The Houston Texans will face the Green Bay Packers in Week 7. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Texans 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.
C.J. Stroud, QB
There are a few games with more projected points, but would it surprise you in the least if this was the game on NFL RedZone the most this weekend?
It wouldn’t to me – I have both QBs ranked as top-five options at the position. We entered Week 6 worried about what Stroud would do without Nico Collins by his side, concerns that were logical given some underwhelming Week 6 numbers following the injury to his WR1.
Stroud answered those questions by completing seven of his first nine passes against the Patriots with a pair of touchdowns. The Packers have excelled at taking the ball away this season (nine interceptions), an interesting trend when put up against a QB in Stroud who set all sorts of efficiency records to start his career.
Green Bay has faced two pocket-oriented quarterbacks this season (Sam Darnold and Matthew Stafford) and coughed up at least 260 passing yards on both occasions. In the case of Darnold, those yards put him in position to score three times and post 20.5 fantasy points, the most scored by a QB against the Packers this season.
Stroud has cleared 330 passing yards or thrown three touchdown passes in each game during this three-game win streak – can he make it four straight?
Joe Mixon, RB
In a perfect world, when we get running backs returning from injury, they are deployed the way Mixon was in Week 6. After sitting for nearly a month, the veteran was featured with 15 touches, and he earned every ounce of that work (132 yards and two touchdowns).
Dameon Pierce added a 54-yard touchdown run after this game was in hand, and while you obviously don’t get credit for that, it was another positive sign for this offensive line.
The Texans were a much more neutral offense through two weeks with Mixon active than they were following the injury; with Nico Collins on the shelf for at least another three games, Mixon is a must-start across all formats until otherwise noted.
Stefon Diggs, WR
You could have won a lot of money off of me this preseason if you asked me to accurately guess, through six weeks, how many receivers would have more red-zone receptions than Diggs.
The answer is four (Amon-Ra St. Brown, Drake London, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Godwin).
The veteran has caught at least six passes in four games this season and has posted four top-15 finishes in the process. But can he keep the good times rolling against this opportunistic Packers defense?
I have my concerns. Diggs has been more effective in the slot than anywhere over the last 11 months. That generally isn’t the best spot to attack Green Bay (second-lowest opponent slot passer rating, 69.1).
The slot role is where we wanted him this offseason due to the signs of decline down the field for the Bills during the second half of last season, and the Texans seem to agree.
That is until Nico Collins was placed on IR. Diggs’ slot rate was more than halved last week from the first five games (26.5%, down from 53.5%), and he posted 102 air yards, nearly double his per-game average before (54.4). He made it work to the tune of 6-77-1 in New England, but we have a larger sample of this role not fitting the current version of Diggs. That is why I can’t get too excited.
The Texans’ implied total is approaching 23 points for this game and that, along with my trust in C.J. Stroud, is enough to keep Diggs inside my top 20. But I’m going to be lower than the industry on him in this spot and won’t have any DFS shares.
Tank Dell, WR
Some will tell you that this (below) isn’t a picture of Nico Collins and Dell, but you can’t believe everything people say.
So you can understand my skepticism about Dell seeing a spike in usage when Collins went down, as they seemingly filled different roles. That said, I have to give Houston credit as they’ve clearly made it a priority to get Dell the ball in their WR1’s absence, and they’ve been creative in doing so.
Never forget this iconic photo of Shaq and Simone Biles 🐐😂#OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/B8dWAKWgKL
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) July 26, 2024
Over the past two weeks, Dell’s aDOT is 41.7% lower than it was prior, and they are experimenting with where he lines up. In Week 5, his slot rate was well above its season norm, catching all four of his targets. In Week 6, his slot rate checked in at a season-low 17.8%, and he averaged north of two PPR fantasy points per target for the first time this season.
I like what I’m seeing. The Texans have him and Diggs as essentially co-favorites to lead this WR room in points until Collins returns (at least three more missed games). Against the Patriots last week, Dell kicked off the scoring with a nice sliding two-yard touchdown and was targeted in six of Stroud’s first 14 passes.
I don’t have much in the way of volume concerns for him in this spot. That’s noteworthy when you consider that four of the past six receivers to catch at least five passes against the Packers have found the end zone.
Dalton Schultz, TE
Schultz saw a then-season-high six targets in Week 5 against the Bills, a game in which Nico Collins left early. Then, he saw eight passes directed his way last week with Houston’s WR1 beginning his four-game stay on injured reserve. Coincidence?
I think not.
His on-field target share has increased each week this season, and while he won’t blow you away with the big gain, I’m not sure he has to against a Packers defense that is fifth-worst on a yards-per-attempt basis against the short pass. Schultz’s target plot is — well, it’s consistent:
If Schultz can earn 6-8 targets in this protected shootout, I like his chances at returning top-15 value at the position and potentially more. His four-catch, 27-yard game last week is considered a dud by most. But if he catches two more of those targets for 20 yards, he’s pushing for a TE1 finish.
Remember that you have to adjust your expectations for “viable” TE production. Once you do that, this situation and matchup put Houston’s chain-mover in the discussion for best streamers of the week.
