DFS - Fantasy Domination - Week 7

This week will be interesting; seven of the top 13 scoring offenses are outside of the main slate. Plus, three additional teams outside the slate have been performing like top-14 teams over the last three weeks. The only two teams that are out of this main slate that are offensive gutterballs are the Chargers and Eagles. To make things worse, we have three potential stinker games right away at noon on Sunday (Miami - Jets, Browns - Titans, and Vikings - Colts). On the fortunate side, we also have some potential shootouts in the Lions - Packers, and the, and the, and the - ok, we have one game everyone is going to be on again, ugh!. Can we at least get Lamar Jackson back so that game will be competitive?

Recommended DFS lineups

*Note: FanBall includes the Sunday night game on its Main Slate. DraftKings and FanDuel do not.

DraftKings Lineup: Jordan Love ($6.0k), RB Chuba Hubbard ($6.7k), RB Braelon Allen ($5.9k), WR Matthew Golden ($6.0k), WR Jameson Williams ($5.8k), WR Ja'Kobi Lane ($3.4k), TE Tyler Higbee ($3.5k), FLEX Jahmyr Gibbs ($9.8k), DST Cleveland Browns ($2.8k)

FanDuel Lineup: QB Jordan Love ($7.6k), RB Ollie Gordon II ($6.0k), RB Jahmyr Gibbs ($9.8k), WR Puka Nacua ($9.1k), WR Matthew Golden ($6.7k), WR Jalen Coker ($6.2k), TE Tucker Kraft ($5.5k), FLEX Isaiah Likely ($5.5k), DST Tennessee Titans ($3.2k)

FanBall Lineup: QB Jared Goff ($6.6k), RB Kenneth Walker III ($8.9k), RB Jahmyr Gibbs ($9.7k), WR Matthew Golden ($6.5k), WR Omar Cooper Jr. ($3.5k), WR/TE Ja'Kobi Lane ($3.2k), TE Sam LaPorta ($5.2k), FLEX Tucker Kraft ($4.9k), SUPERFLEX Jordan Love ($6.4k)

*Note: The system codes player salaries according to expected output. !! = Less than 2.5x value, No Symbol = 2.5x value, ^^ = Greater than 3x value.

Quarterback

Weekly Strategy -Jordan Love (back), Jared Goff and Joe Burrow are the clear top options this week. Lamar Jackson (ankle) is also in play, assuming he returns from his injury. Brock Purdy and Matthew Stafford are playable pivots, but both are playing with short-handed wide receiver corps, and neither provides significant savings from the top four. C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young and Kyler Murray at least offer minor cap savings. There are two legitimate punt plays in Geno Smith and J.J. McCarthy.

Fantasy four-pack

Jared Goff ($6,800 DK, $8,000 FD), Lions (vs. GB) This game projects as the most chalk. That happens when one game has a line that is four points higher than the next closest game on the slate. Choosing between Love and Goff will be the biggest decision here. On paper, Green Bay's defense looks good, but they have faced Carson Wentz, Geno Smith, Michael Penix Jr., Jalon Daniels, Tyson Bagent and Dak Prescott. Prescott is the only name on that list that should invoke any fear in the opposition. In a shootout, I expect both quarterbacks to top 300-3. I prefer Love over Goff due to cost, but Goff's ownership figures could decline somewhat if many agree with me.

Jordan Love ($6,000 DK, $7,600 FD), Packers (@ DET) As the cheaper option in this game, Love makes a better stack. I'm currently leaning towards pairing him with both Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft and then running it back with one of the Lions' pass catchers.

Joe Burrow ($6,900 DK, $8,300 FD), Bengals (@ BAL) Coming out of their bye, the Bengals have both Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase fully healthy. This is great news for Burrow and bad news for their opposition. Baltimore has been surprisingly mediocre against the pass this season, and Burrow is more than capable of turning this game into a shootout. The bigger question is whether Lamar Jackson will be healthy enough to play. If Lamar is out, then this game might turn one-sided. That would be great for Chase Brown and Samaje Perine, but it would put a ceiling on the Bengals' passing game. Burrow will still throw for a pair of touchdowns, but four scores would be in play in a shootout.

Brock Purdy ($6,600 DK, $8,500 FD), 49ers (@ ATL) Purdy continues to produce despite all of his team's injuries. Week 6 was the first game this year where he failed to throw for multiple touchdowns, but he still finished with 292 total yards. This included another 28 rushing yards, a figure he has topped in five of six games. No rushing quarterback has tested the Falcons this season, yet they have given up six rushing touchdowns over the last three weeks. Plus, only four teams are allowing more passing yards per game. On a weak slate, where everyone is going to be on the GB-DET game, this is one of the few alternate options capable of producing three total scores. Stack Purdy with both Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle.

