Fantasy football rankings Week 7: Sleepers, projections, starts, Jameson Williams, Harold Fannin and more

We’re nearing the halfway point of the NFL season, and while we touched on trading a few weeks ago, now is the time to take action. If you’re 6-0 or 5-1, you should target all the top future values, such as Puka Nacua and Emeka Egbuka. Get those Top 25 players from managers who can’t afford to be patient. I’m also talking to you, the 0-6, 1-5, and even 2-4 teams. You’re about to be scanning NBA schedules, what’s new on Netflix or learning to bake bread. You can’t be patient. You need wins now. I know it hurts to give up the best player, but those players won’t help you watch your friends in the fantasy playoffs.

As for the Week 7 rankings, we have plenty of interesting nuggets and potential start or sit situations. Of course, the ranks aren’t only for football, as I’m opening Apple Music … or in this case, breaking out the CDs … for the best one-hit wonders from the 1990s.

#CheckTheLink-age

Week 7 Waiver Wire
Week 7 SOS Ranks (coming soon)
Fantasy 101 (weather, start/sit, trading, more)
🎙️All In Speed Run Podcast🎙️

WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL NOTES

Quarterbacks

• Over the past three weeks, Jaxson Dart has led all quarterbacks in Designed Rush% (11.4). Only Justin Fields (11.7%) ranks higher for the season. Dart also leads in rushing yards (167) and would still have the seventh most if including the full season. It’s a bad matchup, but there is upside with the risk.
• Caleb Williams goes from 2.2 TD/Att% (27th) when pressured to 7.1 (8th) when he isn’t. Good news. The Saints only get pressure 31.1% of the time, or sixth lowest.
• Of Jalen Hurts’ 150 rushing yards, 102 have come when pressured, and only the Broncos get more pressure (46.3%) than the Vikings (43.7%).

Running Backs

• Three teams are in both the Top 5 for yards before carry (YBC) and yards after contact (YAC) allowed to running backs: the Dolphins, Bears and Bills. Alvin Kamara has just two games over 45 rushing yards and faces the Bears (good news for Kendre Miller, too). Quinshon Judkins had a three-game run of 94, 82 and 110 rushing yards before his stinker against the Steelers last week. The Dolphins present a rebound opportunity, and the Browns should just hand it off 38 times.
• Another Tyjae Spears game and another increase in lost touches for Tony Pollard. Oh, and the Patriots are the only defense inside the Top 10 toughest for YBC and YAC.
• Even with the rough showing against the Bears, Jacory Croskey-Merritt is still third in both yards per touch (6.1) and yards per carry (5.7). The Cowboys present the most favorable Adjusted Points Allowed (APA) to running backs at 29.4.
• Rico Dowdle had a history-making two-game run, but if Chuba Hubbard returns, I’d rank them both in the RB2 range as slightly better versions of the Seahawks’ backfield duo. It’s not that I believe they’re better overall talents, I simply like the matchup better and the Panthers’ reliance on the run game.
• Bam Knight had one touch before Emari Demercado got hurt and 11 after, with seven for Michael Carter. If Demercado plays, Carter is the only Cardinals running back to trust. If Demercado is out, this backfield could be 50/50 or even skew toward Knight … a week after we got the misinformation about Knight starting. But that just shows the risk here.

Wide Receivers

• Jameson Williams has been frustrating, and we keep looking for signs of hope. Here’s some. Williams sees a 13.3% point boost in team target percentage (TmTGT%) when Jared Goff is pressured (26.8% to 13.5%). That’s the fourth-highest gap in the league. The Buccaneers pressure the QB at the sixth-highest rate (41.5%). Conversely, Amon-Ra St. Brown sees a 17.8% boost when the pocket is clean (second most).
• More good news when it comes to clean pockets. DK Metcalf has the fifth-biggest boost in those situations (14.6%), going from 11.5% to 26.2%. Guess what the Bengals don’t do much? Pressure the QB at just 29.3% (fifth lowest).
• DJ Moore isn’t ranked as of now. If he is good to go this week, he’ll be a WR3, and Luther Burden will slide back to WR5 territory.
• If Tutu Atwell plays, he can be a nice Hail Mary option. While Jordan Whittington has been the third option, and now likely No. 2 with no Puka Nacua, the Jaguars have allowed the second-highest percent of passes to go 20+ yards. Atwell is averaging 19.7 AirYD/TGT.
• Even if Darius Slayton returns, he’s one to avoid in the matchup with the Broncos, especially since Patrick Surtain doesn’t spend much time in the slot, where Wan’Dale Robinson will be most often.
• If Quentin Johnston returns, he’ll be more boom/bust than he was to start the season. Not only has Ladd McConkey rebounded, but the Colts’ defense runs more Cover-1 and Cover-2 combined than most teams. Johnston’s style hasn’t meshed well in that coverage, with 119 yards and a touchdown against it versus 258/3 against other coverage.
• Christian Watson could return, and he’s in the ranks to start. If Watson doesn’t play and Dontayvion Wicks is out, Matthew Golden jumps into the Top 35.
• Kendrick Bourne has been a revelation. However, if Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall and George Kittle all return, Bourne is more of a WR4 with upside, but with plenty of risk for limited targets. If Purdy is out, that gives Bourne a boost. If Purdy is out and just one of Pearsall or Kittle doesn’t return, Bourne would push the Top 25.
• The rankings assume Marvin Harrison is out, but if he plays (concussion), Harrison would be a fringe WR2 given the tough matchup.
• It’s also assumed Calvin Ridley will miss this week. If Ridley is good to go, he’ll enter the WR3 group, and Elic Ayomanor will drop back to WR4/5 territory.
• Lastly, as mentioned in the waivers, if Mike Evans is playing, he and Cade Otton are the only pass-catchers I’d risk. If Evans remains sidelined, Kameron Johnson is likely the safest wide receiver with Sterling Shepard in the mix, and Tez Johnson would be the boom/bust option.

