offense set up. Walker has still performed as the better fantasy back, averaging 11.4 PPR points to Charbonnet’s 8.1.
Walker may not reach his projections, but his efficiency gives him a fair floor. If you’re looking for a home run play this week, he may not be your guy. The Texans allow the 8th fewest fantasy points to RBs. Neither back gets much receiving work, making both players risky RB2s or FLEX starts in Week 7.
Woody Marks – RB, Houston Texans
After an impressive performance back in Week 4, Marks only got 8 opportunities in a 44-10 blowout against the Ravens. Following a bye week, the rookie could finally get a big workload again.
Despite leading the backfield in Week 5, Nick Chubb saw a dip in snaps for the 3rd week in a row. Part of that was not needing to rely on Chubb and the rest of the starters for too long. This week, Marks faces a Seahawks defense that ranks about average against the run. He should continue to get passing down work over Chubb, but the split may be too even for either back to excel outside of a TD.
Marks is someone you should bench and watch this week. It’s possible the team gets him even more involved after a bye, but there isn’t enough information to make a strong decision either way. Chubb still looks pretty good despite his age. Even when a younger, more explosive back joins a team, they aren’t immediately in line for work. Marks is a great player to have if Chubb ever misses time, but this matchup could lean in Seattle’s favor. Houston may need to pass to keep up, though Marks could slightly benefit from that.
Xavier Hutchinson and Jayden Higgins – WR, Houston Texans
Christian Kirk will miss another game. While Nico Collins leads the team in targets, there hasn’t been a consistent WR2. Houston’s offense has also struggled all year, only going off against a Ravens team missing Lamar Jackson and multiple starters on defense.
Xavier Hutchinson is having a career year, though that’s not saying much. The 2023 6th round pick only has 59 career targets and 317 receiving yards. Hutchinson is consistently on the field, but his lack of target numbers is concerning. He hasn’t exceeded 3 targets in a single game this season. He hasn’t even exceeded 4 targets in a game in his career.
Second-round rookie WR Jayden Higgins could see an increased role coming off a bye week, though. Higgins has played at least 42.9% of offensive snaps and hit over 55% for the first time in Week 5. He’s also beating out Hutchinson on a yards per target and yards per reception basis. Higgins has not gotten as much consistent work this season, but he drew 4 targets in Week 5. Seattle’s defense is tough, though, and it’s unlikely that there will be a lot of quality targets for any WRs outside of Nico Collins. Higgins may be the best of the group to start if you’re truly desperate.
Fellow rookie WR Jaylin Noel could be in line for targets too, though he has not seen much receiving work thus far. He does operate out of the slot, filling in for Kirk’s role better than Hutchinson and Higgins, though. He’s a player to keep an eye on and maybe stash in a very deep league.
Dalton Schultz – TE, Houston Texans
Despite a strong defense, the Seahawks have been beaten by TEs. Seattle allows the 6th most fantasy points to the position. Cade Otton and Juwan Johnson had their best fantasy performances against Seattle heading into Week 7. Trey McBride also had a good game, and George Kittle posted 12.5 PPR points despite only playing about a quarter of offensive snaps.
Schultz has been an unexciting option so far, but he might be the only player on the team getting consistent targets, outside of Nico Collins. While he hasn’t scored a TD yet, Schultz has been targeted 3 times in the red zone, tied for 2nd most on the Texans. Houston has thrown more in that area of the field, but they don’t have enough trips to make Schultz a consistent TD scorer. It may be difficult for Houston to move the ball in this one enough for Schultz to truly explode. However, he may have the easiest time getting open on Monday Night Football. Expect a strong fantasy performance in Week 7.
AJ Barner – TE, Seattle Seahawks
Barner isn’t a big name, but he’s the PPR TE15. He’s also rostered in 54% of Fantrax leagues. After only catching a single pass for 0 yards in Week 1, Barner has posted double-digit numbers in 4 of 5 games. That’s despite only drawing more than 3 targets in a single game. Barner has produced as a red zone threat, scoring 4 TDs on a team-high 5 red zone targets. Those 5 targets rank 7th amongst TEs entering Week 7.
It’s entirely possible that Barner gets hit with a dose of regression and has to rely on just his catches and yardage. There will be weeks where he doesn’t score, and he doesn’t get enough volume to be an elite TE. Thankfully for him, the Seahawks offense has focused on him when they get close to the end zone. They’re also getting down the field often, thanks to a strong offense led by Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
This week, Barner gets a Texans team that allows the 5th fewest points to opposing TEs. Houston has only allowed a single receiving TD and 175 yards to the position this year. Barner projects to have a tough time in this one, but he could salvage his week with a TD. If you’re low on options and willing to bet your week on a score, you’re going to have a stressful night. He has the opportunity to make it happen, but if he doesn’t, you might be upset.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
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