Week 7 Fantasy WR Rankings: Amari Cooper remains top five ... if healthy

Billy Heyen

Week 7 Fantasy WR Rankings: Amari Cooper remains top five ... if healthy image

Ask and you shall receive. If you needed one biblical reference to understand what the heck is happening in Minnesota with Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, that's what I've got for you. They're two of the most-talented wide receivers in the NFL, but all season, they've frustrated fantasy football owners. Heading into Week 7, both are coming off one or more big games and looking to solidify themselves back near the top of our Week 7 fantasy WR rankings. Of course, what they received was not only a bevy of looks from Kirk Cousins, but also a few favorable matchups.

DeAndre Hopkins was another wideout who surely had a few behind-closed doors conversations about his targets, and for the first time since Week 1, he received double-digit looks (12) from Deshaun Watson. His nine catches for 55 yards left a bit to be desired, especially in standard leagues, but at least it looks like he's back on track.

WEEK 7 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

There was also Mike Evans, who caught none of his three targets in Week 5. Playing in London on Sunday, Evans saw 17 targets and caught nine for 96 yards. He'll probably remain inconsistent due to the inconsistencies of the guy throwing him the football, but there's no need to be worried about Evans once he returns fro his Week 7 bye.

WEEK 7 PPR RANKINGS: Running backWide receiver | Tight end

Beyond the top dogs, there are plenty of matchups to exploit in Week 7. You have Buffalo hosting the Dolphins, meaning John Brown, Cole Beasley and even that Duke Williams guy you'd never heard of two weeks ago (and maybe still haven't) are decent fantasy plays in various formats. The Packers play the Raiders, and while we won't know about Davante Adams' status until later in the week (Update: Adams is out), we do know that's a beatable defense deep for Marquez Valdes-Scantling if he's active. Dallas plays the Eagles and could be without Amari Cooper, so plug Michael Gallup into all of your lineups. It could even be time to refamiliarize yourself with Tavon Austin. 

WEEK 7 DFS LINEUPS:
Y! cash | Y! GPP | DK cash | DK GPPFD cash | FD GPP

If we were going to be worried about any top wideouts, it might be Michael Thomas and Allen Robinson in the same game. Thomas will have to produce against Chicago's strong team defense, while Robinson will have to go against top corner Marshon Lattimore for long stretches. Both are still starters for us this week, though, as they both see too many targets to go away from.

MORE WEEK 7 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup Builder

Byes this week take a number of top wideouts off the table: Evans, Chris Godwin, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, D.J. Moore, and Curtis Samuel. There should be some names in the middle of the rankings, including Jamison Crowder and Demaryius Thomas in a revitalized Jets' offense, who could help fill in for those bye-week receivers.

WEEK 7: Waiver pickups | FAAB planner | Trade valuesSnap counts

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Week 7 Fantasy WR Rankings

These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.

