Fantasy Football Traffic Cop: Week 7 lineup advice
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Scott Pianowski gives his green-light, yellow-light and red-light plays to help you make your toughest Week 7 start/sit decisions.
✅ Green Light
TE George Kittle vs. Chiefs
Kansas City's seam coverage has been a mess all year, and Kittle seemed to fix San Francisco's red-zone problems all by himself a week ago. Seasonal fantasy managers already have Kittle ready to go, but DFS players might want to follow suit as well, even at a premium cost.
QB Drake Maye vs. Jaguars
His debut had some mistakes, sure, but he also tossed three touchdown passes and ran for a sneaky 38 yards against a good Houston defense. Now he takes aim at a Jacksonville defense that's been torched by the pass all season. Maye belongs near the top of the streamer pile for Week 7, and don't be afraid to dial up Pop Douglas as well.
RB Kareem Hunt at 49ers
The San Francisco front seven used to be a matchup to avoid, but the unit is ordinary this year (14th in DVOA against the run). Andy Reid quickly put Hunt into the Circle of Trust, feeding him an absurd 27 carries before the bye. Hunt has this backfield on lockdown.
WR Chris Godwin vs. Ravens
Mike Evans isn't completely healthy right now, so the surging Godwin could easily be looking at a dozen or more targets. He's surging as the Tampa Bay slot machine, with five catches or more in every game and five touchdowns in six weeks. So much for the guy who had a touchdown allergy for most of 2022 and 2023.
🫤 Yellow Light
TE Mark Andrews vs. Buccaneers
Andrews had a decent yardage game in Week 5 and he found the end zone last week, so the arrow is starting to point upwards. But Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers are far ahead of Andrews in the Baltimore pecking order, and Andrews is merely seeing about 50% of snaps over the last three weeks. His dreamy upside might be gone for good.
WR Amari Cooper vs. Titans
Everyone has a good laugh watching the Tennessee passing game these days, but the Titans have quietly assembled a nasty defense (ninth-best in DVOA). Cooper showed back in 2018 that he's capable of thriving despite a midseason trade, but let's try to be realistic with our initial expectations.
RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. vs. Eagles
Head coach Brian Daboll has always been a Devin Singletary fan, so Tracy probably doesn't have a great chance to steal this job outright. But Tracy had a receiving background in college and it's already translated in the pros, so I suspect he'll keep fantasy utility even when Singletary returns. And it's also possible Singletary (groin) might not be ready this week.
RB Tank Bigsby vs. Patriots
Game script should be more favorable this week, as the Jaguars are heavy favorites over New England. But keep in mind the Jags don't trust Bigsby much in pass protection, and he's only seen five targets as a pro (one this season).
WR Romeo Doubs vs. Texans
The two touchdowns were lovely, but he only saw a 12.5% target share — this is always going to be a congested offense. Doubs is worth rostering as a depth option but is far from an automatic starter.
More Fantasy Football analysis
🛑 Red Light
QB Anthony Richardson vs. Dolphins
Richardson is capable of a legendary highlight on any snap, but he was inaccurate and inconstant in the first month of play. The entire Indianapolis passing game is a scary proposition until Richardson shows he has his sea legs.
RB Nick Chubb vs. Bengals
The football fan in me will cheer Chubb passionately, excited to see a star player returning from a major injury. But it's possible Chubb will be on a limited snap count, and perhaps no one can succeed tied to this lousy offensive line and quarterback situation.
RB Braelon Allen at Steelers
He only saw three touches in the loss to Buffalo, and now Davante Adams is around to steal some of the goal-line equity. We briefly hoped Allen could have stand-alone value alongside Breece Hall, but it's more realistic to view Allen as an insurance back only.
