Fantasy Football Start Sit Week 7: Browns Can't Do That for You
This is where good fantasy managers separate from lucky ones. The right lineup decisions, powered by Draft Sharks rankings, can make all the difference in Week 7.
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Quarterback to Start
He’s finally throwing to full weaponry.
Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings
Kyler Murray is coming off his highest-scoring week since signing with the Vikings, finishing just outside of QB1 range prior to the team’s Week 6 bye. He still ranks just 25th in points per game for the season (excluding his brief Week 1 appearance).
Murray’s slow start still shows in his 6.1 adjusted yards per pass attempt, which ranks 29th among QBs. But he has improved each week since returning from his concussion:
- 4.9 in Week 3
- 6.7 in Week 4
- 8.3 in Week 5, which ranked 10th in the league
Murray will have both WRs Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison together for the first time since Week 3, a game Jefferson left with a first-quarter ankle sprain.
He also gets the benefit of facing a Colts defense that’s allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to QBs while the Vikings carry the ninth-highest implied total for the week.
Murray is a start.
QB to Sit
Fantasy points don’t tell the full story.
Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
Kirk Cousins finished as the QB9 in Week 6 despite throwing 41 times against a Bills defense that was allowing the third-most points to QBs.
His 7.5 adjusted yards per attempt ranked 14th among QBs last week and was the second-lowest mark against that defense this season. The only QB with a lower adjusted yards per attempt against the Bills was the Chargers’ Justin Herbert in Week 2.
Cousins’ passing efficiency has been on a downward decline masked by high passing volume, averaging 7.7 adjusted yards per attempt over the past three weeks to rank 15th among QBs, with his fifth-most passing attempts over that span keeping him ranked as the QB11.
He’s also yet to eclipse 20 PPR points each of the last two weeks after doing so three consecutive weeks leading up to Week 5.
He’s tasked with a tough matchup in Week 7, facing a Rams defense that’s allowed the second fewest passing yards this season and is reducing QB fantasy points by 9.5%, leaving him as a sit.
Running Backs to Start
Roll with this RB in his second start of the season.
Woody Marks, Houston Texans
Woody Marks’ first start in place of David Montgomery produced fewer points than Marks supplied the game before. But Week 7 should be different.
He’s one of just three RBs -- joining Jonathan Taylor and Bucky Irving -- to handle at least 15 rushing attempts and 3 targets each of the past two weeks. Montgomery remained out of practice to open this week, which should set Marks up to dominate backfield work for a third straight week.
This time it comes against a Giants defense that’s allowed the fourth-most rushing yards per game and eighth-most adjusted fantasy points to RBs. The Texans hold the third-highest implied total for Week 7, signaling a strong offensive environment.
Marks belongs in your lineup this week
Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
Jordan Mason is expected to return for the Vikings this week following an IR stint after suffering a thumb injury. It was an injury that came out of nowhere, finishing Week 1 ranked as an RB2 before the announcement.
He handled a 43.2% carry share last season, trailing RB Aaron Jones’ 49.1% for the team lead. But in the opening week it was Mason that led with a 15-12 split, accounting for 59 yards and 3.9 yards per carry compared to Jones’ 40 rushing yards and 3.3 yards per carry mark.
Which pointed to the majority share remaining in his favor.
His return couldn’t come at a better time, facing a Colts defense that’s allowing the seventh-most points to RBs and boosting their PPR points by 15.6%. It's also a matchup the Vikings hold the ninth-highest implied total.
Mason’s rushing upside is too high to have him stowed on the bench in Week 7.
RBs to Sit
Usage or production, but never both.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Blake Corum’s two best outings of the season have been his last two, producing 16.2 and 14.0 PPR points. But his usage doesn’t point to that trend continuing.
He was on the field for 28.2% of the snaps and handled 33.0% of the Rams’ rush attempts through the first four weeks. Both marks actually top Corum’s numbers over the past two games, when he drew a 27.2% snap share and 32.6% carry share.
Corum’s 32.9% carry share on the season trails well behind Kyren Williams’ 55.9%. He’s also behind Williams in yards after contact per carry and way behind the starter in receiving usage and production. So there’s no reason to expect a shift in opportunity.
Combine that with a Raiders defense that’s allowing the third-fewest rushing yards, and Corum belongs on your bench.
Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
Kendre Miller has benefited from RB Travis Etienne landing on IR with a hamstring injury and RB Alvin Kamara being limited with a back issue, leading the Saints backfield in rushing attempts and yards each of the past two weeks.
He’s one of 17 RBs to account for at least a 50% carry share in each of the past two games but is one of only two to fall short of double-digit PPR points both weeks.
Miller also sees sparse receiving usage, commanding just a 3.7% target share over the same span, 54th among RBs. His 4.1% target share on the season ranks 63rd.
