2018 Daily Fantasy: DraftKings NFL Week 7 Picks, Sleepers and Predictions

Week 6 had some pretty unusual twists and turns. Best highlighted by this nut job below with stones big enough to roster Brock Osweiler against the Bears who many think are one of the best defense in the NFL. Pairing that with Albert Wilson who is apparently a YAC monster led to a monster payday. This week, with many top teams either on a bye or playing off the main slate, we have limited options to fill our lineups up with studs.

Congrats to "Davematt123" on riding the Brocketship to a @getroman Fantasy Football Millionaire win yesterday.

Full standings: https://t.co/e0W4As6Tpg pic.twitter.com/cvOu644X1J

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) October 15, 2018

QBs:

• Jameis Winston ($6,300)
  • In his first starting action of the season, Winston put up a spectacular performance against the Falcons while trying to play catchup. He spread the ball around, but continued to flourish when targeting tight ends (2 touchdowns Week 6). The Bucs lack of a running game really helps Winston and the passing game script they should follow at home against the Browns.
• Cam Newton ($5,900)
  • I don’t understand Newton’s prices sometimes. All he’s done is average 24.4 DK ppg mostly without his top receiving target in Greg Olsen and now faces a funnel defense in the Philadelphia Eagles. Newton has generally been good for multiple throwing touchdowns, sometimes hitting the 300+ passing bonus while adding on 4-5 points in rushing yardage. And that’s before an even higher ceiling thanks to his rushing touchdown potential. This should be a big time game for both teams, and that’s when Newton is at his best.
• Mitch Trubisky ($5,600)
  • New England’s defense hasn’t been much to write home about over the past few weeks, and Trubisky has been putting up eye popping numbers as of late. The Bears have the playmakers on offense to put up points as Trubisky continues to spread the ball around. He’s thrown for over 300+ and 3+ scores in back to back games.

RBs:

• Todd Gurley ($9,800)
  • The man is just a freak. Gurley hit the 10k price tag last week and delivered with a 39.5 point performance against the Broncos. There are a lot of skilled teams with elite level talent off the main slate this week, so Gurley remains one of the few true studs left at the top of the player pool. He should see more touches with Cooper Kupp out with his MCL injury.
• Christian McCaffrey ($7,700)
  • Despite the Eagles great run stopping abilities, they can be vulnerable through the air. Luckily McCaffrey excels as a pass catching back and working in open space. He played every snap last week and carries little to no risk of being vultured by CJ Anderson. After a measly 13 points (by his standard) CMC looks like a solid bounce back candidate this week.
• Tarik Cohen ($5,100)
  • The last two weeks have seen Cohen and the Bears offense humming. Cohen has far outproduced starting RB Jordan Howard seeing as he’s easily the more dynamic of the two. Howard’s struggled with his rushing totals, and fumbled at the one yard line last week. Meanwhile, Cohen has dominated RB targets with 7 catches and 90+ yards in back to back games. We saw Kareem Hunt do damage against New England on Monday night in the receiving game, and Cohen should be utilized as well for the Bears.
• Kerryon Johnson ($4,500)
  • Sure Johnson’s snap totals and usage are a little concerning, but this comes as a juicy spot for him and the Lions running game. Miami and their front seven has been awful at stopping the run and Johnson is clearly the teams best runner and is due for a breakout game. Riddick didn’t practice on Wednesday, which would be great if he were to be out opening up more snaps and touches for Johnson.
• Peyton Barber ($3,800)
  • The flowchart of following running backs against the Falcons worked again last week as Barber came through with a 20.6 point performance. He heavily out-snapped and out-touched Ronald Jones in the contest, and made the most on his usage in Week 6. The Bucs face Cleveland this week who have struggled against opposing RBs as we saw Melvin Gordon shred them just a week ago.

