Favorable QB & TE Matchups for Week 7 (2021)
Every week this season, Fantasy In Frames is going to help you stream quarterbacks and tight ends by going over which ones have some of the most favorable matchups each week.
“Hope is a flowing stream.” -Lailah Gifty Akita
Welcome to the first bye-pocalypse! I bet your starting lineups for Week 7 are not easy to fill and you do not feel great about your options. There is hope! Streaming is made for weeks just like this. We are almost halfway through the fantasy regular season. We are here to help you win these critical games as we inch closer to the playoffs. The key to streaming a QB is to find the best matchups or game scripts that you predict to have a better chance of needing high pass volume from the QB. The best way to stream TEs is to find the TEs that have seen more targets over the last few games. You are hoping to get lucky with your TE scoring a touchdown, so the best way to maximize your odds is to pick a TE that gets more opportunities to score by having more targets.
How Did We Do?
For the season we have recommended streaming a QB1 35% of the time, and for Week 6 we missed out going 0 for 2.
QBs were rough in Week 6 because Trevor Lawrence (QB16) threw for over 300 yards, but only 1 touchdown and Taylor Heinicke (QB24) did not take advantage of the great matchup against the Chiefs and threw for less than 200 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
For the season, we have recommended streaming a TE1 31% and a TE2 56% of the time, and for Week 6 we were 2 out of 3 for TE1!
The process for TEs was good this week because we keep following the targets. Ricky Seals-Jones (TE6) had 6 targets and scored a touchdown, and Zach Ertz (TE8) took advantage of no splitting work with Goedert with 6 targets and scored a touchdown too. Dan Arnold (TE32) played 62.1% of snaps but was 4th on the team in targets (5) after having the most targets on the team ink Week 5 (8).
Week 7 is bye-pocalypse so there is a good chance that you need to stream a QB and/or TE this week, so let’s find you a diamond in the rough!
Week 7 Bye Week Teams (impacted QBs and TEs): Buffalo Bills (QB Josh Allen – 99.9% rostered; TE Dawson Knox – 85%), Dallas Cowboys (QB Dak Prescott – 98.3%; TE Dalton Schultz – 84.6%), Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers (QB Justin Herbert – 97.6%; TE Jared Cook 60.8%), and Pittsburgh Steelers
Quarterbacks to Stream – Week 7
Tua Tagovailoa (vs ATL) – 36.7% rostered in ESPN:
This play was impressive from Tua on multiple levels. OL gives him little to no room in the pocket. He stands tall and confident as Waddle works to the empty portion of the field.
— Damian Parson 🏈 (@DP_NFL) October 19, 2021
With trash around his feet, tua delivers a dime against tight man coverage. Fix this OL! #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/v1l2ziUgMN
First, this is a great matchup at home since Atlanta has given up the 7th most fantasy points to QBs this season (22.3 ppg). Tua only threw 2 TDs last week but still finished as the QB10 because he threw 47 times with a 70.2% completion rate for 329 yards! Before their bye week, the Falcons scored 27+ points the last two weeks, so it is reasonable to expect the Dolphins to need to pass a lot to keep up with the Falcons offense. Tua played well in his first game back last week while missing 2 of his top 3 WRs, and might get DeVantae Parker back this week. You are going after Tua because he has a good matchup and the potential for high passing volume this week.
Taylor Heinicke (@ GB) – 32.9% rostered in ESPN:
Taylor Heinicke was one of our streamers last week and he flopped against the cupcake matchup with the Chiefs. We are doubling down and going to stream Heinicke again! The Green Bay Packers have been an average defense so the matchup does not scare you away. We expect the Packers to put up points, and Antonio Gibson is hurt and may not play this week. That is a recipe for high pass volume for Heinicke. The Packers’ best CB, Jaire Alexander, is on season-ending IR so McLaurin has a great opportunity to score massive fantasy points this week.
Jameis Winston (@ SEA) – 24.3% rostered in ESPN:
Jameis Winston played well in Week 5 as the QB5, throwing 4 TDs, before his bye in Week 6. Unfortunately, Michael Thomas will not be coming back this week, but the matchup against Seattle’s defense is not formidable like it was a few years ago. Seattle runs the least amount of plays per game in the league. The Saints could dominate possession time, which gives Winston more opportunities to score more fantasy points. Winston is capable of throwing 4 TDs or 4 INTs in any game or the same game, but compared to the other QB options, he has plenty of upside.
Honorable Mentions: Derek Carr (vs PHI) – 59.9%; Matt Ryan (@ MIA) – 55.2%
Tight Ends to Stream – Week 7
Ricky Seals-Jones (@ GB) – 36.4% rostered in ESPN:
.@RICKYSEALSJONES STRAIGHT TO THE CASA
— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) October 17, 2021
📺 » CBS | #KCvsWAS pic.twitter.com/7v6srrbRFH
Ricky Seals-Jones is on the streamer list for the second week in a row. He will continue to be a TE streamer until Logan Thomas comes back healthy or his rostership % exceeds 50%. Seals-Jones leads all TEs in the NFL in snap share over the last 2 weeks. He played all but one snap in Week 5 (98.8%) and every snap in Week 6 (100%). He is receiving solid opportunity with that high snap share by being second on the team in targets over the last 2 weeks with 15 targets. You are always hoping your TE streamer scores a TD to make your week, and Seals-Jones will always be on the field to give you a chance of him scoring a TD.
Honorable Mentions: Hunter Henry (vs NYJ) – 62.4%; Zach Ertz (vs HOU) – 61.3%