Fantasy football rankings Week 7: Sleepers, projections, starts, Josh Downs, JuJu Smith-Schuster and more

With only two teams on bye, we have most teams at our disposal in Week 7, but with injuries, trades (hello, Davante Adams and Amari Cooper) and more headaches, let’s make sure you have all the info you need for your fantasy football starts/sit decisions. Rankings, projections and, of course, some fun!

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Week 7 Waiver Wire
Week 7 SOS Ranks (coming soon)
Fantasy 101 (weather, start/sit, trading, more)
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WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

BYES: CHI, DAL

Broncos at Saints, Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Devaughn Vele, WR, DEN — I’d switch to Courtland Sutton if Marshon Lattimore were to be traded, but the Saints are rather vulnerable to intermediate work. This is a very deep sleeper though.
• NOTES: The Saints could be without both top receivers. If Rashid Shaheed plays, he’s a boom/bust WR3 even with Patrick Surtain out. The Broncos can focus on him with Bub Means stepping in as the No. 2 Saints wideout, and Spencer Rattler — despite showing promise — is in a tough spot for his second start… Audric Estime is an interesting stash to see if Sean Payton gives him early work with Javonte Williams turning into the timeshare, passing-down option.

Patriots at Jaguars (London), Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Kayshon Boutte, WR, NE — As with Vele, going a bit deeper here, as Demario Douglas is obvious with the Drake Maye boost. Boutte is in play for some deep shots against a weak defense.
• NOTES: Jerod Mayo called out Ja’Lynn Polk, and while he’s behind Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas for the moment, I’d only trust Douglas for now. Polk still had four targets to three for Boutte, the two combining for less than Douglas’ nine… Trevor Lawrence is third — behind both Dolphins QBs — in 1stRead% (75.9). Evan Engram had a 28.1 1stRead% in Week 6 and Brian Thomas Jr. 18.8%, while Thomas was 26.2% in Weeks 2-5 without Engram (per FantasyPoints). I like buying low on Thomas, but he’s more of a WR3 now rather than a WR2.

Seahawks at Falcons, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Darnell Mooney, WR, ATL — Keep him in the lineup. Coming off a down game, Mooney will rebound against one of the worst pass defenses.
• NOTES: The Falcons use Cover-3 fourth most (45.8%), and there is a big gap with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has a lowly 0.30 YPRR against it (DK Metcalf 2.20, Tyler Lockett 1.25), while he has 1.50 against anything else (Metcalf 1.72, Lockett 1.60)… Kenneth Walker is the only running back with 4+ touchdowns and fewer than 309 rushing yards (234)… Bijan Robinson had his lowest RBTouch% (48.6) in his best game (24.0 FPs) — facing the Panthers helps.

Titans at Bills, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Calvin Ridley, WR, TEN — He’s far from trustworthy, and the Bills pass defense can be good, but the one area where they’ve been consistently vulnerable is more of the mid-field, intermediate game, where Ridley is more adept than DeAndre Hopkins.
• NOTES: Look for more Josh Allen downfield attempts again this week. The Jets allow the highest percentage of deep throws (17.0%), the Titans are eighth (13.0%) and Allen has the fifth-highest percentage (14.1%)… Even though DeAndre Hopkins topped the box score, Calvin Ridley led the Titans with eight targets (29.6 TmTGT%), but it happened to be the highest OffTGT% for Will Levis and Ridley of the season (37.5%). Ridley also has the eighth-lowest catchable targets rate (61.1% — min 50 routes, 10 targets).

Bengals at Browns, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Jerry Jeudy, WR, CLE — Game script and volume now… if only he had a different QB.
• NOTES: After Zack Moss fumbled, he didn’t get another touch. The shift to Chase Brown is here, but we have to see if that means bellcow work or just the lead with Moss now stealing some short-yardage and goal-line opportunities… The Browns use the most Cover-1 (39.1%), and Ja’Marr Chase goes from 2.60 YPPR to 1.94 against it, while Tee Higgins goes from 1.92 to 2.31… The Browns averaged 118.6 rushing yards in 2023 and are at just 97.2 in 2024 (fifth worst). The Bengals are allowing the fifth-most rushing yards at 146.0, which is good timing for Nick Chubb’s return.

Texans at Packers, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Christian Watson, WR, GB — The Texans pass defense has given up a bunch of big plays (and for touchdowns) this year.
• NOTES: Per FTN data, Tank Dell went from 5.3 targets and 5.8 FPPG to 9.0 and 15.2 once Nico Collins got hurt this year… No team uses 5+ DBs more than the Texans (97.7%), and Jayden Reed is fourth (Rashee Rice — sad face, Nico Collins — more sads, A.J. Brown are the Top 3) in YPRR against 5+ DBs (2.99).

