After last week’s wacky slate that featured its fare share of blowouts and come from (way) behind comebacks, Week 7 of the NFL season is primed to feature closer contests from start to finish.
This gives us a ton of great players to choose from. Here’s a list of players you can lock into your Week 7 DFS lineups.
Note: There’s always a case to be made for playing any player in tournaments. This list of “locks” is cash game focused, but I typically like these players across all contest types.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Brady has attempted the second-most passes (233) for the most yards (1,959) and second-most touchdowns (13). This week he plays in a game with the highest over-under — by nine points.
Ryan is the other quarterback in this should-be-shootout. He’s a home dog against the Pats, who have given up the most passing yards (2,029), most touchdowns (14), and most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.
Prescott takes on the 49ers, who have given up the seventh-most fantasy points to the position so far this year. Prescott is on the road, but the Cowboys are nearly touchdown favorites.
The Bills will host the Buccaneers in Week 7, who have given up the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, including an average of over 300 yards per game. Taylor might not put up 300 yards, but he’s so cheap on both major sites that he should easily hit value.
Running Backs
Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
The 49ers have given up the second-most fantasy points per game to running backs this year. As noted above, the Cowboys are favored by nearly a touchdown, and with Elliott’s near-future uncertain, don’t be surprised if the Cowboys ride him into the ground.
Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons
New England has given up the third-most fantasy points to opposing backs this year, and have been gashed both on the ground and through the air. Freeman has averaged 18 touches per game. Don’t sleep on him here.
McCoy is averaging an insane 22.8 touches per game, but he still hasn’t scored. That changes this week against the Bucs, who have given up four touchdowns to running backs in five games. McCoy is a must-play at his depressed salary.
Leonard Fournette or Chris Ivory, Jacksonville Jaguars
Fournette is questionable, but if he plays. I’m firing him up. The Jaguars are 3.5-point favorite against the Colts, who have given up fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, including eight total touchdowns. If Fournette sits, Ivory becomes a great play at his low price.
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans (if no Demarco Murray)
Henry is exceedingly cheap, and if Murray sits, he’s a virtual lock to return value — and then some. He’s averaging 5.1 YPC and has games of 14-92-1 and 19-131-1 already under his belt as a backup. Imagine what he’d do against the Browns in a feature role.
Wide Receivers
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
Antonio Brown has the third-best individual WR-CB matchup of the weekend (second-best among wideouts yet to play). He will feast while running the majority of his routes against the 34-year-old Adam ‘Pacman' Jones.
A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
The Steelers have given up the fewest fantasy PPG to opposing wideouts so far this year, but Green has consistently gotten the better of Joe Haden. Green has also been a monster this year, averaging 3.30 yards per route run — tops among all wideouts.
Jones ranks third in YPRR with 2.76, and this week he draws the Patriots, who have given up the most yards (1,191) to opposing receivers, and the fourth-most fantasy points.
Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings
The Ravens have been stout against wideouts so far this year, but Thielen is still relatively cheap and he has a great individual matchup against (primarily) Ladarius Webb. Thielen quietly ranks seventh in targets (52), third in receptions (38), and fourth in yards (489). He’s still searching for his first touchdowns, which is bound to come soon.
Pierre Garcon, San Francisco 49ers
Garcon ranks fourth in targets with 55, and like Thielen, he’s still looking for his first score of the year. The Cowboys have given up the seventh-most fantasy PPG to opposing wideouts this year, and have ceded eight touchdowns to receivers in the past four games.
Tight Ends
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
News flash: I always think Gronkowski is a lock. Especially when playing in a game that should turn into a track meet.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins, New York Jets
The Dolphins have given up the sixth-most fantasy PPG to opposing tight ends. Seferian-Jenkins ranks second among all tight ends in receptions (18) over the past three weeks, and he’s been the team’s primary red zone threat.
Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks
Graham draws the Giants this week, who have given up a touchdown to opposing tight ends in every single game this year. Every game.
Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans
Walker draws the Browns, who are nearly as bad against tight ends as the Giants. Cleveland has given up the most receptions (42) and third-most yards (402) to opposing tight ends, to go along with the third-most touchdowns (5).