The NFL season marches on with another busy Week 7, which brings us a second straight 11-game main fantasy football slate this Sunday afternoon on DraftKings. The Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks will be returning from their bye week, while the Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts are getting their scheduled week off. With 22 teams on the main slate, there are plenty of good fantasy options to consider as you build your DraftKings roster. Some of the headline matchups for this slate include the New England Patriots hosting the San Francisco 49ers, who are led by former Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo ($5,300). In addition, the Pittsburgh Steelers are visiting the Tennessee Titans in a matchup of unbeaten teams, and the Seattle Seahawks are taking on the Arizona Cardinals in the desert as they try to maintain their dominance of the NFC West in one of the six important divisional matchups on this slate.
As you get your DraftKings squad together for Week 7’s main slate, make sure to take a look at the affordable plays listed below that come loaded with upside. Each week, I dive into the bargain bin and give you my favorite cheap plays based on recent form, matchup and expected opportunity. Here are the plays I like the most this Sunday.
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QUARTERBACK
($6,000 and under)
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns, $5,500 – The Bengals are only 1-4-1, but they have looked much improved in Burrow’s first year under center. Last week, the No. 1 overall pick threw for 313 yards and had his second rushing touchdown of the season on his way to 20.7 DKFP. Unfortunately, the Bengals went into hold-the-lead mode against the Colts, resulting in fewer chances for Burrow in the second half, and they ultimately ended up losing the game. Burrow’s numbers were still fine, but he has now gone two straight weeks without throwing a touchdown pass. The yardage has still been there, though, and he has finished with at least 300 yards in four of his past five games and at least 19 DKFP in each of those contests. If he is able to add a score or two on top of that yardage production, he has a very high ceiling this week in a divisional contest against the Browns.
Cleveland ranks in the middle of the pack in DKFP allowed to QBs, but they have given up 13 passing touchdowns in six games. With Joe Mixon ($6,300) a little banged up, the Bengals could come out throwing a lot early and let Burrow carry the offense. Burrow is third in the league in intended air yards, meaning the Bengals are give him chances to throw the ball often and deep down the field, and as he and the rest of this offense continue to grow, he should start connecting more of those deep passes and finding the end zone more often. Look for the Bengals to be a good value stack this week against the Browns.
Kyle Allen, Washington Football Team vs. Dallas Cowboys, $5,200 – The NFC East is awful, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some fantasy value to consider when two teams from this down division square off. Allen completed his first game as Washington’s starting QB against the Giants last week and finished an efficient 31-for-42 for 280 yards and two passing touchdowns. He finished with 18.0 DKFP, and that total was hurt by a pair of turnovers, one of which was a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Allen played well overall, though, and showed he can be a competent backup option aside from ugly turnovers, which was basically the takeaway from his starts with Carolina last year as well. He earned a 62.6 grade from PFF which is a huge improvement from the 46.7 score from Dwayne Haskins.
Allen is on the value list this week more because of who he’s playing than how he did last week. The Dallas defense has been awful, allowing the fourth-most DFKP to QBs so far this season. They were crushed again on Monday Night Football by Kyler Murray and have given up 14 total QB touchdowns in their past six games. Dallas has allowed an NFL-worst 36.3 points per game points per game, putting Allen in a favorable spot this week.
Other Options: Gardner Minshew ($5,900), Drew Lock ($5,100)
RUNNING BACK
($5,000 and under)
Kenyan Drake, Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks, $4,800 – Drake went off for a huge game on Monday Night Football, but his salary wasn’t impacted by that performance since salaries were already released. He finished with 31.4 DKFP with 20 carries for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Dallas’ porous defense. Before that outing, Drake had been relatively quiet with under 15 DKFP in each of his first five contests this season. Even though he hadn’t been extremely efficient, he has been getting plenty of volume. He ranks No. 5 in rushing attempts this season and is No. 1 in the league in Yards before contact. His teammate Kyler Murray ($7,100) is second in that stat showing just how good Arizona’s run blocking has been and how helpful it is to have multiple rushing options in the offense.
