This is a tough week for fantasy owners as a slew of the top fantasy players are on bye. That means you’ll need to get creative on the waiver wire, yes, but it also means you’ll need to nail your lineup selections and ensure you get the most bang for your buck at every position.
I’m here to help. Let’s break down the rankings for this week at every position.
Schedule
Quarterbacks
You have to love Carson Palmer against the Baltimore Ravens this week. While Palmer has accumulated 16 or more fantasy points in every game he’s played this season, the Ravens are giving up 21.5 fantasy points per week to opposing quarterbacks, worst in the NFL.
To put Baltimore’s problems against opposing quarterbacks in perspective, they gave up 26 fantasy points to Derek Carr in Week 2, 35 to Josh McCown in Week 5 and 22 to Colin Kaepernick in Week 6. Palmer is a better quarterback with better weapons than any of the aforementioned three players, so he should fare quite nicely this week.
Ditto for Andrew Luck against the New Orleans Saints, a team that has given up 17 or more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in five of six games this season. Missing two starts has dropped Luck down the fantasy leaderboard, but he’s still averaging a respectable 17 fantasy points per game.
His 312 passing yards and three touchdowns against New England is a good indicator that Luck is about to blow up for fantasy owners.
Running Backs
Time to get Latavius Murray back in those starting lineups, folks. While the Oakland running back stalled in his two games before a Week 6 bye, scoring a combined nine fantasy points, a tasty matchup against San Diego should solve all that ails him.
The Chargers are giving up 24.3 fantasy points to opposing running backs per week, worst in the NFL. Murray should have a very nice week for fantasy owners.
Another running back coming off of a bye, Todd Gurley, should absolutely blow up against a Cleveland Browns defense that has given up 150 or more rushing yards four times this season. Gurley has rushed for 314 in just two games with the Rams, so he should tee off against the Browns.
I like LeSean McCoy this week against a Jacksonville defense that has twice given up 40 or more fantasy points to an opponent’s running backs. But Nerdy Football’s Matt Camp thinks you might want to temper your expectations for Shady going forward:
However, assuming he’s healthy for this week at least, I think you can gamble on McCoy posting solid numbers in London.
Wide Receivers
Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant are probably praying Ben Roethlisberger can return for a matchup against a Kansas City defense giving up 32.5 fantasy points per week to opposing wideouts, worst in the NFL. Even Landry Jones would suffice after he relieved Michael Vick in Week 6, throwing for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
If Vick starts, you can pretty seriously downgrade both Brown and Bryant this week. If Roethlisberger is able to return, Brown is the top wideout in fantasy this week and Bryant is a high-end WR2. If Jones gets the nod, it’s a tougher call, but both players should still be considered top-20 options.
Larry Fitzgerald will continue his resurgent season with an excellent matchup against Baltimore. The Ravens have given up 200 or more receiving yards to opposing wideouts four times this season and gave up a whopping 349 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns to Cincinnati’s wide receivers in Week 3. Fitzgerald should have a very nice game.
Tight Ends
A pair of AFC West tight ends will be licking their chops this week, as Antonio Gates and Travis Kelce have excellent matchups against Oakland and Pittsburgh, respectively.
Oakland is giving up a league-worst 14.4 fantasy points to opposing tight ends per week, while Pittsburgh has twice given up 25 or more points to the position. Gates and Kelce should have fun in Week 7.
Defense/Special Teams
Take a chance on Buffalo this week. While the Bills defense is averaging a disappointing 5.0 fantasy points per week, they’ll face a Jacksonville team that has given up a combined 29 fantasy points to opposing defenses over the past two weeks, including nine sacks.
If Buffalo’s front seven can’t dominate this contest, the Bills are in big trouble this season.
Kickers
You know the drill: Stick with a consistent kicker on a solid offense. Projecting individual production beyond that is basically impossible when it comes to this position.
All fantasy stats and points-against totals via ESPN standard leagues.
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