Tight Ends

• Harold Fannin had a line of 4-3-40-0 without David Njoku on the field in Week 6. The yardage led the Browns (low bar). If Njoku is out, Fannin is a Top 10 tight end.
• Cade Otton led the Bucs in targets (6) and receptions (5) and was just behind Kameron Johnson in yards (64 to 51). With no Emeka Egbuka, Otton has TE1 upside.
• If you want to take a flier on Tommy Tremble to exploit the Jets matchup, be forewarned. It’s a fine gamble if Ja’Tavion Sanders is out, but not if Sanders is back, as 18 of Tremble’s 20 targets and 14 of his 16 receptions have come with Sanders not on the field.

FUN WITH RANKS

I was originally going to rank the “Best One-Hit Wonders from the 90s and ’00s (aughts),” but I got about 15 songs deep in the 90s and realized we’re gonna need more than one list! So, here are my Top 30 one-hit wonders from the ’90s, and yes, I’m sure I’m forgetting one or two. So, have fun, hate my picks, #CheckTheLinks to listen, and share your favorites!

Best One-Hit Wonders from the ’90s

1. House of Pain: “Jump Around” — I want to go to a Wisconsin football game just for the break between the third and fourth quarters (I still know 90% of the lyrics)
2. Sir Mix-a-Lot: “Baby Got Back”
3. Tag Team: “Whoomp! There It Is” — I’m ashamed (proud?) to say I used to know all of the lyrics
4. Semisonic: “Closing Time” — I can’t find it anymore, but there was a “Best Of” album on Amazon for them, and half the songs (I think 10 total) were variations of “Closing Time.” Also, my buddies and I always geeked out when it played, as we were just getting off work (when three of us worked together one summer)
5. Chumbawamba: “Tubthumping” — Great karaoke song for the list I did earlier this year
6. Vanilla Ice: “Ice Ice Baby”
7. Eagle-Eye Cherry: “Save Tonight” — Did you know that’s his actual name?!
8. The Toadies: “Possum Kingdom” — I played this way too much on Rock Band
9. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: “The Impression That I Get”
10. Hum: “Stars”
11. Quad City DJs: “C’mon ‘N Ride It” — Because of Space Jam, not the NFL completely ruining it.
12. Lou Bega: “Mambo No. 5” — Nailed a trivia night multiple-choice question asking which female name wasn’t included in this song (or just guessed correctly)
13. Blind Melon: “No Rain” — I feel like they were supposed to be in the ’60s or ’70s
14. Snow: “Informer” — Even reading the lyrics, no one still knows them — In farmer, yousnosnsosnzosnemsnsons a playin’ lick your boom boom now
15. Sixpence None the Richer: “Kiss Me”
16. New Radicals: “You Get What You Give”
17. Len: “Steal My Sunshine”
18. Harvey Danger: “Flagpole Sitta” — I’m not sick, but I’m not wellllllll
19. The Proclaimers: “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” — Why are their mouths so big?!
20. Hanson: “MMMBop” — Don’t pretend you didn’t leave this on the radio when it came on, pretending you were just too lazy to change it
21. The Verve: “Bitter Sweet Symphony”
22. Haddaway: “What Is Love” — I know you started the “Night at the Roxbury” head bop!
23. Jennifer Paige: “Crush” — If you’re like me, you originally thought this was by someone [more] famous
24. Tal Bachman: “She’s So High”
25. Duncan Shiek: “Barely Breathing”
26. Howie Day: “Collide” — Doodoodoo doodoo doooooo
27. OMC: “How Bizarre” — I feel like he looks like what you’d get if you crossed The Rock with Elvis Presley
28. Del Amitri: “Roll to Me” — I swear they were saying, “Right time, the wrong me”
29. Dishwalla: “Counting Blue Cars” — You probably thought it was called, “Tell me all your thoughts on God,” or maybe it was just me
30. Los Del Rio: “Macarena” — If you want to see people instantly doing the stupid dance

Technically — Everlast: “What It’s Like” — He’s actually from House of Pain, so it’s a double-hit wonder — would be Top 20 otherwise

Honorable Mention — White Town: “Your Woman” — You know the beat, but probably not what they’re singing or what the song’s name was. Kinda weird, but kinda hypnotically rhythmic.

Because Nicole forced me to — Rednex: “Cotton Eye Joe”

All In Speed Run Pod

WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

🚨 HEADS UP 🚨

• There is no perfect widget out there, sadly, still. I know many view this on your phone, but 1) use the rankings widget on a PC/laptop/etc. if possible or 2) open in your phone’s browser, especially for Android users, to get the scrolling to work (or Android people can try a two-finger scroll).
• ECR = “Expert” Consensus Ranking (which isn’t updated by everyone consistently, so take with a grain of salt).
• Updated regularly, so check up to lineups locking.

WEEK 7 FANTASY FOOTBALL PROJECTIONS

🚨 HEADS UP 🚨 These can differ from my rankings, and MY RANKS are the order I’d start players outside of added context, such as, “Need highest upside, even if risky.” Also, based on 4-point TDs for QB, 6-point rest, and Half-PPR

Download Link Added Thursday