Week 7 of the NFL season is here, and we’re lucky to have only two teams on bye week: the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys.
Some players are making their way back from the injured reserve and others are headed to the IR. Make sure to check out our Fantasy In Frames IDP waiver-wire article every week to fill in your open roster spots.
Below are my educated guesses of players to Play and others to Fade for Week 7 of the NFL season. As we continue to get more data, we get a better idea of who to lean on throughout the season.
As always I am going to give you some players I think could have a better week than expected or might have a worse game than predicted.
Here we go!
Plays
- T.J. Watt, LB/DE Steelers vs Jets
- Week 6 versus the Raiders was just the second game this season that Watt didn’t record a sack, but he was still a terror. Watt finished as one of the top scorers in Fantasy Pros IDP players with 20.5 points. Watt had five solo tackles and two forced fumbles.
- The Jets offensive line has struggled. Jets QB Aaron Rogers has been sacked 16 times this season. Left Tackle Tyrone Smith has already given up five sacks. Right tackle Morgan Moses has yet to give up a sack, but has four penalties and six total pressures. Watt is going to be a problem on Monday night.
- Donte Fowler, DE Commanders vs Panthers
- Dorance Armstrong left the Commanders Week 6 matchup against Ravens with a rib injury pushing Fowler into the lineup, and he didn’t disappoint. Fowler finished the game with 21.5 points in Fantasy Pros scoring. He had four solo tackles and two sacks.
- Fowler tied for the team lead in snap share among Edge players with 52.9%. He has over 50% snap share in two straight weeks, recording a combined three sacks. I expect Washington to be leading most of this game, allowing for a lot of pass rushing attempts against the Panthers.
- A.J. Epenesa, DE Bills vs Titans
- Epenesa had four tackles, three solos, and two sacks against the Jets in Week 6. With Von Miller suspended, the Bills won’t rotate their defensive ends as much as they usually do. He saw 65.9% snap share on passing downs and finished the day with the Bills best pass rush grade according to PFF.
- The Titans are really struggling this season. QB Will Levis was sacked eight times earlier this year against the Packers. The Bills should be sending the house when Levis goes back to throw.
Fades
- Dennis Gardeck, DE/LB Cardinals vs Chargers
- Gardeck has put up some good fantasy weeks this season, but the snap share has continued to be bad. He had his lowest snap share of the season with just 32.9% in Week 6.
- He does not have a double-digit fantasy output since Week 3. Last week Gardeck had just three tackles. He also hasn’t had a sack since his three sack performance in Week 2.
- Matt Judon, DE/LB Falcons vs Seahawks
- There were high expectations for Judon when he was traded from the Patriots to the Falcons in the offseason, but Judon has not been good this year. He only has 21 tackles and 1.5 sacks in six games.
- Judon played his highest snap share of the season with 74.2% in Week 6, but still struggled again with just three assisted tackles for 2.3 Fantasy Pro points. He hasn’t scored more than 4.5 fantasy points in any week since Week 2, which happened to be the only week this season he had a full sack.
- Calijah Kancey, DL Buccaneers vs Ravens
- Kancey is working his way back from a calf injury earlier this season that caused him to miss the first five games of the year. In his first game back, he recorded two tackles and one sack against the Saints in what was a wild, high-scoring game.
- Things get harder in Week 7 against the Ravens. The Baltimore offensive line has shut down interior rushers. Plus Lamar Jackson is notoriously tough to get to. The Ravens also want to run the ball and play keep away with a powerful Bucs offense. I’m not jumping to get Kancey into my lineup this week even after a nice season debut.
Plays
- Quay Walker, LB Packers vs Texans
- The Packers top LB has been extremely consistent this season. Walker has three straight weeks of double-digit points scored and was LB three in Fantasy Pros scoring with 18.3 points.
- Walker had 11 tackles, 10 solo stops, in Week 6. He has played 100% of snaps this entire season. His worst fantasy output this season is 8.8 points. There haven’t been many players better than Walker this season.
- Zaire Franklin, LB Colts vs Dolphins
- Franklin has had a solid season so far in 2023. He hasn’t been spectacular this season, but he has been consistent. Franklin is coming off his highest scoring fantasy output of the season with nine tackles, eight solo stops, for 15.3 points according to Fantasy Pros.
- Franklin now goes against a Miami offense that has to run the ball this week to stay in the game with the Colts. The Dolphins will try to use a three-headed RB group of De’Achane Achane, Raheem Mostert, and Jaylen Wright. This should give Franklin an opportunity to rack up tackles.
- Nate Landman, LB Falcons vs Seahawks
- Landman came back from the IR after missing the last four weeks and took over for the injured Troy Andersen. Landman hit in Week 6 with 17 fantasy points in Fantasy Pros scoring. He played 79% of snaps on defense with eight tackles, four solo, with two forced fumbles against the Panthers.
- Landman should hold onto the LB2 role for the Falcons as long as Andersen is out. He should see plenty of action against the Seahawks in what is expected to be a high scoring game. There should be a lot of plays in this game.
