DFS

Phillip Lindsay exited Week 7 with a concussion and hasn’t returned to practice yet. This sets up Melvin Gordon for another week of all the work. He’s been underrated as the bell-cow for Denver, averaging 16.7 DK fantasy points in games that Lindsay has either missed or left early. That average means he would easily 3x his $5600 salary, making him cash viable on this slate.

The Rams are most vulnerable on the ground, ranking No. 18 in Defensive Rushing DVOA. We haven’t seen much action from Tua Tagovailoa, so we should expect the Dolphins to skew run-heavy and take advantage of LA’s weakness. Even if Miami falls behind early, Myles Gaskin has the ideal passing-down role for a comeback effort. A three-down workhorse priced at $5200, Gaskin offers leverage off the higher-owned stud RBs and allows us to afford elite TEs or mid-priced WRs.

Russell Wilson has been a top 5 QB in four of his six games played and never outside the top ten. PlayerProfiler’s No. 2-ranked cornerback Jason Verrett is set to line up against D.K. Metcalf. Seahawks-49ers features a high point total (53) in what should be a game to stack. Banking on fantasy gamers being hesitant to chase the points from last week, Lockett should be relatively lower owned than his solid projection and lower price would naturally indicate.

Facing a barrage of sacks and pressures from his offensive line, Joe Burrow continues to look downfield, where his 347.3 Air Yards per Game rank No. 3 in the league. Those Air Yards are why Tee Higgins continues to be a strong play week in and week out. His 10 (No. 12) Deep Targets demonstrate his valuable role in the Bengals offense. Given the game state, feel free to go with a heavy game stack playing both Higgins and Tyler Boyd, running it back with one or two Titans players as well.

Michael Thomas is out again in Week 7, this time with a hamstring injury. Carolina has given up 47 receptions to running backs through six weeks, a 7.8 per-game average and last in the league. With Thomas out over the last month, Alvin Kamara is the target and receptions leader in New Orleans by over 10. With three games over eight receptions, expect the Saints superstar to feast again.

Tampa has arguably the best cornerback duo in the NFL, and the Raiders’ best weapon that isn’t exclusively a deep threat is Darren Waller, who is coming off a much-needed bye week to recover from knee soreness. Expect the Raiders to lean on Waller, who has five-plus receptions in four of five games and leads Las Vegas in targets, receptions, and yards.

Despite a pretty solid game against James Bradberry and the Giants, DraftKings added only $100 to Terry McLaurin’s salary. He remains modestly priced heading into a matchup against a terrible Cowboys defense. McLaurin is the only wide receiver of relevance in Washington’s passing game, amassing a 44.2-percent (No. 2 among qualified wide receivers) Air Yards Share. While he has yet to convert this opportunity into consistent WR1 production, he is set to explode in Week 7.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling is the clear number two option in the Packers passing game behind Davante Adams. However, he has seen more Air Yards in the two full games the receivers have played together thus far this season. With an 18.9 (No. 2) Average Target Distance mark and 12 (No. 5) Deep Targets, Valdes-Scantling is the go-to receiver for the bulk of Aaron Rodgers’ downfield bombs. He is bound to find the ball in his hands at some point, and he will win someone a GPP when he does.

Nothing James Robinson has done should have those playing him concerned. He is the team’s primary back and takes the majority of the receiving and goal line work. He has already shown that he can provide boom weeks when everything falls into place. Robinson should be in consideration every week as long as he is priced below the league’s other featured backs.

The Buffalo offense has looked much more stoppable against the Chiefs and Titans over the last two weeks. If they can return to their early season form, Devin Singletary will be a smash value. An easy matchup against a Jets team that barely plays football is exactly what they need. Singletary is in a great spot to return value in cash at only $6,200.

