Week 7 Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Top lineup picks (and benches) from Justin Boone

Justin Boone provides a weekly look at undervalued fantasy players to consider starting this week and potential busts you might want to leave on your bench.

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For the rest of your lineup decisions, consult his Week 7 rankings.

Starts

Jared Goff, QB, Lions

vs. Buccaneers

Goff has been one of the easiest players to project this season given his distinct indoor-outdoor splits and the opponents he’s faced so far.

This week, Goff is positioned for a big outing on Monday night since he’s back home against a shorthanded Bucs team. With the Lions also nursing several injuries on their defense, it’s not surprising to see this game has the second-highest projected point total on the week at 52.5.

The Lions are 5.5-point favorites and should have no problem running up the score in this one.

Tampa’s pass-funnel defense is allowing the ninth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks, including over 340 passing yards to Sam Darnold and Mac Jones each of the past two weeks.

Other QBs to start:

Caleb Williams vs. Saints – The Saints are the fourth-easiest matchup for fantasy quarterbacks and have given up multiple passing touchdowns to every QB this year.
Justin Herbert vs. Colts – The likely return of Quentin Johnston combined with the injuries in the Colts’ secondary, increases the shootout potential for this game.

Quinshon Judkins, RB, Browns

vs. Dolphins

The weather for Browns-Dolphins will be thoroughly discussed heading into Sunday, but I always preach caution to avoid overreacting to forecasts until we’re closer to kickoff.

For the time being it appears as though this game will feature plenty of rain and some potentially problematic wind that could limit deep passing.

That environment will only help Judkins, who’s poised to be the next ball carrier to take advantage of a struggling Dolphins’ run defense. Kimani Vidal (138 yards, TD), Rico Dowdle (238 yards, TD), Breece Hall (111 yards), James Cook (118 yards, TD) and Rhamondre Stevenson (142 yards) have all posted huge stat lines against Miami over the last five weeks.

With the Browns favored and the Dolphins looking like a team on the verge of getting its coach fired, get ready for a huge dose of Judkins. The rookie can be confidently started as a fantasy RB1 this week.

Other RBs to start:

Jacory Croskey-Merritt at Cowboys – As long as he avoids fumbling again, JCM should run wild on a Dallas defense that’s permitting the fourth-most fantasy points to RBs, including at least 150 scrimmage yards to each of the last three backs.
J.K. Dobbins vs. Giants – The RB19 on the season should see plenty of positive gamescript in Week 7 with the Broncos being 7.5-point favorites.
Rico Dowdle at Jets – Chuba Hubbard may return for this game, but there’s no reason to give him a big workload until he’s 100% recovered from his calf injury. I expect Dowdle to have the edge in touches this week before this ultimately turns into a frustrating 50-50 split moving forward.

Rashee Rice, WR, Chiefs

vs. Raiders

Fantasy managers who have been waiting on Rice might think this sounds obvious to play him in his first game back. But, I promise you there are a lot of start-sit questions that come my way about players of his caliber who are returning from suspension or injuries.

My advice is to not overthink it. When a star player is active, you’re starting them.

Everything the Chiefs have said about Rice has been positive and it seems evident they want to deploy him as their No. 1 receiver. That’s how he was used over the final 10 games of his rookie season when he was a top-15 fantasy wideout and his numbers were even better in the first three games last year before he got hurt.

Rice also gets a friendly matchup with the Raiders, who are giving up the sixth-most fantasy points to receivers.

If you waited this long, you’re about to be rewarded with a fantasy WR1 the rest of the way.

Other WRs to start:

Courtland Sutton vs. Giants – Sutton has been a top-20 WR in four of his six games this year and the Giants are the third-easiest opponent for fantasy wideouts.
Ladd McConkey/Quentin Johnston vs. Colts – Injuries to the Colts’ secondary are making a good matchup even better. Indy allows the fifth-most fantasy points to the position, so be prepared for some fireworks from the Chargers’ passing attack.
Mike Evans at Lions – It sounds like Evans will return from his hamstring injury this week and the timing couldn’t be better with Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. expected to sit out. Evans versus a banged-up Lions’ defense is an automatic start.

Mason Taylor, TE, Jets

vs. Panthers

While some fantasy managers might be doubting Taylor after he managed just one catch for two yards in last week’s embarrassing loss to the Broncos in London, it’s worth noting that the entire Jets’ offense collapsed in that contest.

Prior to that game, the rookie tight end was emerging as the de facto No. 2 receiver on the team with 25 targets over the previous three weeks. One bad outing doesn’t erase his stat lines of 5-65-0 in Week 4 or 9-67-0 in Week 5.

With Garrett Wilson expected to miss time with a knee injury, it’s possible Taylor will become the focal point of the passing attack in his absence.

He also gets the benefit of battling the Panthers, who are the second-best matchup for fantasy tight ends.

It all boils down to Taylor being a fantasy TE1 this week and for however long Wilson is sidelined.

