The Seattle Seahawks will face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 7. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Seahawks 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.
Geno Smith, QB
Smith has thrown at least 40 passes in four of his past five games, a level of volume that we are conditioned to chase. However, his aDOT is crashing, and his next multi-touchdown passing game will be his first of the season.
To a degree, the clock struck midnight on Thursday for Smith. He had been surviving on the fringes given his specific skill set (strong rushing productions or 50+ yard completions), but neither occurred against the 49ers after the DK Metcalf score was wiped off the board.
What we saw in Week 6, in my opinion, is the type of fantasy production that this profile deems most likely. With smoke and mirrors, Smith was a top-10 QB in four of his first five games, but this middling QB2 range is much more how I value him moving forward.
With just two teams on a bye this week, I’m not starting Smith in anything but the deepest of single-QB formats.
Kenneth Walker III, RB
Walker has been very Alvin Kamara-ish this season, and that’s as high a compliment I can pay to a fantasy running back. Much like Kamara under Derek Carr, Walker is either the focal point of Geno Smith’s offense when the game is close or the preferred option when playing from behind.
Walker’s PPR totals by week:
- Week 1: 16.3 rushing points
- Week 4: 24.0 rushing points
- Week 5: 12.7 receiving points
- Week 6: 11.7 receiving points
Kamara did a bit of both in his Week 4 meeting with the Falcons (77 rushing yards and a TD with seven catches for 42 yards) in a close game, a script that I like to mirror this one with Seattle on extended rest.
Walker is an RB1 for me in all formats this week and will be heavily featured in my Main Slate DFS lineups.
Zach Charbonnet, RB
Charbonnet is averaging seven touches per game when Walker starts this season (20 per game in the two contests as the lead RB). But while Charbonnet runs hard, he simply doesn’t have the ball enough to hold Flex appeal.
The second-year back is a top-five handcuff in the NFL right now, and that makes him very much worthy of rostering. If injuries are ravaging your roster, Charbonnet comes in below receivers with a consistent role in a good spot when it comes to my Flex rankings (behind names like Ladd McConkey, Jerry Jeudy, or Dontayvion Wicks).
DK Metcalf, WR
Box score watchers were let down by a three-catch, 48-yard, touchdown-less effort from Metcalf on Thursday night. But the deeper dive reflects much more optimism. Not only did Metcalf have a 52-yard touchdown wiped off the board due to a Seattle illegal shift that couldn’t have impacted the play less, but he saw two end-zone targets (Weeks 1-5: one) and had 213 air yards (previous season high: 146).
He was clearly the focal point of this passing game (targeted on four of Smith’s first six passes) and, in addition to the long score that came back, he had an early touchdown in his hands but simply couldn’t get a second foot down in the back of the end zone. After three straight games with at least 104 receiving yards, Metcalf has 103 through two October games — you shouldn’t be worried in the least.
You’re playing Seattle’s alpha with the utmost confidence if you have him and it would be worth your while to look at the team with him rostered in the trade market — if that team is 2-4 or worse, they may be in panic mode and susceptible to a short-sighted deal.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR
If you’re a process-oriented manager, the case for remaining loyal to Smith-Njigba is clear. The target-earning growth was bumpy early on, but with 28 yards over his past three games, the strong fantasy numbers seem close to inevitable.
I like to check out third-down rates when it comes to young receivers — does his quarterback trust him with the fate of the drive on the line? JSN has accounted for a team-high 27.8% of third-down receptions (10), recording as many through six weeks as Metcalf (six) and Lockett (four) have combined.
The Seahawks schemed up a fade for him in the end zone on Thursday night, and while the pass was knocked out because the timing was a little off, I’m encouraged by the confidence that Smith is showing in his budding star. Atlanta is more vulnerable in the slot than anywhere on the field as offenses seek to avoid A.J. Terrell Jr. Put Smith-Njigba in a spot to return Flex value and it’ll start to reward you for hanging in there through the lean times.
Tyler Lockett, WR
In the past, Lockett’s spike-play ability was his calling card and the reason he always seemed to surpass expectations. That role seems to be fading (though he did just miss on a chunk play last week against San Francisco), and with Smith-Njigba taking over the slot role (82.4% of his routes), the floor is a concern.
Lockett has been able to stave off a stiff decline in raw fantasy production up to this point thanks to seeing a target on a team-best 31.3% of his red-zone routes. That’s a great storytelling stat, but is it predictive? Is it likely that an aging receiver can post a career rate in that stat and more than double his career average in the process?
I don’t have Lockett ranked in the Flex conversation this week, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. If you can talk up his 6+ targets in five of six games to another team in your league, I wouldn’t hesitate to make a move that nets you a top-35 receiver or a running back getting consistent work.
