If you happen to start some of the sleepers in last week’s fantasy football article, you may have benefitted from Chuba Hubbard, Rashid Shaheed, and Curtis Samuel all scoring more than 14 points in PPR formats.
Let’s take a closer look at some of my sleepers who are quality starting options for your fantasy team in Week 7.
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Week 7 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Quarterbacks
Jared Goff | Detroit Lions @ BAL
Jared Goff has quietly been putting together one of the better fantasy starts of his NFL career. He has 11 touchdown passes to go with two rushing scores through the first six games of the season, and the team has never truly been at full strength this season.
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The Baltimore Ravens are not an easy matchup by any stretch of the imagination, but they are equally tough to run against. If the Lions are without David Montgomery and/or Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 7, Detroit may have to rely on Goff’s arm to try and improve to 6-1 on the season.
Derek Carr | New Orleans Saints vs. JAX
On one hand, Derek Carr is coming off a season-high 353 passing yards against the Houston Texans. On the other hand, the Saints dropped to 3-3 on the season and continue to be a tough team to figure out on a weekly basis.
Carr threw the ball 50 times against the Texans, which would mean we are probably past the shoulder injury that gave him issues a couple of weeks ago. If he can continue to connect with Shaheed and Chris Olave down the field, then Carr can continue to be a sneaky streaming QB option on a weekly basis.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Running Backs
Keaontay Ingram | Arizona Cardinals @ SEA
Fantasy managers who dropped a significant amount of their FAAB budget on Emari Demercado were very disappointed with the involvement and usage of Keaontay Ingram, who returned to the lineup after recovering from a neck injury.
While his 10 carries for 40 yards and two receptions for 11 yards weren’t league-winning numbers by any stretch, Ingram led all Cardinals backs in every major category. If there’s any RB worth Flex consideration heading into their Week 7 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, it would be Ingram.
Craig Reynolds | Detroit Lions @ BAL
Craig Reynolds’ fantasy value solely depends on the health of not one but two different Lions running backs.
With David Montgomery exiting the team’s Week 6 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early with a rib injury and Jahmyr Gibbs inactive due to a hamstring injury, Reynolds saw 12 touches for 43 yards in spot duty.
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If both Montgomery and Gibbs are unavailable in Week 7, Reynolds does enter the RB2 conversation this week. But if either player is available against the Ravens, then Reynolds likely isn’t worth starting consideration.
Zach Evans | Los Angeles Rams vs. PIT
Speaking of players who won’t be worth starting consideration if the top two options on the depth chart are available, that statement certainly applies to the Los Angeles Rams backfield.
Kyren Williams is dealing with an ankle injury, while his backup — Ronnie Rivers — is reportedly dealing with a PCL sprain.
MORE: Fantasy Injury Update — Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers Impacting Week 7 Rankings
If both players are unable to take the field against the Pittsburgh Steelers, then rookie running back Zach Evans would likely be first in line for an expanded role in Week 7.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Wide Receivers
K.J. Osborn | Minnesota Vikings vs. SF
Fantasy managers had high hopes for a potentially expanded role for K.J. Osborn with Justin Jefferson being placed on injured reserve. Well, his four receptions for 48 yards weren’t terrible, but it wasn’t exactly great either in PPR formats.
Last week, the Vikings found themselves in an old-school, low-scoring dogfight of a divisional game against the Bears. This week, they’ll find themselves going against a San Francisco 49ers team that just let one slip through their fingers against the Cleveland Browns for their first loss of the season.
If the 49ers jump out to an early lead, we could see a much busier day at the office for Osborn in Week 7.
Rashid Shaheed | New Orleans Saints vs. JAX
Sure, Shaheed is a boom-or-bust big-play option in this New Orleans Saints offense right now, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be on your fantasy radar this week.
Shaheed scored a 34-yard touchdown reception and produced another big play through the air with a 51-yard reception against the Texans.
He continues to be a quality third option at the WR position who has the vertical speed to produce chunk plays in this offense. If Carr can build off of his most productive game through the air, then Shaheed could start making some real noise in fantasy leagues.
Elijah Moore | Cleveland Browns @ IND
Elijah Moore currently ranks 36th in targets per game at 7.2 this season. While Moore has seen 7+ targets in four out of five games this season, he still hasn’t topped the 50-yard receiving mark or found the end zone yet this season.
Hopefully, Deshaun Watson will be able to get back on the field this week, but Moore’s steady involvement in the passing game should eventually lead to a productive fantasy outing.
It also helps that Christian Kirk just went for three receptions for 49 yards and a score — a player who gets a similar workload and has a skill set similar to Moore — against a Colts secondary that will be tasked with trying to slow down Moore in Week 7.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Tight Ends
Michael Mayer | Las Vegas Raiders @ CHI
Perhaps Sam LaPorta isn’t the only rookie tight end we need to be keeping an eye on…
Las Vegas Raiders rookie TE Michael Mayer had his best game in the NFL with five receptions for 75 yards against the New England Patriots this past Sunday. In Week 7, he’ll face off against a Bears secondary that allows an average of 10.5 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.
If you’re in a tough spot this week at the TE position, then Mayer is a strong streaming option after seeing a dominating 81% of the offensive snaps in Week 6.