The Arizona Cardinals will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Cardinals skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 7 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Kyler Murray, QB
Murray is an interesting option this week, as he’s largely been an all-or-nothing producer, and the potential of a dud increases dramatically should Marvin Harrison Jr. (concussion) be ruled out.
This season, he only has two finishes inside the top 15 at the position, but both of those were top-five weeks that likely helped you lock up a win. The Chargers defense has been stout, having allowed more than 13 fantasy points to a quarterback just twice this season, but in both of those situations, the signal caller cleared six points with their legs (Bo Nix and Justin Fields).
I have Murray ranked at the top of my low-end QB1 tier that extends down to QB13 Kirk Cousins. If you’re not feeling great about your quarterback position this week, you won’t be alone.
James Conner, RB
Reports surfaced following Sunday’s loss that Conner’s limited reps in the second half were not the result of a nagging injury but a decision the team made based on the script of the game.
Well, that’s not good.
To be honest with you, I would have rather heard that he was dealing with an injury and the team wanted to save him for a quarter of winnable games on deck as they try to save their season.
The Chargers own the best EPA rush defense in the league, and after a hot start to the season (consecutive top 10s), Conner’s average weekly finish is RB30. I think it’s safe to say that things are trending in the wrong direction for the veteran, but I wouldn’t dismiss him quickly like what we’ve done with Rachaad White.
Conner has produced 11.1% over his expectations this season and has continued to score at a high level in our elusive metric. He remains a top-20 running back for me this season and moving forward, even if it’s closer to RB20 than RB10.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR
This game being the final one of the week further complicates the already complicated concussion protocol. The most common happening in these situations is one missed game, and with Arizona more interested in the future of Harrison Jr. than the present, it stands to reason that they’ll be cautious with their budding star.
Consistency hasn’t been the hallmark of Harrison, be it week-to-week or even quarter-to-quarter (78.2% of his fantasy production has come in first quarters this season), making it even more difficult to recommend waiting out this injury.
If you can grab Rashod Bateman, Jalen McMillan, or Joshua Palmer off the wire in an effort to protect yourself on Monday night, go for it. But if you have a top-40 receiver on your bench and we enter the weekend without clarity, I’d take the safe approach and bench Harrison this week.
Michael Wilson, WR
Despite fluctuating usage rates, Wilson has proven to be an oddly consistent receiver (WR28-38 in three of his past four games). But this is a talented receiver who has consistently produced when given the chance (above fantasy expectation in seven of his past eight games with six of those instances coming in at least +27.1%).
With Marvin Harrison Jr.’s status pending after the Week 6 concussion, Wilson’s role has the potential to improve, though I think any increase in target count could be undone by being the focal point of a strong Chargers defense that ranks top five in yards per completion, touchdown-to-interception rate, and first-down percentage this season.
With or without Harrison active, Wilson will be on the low end of his recent production, settling in the WR35-40 range that tiers him with Romeo Doubs and a Tagovailoa-less Jaylen Waddle.
Trey McBride TE
McBride hasn’t found paydirt this season. He has just one TD in his past nine games, but it’s only a matter of time.
Longest streaks with 6+ targets in the past decade among TEs:
- 24: Travis Kelce (twice)
- 20: Kelce
- 18: Mark Andrews
- 16: Evan Engram
- 13: McBride (active)
McBride’s aDOT is up 27.4% from last season, and with the target share remaining stable, his path to TE1 overall honors this season is very much within the range of outcomes.