WRs:

• Adam Thielen ($8,600)
  • The most expensive receiver this week and also entering Antonio Brown territory in terms of pricing. He’s been as consistent as they’ve come at the WR position with 100+ yards in six straight contests. He now faces the Jets defense that has had many problems covering the slot, where Thielen does majority of his work. Chester Rogers did well in that role last week, so now we’d expect Thielen to have a huge game in this plus matchup.
• Brandin Cooks ($7,100) / Robert Woods ($7,000)
  • I love both of these Rams receivers this week against the 49ers. Rams wideouts have all performed spectacularly throughout the year, and now with Cooper Kupp out for Week 7, both Cooks and Woods should see a bump in their target projections. Rodgers and the Packers just shredded the 49ers defense who will be playing on shorter rest.
• DeSean Jackson ($5,800)
  • If you saw last week, the Browns were burned multiple times by Chargers deep ball guy Tyrell Williams with a 3-118-2 stat line. Jackson fills that role of Williams in the Bucs offense as the deep speed guy, and provides massive upside after a nine target game with Winston back.
• Jermaine Kearse ($4,100)
  • With the injury to Quincy Enunwa, Kearse has been thrust into a bigger role operating as the Jets slot receiver. Kearse saw 10 targets for 9 catches and 94 yards last game as Darnold’s new favorite target. Kearse should draw a great matchup in the slot with replacement Vikings corner Mackensie Alexander taking over for the injured rookie slot corner Mike Hughes.
• Willie Snead ($4,000)
  • We’ve made a habit of targeting the Saints secondary, specifically corner PJ Williams. Snead draws that matchup for the Ravens while guys like Crabtree and Brown are more likely to be higher owned. Snead has actually scored double digit points in all but one contest this year, and now finds his best matchup to date. He recorded double digit targets last week while becoming more and more involved in the offense.
• Josh Reynolds ($3,500)
  • He’ll slide into the role previously occupied by Cooper Kupp which has been very productive so far in 2018. He’s probably your best bet if you need an extremely cheap WR to jam in some RB studs for your lineup. The Rams have the highest implied total this week and are more than capable of spreading the ball around to many players.

TEs:

• Zach Ertz ($7,100)
  • I know what you’re thinking. Wow, real talented of you to list out three of the highest priced guys at a certain position. Well, sometimes you just have to play the studs. We’re well aware of Carolina’s struggles in defending the tight end, and Ertz is still Carson Wentz’ favorite target. Not much else to be said here, a great matchup for Ertz in Week 7.
• David Njoku ($4,200)
  • Nobody has benefited more from Baker Mayfield’s promotion to QB1 than Njoku. In the three games Mayfield has started, Njoku has scored double digit points while also registering 10+ targets in back to back games. The Bucs are a well documented bad defense opposing teams can throw on with ease. Njoku should eat in this matchup.
• Nick O’Leary ($2,600)
  • Here’s a real shot in the dark. O’Leary dominated in TE snaps last week and converted with a touchdown to payout 14.9 points. He seemed to have a connection with Osweiler who will be starting again, but the main reason why I’m including him here is because he bares a VERY striking resemblance to our very own fearless leader, The Wolf. I mean CMON! It looks just like him! Get that guy in a RSJ tank top and you wouldn’t even tell the difference.

Defense

• Indianapolis Colts ($3,300)
  • The Colts haven’t been great so to say on defense, but when you are facing off against Derek Anderson (I had no clue he was still in the league) and the Bills offense, that’s hard to pass on.
• Washington Redskins ($2,900)
  • I know Dallas just hung 40 points on the Jaguars defense, but can I expect Dak to do that consistently with this offense? Especially on the road? I’ll take my chances especially with a Redskins defense that’s been solid defending the pass.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($2,300)
  • Wait, please stop laughing. I know how this looks, I really do. But what if, IF, the firing of Tampa’s defensive coordinator somehow fixes this defense slightly and ignites a spark? Also, Mayfield has shown to be very turnover prone while taking a lot of sacks, so if I need close to bare minimum for a defense I’ll give them a shot at home.

Do you have any early leans? Questions about which guy you should go with this week? Want to yell at me for missing an obvious play? Sound off below or hit me up on Twitter where you can follow for daily news or advice on players.