Miller needs Kamara to sit out completely before you should even consider using him.
Wide Receivers to Start
Their QBs trust these WRs, you should too.
Germie Bernard, Pittsburgh Steelers
Since WR Roman Wilson exited Week 5 with a finger injury, Germie Bernard has commanded a 28.4% target share that ranks 10th among WRs.
In his first start with Wilson on IR, he caught 11 of 12 targets for 87 yards and a TD on his way to 25.7 PPR points for a WR3 finish in Week 6.
Bernard managed that performance as the second-leading target earner behind WR DK Metcalf. The duo combined for 61.4% of Pittsburgh’s targets.
This week, he draws a Saints defense that’s allowed the eighth-most passing yards and is boosting WR PPR points by 10.7%.
Start Bernard in Week 7. If he continues near his current pace, he’ll soon reach must-start status.
Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
Michael Wilson is coming off his second-lowest score this season. The Rams limited him to 7.2 PPR points despite Wilson drawing a pair of deep targets (20+ yards downfield) and a red-zone target among his seven total looks.
Wilson has accounted for multiple deep targets in each of the past three weeks and is one of just nine WRs to produce at least 50 air yards every week this season. His 100.8 air yards per game puts him among just 15 WRs averaging at least 100.
He faces a Broncos defense that’s allowing the 10th-fewest points to WRs but arrives as the WR17 on the season, having already faced the Chargers, Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks, all of whom rank among the 12 stingiest WR defenses.
Wilson doesn’t belong on the bench in Week 7.
WRs to Sit
These two look bound for regression.
Denzel Boston, Cleveland Browns
We’ve seen 58 different WRs command at least a 25% target share in at least one game this season. Denzel Boston is not one of them, despite a 19.8% target share that ranks 39th at the position.
Boston has outpaced that usage to rank as the WR27 with 11.9 PPR points per game thanks largely to his 0.5 receiving TDs per game, 13th-highest among WRs.
That will be tougher to continue this week, facing a Titans defense that’s allowed the fifth-fewest passing TDs and the seventh-fewest total TDs.
The Titans have also faced the fifth-lowest pass rate, which favors a rush-heavy approach for a Browns offense expecting RB Quinshon Judkins back from an ankle injury.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson is already passing for the eighth-fewest yards per game, leaving a narrow path for Boston to reach WR3 production without a TD.
He’s a sit.
Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders
Tre Tucker’s 13.1 PPR points per game rank 24th among WRs for the season. That’s well ahead of his 16.6% target share, which ranks 50th.
He joins WR Deebo Samuel as the only WRs averaging at least 12 PPR points per game despite producing less than a 20% target share. Samuel drops out of that group if you remove rushing production.
Tucker is over-producing relative to his usage thanks to two TDs of 40+ yards. In the weeks he doesn’t account for a TD, Tucker’s averaging just 7.2 PPR points.
Now comes a Rams defense that’s allowing the fourth-fewest points to WRs. Tucker doesn’t belong in your lineup.
Tight End to Start
QB Lamar Jackson is back to restore order.
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Mark Andrews enters Week 7 with the seventh-highest target share among TEs at 20.1%. But QB Lamar Jackson getting hurt has dragged him down.
Andrews ranked 18th among TEs in PPR points per game over the first four weeks. He sits TE46 through Tyler Huntley's two starts.
The Ravens have dipped to 183 passing yards per game since Huntley took over, while Andrews’ target share has fallen from 23.5% to 14.5%. The Jackson Ravens averaged 241.8 yards per game.
Jackson has returned to practice this week, building hope that he'll play against the Bengals. If he doesn't, you can expect Andrews to move down our Week 7 TE rankings.
But the matchup would keep him in play even with Huntley. The Bengals have allowed the eighth-most PPR points per game to TEs, even without yielding a TD to this point. They sit just 29th in TE-coverage DVOA.
TE to Sit
Poor passing offense exacerbates the target squeeze.
Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns
It’s been an underwhelming start to the season for Harold Fannin Jr. His 8.9 PPR points per game rank 18th among TEs, while his 17.4% target share sits just third on his own team.
This comes after producing 11.7 PPR points per game last season on a 21.4% target share, the third-highest mark by a rookie TE since 2006.
Part of Fannin’s early struggle has been the addition of rookie WRs KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston. Concepcion is commanding a team-leading 20.3% target share while Boston is accounting for 19.8%. Both rank among the league’s top four rookie WRs.
Fannin’s No. 3 spot looks worse thanks to QB Deshaun Watson averaging the league’s eighth-fewest passing yards per game.
The Titans defense doesn’t look scary but has allowed the ninth-fewest TE points so far. Leave Fannin on your bench if you can.