Not only has Marquez Valdes-Scantling broken a 90.0-percent Snap Share in three straight weeks, he has a 38.3-percent (No. 7 among qualified wide receivers) Air Yards Share and has drawn 12 (No. 5) Deep Targets. This matchup with the Texans has the highest total on the slate at 57.0, and the Packers have the highest implied team total at 30.25. Gaining cheap exposure to this game is an easy strategy in DFS, and MVS checks all the boxes.

The Titans have been beatable through the air, ranking No. 24 in Defensive Passing DVOA. They have also been incredibly efficient on offense, ranking No. 3 in Offensive DVOA. The Steelers offense hasn’t been pushed much given their elite defense, but this Titans offense is equipped to turn this game into a shootout. That would be massive for this passing attack and for Diontae Johnson’s DFS upside.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s Weekly Volatility score of 6.6 creeps toward volatile fantasy scoring oscillation, but he’s suffered through more bust weeks than boom weeks. Following a top-12 fantasy finish at the position in Week 1 with 19.6 points, he’s failed to reach 10 fantasy points in a game. However, signs of a looming MVS breakout game abound. In addition, his price point on DraftKings ($4,100) offers roster construction flexibility at low projected rostership.

Coming off a two TD performance and his best fantasy outing of the season (27.9 points) Mike Williams’ salary ($4,700) doesn’t match his upside. A poster boy for Weekly Volatility, his 11.7 rating ranks No. 8 and shows maximum fluctuation in fantasy scoring. In four games this season, he’s busted twice and boomed once. With Justin Herbert’s willingness to chuck it, the duo figures to log more dynamic showings. Why not against the Jaguars?

With a clear lead on Joshua Kelley and three-down ability, Justin Jackson sets up well against the Jaguars this week. They have allowed the third-most fantasy points to RBs and the fourth-most rushing yards, while being tied for the most touchdowns allowed with nine. With a 28.25 implied team total, Jackson has massive touchdown equity in this game. If the Jaguars are able to push the ball downfield and score like they were earlier in this season, this matchup has major shootout potential.

In the prior two games that Raheem Mostert missed, Jerick McKinnon averaged 19 touches for 87 scrimmage yards and scored in both. His efficiency from earlier this season has cooled off a bit, but that was expected on the increased volume. He shouldn’t catch much ownership this week. People may be concerned about JaMycal Hasty and a “bad” matchup with the Patriots, but that makes him a solid tournament option.

The Week 7 matchup with Seattle makes for the perfect setting for a volatile playmaker like Christian Kirk to go off. The Cardinals are 3.5-point underdogs in a game with a 55.5 point total over/under. The Seahawks have allowed 64.2 Fantasy Points per Game to wide receivers this season. The next closest team is the Vikings at 49.3. Despite all this, Kirk is priced at $4,900 on DraftKings this week. Get him in lineups.

While he has struggled to match last season’s breakout numbers to this point, D.J. Chark’s usage is encouraging and will lead to more production going forward. Jacksonville, who averages 43.0 (No. 4) Team Pass Plays per Game, are a 7.5-point underdog against the Chargers this week. Los Angeles ranks in the bottom half of the league in Fantasy Points per Game allowed to wide receivers. This may be the week we see a big Chark performance and he’s only priced at $5,500.

This week, Justin Herbert draws a Jacksonville passing defense that we’ve been targeted this year. He’ll have all day to throw, allowing him to continue to increase that Money Throw total and deliver fantasy points in bunches. Last we saw Keenan Allen, he left early in Week five with a back injury after scoring a touchdown. Using the bye week to get healthy, he is poised to step right back into his target magnet role as he lines up against burnable corners.

Julio Jones costs less than teammate Calvin Ridley this week. At $7100, Jones is outside the top 5 WRs. He suffered no reported setbacks last week in an absolutely dominant return. Matt Ryan, for his own part, has everything we look for when it comes to passing metrics for a QB. Some of it is Game Script-driven, but it’s not like that will be changing anytime soon. The issue has been efficiency, but we expect that to bounce back to historic norms with Julio back in the lineup against the Lions.