Arizona will continue to look to dominate the line of scrimmage as they host their division rivals from Seattle this week. The Seahawks have been fairly solid against the run this season but have given up at least one RB touchdown in all but one of their games. Drake does continue to lose a little time to Chase Edmonds ($4,900) but re-established himself as the clear RB1 by playing 68% of the Cardinals’ snaps in Week 5 against the Cowboys. Take advantage of the short week and don’t hate the Drake this week against the Seahawks.
Zack Moss, Buffalo Bills at New York Jets, $4,200 – Last Monday against the Chiefs, the Bills got rookie Zack Moss back from a toe injury. He played 25% of the Bills’ snaps in his return but took his five carries for only 10 yards. In good news for his potential role in the timeshare, it’s not like Devin Singletary ($5,800) seized the job while Moss was out, and Singletary only managed 32 yards on 10 carries in Week 6. In the only other game Moss was healthy, the two shared the backfield much more evenly with Moss playing 45% of snaps and Singletary on 59%. In another encouraging sign for Moss from that game back in Week 1, he took every one of the six RB touches in the red zone.
Since he emerged without a setback, the Bills will probably be looking to get the rookie they used a third-round pick more involved in the offense moving forward. This week against the Jets should be a great opportunity to do just that since New York is still winless and has been getting blown out. If the game script gives the Bills the freedom to return to a 50-50 split, Moss could be lined up for a breakout game, and has even more upside if he gets back to handling the red zone work.
Other Options: Justin Jackson ($4,900), J.D. McKissic ($4,600), JaMycal Hasty ($4,200)
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WIDE RECEIVER
($5,000 and under)
Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, $4,700 – Coming off the bye week, I think Williams is in a strong spot with the Chargers’ growing offense even with Keenan Allen ($6,200) expected to be able to play after back spasms cost him most of the Chargers’ Week 5 contest against the Saints. Williams stepped up in that contest with five catches for 109 yards and a pair of touchdowns on his way to 30.9 DKFP. He showed a very nice connection with rookie QB Justin Herbert ($6,400) that had been inconsistent until that contest. Part of that lack of synergy was likely due to Williams dealing with a hamstring issue that limited him to just one catch in Week 3 and kept him sidelined in Week 4.
With a week off to get even healthier, he should be ready to resume his role as a big target for Herbert moving forward, starting with this very friendly matchup against the Jaguars. Williams’ two touchdowns should also help him become more of a focus for Herbert in the red zone, and he already is a down-field threat as evidenced by his 17.5 yard average depth of target, which ranks as seventh-best in the NFL among qualified WRs.
Tim Patrick, Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs, $4,600 – The Broncos’ offensive options have been limited by injuries, and Patrick has taken advantage of the opportunity and gone for back-to-back games with over 100 yards. He has a total of 10 catches on 15 targets in those two games which were road games against the Jets and Patriots. With Courtland Sutton (knee) out for the season and KJ Hamler ($3,600; hamstring) banged up as well, there are plenty of targets for Patrick, who led the team with eight in the return of Drew Lock ($5,100).
As they take on the high-scoring Chiefs, Lock and Patrick will need to be ready to finish some drives with touchdowns after Denver settled for six field goals in their win over the Patriots. If Denver is forced to air it out a little more by Kansas City, Patrick could be set up for another big game as he looks to post over 14 DKFP for the fourth straight week.
Breshad Perriman, New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills, $3,700 – The Jets’ offense has been awful whether Sam Darnold ($5,000) or Joe Flacco ($4,800) is under center. However, there could be some nice fantasy value at WR since it’s pretty clear that the team is going to rely on the speedy Perriman as their top down-field WR now that he’s healthy. Jamison Crowder ($5,900) continues to get a ton of targets over the middle, but Perriman had eight targets even though it was his first game back after an ankle injury. He did get one of those targets in the red zone, but wasn’t able to convert for a score. He did convert four of those passes to catches for a team-high 62 yards.
We saw how good Perriman can be last year with the Bucs, and he still has a very high ceiling if he’s able to settle into his role in this new offense. The Jets will likely be playing from behind on a regular basis this season, including this week against the Bills, so look for there to be plenty of volume coming Perriman’s way to make him a solid play under $4K.
