We're nearing the midway point of the fantasy football regular season, which means we need to do everything in our power to put our squad in position to end the week with a "W". The task becomes even more challenging this week, with six teams on bye and the injury situation seemingly getting worse each day. Thankfully, our Week 7 bust list can help you spot potential landmines, such as Craig Reynolds, Diontae Johnson, and Zach Evans.
Of course, even "must-starts" can have off-days (George Kittle, what happened?), but you won't see those types of players among our bust picks unless we legitimately advise benching them. We're looking for players on the start-sit bubble -- not obvious starters and not players owned in just a small percentage of leagues. You might not have enough depth to bench the players below -- or you might just disagree with our picks -- but either way, it's your team, so make the decisions that work best for you.
WEEK 7 DFS:
DK lineup | FD lineup | Best values | Best stacks
Last week, we foresaw rough fantasy days from Brock Purdy, Jahan Dotson, Michael Thomas, and the Browns D/ST, but whiffed on more picks than we squared up. With the stakes raised in a crucial fantasy week, we're aiming to get back on track.
WEEK 7 FANTASY ADVICE: Sleepers | Projections | Start 'em, sit 'em
Deter from starting these potential fantasy duds this week.
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Fantasy RB Busts Week 7
Zack Moss, Colts vs. Browns (Sloan Piva). Look, I get it — Moss has been awesome this season, but the time will come for him to fall back to Earth. Jonathan Taylor recently signed an extension, and his snap counts jumped from 10 in his Week 5 return to 33 last weekend, while Moss dropped from 53 to 39. Against Myles Garrett and the stifling Browns defense, this could be the week Moss loses his fantasy relevance.
Zach Evans, Rams vs. Steelers (Vinnie Iyer). It seems like the rookie might be the man with Karen Williams (ankle) and Ronnie Rivers (knee) hurting, but L.A. also added Royce Freeman to the active roster and put Darrell Henderson (remember him?) on the practice squad. It’s also hard to power-run on Pittsburgh, and the backs aren’t being used enough in the passing game to warrant a play otherwise.
Craig Reynolds, Lions @ Ravens (Matt Lutovsky). Reynolds will get a nice boost in touches regardless of whether Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) returns. Either way, we’re not excited about his chances against Baltimore’s 10th-ranked run defense. Reynolds is averaging just 3.7 ypc, and even decent volume won’t help him unless he manages to fall into the end zone. You can do better, even during a six-team bye.
WEEK 7 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy QB Busts Week 7
Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. 49ers (Piva). Life comes at you fast. In a matter of two weeks, Cousins has lost the best target in the NFL and lost his fourth game in six weeks. Now he draws a 49ers defense that will be hungry for sacks and takeaways after being embarrassed by P.J. Walker and the Browns. Sorry, Kirk — you ain't it this week.
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars at Saints (Iyer). Lawrence plans to play through his knee injury. His reality play will be key to another Jaguars win, but this is more of a home-state cooking game for college teammate Travis Etienne. Playing anyone vs. the Saints’ pass defense on the road in prime time is a risky proposition.
Russell Wilson, Broncos vs. Packers (Lutovsky). Wilson is still owned in over 50 percent of Yahoo leagues, so chances are, at least a few owners are considering starting him this week. We’d advise against that. Green Bay is allowing the ninth-fewest fantasy points per game (FPPG) to QBs and coming off a bye, so don’t expect much from Wilson.
WEEK 7 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Fantasy WR Busts Week 7
Jerry Jeudy, Broncos vs. Packers (Piva). Forget the heavy byes and litany of injuries — you can't trust Jeudy in your team's starting lineup right now. He and Russell Wilson were only able to connect on three-of-five targets at Arrowhead last weekend, totaling a measly 14 yards. This dude needs to find himself a new team.
Michael Pittman Jr., Colts vs. Browns (Iyer). The Browns have been nasty in pass defense from their pass rush to coverage, and Pittman won’t get the garbage-time big plays from Gardner Minshew to save his day at home like he did in Jacksonville.
Diontae Johnson, Steelers @ Rams (Lutovsky). Johnson (hamstring) hasn’t played since Week 2, but he’s expected back this week. He didn’t do much in the opener against San Francisco (three catches, 48 yards), and the Rams have actually fared better against WRs (fourth-fewest FPPG allowed) than San Francisco. We expect a slow start to Johnson’s comeback tour.
Fantasy TE Busts Week 7
Hunter Henry, Patriots vs. Bills (Piva). The Patriots passing offense has been miserable all season, and opponents have become wise to the fact that Henry is probably New England's best pass-catcher outside of running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Buffalo has also been dominant against tight ends this season, allowing just 3.3 PPR points per game to the position. FADE!
Logan Thomas, Giants vs. Commanders (Vinnie Iyer). Here’s doubting Thomas rebounding after disappearing in a good matchup because Sam Howell seems to be fickle about using him vs. the wide receivers depending on the matchups. The Giants aren’t the easiest matchup against the position, but they're much easier to exploit with wideouts.
Kyle Pitts, Falcons @ Buccaneers (Lutovsky). We picked against Pitts last week, and he shoved it in our face with 43 yards and a TD. However, he still had just one more target than Jonnu Smith, and he played his second-lowest percentage of snaps all season (55). Pitts is more TD-or-bust than you think, and that bust is coming against a Bucs defense that’s yet to allow more than 41 receiving yards or a TD to a TE this year despite playing T.J. Hockenson, Cole Kmet, Dallas Goedert, and Sam LaPorta.
Fantasy Defense Busts Week 7
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Rams (Piva). The Steelers will be a popular stream in Week 7 against a banged-up Rams offense. The last time we saw Pittsburgh, they wiped the turf with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in a 17-10 divisional win, but Mike Tomlin's squad has struggled a bit against solid passing offenses, having allowed 30 points to both Houston and San Francisco earlier this season. I'm not touching the black-and-yellow in a cross-country match with Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chargers (Iyer). The Chargers are capable of a lot of points, as Justin Herbert is mostly not taking sacks or throwing interceptions. Herbert also tends to play well vs. the KC D no matter its state.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Lions (Lutovsky). Detroit has been as stingy as anyone against fantasy D/STs, allowing fewer than five FPPG. The Ravens have a solid pass rush (average of four sacks per game), but Detroit’s stellar offensive line will limit QB pressures, so don’t expect much from the Ravens this week.
