The Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers are all out on bye this week. Your team could be in the market for a number of positions due to those teams being out.

There are still some pretty significant injuries again affecting teams this week. There are a handful of guys that can’t seem to heal from nagging hamstring injuries.

Can the Chicago Bears hang with the New England Patriots?

Here is our Fantasy Football Sit/Start for Week 7 of the 2018 NFL season…and enjoy our awesome MS Paint masterpiece of Buffalo Bills RB LeSean McCoy.

I want to explain what I mean by “sit” and “start.” Of course you are going to start some of the guys i say to bench this week, because you probably used high draft picks or a lot of money in an auction for them. My ‘sit’ players are guys I am just not completely sold that they will have good weeks. If you have a guy that you are on the fence about, maybe this will help you pick between the players.

START’EM

• QB Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns) – Mayfield struggled last week against the Chargers. He wasn’t sharp and couldn’t connect to WR Jarvis Landry. He plays the Bucs this week and shouldn’t have that issue on Sunday. I expect him to have his best game as a pro.
• WR Josh Reynolds (Los Angeles Rams) – Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp isn’t expected to play this week due to a nasty knee injury he suffered last week. The Rams love to play in three-wide receiver sets, so Reynolds should see plenty of snaps.
• RB LeSean McCoy (Buffalo Bills) – The Bills face the Colts this week and will be starting veteran QB Derek Anderson. He has only been on the team for a little more than a week. McCoy will get plenty of work against the below average Colts defense.
• QB Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) – Ryan had a pretty good day last week against the porous Bucs secondary. He stays at home this weekend and faces the Giants. The Giants haven’t been a good road team this season and they are slowly imploding. Ryan should stay hot this week.
• RB Kenyan Drake (Miami Dolphins) – Drake is still sharing touches with RB Frank Gore, but he should still be a solid flex option against the Lions. Detroit has been letting running backs run/catch all over them at home. I know Drake has been up and (mostly) down this season, but this is the week to throw Drake in your starting lineup.
• Los Angeles Chargers Defense & Special Teams – The Chargers made QB Baker Mayfield look like a rookie last week. They face the Titans in London on Sunday morning. Tennessee quarterbacks have been sacked 20 times this season and the offense has been really bad on the road. The Chargers are a smart play this week.
• WR Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – The Cleveland Browns secondary is underrated, but they lack depth. Godwin will be matched up with nickel cornerbacks all game. Godwin is speedy enough to get some open looks.
• TE Greg Kittle (San Francisco 49ers) – Kittle is owned in most leagues, but he’s far from being 100% owned. He is one of the most-targeted tight ends in the NFL. He didn’t do much with those targets last week against the Packers, but he averaged 90 yards in the three games before. The Niners face a stacked Rams defense this week. They will be down and QB C.J. Beathard will need to throw. I expect Kittle to be among to top targeted tight ends again this week. 
• TE C.J. Uzomah (Cincinnati Bengals) – The Bengals face the Chiefs this week, and Kansas City has allowed the third-most PPR points to opposing tight ends. QB Andy Dalton should be looking for him all game. Uzomah will be a nice streaming tight end.
• Houston Texans Defense & Special Teams – The Texans face the beleaguered Jaguars. Jacksonville are beaten up and their offense is in shambles. They will have a hard time putting points on the board against the Texans. 
• RB Ito Smith (Atlanta Falcons) – Now that RB Devonta Freeman is on injured-reserve, Smith will be in line for even more work. He has filled in as the backup running back and has found the end zone in three-straight games. I expect him to be a solid 12-team flex option that could fill-in for a running back on bye.
• QB Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts) – The Colts have very little running game and his top targets have missed the last two games…but he has still put up decent fantasy numbers. I expect Hilton or Doyle will return this week. He will have better targets and should improve on last week’s fantasy totals.
• WR Christian Kirk (Arizona Cardinals) – Kirk is becoming one of QB Josh Rosen’s favorite targets. He caught six of seven targets for 77 yards in their 27-17 loss to Minnesota. Kirk faces Denver on a short week on Thursday. I expect a similar output from the young receiver.
• RB Latavius Murray (Minnesota Vikings) – Murray had his best game of the season at home against the Cardinals. He rushed the ball for 155 yards and found the end zone. He faces the Jets this weekend, a team that can be run upon. He’s not going to match his output against the Cardinals, but he’s worth a flex spot.
• WR Josh Doctson (Washington Redskins) [DEEP LEAGUES] – Doctson came back from an injury last week, but didn’t do anything notable. He faces the Cowboys this week and I peg them as a team that could be vulnerable to speed. Doctson could break a long gain, but Doctson is an all or nothing receiver.

SIT’EM

• WR Robby Anderson (New York Jets) – Anderson followed his best game of the season with a stinker. He’s not going to be a consistent receiver. He’s owned in 62.5% of all leagues, which is insane. I’d drop him for a more consistent receiver, especially in PPR leagues.
• RB Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans) – After DeMarco Murray retired after last season, I thought Henry would have a monster season this year…it hasn’t happened. Titans RB Dion Lewis is playing on the passing downs and Henry is only averaging 3.0 yards per carry. He will have a horrible time against the Chargers.
• QB Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Winston has only played in two games this week. He had one decent game and the other was below average. He threw two interceptions in each of those games. The Browns defense will bend, but I don’t see them giving up very many large gains through the air. There are better QBs out there to stream in this week.
• RB Lamar Miller (Houston Texans) – The Jaguars offense has been horrible, but their defense is trying to hang in there. They gave up some big plays last week, but I don’t see Miller doing that against the Jags on the ground. Miller could soon find him losing carries to RB D’Onta Freeman.
• WR Cole Beasley (Dallas Cowboys) – Beasley is basically the Cowboys #1 wide receiver by default. He will be paired up against a very talented cornerback. I don’t think he’s talented enough to produce against top corners.
• RB Nyheim Hines (Indianapolis Colts) – Hines was getting some red zone touches when RB Marlon Mack was injured. Well, Mack returned last week and killed any fantasy hopes for Hines. I don’t like his chances against the Bills behind a healthy Mack.
• TE Benjamin Watson (New Orleans Saints) – Watson faces the Ravens this weekend. Baltimore has been pretty darn good against opposing tight ends. Watson isn’t a tight end his team relies on a ton, so the Saints will just merely use their running backs in short yardage passing plays.
• New England Patriots Defense & Special Teams – The Patriots haven’t been a very good fantasy defense this year. They are coming off a disastrous performance against the Chiefs. They miraculously won the game, but their defense was huffing and puffing by the end. They play a young Chicago Bears team. Their offense is creative and will test the Patriots a little too much for me to start them in fantasy.
• QB Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) – I don’t like Stafford against the Dolphins. Miami has really only given one opposing quarterback a good fantasy day (Trubsiky in Week 6). You may be stuck starting him with four teams on bye, but I’d be weary.
• RB Duke Johnson (Cleveland Browns) – Johnson is another player owned in over 60% of all leagues that should be dropped. He’s third on the depth chart and really only plays in less than half of the snaps. He did get some extended playing time last week, but I would take it with a grain of salt.

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.