Demarcus Robinson, Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos, $3,400 – If you’d rather have a player with a lesser role but in a much better offense, Robinson is worth a look after his nice performance on Monday Night Football. With Sammy Watkins ($4,600; hamstring) out in Week 5, many people expected it to be a chance for Mecole Hardman ($4,500) to step up and produce in a larger role. Instead, it was Robinson who had a good game against the Bills, hauling in 5-of-6 targets for 69 yards and 11.9 DKFP. Robinson was clearly the replacement plan from the start and played a team-high 95% of offensive snaps. Hardman played only 40% and was held without a catch.
While Robinson ranks behind Hardman, he still has a solid 9.2 average depth of target and should continue to get work against the Broncos in this AFC West matchup. If Watkins is still unable to return, Robinson will be a great punt play with upside.
Other Options: Adam Humphries ($4,600), Marvin Jones Jr. ($4,400), James Washington ($4,100), Andy Isabella ($3,900)
TIGHT END
($4,000 and under)
Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys at Washington Football Team, $3,900 – Washington has allowed the second-most DKFP to TEs this season and has given up five TE touchdowns in six games. Schultz will look to take advantage of that matchup and continue his strong year stepping up to fill in for the injured Blake Jarwin (knee). Last week in Dallas’ ugly loss to the Cardinals, Schultz hauled in 4-of-5 targets for 35 yards, which was good enough for third on the team. Since taking over for Jarwin in Week 2, he has averaged 4.4 catches on 6.6 targets per game and has found the end zone twice. He has been targeted in the red zone five times, which is second on the team behind only Amari Cooper ($6,900), so the opportunities should be there for him to take advantage of this matchup on Sunday.
Anthony Firkser, Tennessee Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, $3,000 – Firkser stepped up with a huge game last week against the Texans catching 8-of-9 targets for 113 yards, a touchdown and 28.3 DKFP, while playing a season-high 55% of the Titans’ offensive snaps. That work mostly came after Jonnu Smith ($4,700; ankle) was forced to leave the game, and Firkser will be a great option if Smith is limited or out this week against the Steelers. As a reliable, sure-handed option, Firkser could have earned his way into a larger role even when Smith returns, but he’d be extremely high-risk if Smith is back this week. Monitor the situation closely and be ready to roll with Firkser if it looks like he’s in line for more work.
Other Options: Logan Thomas ($3,500), Albert Okwuegbunam ($2,500)
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
($2,800 and under)
Seahawks DST, Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals, $2,700 – After its bye week in Week 6, Seattle will hope to get some reinforcements on defense for this divisional game in Arizona. All-Pro safety Jamal Adams (groin) is hopeful to return to the field after missing two games, and CB D.J. Reed was able to return to practice as well. Damon “Snacks” Harrison was just signed to the practice squad, but it isn’t clear when he’ll be ready to play either.
Seattle’s defense was actually pretty solid in Week 5 in their win over the Vikings, piling up three sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery for a total of 7.0 DKFP. They have at least 5.0 DKFP in three straight and four of five games this season. While Kyler Murray is a dynamic playmaker, the Cardinals have struggled with turnovers at times this season with seven turnovers in their first five games before avoiding turnovers against Dallas last week. Given the matchup and their potential for growth, I think the Seahawks’ DST is the best available option under $3K on the main slate.
Washington Football Team DST, Washington Football Team vs. Dallas Cowboys, $2,500 - Washington’s defense was solid in their loss to the Giants, only allowing 14 points and 244 total yards while picking up an interception and a sack. They have at least one pick and one sack in five of their six games and have averaged 5.0 DKFP per game. They’ll get a good matchup against a Dallas offense that struggled badly on Monday Night Football, allowing three sacks and turning the ball over four times while managing just 10 points. The unrest within the Cowboys’ locker room could cause the situation to continue to spiral downward, and if it does, the Washington defense could be there to pick up turnovers and sacks in this divisional matchup.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Z.Thompson) 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 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.