As the shadows of Week 7 loom large, six teams prepare to take their bye week, casting a forlorn shadow over the season-long fantasy teams. The dreaded Bye Week Blues emerge akin to the seasonal melancholy that grips us as the temperatures plummet. But this time, it’s not just the weather that’s affecting you; it’s the sight of your entire fantasy roster either on bye, designated as OUT, or worse, relegated to the IR list. You might find yourself wallowing like a melancholic soul, spreading gloom to those who fail to grasp your situation. Hopefully my Week 7 NFL DFS picks can help pull you out of it.
You are not alone in this struggle. I understand your plight, my friend. Let me be your guiding light, steering you toward the players to embrace and those to steer clear of in Week 7. Yes, you’ll wake up with a renewed spirit on Monday morning, having taken action on the players highlighted in “Money Makers and Heart Breakers” (deliberately misspelled for effect).
So, let’s get to it, we are here for the Money Makers and Heart Breakers of the Week 7 NFL DFS Main Slate. And don’t forget, you can also use these insights as sit/start advice for your weekly lineups.
Week 7 NFL DFS Main Slate Picks
Here is a brief definition of each of my terms for anyone that might be new:
💰 Money Maker – This player will perform better than expectations
💔 Heart Breaker – This player will perform lower than expectations
💰 Money Makers
Quarterback
Patriot Mahomes – Patrick Mahomes really is still Patrick Mahomes. There is a lot of speculation and fear around this offense. Right now Mahomes is overall QB4 in standard fantasy scoring. I think the demise of this offense is a bit overblown. In Week 7 the Chiefs will play the Chargers, who give up the most fantasy points to opposing teams’ quarterbacks. Mahomes has multiple touchdowns and/or over 300 yards passing in all but one game this season. Quarterbacks average 317 yards and almost 2 touchdowns a game against the Chargers. I think Mahomes will be more than OK in Week 7.
$8,300 on DraftKings
$9,200 on FanDuel
Jordan Love – The Packers will be playing the Broncos in Week 7. The Broncos give up the second most fantasy points to opposing teams’ quarterbacks. Quarterbacks average 285 yards and 2 touchdowns a game against the Broncos. Love has done well when in great matchups this season. This is a great match-up. Coming off a bye week against a poor-performing defense is the perfect place for Love to produce.
$5,800 on DraftKings
$7,800 on FanDuel
Tyrod Taylor – The Giants have been bad, oh so bad this season. In Week 7 the Giants get to play a Commanders defense that has given up multiple touchdowns to quarterbacks in 5 straight games. For 5 games every quarterback has scored 19 or more points. This is a plus-size match-up for Taylor as he is replacing Danny Jones for Week 7. If you are a little daring, pay down for Tyrod in Week 7.
$5,100 on DraftKings
$6,500 on FanDuel
Other Quarterback DFS Picks for Week 7
Jimmy Garoppolo
$5,200 on DraftKings
$6,800 on FanDuel
Geno Smith
$6,000 on DraftKings
$7,000 on FanDuel
Deshaun Watson
$5,700 on DraftKings
$7,500 on FanDuel
Running Backs
Aaron Jones – Do you know just how bad the Broncos defense is? They not only give up lots of points in the passing game but all to running backs. The Broncos give up the most fantasy points to running backs weekly. If Jones is back in the lineup this week play him. I know he is coming back from a hammy injury. This is the type of spot where Aaron Jones explodes for 100-plus yards and multiple touchdowns. Coming off a bye week, hopefully healthy. Jones will be off and running.
$6,800 on DraftKings
$7,700 on FanDuel
Kenny Walker – Kenny Walker is the current RB7 on the season. I want you to understand he had a bye in Week 5 so his points per game is great, he averages 17.2 fantasy points per game. Walker is heavily used in the red zone. The Seahawks play the Cardinals in Week 7. The Cardinals have given up 9 touchdowns to running backs this season. 7 running backs have had double-digit fantasy scores against the Cardinals this season. Kenny will walk into the endzone this weekend.
