Roman Bruno
Content Contributor
The classic, all-helpful Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em series has reached Woodward Sports! This will be a weekly series by yours truly, and I hope for it to be your main source for fantasy football advice throughout the season. Have any questions? I have the answers! Welcome to Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Week 7.
Start ‘Em
Quarterbacks
Joe Burrow (CIN) vs. Atlanta Falcons
Burrow is coming off of a fantastic 300 Yrds and four total touchdowns performance against the Saints. It was easily his best game all season, fantasy-wise and in real life. He now gets to follow that up against the Falcons, a defense that has allowed the eight-most fantasy points to QBs. Burrow was a streaky option at the beginning of the season, but now he is becoming more consistent. His upcoming schedule is favorable as well, so feel confident starting Burrow on a week-to-week basis.
Dak Prescott (DAL) vs. Detroit Lions
Prescott is on track to play in Week 7 against the Lions. While it may seem a bit risky to throw him in starting lineups right away, he should definitely be starting this week. The Lions have allowed the second-most fantasy PPG to QBs (22.5). The Lions also score a lot of points as well, making this game out to be a potential shootout. The Cowboys offense is desperate for above average QB production, and Prescott can deliver. We will know more closer to gameday, so keep monitoring the situation. All signs point to him suiting back up this week, which will have an impact on the fantasy landscape moving forward.
Running Backs
Ezekiel Elliott (DAL) vs. Detroit Lions
Another Cowboy cracks the Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em list. Zeke had a decent game last week, rushing for 88 yards on 13 attempts with a touchdown. Even though he has been splitting the work with Tony Pollard, both have the opportunity to coexist this week against the Lions. Detroit has allowed the most rushing yards per game in the league. Elliott will still be touchdown dependent, but he could certainly rack up a lot of yards on the ground. He will have a good fantasy day one way or the other, and managers should be confident in him as an RB2.
Dameon Pierce (HOU) @ Las Vegas Raiders
Pierce was one of my top fantasy football sleepers heading into the season, and so far he is proving me right. He has racked up 80+ rushing yards and a touchdown in each of the last three weeks. Coming off a bye week, Pierce is a player fantasy managers can feel good about leaving in their starting lineups the rest of the season. Vegas has allowed 103.2 rushing yards per game this season, which is around what Pierce has averaged in his last three contests. The rookie is absolutely shining, and considering head coach Lovie Smith wants to increase his workload, everybody better watch out.
Wide Receivers
DeAndre Hopkins (ARI) vs. New Orleans Saints
Welcome back, DeAndre Hopkins! After a six game suspension, Hopkins deserves to slot right back into starting lineups. He will resume his role as WR1 on the Cardinals and will face a Saints defense without CB Marshon Lattimore. New Orleans has also given up the fourth-most PPG to WRs, so this is a good game to start Hopkins even if he needs to knock the rust off in the first quarter. Kyler Murray should be looking his way all night in hopes of jump starting this offense.
Amari Cooper (CLE) @ Baltimore Ravens
Cooper had an interesting game last week. He was targeted 12 times but only caught four balls for 44 yards and a touchdown. Still a respectable fantasy performance, and the volume of targets is great to see for Cooper. His tenure with the Browns has gone well so far. This week, he faces a Ravens defense that has given up the fifth-most PPG to WRs this season (26.8). Cooper has also scored in two consecutive games, and I like for that to continue this week as well.
Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth (PIT) @ Miami Dolphins
This Sunday is National Tight Ends Day! Of course this means that all tight ends will go off, right? No. Freiermuth is still a good play as he returns from concussion protocol. The Steelers offense succeeds when Muth produces. Miami has only allowed three touchdowns to opposing TEs this season, which makes Muth a worse play in standard-scoring leagues. In PPR, however, his receptions can lead him to a productive day and should be a solid start this week.
Kyle Pitts (ATL) @ Cincinnati Bengals
Pitts may be the biggest fantasy disappointment this season, and now we need to temper our expectations. He scored his first touchdown of 2022 last week in a game where he only caught three passes. The skepticism is warranted and understandable, but the talent is too good to bench. He has not been an exciting fantasy option, but he should be in lineups this weekend. The Falcons should be behind this game, so they will have to throw more often, hopefully in the direction of Pitts.