Fades
- Denzel Perryman, LB Chargers at Cardinals
- Things aren’t going well for Perryman. His snap share was down to 39.3% in Week 6 against the Broncos. Perryman was able to still score 8.3 points according to Fantasy Pros with six total tackles.
- With rookie Junior Colson working his way into the lineup, the Chargers are now rotating their three LBs throughout the game. That is not a recipe for success for fantasy managers. Colson out-snapped Perryman 57.1% to 39.3% in Week 6. I’m probably avoiding all three Chargers LBs at this point in the season.
- Isaiah McDuffie, LB Packers vs Texans
- McDuffie has officially lost his starting role to rookie Edgerrin Cooper. The snap share says it all. Cooper had a snap share of 65.5% to McDuffie’s 44.8%.
- McDuffie is only usable for fantasy if we see an injury to Quay Walker or Cooper at this point.
- Kyzir White, LB Cardinals vs Chargers
- White had played 100% of snaps in four of five games this season, but dropped to 29% snap share in Week 6 after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter, and finished with just 2.3 fantasy points.
- White is questionable going into this week, so keep an eye on his availability. While at first glance this should be a nice matchup against a run-first Chargers team, but I’m nervous about his ability to get back to the 100% snap share one week after the injury. If I have another option, I will think about pulling the trigger.
Plays
- Brian Branch, S Lions at Vikings
- When Brian Branch was moved from slot corner to deep safety before this season, it was worrisome for IDP managers. We want players who are closer to the line of scrimmage, not at deep safety. But that hasn’t stopped Branch from having a nice fantasy season. He has been moved around quite a bit. Last week he played 50.9% of snaps at deep safety, but 28.3% of snaps in the box and 11.3% of snaps in the slot.
- Branch led all DBs in Fantasy Pros scoring in Week 6 with 25.3 points. He had six tackles, five solo, two passes defensed and two interceptions. Branch has finished as a top 10 DB in Fantasy Pros scoring every week this season.
- Rodney McCloud, S Browns vs Bengals
- McCloud has been in a starting role since Juan Thornhill went on IR and Ronnie Hickman’s ankle injury. And now Grant Delpit is trying to make his way back from a concussion. McCloud played 100% of snaps in Week 6 and was able to get eight solo stops. McCloud has two defensive touchdowns in the last three weeks which has helped him score double digit points in three straight weeks.
- I’m not sure how long McCloud will be useful for IDP purposes, but against a high-powered Bengals offense this week and the Browns offensive struggles, he has a chance to score double digit points for his fourth straight week. If you are looking for a sneaky safety start, McCloud is a player likely available on the waiver wire.
- Julian Love, S Seahawks at Falcons
- Love has been a tackle machine the past two weeks, recording 20 tackles with 13 solo stops. Even though Love is playing 65% of his snaps at deep safety, he is playing nearly 100% of snaps overall, he is getting himself involved no matter what. Love has been a top 24 DB in Fantasy Pros scoring four times this season.
- The Seahawks defense has an interesting matchup with the Falcons. I expect these offenses to be moving the ball up and down the field. Love is going to have a lot of opportunities to make plays in the running game and passing game.
Fades
- Cooper DeJean, CB Eagles at Giants
- DeJean got his first start of the season for the Eagles at slot corner. He had a nice debut scoring 8.8 points according to Fantasy Pros with six tackles, three solo, and half a sack. DeJean is a player I like, and he is definitely going to be on my radar moving forward, especially in start CB leagues. I’m just not sure I’m plugging him into my lineups just yet.
- The Giants are likely getting Malik Nabers back from his concussion, and I would expect him to lead the team in targets on the outside. Giants QB Daniel Jones has been throwing the ball a ton to his first read. He leads the league in throwing the ball to his first read 88% of the time according to PFF. That doesn’t give me a lot of hope that WR Wan’Dale Robinson sees a lot of targets in the slot this week.
- Kyle Dugger, S Patriots at Jaguars
- Dugger has been an IDP stud for years, but outside of one big game in Week 2, where he scored 23.5 points, he has not been productive. Dugger only has 24.5 points in the other four games combined this season.
- Dugger is going to pop again at some point this season, but I’m nervous about playing most Patriots defensive players at this point in the season. It’s not a bad matchup against the Jaguars, and you are probably starting Dugger no matter what if he is on your roster, but my expectations are tempered at the moment.
- Ji’Ayir Brown, S 49ers vs Chiefs
- Brown is coming off one of his better fantasy performances of the season where he totaled 13 points on eight tackles with six being solo. He played 100% of snaps but 70% of those came at deep safety. I’m not buying it this week.
- The 49ers are facing off against the Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes. While most people think about Mahomes throwing bombs to Tyreek Hill early in his career, that hasn’t been the case in 2024. Mahomes only has eight passes of 20+ air yards this season. He has been a dump off king. I just don’t see Brown getting challenged deep very often. This hurts his tackle floor. I expect the linebackers and slot corners to eat up most of the tackles this week.