Weekly Rankings: Ranking Each Position for Week 7

With Week 6 behind us, its time to move on to Week 7. I’ll rank each position, including both standard and PPR rankings, each week before Thursday Night Football. Below each set of rankings, I will provide commentary on my more interesting decisions of the week. Best of luck in Week 7!

 

 

• Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, and Patrick Mahomes are pretty much locked in as the top three quarterbacks every week, regardless of matchup. Mahomes is ranked third only because of the ankle, as I would like to see him regain some mobility. Jackson gets a slight edge over Watson, as Jackson has posted 33 carries for 222 yards over the last two weeks, numbers that very few running backs can match, let alone quarterbacks.
• I always love Kyler Murray, and especially so this week, as he faces a New York Giants defense allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to the quarterback position. Outside of Dwayne Haskins, this Giants team has allowed 20+ fantasy points to every quarterback it has faced, and Murray has displayed an excellent floor, scoring between 16 and 29 fantasy points every week. Murray has added the rushing ability that we hoped for as well, totaling 21 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown over the past two weeks, which unsurprisingly has produced his two best fantasy games of the year. I’m banking on this being the breakout week that we have been waiting for out of Murray.
• There’s a whole tier from Matt Ryan to Carson Wentz that I struggled with, and I could see any one of them leading the group in Week 7. I ultimately settled on Ryan as the best of the bunch, as I love his sheer volume (season-low passing attempts of 34, four of six games over 40 attempts) and the fact that he is home in a projected shootout.
• This will be an interesting test for Jared Goff, as on the one hand, he gets the Falcons defense, and on the other, he plays on the road, where he has traditionally struggled. The Rams offense looks so discombobulated that I hesitate to rank him higher than eighth, and you could make a case for ranking him as low as 11.
• While Josh Allen is an excellent streaming option, I don’t have him ranked as high as some do this week against the league-worst defense of the Dolphins. Allen didn’t blow up in cake matchups before (Bengals, Giants) and I expect the Bills to run the ball early and often. I can’t see the Dolphins putting many points on the board here, and Allen may not need to chuck the ball downfield often in this one.
• Gardner Minshew is the last option that I would feel good about streaming, as afterward there are a bunch of quarterbacks with tough matchups. The Bengals are missing William Jackson and Dre Kirkpatrick from their secondary, the lone bright spot on an otherwise dismal defense. It’s hard to believe that their defense could be worse, but it is about to happen. Start your Jaguars with confidence.

 

 

• Detroit has sneakily given up the 3rd most points to the running back position in fantasy and allowed Jamaal Williams to go for 136 total yards and a touchdown on 18 touches last week in a timeshare. Just think about what Dalvin Cook can do against this defense! This will be the Lions toughest test defending the run this year, and their past results paint this as a blowup spot for Cook, making him the RB1 this week.
• The Bengals are falling apart on both sides of the ball, making Leonard Fournette an elite option this week. Cincinnati has been abysmal defending the run, as well as defending running backs out of the backfield, so expect Fournette to continue his heavy usage. With four or more catches in all but one game this year, this is a new Fournette that can perfectly take advantage of this Bengals defense.
• Alvin Kamara looks like a game-time decision, but even if he plays I worry about this spot. A matchup in Chicago is as tough as it gets, as in their two home games they held Aaron Jones to 39 yards rushing and zero catches in Week 1, and held Dalvin Cook to 70 total yards on 14 carries and six receptions in Week 4. If Kamara sits, Latavius Murray becomes playable, but don’t get too excited. He’s not the same class of player that Jones or Cook is, and missing both Drew Brees and Kamara is too much for the Saints to overcome in Chicago.
• Speaking of Aaron Jones, I’m not hopping off this rollercoaster yet. I’ve been hesitant to raise him up my rankings during the highs (four touchdowns in Week 5), and I’m not going to lower him in my rankings after one bad week. While he opened the door for Jamaal Williams to rejoin the timeshare, Jones remains a focal part of the offense, especially with Davante Adams likely missing, and is a good bet for a touchdown every week. Two bad plays last week isn’t enough for me to jump off the head of the bandwagon.
• If you can make sense of this Kansas City backfield, then, by all means, let me know in the comments. This year is a true outlier year for an Andy Reid offense, as he typically produces a fantasy-relevant running game. I keep expecting positive regression to hit, but in the meantime, it is hard to trust any of the running backs in your lineup. I remain highest on Damien Williams because of his pass-catching potential, but that’s all it is right now, potential.
• Keep a close eye on Darrell Henderson. With Todd Gurley and Malcolm Brown banged up, Henderson could have a real opportunity this week. Henderson flashed on limited opportunities last week and could be the spark that the Rams need for an offense that looks stuck in the mud. He’s not worth a start if Gurley plays, but Henderson needs to be rostered in all leagues in case his role continues to grow.

 

 

• This is a tough week at wide receiver, with some good options on their bye weeks (CAR, CLE, PIT, TB). Then you look at the injuries, and yikes. Amari Cooper, Josh Gordon, Tyrell Williams, Davante Adams, Sterling Shepard, Christian Kirk, Marquise Brown, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Geronimo Allison all look to be on the wrong side of questionable and I have removed from my rankings. This week will come down to kickoff on many of these decisions, so feel free to leave a question in the comments as any new injury news becomes available.
• I’m going down with the ship on DeAndre Hopkins, as he’s still had seven or more targets in every game this year, with 12 last week in a disappointing game. He will turn it around one of these weeks, and I don’t want to miss out on the positive regression.
• Coupled with the byes and injuries, there are a bunch of tough matchups this week to further complicate things. Michael Thomas, Keenan Allen, Tyreek Hill, Kenny Golladay, and Adam Thielen all face tough matchups this week. They are all too talented to bench, especially in this watered-down week for receivers.
• The Falcons have given up the third-most points to fantasy wide receivers, so start the big three Rams receivers this week and hope for the best. Another stinker from Goff, however, and we may be forced to make some tough decisions when ranking Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks next week. Cooper Kupp has been lights out prior to last week, and I’m keeping him high in my rankings regardless.
• Receivers that see a bump due to potential injuries on their teams: Michael Gallup, Allen Lazard, Golden Tate, Larry Fitzgerald, and Phillip Dorsett.
• Terry McLaurin draws a brutal matchup against the 49ers dominating defense. I still think you roll him out there and hope for the best unless you have dodged the bye week and injury depletion of Week 7. He’s awfully talented, and on a hot streak, and I would hate to see him score another touchdown on my bench.
• All of the Jaguars receivers get a bump against the depleted Bengals secondary. D.J. Chark is a back-end WR1, and there are worse options than Dede Westbrook this week, as he quietly has received 19 targets over the last two weeks.

 

 

• We’ve got a clear top eight in the tight end rankings that you should feel good about starting every week. Congratulations if you ended up with one of the top options.
• And once you’ve missed out on the top eight options? I don’t know, use a Ouija Board? A Magic 8-ball? Flip a coin? Get a psychic reading? Honestly, as someone who has been bouncing between the likes of Noah Fant, Eric Ebron, T.J. Hockenson, and Dawson Knox, all I can do is wish you luck. You can see my rankings, so that’s the order I would place them. But it ultimately comes down to who scores a touchdown, and who doesn’t. I will say, however, don’t lose hope. You can win your fantasy league with a bad tight end, so keep trying to improve the position, but a stacked roster of running backs and wide receivers is ultimately what wins fantasy titles.

 

(Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire)