Find success this weekend with the NFL Week 7 Start/Sit list for the offensive side of the ball!
We are now a third of the way through the season as the seventh week of NFL action begins. Week 7 is a unique week for the NFL because it represents the bye-week apocalypse with six teams that have the week off. The six teams on bye are as follows: Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Here’s some help making your start/sit Week 7 offense decisions!
The injuries continued to pile up in Week 6 and now with six teams on bye, Week 7 may be ugly. It will be a week to start your healthy studs or seek out the players who will have the highest chance of offensive opportunities despite having an ambiguous opportunity or quality of opportunities.
It is best to embrace the challenge and have some fun solving the puzzle of lineup optimization, but first here is a review of the concepts of what should be considered when setting your lineups.
The “Trust, If You Must, and Bust” System:
“Trust” = Strong start, a player who should be started in all formats!
“If You Must” = Weak start, a player who is good enough to be a starter, but faces a tough matchup or holds an unclear opportunity in a good offense. Some caution should be used while the risk is recognized, as this is often league format dependent.
If you play in a shallow league, I would lean towards benching this player if you have a decent replacement option. In a deep league, I would lean towards starting, since the options may be more scarce. Either way, expectations should be managed.
“Bust” = Keep on your bench, at least for now. These players should be avoided since stronger options at the relative position should be considered first. These are players who fit into one of the following categories:
- A player in a tough matchup or currently holds ambiguous weekly opportunities in the offense.
- A strong bench stash for season-long purposes but currently in a “wait and see” period. Wait and see if their role expands for starter caliber consideration. For example, this type of player may be a strong backup RB behind a stud in an elite offense or could be in line for a big workload if the starter misses time.
- Currently lacking a clear offensive opportunity in either a projected good or bad offense
- Is too volatile on a week-to-week basis. There is no need to play boom or bust type players if you can help it.
Weekly Start/Sit Decision Reminders
Be sure to always be mindful of weekly injury reports and gameday inactive announcements as this could pivot a weak starter into a strong starter!
Be sure to always leave the FLEX spot(s) free of Thursday night players!
Thursday Night Football
Denver Broncos at Cleveland Browns
Broncos
Trust – Courtland Sutton WR, Noah Fant TE
If You Must – Melvin Gordon RB, Javonte Williams RB, Tim Patrick WR, Teddy Bridgewater QB
Browns
Trust – Odell Beckham Jr. WR (if active)
If You Must – D’Ernest Johnson RB, Case Keenum QB , Donovan People-Jones WR
Bust – Demetric Felton RB, Rashard Higgins WR, Austin Hooper TE, David Njoku TE
Sunday Early Afternoon Slate
Washington Football Team at Green Bay Packers
Football Team
Trust – Antonio Gibson RB (if active), Terry McLaurin WR, Ricky Seals-Jones TE
If You Must – Taylor Heinicke QB, J.D. McKissic RB (“Trust” potential if Gibson is inactive)
Packers
Trust – Aaron Rodgers QB, Davante Adams WR, Aaron Jones RB
If You Must – AJ Dillon RB, Robert Tonyan TE
Bust – Allen Lazard WR
Kansas City Chiefs at Tennessee Titans