Defense/Kicker Streamers of the Week
In addition to the skill player Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Ems, here are my top streaming options for Defense/ST and Kicker:
Green Bay Packers vs. Washington Commanders
Will Lutz (NO) @ Arizona Cardinals
Sit ‘Em
Quarterbacks
Marcus Mariota (ATL) @ Cincinnati Bengals
Mariota had a solid fantasy performance last week, finishing with a little more than 24 points. This was his season-high and may end up being his ceiling. He has thrown less than 150 yards in each of his last three games, so there is not much appeal there. The Bengals is a touch matchup for QBs as well, as they have allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy PPG to QBs. Fantasy teams might be desperate for a streamer while their starter is on bye, but Mariota is not the answer this week.
Justin Fields (CHI) @ New England Patriots
Despite having his best fantasy performance last week against the Commanders, he was not able to reach 200 passing yards. He simply does not throw the football enough to be worthy of weekly fantasy consideration. Coupled with the fact that Fields will be playing against a stout Patriots defense, fantasy managers should stray away as far as possible from this game. Fields may have a decent rushing floor, the Patriots will force Fields to beat them with his arm, which does not seem likely.
Running Backs
Eno Benjamin (ARI) vs. New Orleans Saints
Benjamin was not great in his first start of the season, being outshadowed by Kyler Murray’s 100-yard rushing performance. He may get another start on Thursday night if James Conner were to miss again, but it is hard to trust him. Murray could just as easily out-rush him again. The Saints have allowed the 10th fewest fantasy PPG to RBs, and with DeAndre Hopkins returning from suspension, he may get more of the lime light instead of the rushing attack. Do not feel bad about sitting Benjamin this week.
Brian Robinson Jr. (WAS) vs. Green Bay Packers
It was great to see Brian Robinson Jr. get the first touchdown of his career in his first career start. While he should be added to rosters if he is on the waiver wire, this is not the best week to start him. Antonio Gibson will still compete for touches, and Robinson has not been getting usage in the passing game. While the Packers let Breece Hall run all over them last week, do not expect the same from Robinson. He will be a startbale FLEX option many times the rest of the season, but this Packers defense is capable of stepping up when it has to. Sit Robinson and see what happens this game.
Wide Receivers
Juju Smith-Schuster (KC) @ San Francisco 49ers
Juju finally scored his first touchdown with the Chiefs last week, bouncing off tacklers for a 42-yard score. He finished the game catching all five of his targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. While this is good to see, it is unsure whether he can keep that momentum going. The 49ers defense ranks second in passing yards per game allowed, and they will look to keep Mahomes and Co. in check. There is a good chance Juju posts more TikToks on Sunday than actual fantasy points.
Jerry Jeudy (DEN) vs. New York Jets
What a disappointment the Broncos have been. Russell Wilson has done the opposite of cooking, but rather burning the whole kitchen down. Jeudy has been impacted negatively because of this, as he has not reached 100 receiving yards in a game since Week 1. Wilson is also fighting through multiple injuries, and if he were to miss time, avoid all Broncos weapons entirely. Even if Wilson does play against the Jets, who have a middle of the pack defense, Jeudy just cannot be started. He will need to prove he can be put back into starting lineups once again.
Tight Ends
Mike Gesicki (MIA) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Gesicki scored two touchdowns last week in what was his best fantasy game all season. He needed to show some sign of life, and this was that game. Tua Tagovailoa is expected to start this week after suffering another concussion a couple weeks ago. Gesicki has not done well this season with Tua on the field, so this is just another thing to monitor. The Steelers defense is still a tough task, and Gesicki does not offer a whole lot of upside this week. This may be the week to bench him in favor of a better streamer.
Greg Dulcich (DEN) vs. New York Jets
In his first career game, the rookie caught two balls, one of which being a 39-yard catch-and-run touchdown. He was selected to the active roster in favor of teammate Albert Okwuegbunam who was a healthy scratch. This may show that the Broncos like Dulcich better than Albert O. The rookie is worth the waiver add but should not be started this week due to the uncertainly of the QB position and the lack of production from the offense. Dulcich could be useful in the future, however.
Stay tuned for next week’s Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em!
Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