Dolphins at Colts, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Josh Downs, WR, IND — Here only because I want you to stop doubting him — shouldn’t be a sleeper.
• NOTES: With Raheem Mostert back, he’s in the RB2 conversation, with De’Von Achane having an RB1 ceiling but RB3 floor… If Achane is out, Mostert gets a slight boost, but Jaylen Wright becomes a RB3 flier… Tyler Goodson has a 64.9% explosive yards rate to 35.2% for Trey Sermon, which was evident last week. There is more upside with Goodson until Jonathan Taylor returns.

Lions at Vikings, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Just play everyone — Hard to find a fantasy option who isn’t worth starting.
• NOTES: Jameson Williams has 10.3 TD/TGT% (eighth highest, min 20 targets), which would have been second only to Courtland Sutton last year (11.1% — qualified WRs) with Sam LaPorta the highest Lions receiving option (8.3)… To that point, LaPorta is at 6.7% this year… If, after seeing that, you have concerns for T.J. Hockenson, the good news is that he only dropped a bit in TmTGT% (23.4 to 20.7) when playing without Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison compared to both being on the field, and his TD/TGT% was actually higher with both at 4.1% compared to 3.6% without them.

Eagles at Giants, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Grant Calcaterra, TE, PHI — Super deep and desperate teams only but…
• NOTES: Once Dallas Goedert left Week 6, Calcaterra had 18.2 TmTGT%, resulting in a 4-4-67 line… Tyrone Tracy Jr. is in play as a Top 20 option — even higher if on a better team — but if Devin Singletary returns, Tracy has a rather low floor given the risk of Brian Daboll leaning on Singletary, who he loves. Tracy would also get a bit of a ding if Malik Nabers is back, but nowhere near as severe as if Singletary plays.

Raiders at Rams, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Jakobi Meyers, WR, LV — The Rams pass defense is weak, and Aiden O’Connell will often hone in on one receiver.
• NOTES: Tre Tucker is fifth in designed play target rate (screens, etc.) at 28.0%, behind Curtis Samuel, Jayden Reed, Luke McCaffrey and Olamide Zaccheaus. As you can see, it’s not a guarantee to have production, but with Rashee Rice, Zay Flowers and Khalil Shakir just behind Tucker, he’s still worthy of a deep-league flier with Davante Adams officially gone… Only the Falcons use three wideouts more frequently than the Rams (96.7% to 93.8%), which is why I wouldn’t drop any of Jordan Whittington, Tutu Atwell or Demarcus Robinson until we see how things shake out with Cooper Kupp back. Whittington has the highest ceiling but most risk (eliminated from the mix).

Panthers at Commanders, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Xavier Legette, WR, CAR — The Commanders pass defense is vulnerable, and they lost a big pass-rush piece in Jonathan Allen.
• NOTES: Since Andy Dalton took over and Adam Thielen got hurt, Diontae Johnson has a 26.4 TmTGT% with four red zone targets and five end zone targets. Those rank 14th, T-11th and T-1st, respectively… The Panthers allow the highest TD/Drive% at 35.3 (Rams are second at 34.0), and the Commanders lead the league in TD/Drive% (34.5; Ravens second at 32.3)… Even while missing a game, Brian Robinson Jr. is still T-3rd in goal-to-go rushing attempts (11), behind only Kyren Williams (13) and Derrick Henry (12). Austin Ekeler got the only G2G and goal-line attempts (one each) in Week 6 — file that away in case Robinson is sidelined again.

Chiefs at 49ers, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, KC — If you grabbed him off waivers, I’d start him as a WR3.
• NOTES: In Weeks 4-5, Kareem Hunt handled the fifth-highest percent of his team’s RB touches (75.9%)… Last year, Brandon Aiyuk had 3.38 YPRR against man coverage and 2.94 against zone, but this year, he’s at 1.77 and 1.80, respectively. He’s also seeing just 21.7% of his receptions for 20+ yards after 37.3% last year, which goes in line with what I mentioned in waivers — teams are keeping the 49ers receivers in front of them, which affects Aiyuk the most.

