It’s looking more and more like whoever you drafted is who you’ll have to ride for the season. Injuries and bye weeks are making it increasingly difficult to fill all your starting spots with confidence.
Quarterback and tight end matchups: the positions where people seem most willing to take risks in fantasy football.
Nearly two months into the season, the injury bug has spread across the NFL, with at least four teams on bye, and free agent options are slim. In one league, I started Roschon Johnson to fill a RB slot, that’s how different (ly bad) this fantasy football season has been.
Buffalo, Jacksonville, Washington and the Chargers all get their breaks in Week 7. That means you’re likely filling holes at Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Jayden Daniels, James Cook, Bhayshaul Tuten, Parker Washington, Terry McLaurin (for more than just a bye), Stefon Diggs, Ladd McConkey, Dalton Kincaid, and more.
And if I started listing all the starting-fantasy injuries, you’d never get to my advice, let alone the end of the article.
But I’m here to go through more numbers than I can count and analyze matchups to maximize your “points in the hole,” as I like to call them.
So, who are our top fantasy football Week 7 QB & TE streamers? Let’s dive in.
Editor’s Note: The majority of point values are based on standard scoring leagues.
Kyler Murray, Las Vegas vs Indianapolis
For the first time this season, Kyler Murray may have Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson playing together.
Murray is coming off his best fantasy game of the season in Week 5 (Vikings Week 6 bye), notching 22.5 fantasy points. He also now has back-to-back games without an interception, at least 30 passing attempts and more than 225 passing yards.
Indianapolis is somewhat limping into this game, too. Thirty-four-year-old Keenan Allen is the team’s leading receiver and tight end Tyler Warren will miss his second game in a row. The Colts will also most likely be without corner Sauce Gardner.
Kyler Murray is QB 19 on The Wolf’s Week 7 rankings.
Sam Darnold, Seattle vs Kansas City
So far this season, Kansas City has allowed opponents to score nearly 30 points after holding an opponent to 10 or fewer the week before.
In weeks 1, 3, and 6 – after a Week 5 bye – Kansas City held opponents to 10, 10 and six points, respectively. In weeks 2 and 4, they surrendered 30 and 27, respectively.
In the out-of-conference matchup, Seattle needs a win in order to keep pace with teams that would slot in as wild cards if the season ended today. That, and not losing sight of the undefeated 49ers at the top of the NFC West.
I’m definitely not excited that quarterback Sam Darnold has a 1:4 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his last two games. However, he is on a three-game streak of attempting and completing more passes than the week before, and his passing yardage is up, too.
This Seattle-Kansas City game should mirror the Chiefs-Raiders game from a few weeks ago. If it does, Las Vegas’ Kirk Cousins has scored the most fantasy points against Kansas City this season so far, boding well for Darnold owners.
Sam Darnold is QB 21 on The Wolf’s Week 7 rankings.
Tyler Higbee, Los Angeles Rams @ Las Vegas
With Davante Adams on injured reserve (knee) and Puka Nacua less than 100% if he does play, the tight ends won’t just see more snaps to help Kyren Williams and Blake Corum‘s run game; they’ll be the primary targets, too.
I like Tyler Higbee more than Colby Parkinson because he seems to get targets all over the field, not just in the red zone. Usually, we like those who garner the red zone targets, but with how depleted the Rams could be, Higbee could see his most targets this season.
It helps that the Raiders allow the seventh-most points to tight ends. If Nacua does miss Week 7, both Higbee and Parkinson are must-starts.
Tyler Higbee is TE 11 on The Wolf’s Week 7 rankings.
Pat Freiermuth, Seattle vs Kansas City
We are at the point in the year where I am considering starting players for random reasons. Such as Pat Freiermuth on Sunday, because it’s his birthday.
But also because the Saints allow tight ends to get the sixth-most fantasy points.
He’s a low-end starter, and I would feel better starting him in any form of PPR than standard. If Freiermuth doesn’t find the end zone, he has scored no more than 3.4 points (7.4 PPR) in any game this season.
This game in Paris currently has an O/U of 42.5, which Roto Street Journal thinks is low. This season, Tyler Shough and Aaron Rodgers have both turned to the air in multiple back-and-forth games. Sunday is no different.
Pat Freiermuth is TE 16 on The Wolf’s Week 7 rankings.
