Damien Williams, Alex Collins, Dallas Goedert, and Rob Gronkowski are all players to keep an eye on heading into Week 7. Their availabilities are in question, and considering they all play in late-afternoon or prime-time games, they'll cause even more start 'em, sit 'em headaches than most banged-up players. We have the latest COVID/injury updates so you can go into the weekend with a better idea of how to handle your fantasy lineup decisions.
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WEEK 7 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Damien Williams injury update
Williams remains on the reserve/COVID list after missing Week 6, so we'll have to keep a watchful eye out on his status. As usual, he'll have to turn in two negative tests 24-hours apart, and we can't speculate on whether he'll do that.
If he does play, he's one of our top Week 7 fantasy sleepers, so his absence just takes away another option in a tough week for byes and injuries. If he's out, Khalil Herbert should dominate RB touches again and will be a decent play if he can build on his receiving work. Tampa Bay is the No. 1 rushing defense in the league, but RBs have shredded the Bucs through the air.
If active, Williams is our RB17 in standard leagues and RB16 in PPR. His success depends on his receiving work, but he's proven to be a weapon in that area throughout his career.
WEEK 7 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Alex Collins injury update
Pete Carroll said Collins (hip/glute) has a chance to play against New Orleans on Monday night, but the team did not practice Wednesday since they play on Monday night. We'll have to monitor the practice reports later in the week, but it's a tricky spot to be in since we may not know his status until right before the game. If you're thin at RB this week, the best option would be grabbing Rashaad Penny (who might be the lead back anyway) as insurance
If Collins is full-go, we rank him as the RB22 in standard leagues and PPR leagues. He does carry a lot of risks, though as Penny and either Travis Homer or DeeJay Dallas could eat into his workload. Given the matchup, this is a situation to avoid if possible.
WEEK 7 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Dallas Goedert injury update
UPDATE: Goedert was activated from the COVID list on Thursday and should be good to go against the Raiders.
As of two days ago, Goedert remained out of practice on the reserve/COVID list. His situation is similar to Damien Williams', so we'll just have to keep watching the practice reports moving forward.
In his first game without Zach Ertz, Goedert ranks as our TE8 in standard leagues and TE7 in PPR leagues. Las Vegas gives up the sixth-most fantasy points to TEs, so his ceiling could be the overall No. 1 tight end. We'll have to see how much work he gets with Ertz out of the picture. If he's out, check out our Week 7 waiver pickups for the top streamers at the position. The Eagles would turn to rookie Jack Stoll, who would have some value in DFS contests if he's starting.
WEEK 7 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo
Rob Gronkowski injury update
UPDATE: Gronk has been ruled out for Week 7, so O.J. Howard has some appeal in standard and PPR leagues -- especially with Antonio Brown also being ruled out.
This seems like the week Gronk (ribs) should return, but he missed practice Wednesday. However, he's one of those players that could easily play without practicing all week, so we shouldn't draw any conclusions until game day unless he is ruled out before then. O.J. Howard is the man in line for TE targets if Gronk is out. He caught six-of-seven targets for 49 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles in Week 6. His production may not continue, but the upside is there in this top-notch offense.
MORE WEEK 7 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
We have Gronk as the No. 5 ranked TE in standard and No. 8 in PPR. He's a red-zone and end-zone monster, but the volume is not guaranteed against the Bears, who have been the fourth-best defense against fantasy TEs.