Other TEs to start:

Harold Fannin Jr. vs. Dolphins – David Njoku is dealing with a knee injury that could thrust Fannin into an even more prominent role. Last week, it resulted in career highs in catches (7), yards (81) and targets (10).
Michael Mayer at Chiefs – With Brock Bowers sitting out, Mayer posted a 5-50-1 stat line in Week 6. While the matchup isn’t ideal, Mayer’s role in the Raiders’ offense guarantees him the kind of volume fantasy managers are chasing.

Sits

Sam Darnold, QB, Seahawks

vs. Texans

Darnold has been playing very well this year, but it’s fair to question his outlook against the Texans.

Houston is allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, including a league-low three passing touchdowns. DeMeco Ryans’ crew hasn’t let a touchdown be thrown on them since Week 2.

The Texans are also coming off a bye, so they’ve had plenty of time to gameplan for Darnold and the Seahawks.

If he keeps playing at the level he has been, there will be lots of weeks where Darnold is a strong streamer and borderline low-end QB1 — this just isn’t one of them.

Other QBs to sit:

Trevor Lawrence vs. Rams – Lawrence will need to hope the Jaguars’ familiarity in London helps give them an edge because the Rams have the seventh-most challenging defense for fantasy QBs.
Tua Tagovailoa at Browns – A rainy and windy game on the road against the Browns defense is not a spot to put your faith in Tua.

Tony Pollard, RB, Titans

vs. Patriots

The Titans haven’t been good this year and a mid-season coaching change isn’t going to fix everything that ails them.

Pollard has turned into a volume-dependent producer in this offense, which has basically made him a TD-or-bust fantasy RB3. The veteran back has only reached double-digit fantasy points twice this season and it’s required trips to the end zone to do so.

Now, he has Tyjae Spears breathing down his neck. Spears actually played more snaps than Pollard last week and appears likely to be more involved when the Titans are trailing, which will be often.

With the Patriots coming to town as a 6.5-point favorites, we might see Mike Vrabel run up the score against his former club. In that scenario, Pollard could get gamescripted out of this one.

Even if it stays close, the Patriots’ run defense has been strong. They’re giving up the sixth-fewest fantasy points to RBs.

Sit Pollard this week and hope that he gets traded to a contender before the deadline.

Other RBs to sit:

Travis Etienne vs. Rams – Etienne is coming off his two quietest games of the season with less than 60 scrimmage yards in both contests. The Rams’ defense won’t make it easy to bounce back this week.
Nick Chubb at Seahawks – Chubb got to lead the backfield in a blowout win over the Ravens prior to the Texans’ bye. However, those types of gamescripts will be few and far between. Expect Woody Marks to be more involved this week.
Michael Carter/Bam Knight vs. Packers – The Cardinals’ backs have offered some RB3/flex value with Trey Benson on injured reserve, but they’re very risky plays against the Packers, who are the fourth-toughest opponent for running backs.

A.J. Brown, TE, Eagles

at Vikings

The struggles of the Eagles’ offense have been well documented, with the offensive line and coordinator Kevin Patullo taking most of the blame.

Brown has actually seen at least eight targets in five straight games, but only topped 50 yards twice this season.

The Vikings will make life tough on him again this week. Minnesota has allowed the second-fewest passing yards, the third-fewest passing touchdowns and the absolute fewest fantasy points to receivers.

There are better matchups coming for Brown in the second half of the season, but it might get worse before it gets better. You should view him as a fringe low-end WR2 for this contest and strongly consider your other options.

Other WRs to sit:

Michael Pittman Jr. vs. Chargers – The injuries to Josh Downs and Ashton Dulin might help Pittman get by on volume this week, but the Chargers are a tough test for a receiver who’s only reached 50 yards once in his last five outings.
Wan’Dale Robinson at Broncos – Whenever you see a receiver going against the Broncos, just know the odds are stacked against them having a strong fantasy performance.
Cooper Kupp vs. Texans – The Texans have only let two wideouts eclipse 60 yards on them this year and one was Puka Nacua. Kupp is a WR4/flex who’s best left on your bench this week.

T.J. Hockenson, TE, Vikings

vs. Eagles

Hockenson has been productive in recent weeks, but he still hasn’t reached 50 yards in any of his outings this season.

Expecting him to accomplish that feat against the Eagles would be quite the leap of faith. Other than Travis Kelce, Philly has held every tight end under 35 receiving yards and only allowed one touchdown to the position.

Fantasy managers can consider dropping Hockenson, who is currently rostered in 82% of leagues.

Other TEs to sit:

Evan Engram vs. Giants – Engram’s season high for receiving yards is 42 and he was held to 33 yards or less in every other contest. You would be wise to look elsewhere for your starter, especially with so many young tight ends ascending.
Juwan Johnson at Bears – The days of Johnson getting eight or more targets every week have disappeared. He’s seen four targets or less in three straight weeks, while posting yardage totals of 28, 17 and 15 over that stretch.

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