Week 7 of the fantasy football season brings bye weeks, giving a new element of strategy for managers to play. Hopefully, your carefully curated roster is in good shape after the devastating slew of injuries that have affected the NFL. You’re in the right place if you’re in a tough situation with your start/sit questions.
We’ve dug through the latest roster percentages to identify fantasy football players who you must either start or sit. Our two start options are currently being started in around 40% or less in leagues, whereas our two sit players are at around 70% or higher. We’re also looking at players owned in a majority of leagues.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
After speculation that Trey Lance would be better for Brandon Aiyuk than Jimmy Garoppolo, the opposite has been true. Aiyuk is coming off his best game of the season against the Atlanta Falcons, totaling eight receptions, 83 yards, and two touchdowns. It’s a bummer that fantasy managers likely had Aiyuk on the bench for that breakout, but it was impossible to predict.
We can’t count on another two red zone scores again for Aiyuk, who has caught four red zone passes for three touchdowns on the season, but we do see a favorable matchup against the Chiefs in Week 7. The Chiefs have been unable to slow receivers from racking up fantasy points, ranking 30th in points allowed to the position.
MORE: Week 7 WR Rankings
With an average of 14 receptions, 180 yards, and 1.5 touchdowns per game, Aiyuk has arguably the best matchup of the week for any non-fantasy star. His smooth route-running and chemistry with Jimmy G should pay off against a young secondary that is good but not great. Watch for Trent McDuffie and Rashad Fenton to struggle with Aiyuk’s movement ability on comebacks and dig routes.
He makes a ton of sense as a flex option for fantasy managers, and I would say he’s close to a lock when it comes to debating who to start or sit in Week 7.
Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
It’s difficult to project exactly when someone like Pollard will have a boom and not a bust week. As a part-time player who hasn’t seen a large volume of touches in any single game this season, Pollard is a great option for managers who can afford the valleys in his variance but can only win if he has a big performance. His matchup against the Detroit Lions this week bodes well for his managers.
Pollard’s production has come in flurries, with two games under 25 total yards, one under 55, and the other three over 86. Chances are better than not that Pollard will score at least 10 points, considering how poorly the Lions’ defense is playing right now. They rank as the second-worst defense against running backs, giving up a league-high 1.6 scores a game and 154 total yards.
Dallas’ own running game has been nothing special, but they’re committed to giving their backs opportunities and limiting the exposure for quarterback Cooper Rush. With Dak Prescott back, it’s more likely the defense can’t key in on the run game nearly as much as they could with Rush. Pollard should still see around 10 touches but be more explosive with defenses sagging off.
We have Pollard as RB23 in our PFN expert fantasy rankings for PPR leagues for Week 7. He’s a strong start option and can be confidently played even as an RB2.
Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
I’m shocked we’re at this point already with Courtland Sutton and the Denver Broncos offense, but I think Russell Wilson is just bad at this point. His accuracy has been terrible, and the once-special ability to create chunk plays outside of the pocket is gone.
The Broncos must fire Nathaniel Hackett before 2023 for anything to really change on this unit since they’re stuck with Wilson’s albatross contract.
Wilson may not even play in Week 7 as he’s dealing with a hamstring injury. Denver would be wise to use this as a regrouping period with the veteran. Tanking would be ideal, but there’s no value for Denver there as their first- and second-round picks in 2023 belong to Seattle.
Sutton will either play with Brett Rypien or a version of Wilson that is not significantly better. The Jets don’t have the best defense, but they’re above average at limiting fantasy production to receivers. Sauce Gardner has been excellent, and D.J. Reed is a fine complimentary player across from him.
If the Jets continue their trend of limiting receivers to fewer than 11 receptions and 132 yards, Sutton will need to score a touchdown to be playable. The Jets have been vulnerable to receivers finding their way to paydirt, giving up one of the highest TD rates in the league at 1.17 scores per game.
We never say never, but smart money says that won’t happen for Sutton this week.
David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears
It’s always an interesting moment when coaches say they’ll “ride the hot hand” at running back. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said the phrase this past week in reference to his talented tandem of David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert. There’s no question that Herbert has been the more effective of the two in his touches.
Herbert has 156 more rushing yards with one more carry on the season, though Montgomery has 76 more receiving yards on five more receptions. Montgomery has looked the best of his career and has terrific value to any offense, but Herbert’s ability to get downhill and power through rushing lanes fits the build of this scheme and the talent of the offensive line more than Montgomery.
MORE: Week 7 RB Rankings
If Eberflus truly starts favoring whoever is producing more, Montgomery should be traded instead of just benched. Even if it’s a Monty game in Week 7, though, his matchup against New England looks less attractive than it did a week ago. The Patriots shut down the mighty Cleveland Browns run game, limiting them to 70 total yards on the ground.
It was the fourth time the Patriots limited an opponent to 101 or fewer rushing yards on the season. Two terrible performances against Baltimore and Green Bay seemed to skew their averages because this unit has been drastically sharper in every other week. I’d expect that same attention to detail and physicality to be replicated by Chicago’s inept offense.