$7,000 on DraftKings
$8,800 on FanDuel
Zack Evans – The Rams have literally hit a who is up next scenario at running back. That man is Zack Evans. With injuries to both Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers. In his first game as the potential starter, Evans gets to play against the team that gives up the 7th most fantasy points to opposing teams running backs, the Steelers. Running backs average 117 yards rushing 3 receptions and 25 yards receiving. There will be some production here for sure.
$4,000 on DraftKings
$4,800 on FanDuel
Other Running Back DFS Picks for Week 7
Javonte Williams
$5,400 on DraftKings
$6,000 on FanDuel
Brian Robinson
$5,800 on DraftKings
$7,300 on FanDuel
Josh Jacobs
$7,400 on DraftKings
$4,800 on FanDuel
Wide Receivers
Wan’Dale Robinson – I mentioned the passing game of the Giants already in this article. In Week 6 Robinson had 8 targets, 8 receptions and 62 yards. He is second on the team in targets with 20% of the target share. His coach is talking about getting him more involved. The Commanders, who give up the third most fantasy points to wide receivers, are up next. If you are looking for a player to plug in at wide receiver Robinson is your guy in Week 7.
$3,800 on DraftKings
$5,600 on FanDuel
Marquis Brown – In 5 games this season 9 different wide receivers have had double-digit fantasy scores against the Seahawks. The Seahawks give up the second most fantasy points to opposing teams’ wide receivers. Brown has broken double digits in targets 4 of 6 games this season. The volume you will be there. The Cardinals also give up lots of yards and touchdowns to the passing game as well, so this game projects on the higher end of scoring with an over-under of 44.5 points. Brown is a great play in Week 7.
$5,300 on DraftKings
$6,700 on FanDuel
Cooper Kupp – He is Cooper Kupp and he is back. Kupp has literally hit the ground running in his return from injury. Cooper has seen 21 targets in his 2 games back and turned that into 15 receptions, 276 yards, and a touchdown. You know what? It gets even better. In Week 7 the Rams play the Steelers. The Steel Curtain appears to be open at the moment as wide receivers average 15 receptions, 205 yards, and a touchdown against this defense. Look for Kupp and Puka Nacua both to have great games against this defense.
$9,500 on DraftKings
$9,700 on FanDuel
Other Wide Receiver DFS Picks for Week 7
Tyler Lockett
$6,000 on DraftKings
$6,800 on FanDuel
Drake London
$5,100 on DraftKings
$6,900 on FanDuel
Curtis Samuel
$4,000 on DraftKings
$6,400 on FanDuel
Tight Ends
Luke Musgrave – Look at that yet another Packers player in my mentions this week. That is because the Denver Broncos defense is pathetic against tight ends as well. The Broncos give up the most points to opposing teams’ tight ends. Musgrave is on the field all the time with 227 snaps. He has 14% of the target share for the Packers. He also has sticky hands catching 18 of his 23 targets for a catch rate of 78%. What he doesn’t have yet is a touchdown. Musgrave in a great match up gets that touchdown this week.
$3,300 on DraftKings
$5,000 on FanDuel
Michael Mayer – In Week 6 against a defense that defends tight ends well Mayer saw 6 targets which he turned int 5 receptions for 75 yards. Michael Mayer also saw a season-high snaps of 57 in this game. The Raiders pass the ball 57% of the time and there are not lot of branches on the passing tree. The Bears are up next and are bottom 10 at defending tight ends. That is enough for me to say play him. Michael Mayer is a spooky play to slash into your lineup at this time of year.
$3,900 on DraftKings
$5,500 on FanDuel
Mark Andrews – Andrews is second on the Ravens in targets with a 23% target share. He catches what is thrown his way and has a 70% catch rate. He also has 3 touchdowns on the season leading all Ravens receivers. In Week 7 the Lions are up. The Lions do not defend the tight end position well. They give up the 5th most fantasy points to opposing teams’ tight ends. I like Andrews a lot in Week 7.
$5,700 on DraftKings
$6,900 on FanDuel
Other Tight End DFS Picks for Week 7
Cade Otton
$2,900 on DraftKings
$4,700 on FanDuel
Pat Freiermuth
$2,700 on DraftKings
$4,900 on FanDuel
Defense
Commanders – The Giants give up the most fantasy points to opposing teams’ defenses. Defenses average over 16 fantasy points per game against the Giants. A lot of this is with sacks. The Giants have given up 33 sacks this season. The Commanders can get after the quarterback and have 19 sacks this season. The hits just keep coming on Giants quarterbacks.
