Week 7 NFL DFS Picks: Strategy, advice, values for DraftKings, FanDuel

Bennett Bedford

Week 7 NFL DFS Picks: Strategy, advice, values for DraftKings, FanDuel image

NFL DFS rolls on into Week 7, and whether you're playing a cash game or GPP tournament format, finding solid player values is always extremely important. With pricing getting tighter on DraftKings and FanDuel and several key players on byes this week, it makes it even more important to to find value plays that allow you to pay up for top-tier guys like Todd Gurley, Alvin Kamara, Adam Thielen, and Michael Thomas.

My strategy is usually to find cash game value plays for my lineups. Many times, you don’t need to overthink rostering value plays in tournaments provided that you look to diversify your lineup in other areas. Be sure to check out the RotoQL Trending Players Tool to quickly identify who the top value plays are each week.

This article should just be one piece of the puzzle in deciding your Week 7 DFS picks. The best daily fantasy players look at more than one source before putting together their lineups. My favorite place to start is RotoQL's NFL lineup optimizer, which, as always, played a big role in the picks below. RotoQL’s industry-leading fantasy football packages  are loaded with stats and user-friendly DFS tools. You'll be hard-pressed to find anything better.

WEEK 7 DFS GPP LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings

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Week 7 Rankings:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker

NFL DFS Picks Week 7: Quarterback values

QB C.J. Beathard, San Francisco 49ers, DK: $4,800, FD: $6,400 

There’s plenty of value options at quarterback this week, and I suspect guys such as Baker Mayfield in a matchup with the Buccaneers and Joe Flacco in a matchup with the Saints will both be popular options. However, for the price, I love dropping all the way down to 49ers QB C.J. Beathard who has a home matchup with the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams highly-touted defense hasn’t looked particularly elite against the pass so far this season, and Beathard should have plenty of opportunities to sling the ball late into this game with the 49ers coming in as massive 9.5-point home underdogs. 

Beathard obviously isn’t seen as a quality NFL starting quarterback, but he has been a surprisingly excellent option in DFS formats, posting a DraftKings plus/minus of plus-3.2 in his nine career NFL starts, which jumps up to an excellent plus/minus of plus-6.1 in three starts this season. His price point of $4,800 on DraftKings and $6,400 on FanDuel open up a lot of options in your lineups and will help you jam in high priced studs such as Todd Gurley or Adam Thielen.

​WEEK 7 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings

Daily Fantasy Football Week 7 Advice: Running back values

RB Tarik Cohen, Bears vs. Patriots, DK: $5,100, FD: $6,600 

In cash games, I really want to spend up on the high end running backs such as Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, and Christian McCaffrey, but there are some very interesting value options at the position for tournaments. One of the mid-range running backs who may be viable in cash games in Bears receiving back Tarik Cohen, who has established himself as a centerpiece in the Bears offense. You have to think that the Bears are going to be forced to throw the ball early and often just to keep up with the Patriots, who have been absolutely rolling on offense over the last two weeks. Cohen has seen WR1 type volume with 17 targets over the last two weeks, and that type of pass-catching floor gives him a ton of appeal in a full-point PPR format such as DraftKings. He should be able to reach half of his modest $5,100 salary expectations on passing volume alone, and he has immense upside at this price if he can find his way into the endzone.  

RB Carlos Hyde, Cleveland Browns, DK: $4,700, FD: $6,500 


The other value running back that is standing out this week is Browns RB Carlos Hyde, who has a prime matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the Bucs have done a solid job against opposing running backs, the passing defense is so bad that the Browns should have no trouble moving the ball into the redzone. When they get there they tend to lean on Hyde, who has five rushing touchdowns this season. Hyde doesn’t have much pass catching upside, with fellow RB Duke Johnson Jr. taking on that role for the Browns, which puts Hyde out of the cash game consideration for me. However, his touchdown equity combined with his sub-$5,000 price point on DraftKings puts Hyde squarely in the GPP RB conversation.

RB Nick Chubb, Browns @ Bucs, DK: $3,600, FD: $4,800

Everything written above about Tampa's terrible run defense? It all applies to Cleveland's new starting RB, who's considerably cheaper than the recently traded Hyde was. Sure, Chubb is going to be the chalkiest of chalk picks this week, but sometimes it makes sense to take such a value, especially in cash games.

MORE WEEK 7 DFS: Last week's perfect lineup | Stacks | Lineup Builder

Week 7 Daily Fantasy Football Picks, Values: Wide receiver

WR Josh Gordon, Patriots @ Bears, DK: $5,600, FD: $6,700

This week just has the feeling of a Josh Gordon breakout week, and I want to get as much exposure to Gordon as I can. Gordon flashed his talent two weeks ago when he caught a long touchdown pass against the Colts and last week saw his usage in the offense skyrocket, seeing over 80 percent of the offensive snaps while leading the team in targets with nine. The Bears defense is funneling targets towards their corners, who have been getting burned by opposing wide receivers all year long. Gordon’s price point of $5,600 on DraftKings puts him in cash game consideration given his massive upside, and he make for an excellent mid-range GPP option on FanDuel for $6,700.  

WR Jermaine Kearse, Jets vs. Vikings, DK: $4,100, FD: $5,000 

Jermaine Kearse is the top value WR of the week for only $4,100 on DraftKings and $5,000 on FanDuel. The New York Jets receiver corps was decimated last week with injuries to Quincy Enunwa and Terrelle Pryor. This opened the door for veteran WR Kearse to take on the WR1 role in the offense, catching nine passes for 94 yards on 10 targets while playing 83 percent of offensive snaps. Kearse is likely to be the most popular value option of the week, but he's a shoo-in for cash games and makes a ton of sense in GPPs as well, given he’s extremely likely to see at least eight targets as the Jets take on the Vikings as 3.5-point home underdogs.

WEEK 7 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end

Week 7 NFL DFS Picks: Tight end values

TE O.J. Howard, Buccaneers vs. Browns, DK: $3,600, FD: $5,800

The tight end position is especially tight this week, and there aren’t many good options outside of Zach Ertz and Rob Gronkowski. However, one guy you can look at to save some salary is Bucs TE O.J. Howard, who didn’t look limited all all last week against the Falcons after he surprisingly came back from an MCL injury after only two weeks. Howard doesn’t see a huge target share in the Bucs offense, but his big-play ability along with his redzone usage give Howard excellent upside at his price point. Howard has been excellent when playing at home over the last year, posting a plus/minus of plus-3.8 over his last eight home starts.

Bennett Bedford