Week 7 is right around the corner and fantasy football owners everywhere are trying to optimize their lineups. Deciding on who to start and sit isn’t easy, especially when a reliable starter like Jared Goff has an atrocious game the week prior, or when Sam Darnold returns to the field in glorious fashion. Let’s take a dive into all the best start/sit matchups of the week to create the ideal lineup.
Running Back Start/Sits
Wide Receiver Start/Sits
Jared Goff, Sam Darnold Highlight Fantasy Football Week 7 Start/Sits
Start: Jared Goff
Jared Goff was terrible in Week 6, there’s no denying that. It total, the former first overall pick finished the night with just 78 yards on 24 passing attempts against a fantastic San Francisco 49ers defense. It was one of the worst performances of the decade in an underwhelming season, and most fantasy football owners probably want to move away from Goff.
It’s hard to look past Goff’s stinker of a performance, but he faces the ideal matchup in Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta is one of the worst defenses in the league and cannot stop anything through the air. During their first six games, they’ve allowed five QB1 performances. Say what you will about Goff as a quarterback, but he can put up good numbers in the right surrounding. Sean McVay is still a great coach, Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are still fantastic receivers, and Atlanta’s defense couldn’t stop a YMCA offense. Don’t be surprised if Goff comes out Week 7 as a top-five fantasy quarterback.
Sit: Sam Darnold
On the other side of the coin is New York Jets starting quarterback Sam Darnold. Darnold missed four weeks of action with mono yet looked like a star during his return to the field. Facing off against an underacheiving Dallas Cowboys defense, Darnold completed 71.9% of his passes for 338 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He looked comfortable running the offense and demonstrated ideal chemistry with Robby Anderson and Jamison Crowder. Most weeks, you could start him and feel great about it. However, this is not most weeks.
As good as Darnold looked in Week 6, he’s probably not ready to take down the New England Patriots. New England’s defense is probably the best in the league, and easily the best in fantasy. They’ve somehow scored more points than they’ve allowed and boast a ridiculous amount of depth at each level of the field. Stephon Gilmore knows how to take away Robby Anderson, and Jonathan Jones should match up well against Jamison Crowder. Even with home field advantage, it’s going to be hard for Darnold to do much of anything in this one.
Start: Josh Allen, Daniel Jones
Is Josh Allen too obvious? The second-year passer is still inconsistent with his arm, but boasts fantastic potential with his legs. When factoring in his matchup against a hapless Miami Dolphins squad, it’s almost too easy to include him on this list. Because of that, we’ll add another name in New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
Daniel Jones has come back to Earth ever since his fantastic debut, but it’s hard to blame him for the underwhelming results. Since taking over the offense, the Giants lost Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram, Saquon Barkley, and Wayne Gallman to injury. Additionally, he’s had to face off against two great defenses in the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots. He should have Engram and Barkley for Week 7, and these weapons should let him take advantage of an overmatched Arizona Cardinals defense.
Sit: Kirk Cousins
Full disclaimer: starting Kirk Cousins isn’t the worst thing in the world. We have enough of a track record to know that Kirk Cousins is a fine starter capable of putting up solid numbers when surrounded by reasonable talent. After an ugly start to the season, Cousins has thrown for 639 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception over the past two weeks.
Cousins has been fantastic, but regression is coming. We know that Cousins simply isn’t capable of maintaining this type of performance, and it’s worth noting that these two great games came against the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. Cousins has to face a real defense again in Week 7, and that’s going to bring his numbers back to Earth. He won’t be as bad as he was in the first month of the season, but don’t expect a QB1 type of performance.
Running Back Start/Sits
Wide Receiver Start/Sits
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