Fantasy Football Roundtable. Week 7 Expert Rankings vs. Consensus.
It’s Bye-mageddon.
It’s…I don’t know what else to call it. All I do know is there’s a horde of players I really need to start but can’t because they’re not playing this weekend. And it’s not like the guys available have enticing matchups to target.
Week 7 features just three games with Vegas totals over 45 points, and four backup QBs will take the field for their respective franchises. So it looks bleak across the board for even the best players in our starting lineups. But we’ve got the analysis you need to help you make the right decisions.
Our rankings squad got together again to find a few players they’re higher or lower on relative to consensus. So if you’re having questions about setting your lineup for Week 7, or looking for that one guy that might give you the push you need to get a W, check out their notes before kickoff.
RB – James Cook (Bills) vs. Patriots
Let James cook? (Sorry).
Ultimately, Cook has been fine. His average of 4.8 yards per carry ranks 14th among 53 qualified backs, while his 14.7% explosive run-play rate is good for the 10th-highest mark at the position.
The main problems have been:
- Lack of a goal line role: Cook has just two carries inside the five-yard line this season, while Josh Allen (2), Damien Harris (2), and Latavius Murray (6) have combined for 10.
- Pass-game work: Cook's 17 targets on the season are tied for just the 18th-highest mark at the position. His average of 1.21 yards per route run ranks 10th, but Josh Allen’s willingness to scramble and Murray’s involvement as a pass-blocker haven’t helped.
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) tries to avoid the tackle by New York Giants safety Jason Pinnock (27). Credit: Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK
The likely absence of Harris (neck/head) condenses this backfield to just two parties for the time being; I like Cook’s chances of flirting with an upper-end outcome against this banged-up Patriots defense, but hopeful RB1 heights look shakier than ever without the benefit of a featured role.
RB – Kenneth Walker (Seahawks) vs. Cardinals
In 2022, Walker finished No. 2 in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting with 1,215 yards and nine TDs, and this season, he has 445 yards and six TDs in five games. With at least 17 opportunities (carries and targets combined) in every contest, he has one of the highest ceiling/floor combinations at the position.
Walker is No. 2 in the league with 88% of his team’s carries inside the 10-yard line, and he’s tied for No. 3 with nine broken tackles.
He could see ample work as a large home favorite, and the Cardinals are No. 31 in defensive rush SR (48.8%).
- Freedman
RB – Rachaad White (Buccaneers) vs. Falcons
As my fine colleague Ian Hartitz outlined, White is one of the least efficient backs in the NFL, and the Tampa Bay offensive line isn’t doing him any favors. No back in the league averages fewer yards before contact (0.5).
While those flaws have kept White from climbing too far in the weekly ranks, we have always been able to fall back on his utilization to keep him in the low-end RB2 conversation. However, we have seen Ke’Shawn Vaughn take on a more significant role over the past two games.
Coming out of the bye week, White saw his lowest opportunity total of the season with 11 combined attempts and targets. It is possible that this usage downturn was just a blip on the radar, but White is a player who can’t afford to lose any touches—he has been a low-end RB2, even with elite utilization. Anything less puts him into RB3 territory.
In a week where injuries and byes are ravaging lineups, White remains a mid-range RB2 option, but if you have depth, he isn’t a must-start. White ranks eight spots below consensus for me in Week 7.
WR – Chris Godwin (Buccaneers) vs. Falcons
While Godwin’s production thus far hasn’t been pretty, he's still the WR33 in PPR points per game (12.4) sandwiched between Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett.
I’ve counted four occasions throughout the season where it sure looked like Godwin had a decent chance at hauling in a TD, only for Baker Mayfield to not hold up his end of the bargain. Some have been especially egregious.
Consistent inconsistency is expected inside the Mayfield experience; just realize Godwin has just four fewer targets than Mike Evans on the season and should see better days ahead as a clear-cut 1B option inside a passing game that has surpassed its piss poor expectations entering the season.
Godwin has caught at least six passes in each of his last three meetings against this defense; don’t be surprised if the good times finally start rolling on Sunday vs. a Falcons group that ranks dead last in passer rating allowed to pass-catchers aligned from the slot this season.
WR – Romeo Doubs (Packers) at Broncos
Doubs disappointed in Week 5 with a measly one fantasy point. Do you know how weird it feels to write the words fantasy points and not have the “s” at the end of points? Yeah, really weird. While the return of one of my favorites—Christian Watson—to a full-time role was likely a factor, we also can’t dismiss what Doubs has done when healthy in 2023. He was battling a hamstring injury for the first two games, but in Weeks 3 and 4, he delivered 18 and 19-point outings on the back of 26% and 38% target shares.
Over the three healthy games, he averages 25% of the targets and 12.7 points per game.
While those aren’t crazy numbers, they are in line with mid-range WR3 production, yet most industry rankers have Doubs as a WR4 or worse on a week where six teams are on bye. That doesn’t make much sense.
Of course, the matchup against the Broncos gives me even more confidence in Doubs. Denver allows the second-most passing yards per game (286), and the Packers offer the eighth-best team total (23) this weekend.
I have Doubs ranked as my WR31, and I am eight spots ahead of consensus in the overall Fantasy Life rankings.
WR – Brandon Aiyuk (49ers) at Vikings
Aiyuk came into his own last year with 1,015 yards and eight TDs receiving, and he has continued to impress this year with 22-411-2 receiving on 31 targets in his four full games (he exited Week 2 early with a shoulder injury and missed Week 3).
For the season, he’s No. 1 in the league with a 52.7% air share, and he could see extra opportunities this week with RB Christian McCaffrey (oblique) and WR Deebo Samuel (shoulder) both uncertain to play.
The Vikings are No. 5 in most fantasy points allowed to WRs (34.9 FPPG).
- Freedman