Jets at Steelers, Sunday, 8 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Pat Freiermuth, TE, PIT — Another needy-play tight end, and the Jets pass defense is strong, but whether it’s Justin Fields or Russell Wilson, Freiermuth could find the end zone.
• NOTES: Breece Hall had his highest RBTouch% since Week 1 (88.5, and Week 1 was 91.3)… Justin Fields has nearly identical stats to Russell Wilson’s 2023 season (Comp%, YD/Att, YD/Comp, etc. etc.) except in TD/Att% — Fields is 3.1 while Wilson was 5.8. Yes, different team, but if Wilson starts, George Pickens gets a slight boost on touchdown potential.

Ravens at Buccaneers, Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Mark Andrews, TE, BAL and Cade Otton, TE, TB — If you need to gamble one more week on Andrews, his snap count and usage isn’t changing, but the matchup is positive, as is Otton’s, as the Ravens continue to be exploitable with tight ends.
• NOTES: Derrick Henry has scored on 45.5% of his GL rushes, which is actually lower than Gus Edwards’ mark of 52.2% last year. Yes, it could be even better for Henry… Baker Mayfield has the fourth-highest Catchable% (79.9) behind Jayden Daniels (83.7), Joe Burrow (82.6), and… checks the site… squints… rubs eyes… Gardner Minshew (80.7).

Chargers at Cardinals, Monday, 9:00 p.m. ET

• SLEEPERS: Quentin Johnston, WR, LAC — Back to the Aiyuk situation, his best game was against the Cardinals, who play tighter in coverage, and they’ve given up some big plays with receivers getting downfield. That’s Johnston’s game and upside.
• NOTES: J.K. Dobbins is one of five running backs with 100% of his team’s GL rushes (James Conner, Tony Pollard, Rhamondre Stevenson, Breece Hall)… With a tweaked ankle and the game well out of hand, the Cardinals held back James Conner in Week 6. Don’t overreact to Conner’s work if he’s active in Week 7, and if he’s out, Trey Benson would be a high-upside/risk RB2/3, similar to Ray Davis last week. He could be the clear lead and look as good as he did in college, or Benson could split with Emari Demercado, ceding passing-game work.

FUN WITH RANKS

Another good reader suggestion — keep them coming! It’s time for the best snacks while watching the games! Now, before you yell, “Where’s pizza?!” etc., know that I am keeping it to one-handed items. And, sure, you can handle a slice of pizza with one hand… kind of… so maybe look at this more as “only a few bites.” You’ll sense the theme when you see (and hate) the list.

Top 15 Football Watching Snacks

1. Buffalo dip — And it needs to be chicken. The best. No question
2. Pretzel bites — Soft ones, dippable — I could crush 50
3. Lumpia — Top 5 food snack ever
4. Wings… well, nuggets — First, boneless wings are nuggets, and as much as I like regular wings, too much mess, hand involvement (phrasing, sir!), etc.
5. Pizza bagels or rolls — You get the pizza in bite-size version
6. Salsa queso — Yes, that’s one thing, and you can separate them if you want boring, but this is so good — also, can be messy if you’re not paying attention
7. Sliders
8. Buffalo (small) meatballs — For the uninitiated, try them! And then thank me!
9. Donut holes — Have to have a dessert mixed in
10. Pigs in a blanket
11. Antipasta — There are many variations, but my dad’s mix of soppressata, pepperoni, jalapeno havarti and white cheddar is my go-to (with Italian dressing — I take out the artichokes)
12. Fried pickles — Never had them until I met Nicole… yum
13. Jalapeno poppers
14. Hushpuppies
15. Chips and dip (or just chips) — Simple, yet necessary

Overrated: Nachos — full-blown loaded nachos are terrible outside eating yourself as a meal (maybe at Moes) — I don’t want other peoples’ grubby hands touching anything I eat… stuff sticks together and doesn’t separate properly… you go through eleventy hundred napkins… shall I continue? Just have chips and salsa queso.

WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL PROJECTIONS

🚨 HEADS UP 🚨 These can differ from my rankings, and MY RANKS are the order I’d start players outside of added context, such as, “Need highest upside, even if risky.” Also, based on 4-point TDs for QB, 6-point rest, and Half-PPR

Download Link Added Thursday

WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

🚨 HEADS UP 🚨

• There is no perfect widget out there, sadly, still. I know many view this on your phone, but 1) use the rankings widget on a PC/laptop/etc. if possible or 2) open in your phone’s browser, especially for Android users, to get the scrolling to work (or Android people can try a two-finger scroll).
• ECR = “Expert” Consensus Ranking (which isn’t updated by everyone consistently, so take with a grain of salt).
• Updated regularly, so check up to lineups locking.

(Top photo of JuJu Smith-Schuster: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images)