$3,500 on DraftKings
$4,600 on FanDuel
Bills – The Bills defense scores fantasy points at the second-highest rate, trailing only the Cowboys defense. Meanwhile, the Patriots give up fantasy points at the second-highest clip trailing only the lowly Giants. In 5 out of 6 games this season defenses have scored 9 or more fantasy points against the Patriots. With some high defense scoring over 20 points. This looks like a good week to pay up at defense if you want to and plug in the Bills.
$4,200 on DraftKings
$5,000 on FanDuel
Raiders – In five out of 6 games this season a fantasy defense has scored 11 or more fantasy points against the Bears. The Bears do a lot of things wrong. The Vikings defense is good. The Vikings defense scored 21 fantasy points against the Bears in Week 6. The Raiders are a defense I would stream in season-long and play in DFS this week without blinking an eye. This defense has come alive the past two weeks against the Packers and the Patriots. In Week 7 they get to pick on the Bears.
$3,800 on DraftKings
$4,700 on FanDuel
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
💔Heart Breakers
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff – The Ravens give up the least amount of fantasy points to quarterbacks. If I were playing Goff in season-long, I still would. He is not someone to pay for in DFS. Not a single quarterback has scored more than 16 fantasy points so far this season. It will be a tough go.
Mac Jones – Mac Jones is having a tough stretch of games against defenses that defend the pass really well. This week it is the Buffalo Bills with the second-toughest defense against quarterbacks. Once in a while, I like a gimme. If you are playing him anywhere that is on you.
Gardiner Minshew – The Colts play against the Browns in Week 7. I have talked and written about the Browns in the past they have a really good defense. The Browns defense has held 4 out of 5 quarterbacks to 11 fantasy points or less this season. 3 of those 4 did not top 10 points.
Running Backs
Justice Hill – Only one running back has managed to score 10 or more fantasy points against the Lions defense. Not a single running back has recorded more than 43 yards rushing or more than 31 yards receiving. So, this should be labeled Ravens running backs. It doesn’t matter which one we are talking about.
Rachaad White – White gets RB1 usage for Tamp Bay. He has played 242 snaps and the next highest running back for the Buccaneers has only played 33 snaps. The problem is that the Buccaneers have played a tough schedule against running backs so far this season. That continues this week against the Falcons who give up the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing teams running backs. This is not the week he breaks out.
Austin Ekeler – Let’s start with if you have him in season long you are playing him. But do not pay up for him in DFS. The Chargers are playing the Chiefs in Week 7. The Chiefs give up the fifth-fewest fantasy points to running backs. Ekeler is great and will probably have an OK day in Week 7. The Chiefs will not make it easy.
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman – The Colts play the Browns in Week 7. I have mentioned already how tough the Browns defense is against the pass. The Browns defense is the toughest against wide receivers. Lots of Zach Moss and Jonathan Taylor this week for the Colts.
George Pickens – The Rams defense is very good against the pass. The Rams give up the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing teams’ wide receivers. Only 3 wide receivers have scored double-digit fantasy days against the Rams defense. Looks like slim Pickens here.
Mike Evans – This is another case of a guy you are and should be playing in season-long. The Falcons are tough on wide receivers, but Evans is a great wide receiver. I wouldn’t play him in DFS as the Falcons have only given up one fantasy score of over 15 points to a wide receiver this season. This is a floor game and not a ceiling game for Evans.
Tight Ends
Sam LaPorta – The Ravens defense is really good. It is really good against tight ends. The Ravens are the stingiest defense there is against tight ends this season. LaPorta has been involved for the Lions and most likely will be in some capacity. But I wouldn’t count on a big day in Week 7.
Hunter Henry -After the first 2 weeks of the season it appears that Hunter Henry has cooled off a little. Henry plays a lot of snaps and is out there all the time. But in Week 7 the Patriots play the Buffalo Bills and their defense that gives up the third-fewest fantasy points to tight ends. Another easy call to end the article.
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