Rank Player
1 Cooper Kupp, LAR @ ATL. Everything wrong with the Rams' passing game in Week 6 should be made right against an Atlanta defense that's allowed the second-most fantasy points per game (FPPG) to WRs this season.
2 DeAndre Hopkins, HOU @ IND
3 Amari Cooper, DAL vs. PHI. Cooper left Sunday's game with a thigh injury and didn't return. It's apparently just a bruise, but we'll have to see if he's playing before locking him in to our fantasy lineups. Philadelphia has one of the league's worst secondaries, allowing the most FPPG to WRs, so if you own Cooper, you definitely want him playing.
4 Julio Jones, ATL vs. LAR
5 T.Y. Hilton, IND vs. HOU..
6 Tyreek Hill, KC @ DEN. Hill looked great in his return from a clavicle injury, catching two touchdowns including one you had to see to believe. He's obviously not feeling limited, as a celebratory flip showed after the second one. He's a must-start every week.
7 Brandin Cooks, LAR @ ATL
8 Adam Thielen, MIN @ DET. Detroit's allowed just 56-of-107 targets to WRs this season to be completed. That's one of the league's better rates, and it might mean a quieter game for Thielen after he's broken out in the last couple weeks.
9 Tyler Lockett, SEA vs. BAL
10 John Brown, BUF vs. MIA. Even with Miami already having its bye, the Dolphins have been a bottom half defense at defending WRs in 2019. Brown and the Bills are coming off their bye and should have plenty of plans to get the deep threat open for a long TD or two early in the game to break it open.
11 DJ Chark, JAX @ CIN. Jacksonville disappointed in Week 6 after a promising Week 5, but even if Gardner Minshew isn't the savior, the amount he throws to Chark makes the youngster a good play every week.
12 Julian Edelman, NE @ NYJ
13 Larry Fitzgerald, ARZ @ NYG. The Giants have allowed the third-most fantasy points to WRs in 2019, and would be in second if not for a slightly deflated touchdown number. Fitzgerald is Kyler Murray's favorite target, and this looks like a game that should be high-scoring and fast. Play Larry Fitz with confidence.
14 Keenan Allen, LAC @ TEN
15 Michael Thomas, NO @ CHI. You can't sit Thomas even against the Bears, especially after Chicago's defense looked mortal against Oakland in London ahead of its bye. Thomas is averaging more than 10 targets per game on the season.
16 Kenny Golladay, DET vs. MIN
17 Michael Gallup, DAL vs. PHI. Gallup is a great play regardless of Cooper's status. The Vikings' nominal No. 2 WR, Stefon Diggs, scored three touchdowns in Week 6 against the Eagles.
18 Stefon Diggs, MIN @ DET. The matchup does concern us a bit here, but Minnesota's willingness to re-commit to the pass means that Diggs is an almost sure fantasy starter for now.
19 Terry McLaurin, WAS vs. SF. San Francisco's defense has been a huge part of its undefeated start, and it just held the Rams to 78 passing yards. McLaurin seems pretty immune to who Washington is playing, though, as he's broken 50 yards every week and scored in four of his five games. 
20 Courtland Sutton, DEN vs. KC
21 Alshon Jeffery, PHI @ DAL
22 Allen Robinson, CHI vs. NO. Marshon Lattimore should follow Robinson around in this one, but as far and away the Bears' biggest passing game threat, his target share will be too high to worry about that in the majority of fantasy leagues.
23 Robert Woods, LAR @ ATL. As we implied at the top with Kupp -- play all your Rams' passing game options this week.
24 Golden Tate, NYG vs. ARZ
25 Will Fuller V, HOU @ IND
26 Tyler Boyd, CIN vs. JAX
27 Auden Tate, CIN vs. JAX. Coming off 12 targets and 91 yards, Tate has proven to be a legitimate fantasy starter for as long as A.J. Green and John Ross are out.
28 DK Metcalf, SEA vs. BAL
29 Calvin Ridley, ATL vs. LAR
30 Geronimo Allison, GB vs. OAK
31 Marquez Valdes-Scantling, GB vs. OAK
32 Dante Pettis, SF @ WAS. Pettis led San Francisco receivers in targets on Sunday, finally looking like the 49ers' No. 1 WR he was expected to be in the preseason. Washington has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to wideouts this season - Pettis should cement his status as San Francisco's WR1 in Week 7.
33 Mike Williams, LAC @ TEN
34 Emmanuel Sanders, DEN vs. KC
35 Allen Lazard, GB vs. OAK
36 Marquise Goodwin, SF @ WAS. What the heck: You can count on all three of San Francisco's main pass0catchers, although Goodwin is the riskiest due to his big-play, boom-or-bust nature.
37 Duke Williams, BUF vs. MIA. A former CFL star, Williams turned his first NFL outing into four catches for 29 yards and a touchdown. He played nearly every Buffalo snap, and he should have a good chance of finding the end zone again against the Dolphins in Week 7.
38 Dede Westbrook, JAX @ CIN
39 Jamison Crowder, NYJ vs. NE. Crowder was the most-targeted Jets' wideout in Sam Darnold's return, after he saw 17 Week 1 targets in Darnold's other start with Crowder. The Patriots are a tough matchup, but Darnold should have to lean on the short-passing game to Crowder, and he should still see volume.
40 Zay Jones, OAK @ GB. Jones' first game in Oakland could see him used as the de facto No. 1 receiver with Tyrell Williams out. There aren't a ton of targets to go around beyond Darren Waller, but Jones should get some chances.
41 Willie Snead, BAL @ SEA
42 Phillip Dorsett, NE @ NYJ. This is a solid matchup for Dorsett, who's as boom or bust as it gets in New England's offense. His injury issues make him a guy to probably avoid this week, but if there's a clean bill of health, he might move up these rankings.
43 Demarcus Robinson, KC @ DEN
44 Marvin Jones, DET vs. MIN
45 Robby Anderson, NYJ vs. NE. Anderson would be higher after his 92-yard touchdown catch Sunday if not for a heavy dose of Stephon Gilmore coming his way.
46 Mohamed Sanu, ATL vs. LAR
47 Cole Beasley, BUF vs. MIA. Beasley is a great PPR play this week, but he's also a decent standard-league FLEX since the Bills should have no trouble moving the ball consistently against the Dolphins.
48 Ted Ginn Jr., NO @ CHI
49 Preston Williams, MIA @ BUF. Buffalo's allowed the fewest fantasy points to WRs this season, so even though Williams has been the Dolphins' main passing target of late, this is a tough sell. If you're in a spot where you might have to play the rookie, he'd probably be better off catching passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick at this point.
50 DeVante Parker, MIA @ BUF
51 Darius Slayton, NYG vs. ARZ
52 Taylor Gabriel, CHI vs. NO
53 Jaron Brown, SEA vs. BAL. Brown's two Week 6 touchdowns might be a sign of things to come -- maybe Will Dissly's injury frees up more work for Brown. But he's still got Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and David Moore competing for WR snaps around him, making him more of a wait-and-see guy.
54 Paul Richardson, WAS vs. SF
55 Nelson Agholor, PHI @ DAL
56 A.J. Brown, TEN vs. LAC
57 Corey Davis, TEN vs. LAC. Keep a close eye on who the Titans are going to start at quarterback in Week 7. If Ryan Tannehill has unseated Marcus Mariota, that's good for Davis and A.J. Brown.
58 Miles Boykin, BAL @ SEA
59 Travis White, OAK vs. GB
60 Danny Amendola, DET vs. MIN
61 Zach Pascal, IND vs. HOU
62 Kenny Stills, HOU vs. ATL
63 Jake Kumerow, GB vs. OAK
64 Demaryius Thomas, NYJ vs. NE. Like the two Jets higher on this list, it looks like Demaryius can be a borderline fantasy option with Darnold at quarterback. That just won't be the case against New England.
65 Keke Coutee, HOU @ IND
66 Mecole Hardman, KC @ DEN. Hardman caught four passes for 45 yards even with Hill back in Week 6. If Sammy Watkins remains out, Hardman somehow feels like an unexciting, big-play option for Thursday night.
67 Trey Quinn, WAS vs. SF
68 Anthony Miller, CHI vs. NO
69 KeeSean Johnson, ARZ @ NYG
70 Randall Cobb, DAL vs. PHI
71 Adam Humphries, TEN vs. LAC

Billy Heyen