Every week, I will highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Ben Roethlisberger, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.
The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.
Three of the four worst pass defenses (TEN, JAX and DET) are on bye this week, so pickings are slim in terms of finding mediocre fantasy QBs with good matchups for Week 7. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Phillip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan all have very good matchups and should be in starting lineups this week…If you’re looking for a bye week fill-in, give Shaun Hill a try. He faces the Texans, who have been inconsistent on defense. There’s a pretty good chance that he’ll have to throw quite a bit to stay in the game if the Texans’ offense gets going.
Both the Bills and Panthers are in the bottom four in rush defense, so DeAngelo Williams and Marshawn Lynch look like great starts this week. Jonathan Stewart and Fred Jackson aren’t bad as flex plays, either…Frank Gore is back and faces a Houston defense that has been uneven against the run. The Texans have been pretty good over the last three weeks, but the 49ers have a strong rushing attack…Both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington should be pretty good starts against the Raiders, who are much better against the pass than they are against the run. They have given up an average of 145 yards and 1.2 rush TD per game…Ryan Grant isn’t really tearing it up, but he has a very good matchup with the 30th-ranked Cleveland defense this week…Joseph Addai should be a strong start against the Rams, who have given up nine rushing TD in six games…Laurence Maroney is a waiver wire pickup who could pay big dividends this week as he faces a Bucs defense that has yielded 171 rushing yards per game through six games…Desperate? Larry Johnson looked pretty good last week and faces the Chargers this week. San Diego is ranked 27th against the run.
Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Roddy White and Vincent Jackson are studs that have great matchups this week. Don’t make the mistake of benching any of these guys…The Giants’ passing game has a nice matchup with the Cardinals, who were better last week but have struggled against the pass. Steve Smith 2.0, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks are all startable, depending on the format…Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes should both be productive against the Vikings, who are strong against the run, but not so strong against the pass. Holmes especially thrives in these situations…Both Green Bay WRs — Greg Jennings and Donald Driver — look like strong starts against the Browns, who are 23rd against the pass…Austin Collie has been hot the last couple of weeks and looks like a nice start against the Rams. Of course, Reggie Wayne should be in all lineups.
This usually goes without saying, but stay away from JaMarcus Russell, Matt Sanchez, Ryan Fitzpatrick (assuming he starts), Chad Henne, Marc Bulger, Jake Delhomme and Josh Johnson this week. These are bad fantasy quarterbacks with bad matchups…One good QB with kind of a tough matchup is Donovan McNabb. He’s good enough to be startable, but the Redskins are 3rd in the league against the pass and have only allowed five pass TD all year.
If you were thinking about starting Jamal Lewis this week, don’t. The Packers have been pretty stingy on the ground, yielding just two rush TD in five games…The Cards have been pretty stout against the rush, so Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw aren’t great starts this week. I’d rather have Bradshaw going than Jacobs these days…Even after Ray Rice’s big day in Week 6, I wouldn’t expect much out of Rashard Mendenhall or Willie Parker against the Vikings this week. The Steelers don’t have nearly as good of a running game as the Ravens do.
Steve Smith 1.0 is usually too talented to bench, but if you have a great option, you may want to go with it because he has a tough matchup with the Bills, who have the 4th-best pass defense in the league despite facing some pretty good offenses (NE, NO, NYJ) this season…Terrell Owens has been dreadful this season, and with an unfavorable matchup against the Panthers, it’s not too likely that this is the week he breaks out. Lee Evans probably should be avoided as well…The Jets have to fly cross country to face an Oakland pass defense that held down a pretty potent Philly passing attack, so Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery (if he even plays) should be avoided this week…Antonio Bryant faces a New England defense that is 6th against the pass. That, coupled with the struggles that the Bucs are going through at QB, means he should be avoided this week…Santana Moss has a rough matchup with the Eagles, who are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Raiders in Week 6. Philly is 5th in the league against the pass and Moss has been inconsistent this season.