Chiefs
Trust – Patrick Mahomes QB, Tyreek Hill WR, Travis Kelce TE, Darrel Williams RB
If You Must – Mecole Hardman WR
Bust – Jerick McKinnon RB, Josh Gordon WR
Titans
Trust – Derrick Henry RB, A.J. Brown WR
If You Must – Ryan Tannehill QB, Julio Jones WR (if active)
Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins
Falcons
Trust – Calvin Ridley WR, Kyle Pitts TE, Matt Ryan QB, Mike Davis RB, Cordarrelle Patterson RB
Dolphins
Trust – Mike Gesicki TE, Myles Gaskin RB, Tua Tagovailoa QB, Jaylen Waddle WR
New York Jets at New England Patriots
Jets
Trust – Corey Davis WR
If You Must – Michael Carter RB, Jamison Crowder WR
Bust – Zach Wilson QB, Tevin Coleman RB, Ty Johnson RB
Patriots
Trust – Damien Harris RB, Hunter Henry TE
If You Must – Jakobi Meyers WR, Jonnu Smith TE, Mac Jones QB
Carolina Panthers at New York Giants
Panthers
Trust – D.J. Moore WR, Sam Darnold QB Chuba Hubbard RB
If You Must – Robby Anderson WR
Giants
Trust– Sterling Shepard WR
If You Must – Devontae Booker RB, Daniel Jones QB, Evan Engram TE
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
Bengals
Trust – Joe Burrow QB, Ja’Marr Chase WR, Tyler Boyd WR, Tee Higgins WR, Joe Mixon RB
If You Must – C.J. Uzomah TE
Bust – Samaje Perine RB (if active), Chris Evans RB
Ravens
Trust – Lamar Jackson QB, Mark Andrews TE, Marquise Brown WR
If You Must – Devonta Freeman RB
Bust – Ty’Son Williams RB, Rashod Bateman WR
Sunday Mid Afternoon Slate
Detroit Lions at Los Angeles Rams
Lions
Trust – D’Andre Swift RB, T.J. Hockenson TE
If You Must – Jamaal Williams RB, Jared Goff QB, Amon-Ra St. Brown WR
Rams
Trust – Matthew Stafford QB, Cooper Kupp, WR, Darrell Henderson RB, Robert Woods WR, Tyler Higbee TE
If You Must – Sony Michel RB
Philadelphia Eagles at Las Vegas Raiders
Eagles
Trust – Jalen Hurts QB, DeVonta Smith WR, Dallas Goedert TE (if active)
If You Must – Miles Sanders RB, Kenneth Gainwell RB
Bust – Jalen Reagor WR, Quez Watkins WR
Raiders
Trust – Darren Waller TE, Josh Jacobs RB, Derek Carr QB, Henry Ruggs WR
If You Must – Kenyan Drake RB, Hunter Renfrow WR
Bust – Bryan Edwards WR
Houston Texans at Arizona Cardinals
Texans
If You Must – Brandin Cooks WR
Bust – David Johnson RB, Phillip Lindsay RB, Mark Ingram RB, Davis Mills QB, Nico Collins WR
Cardinals
Trust – Kyler Murray QB, DeAndre Hopkins WR, Chase Edmonds RB, James Conner RB, Zach Ertz TE
If You Must – Christian Kirk WR, Rondale Moore WR, A.J. Green WR
Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bears
Trust – Allen Robinson WR, Darnell Mooney WR, Khalil Herbert RB
If You Must – Justin Fields QB, Cole Kmet TE
Buccaneers
Trust – Tom Brady QB, Mike Evans WR, Chris Godwin WR, Leonard Fournette RB
Bust – Ronald Jones RB
Sunday Night Football
Indianapolis Colts at San Francisco 49ers
Colts
Trust – Jonathan Taylor RB, Michael Pittman WR
If You Must – Carson Wentz QB, T.Y. Hilton WR
Bust – Nyheim Hines RB, Zach Pascal WR, Mo Alie-Cox TE
49ers
Trust – Deebo Samuel WR
If You Must – Elijah Mitchell RB, Jimmy Garoppolo QB (if active), Brandon Aiyuk WR, Trey Lance QB (if Garoppolo inactive)
Bust – Trey Sermon RB
Monday Night Football
New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
Saints
Trust – Alvin Kamara RB
If You Must – Jameis Winston QB, Marquez Callaway WR
Seahawks
Trust – D.K. Metcalf WR, Tyler Lockett WR, Alex Collins RB (if active)
If You Must – DeeJay Dallas RB (if Collins is inactive)
Bust – Geno Smith QB, Gerald Everett TE
Good luck and enjoy the games!
