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NFL Week 7 Start or Sit: Jaylen Warren

NFL Week 7 Start or Sit: Jaylen Warren

DraftKings Fantasy Advice Season Long NFL

Published:

By: Alex Hunter

After missing one game with a knee injury, Jaylen Warren ($8,400 for Showdown) resumed his duties as the Steelers’ top back in this past Sunday’s win over the Browns. While logging 52.5% of the snaps, the veteran rushed 11 times – which was 47.8% of the running back carries for Pittsburgh – for 52 yards and he caught both of his targets for 11 yards. Warren only posted 8.3 FPTS, but this was a solid output in this terrible matchup, as Cleveland is PFF’s highest-graded defense and the club is allowing the fewest yards per rush this season (3.1).

Prior to this, Warren was averaging 14.8 FPTS per game in his first three contests of the season and he should get back on track in an excellent matchup vs. the Bengals this Thursday. This season, Cincinnati is the fourth-worst graded defense on PFF and the Bengals are giving up the 13th-most yards per rush (4.4).

Warren is a versatile back, ranking 17th in FPTS per snap among running backs this season (0.39), and his elite work in pass protection has earned him the trust of this Steelers coaching staff over the other backs for Pittsburgh. Usage-wise, Warren is leading the Steelers with 13.5 carries per game and a 64.3% rush share, including an eye-popping 14 red-zone carries in just four games. The veteran has also seen a strong role in the passing game, running a route on 42% of his team’s dropbacks and obtaining a target on 26% of those routes. Impressively, Warren is averaging 2.89 YPPR, which ranks first among all running backs this season.

The 26-year-old is due for some big performances as a pass catcher and Thursday’s matchup with Cincinnati is a perfect spot for him to thrive in this department, with the Bengals allowing the second-highest completion percentage (87.9%) and the fourth-most yards per pass to running backs (8.4).

The Steelers are a 5.5-point home favorite and they carry a healthy 24.5-point implied team total on DraftKings Sportsbook for this AFC North matchup with Cincinnati. This is a stellar spot for Warren and he has a ceiling near 20 FPTS on Thursday, making him a great RB3/FLEX play for season-long leagues and a compelling DFS play for Thursday’s Showdown slate on DraftKings.

Start or Sit: Start Jaylen Warren

Alex Hunter
Alex Hunter is an avid DFS player and sports handicapper, who has been a proud member of the DraftKings Network team since 2020. He is a data-driven analyst, who earned his bachelor’s degree in communications at Worcester State University and has been in the sports content business for nearly a decade, covering the NBA, NFL and PGA TOUR. Alex is a diehard Boston Celtics fan, who loves to be on the golf course when he isn’t grinding lineups or producing content. For all of Alex’s work or if you need any lineup advice, be sure to follow him @Hunta512 on X.
Disclaimer

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.