Sleepers

Geno Smith ($5,100 DK, $6,900 FD), Jets (vs. MIA ) Playing Smith is never exciting. He has only one game this season with multiple touchdowns. Nevertheless, Miami has allowed the fifth-most passing touchdowns per game, and only one quarterback has failed to produce multiple touchdowns against them. Plus, Geno got Omar Cooper Jr. back last week, and they were an instant success, connecting for 6-103-1. This week, Cooper and Garrett Wilson will both get into the end zone on the arm of Smith.

J.J. McCarthy ($4,800 DK, $6,700 FD), Giants (vs. HOU) Despite playing only one quarter of football last week, McCarthy posted 269 total yards and a touchdown. I certainly do not expect him to post over 1,000 yards in this game, but he could certainly reach 269-1 over the course of an entire game against a Texans defense that ranks bottom-five in passing yards per game allowed. At his minuscule price, it wouldn't take much more than that to reach 3x value. He picked up right where Jameis Winston left off, peppering both Isaiah Likely and Malik Nabers. That makes them a three-legged stack I can get behind if I want to spend huge at both running back slots.

Running Back

Weekly Strategy - Jahmyr Gibbs is back in their top spot this week. Unfortunately, Gibbs' price is ridiculous. Nevertheless, I will still have massive exposure to him in what should be the highest-scoring game on the docket. Christian McCaffrey, Chuba Hubbard, Braelon Allen, and Aaron Jones Sr. are the top pivots if you want to fade Gibbs. Just know that Allen and Jones could see a dip in touches if their respective backfield mates (Breece Hall and Jordan Mason, respectively) return from injury. Kyren Williams also has a good matchup, and after Sunday's game, he threw major shade at his lack of usage. It'll be interesting to see if the squeaky wheel gets oiled here. Another player that could be an interesting wrinkle this week is Josh Jacobs (exempt list). If he returns, he steps into a great matchup at a reasonable price. If he doesn't play, Pierre Strong Jr. will be a sneaky punt. At RB2, I am looking at featured backs on mediocre-to-bad teams. Bam Knight, Tony Pollard, Ollie Gordon II and any of the Broncos make sense at a discount price.

Fantasy four-pack

Jahmyr Gibbs ($9,800 DK, $9,800 FD), Lions (vs. GB): The best player in the presumed highest-scoring game on the slate, Gibbs will have ridiculously high ownership despite an equally ridiculously high salary. This means either he is going to be necessary chalk and lock out anyone who fades him, or he will underperform enough that only the people who faded him will have a shot at taking down the tourney. Personally, I believe Gibbs will humiliate a Packers defense that will once again be without Micah Parsons (knee), and that just placed Javon Hargrave (Achilles) on IR.

Christian McCaffrey ($7,600 DK, $8,700 FD), 49ers (vs. ATL) As I mentioned above, the Falcons have allowed six rushing touchdowns over their last three games. Each of the last three RB1s to face them has topped 20 PPR points. Meanwhile, the Niners' wide receiver injuries finally led them to target McCaffrey 10 times last week. The result was nine catches for 53 yards. I am certain that this is not what Kyle Shanahan would like to see week in and week out, but this is his new normal, at least for now. Obviously, the receptions make his DK value considerably stronger than his FD value, but he also has seven scores over his last five games.

Chuba Hubbard ($6,700 DK, $7,100 FD), Panthers (vs. TB) The Buccaneers have been very tough against the run. Only one team has allowed fewer rushing yards per game, and that team is not on this slate. That said, Hubbard has scored and/or topped 100 total yards in every game this season. This is amazing since he has faced only one team in the top half of the league in points allowed to the running back position. The game script should be in Hubbard's favor as the Panthers should jump out to a big lead against a team scoring 9.4 PPG less than Carolina.

Bijan Robinson ($8,500 DK, $9,400 FD), Falcons (vs. SF) Robinson is coming off a pair of underwhelming fantasy performances against the seventh- and fifth-ranked rushing defenses. Even in those games, he averaged 5.7 yards per carry. So, he is still being efficient with the carries that he is getting. Now, he faces a San Francisco defense that has been tough on the run, but that has allowed five of six RB1s to top 15 PPR points. Plus, Brian Robinson (hamstring) is out, which should boost Bijan's touches.

Sleepers

Ollie Gordon II ($5,500 DK, $6,000 FD), Dolphins (@ NYJ) Over the last three games, only one team is allowing more rushing yards per game than the Jets. I'm never going to be overly excited about playing any member of this Dolphins' roster, but Gordon has scored in three straight games, and he did this against the sixth-, first- and ninth-ranked running back fantasy points per game defenses. Use Gordon as a runback RB2 in Geno Smith stacks.

Tony Pollard ($5,300 DK, $5,600 FD), Titans (vs. CLE) Another decrepit offense that I may need to target this week is the Titans. Pollard faces a Cleveland defense that amazingly held Derrick Henry in check last week, but that allowed 15+ PPR points per game to the prior three RB1s that it faced. Pollard hasn't been particularly good this season, but he holds a commanding 100-35 advantage in touches over Tyjae Spears. He needs the score to reach 3x, but it could easily happen given the touch count.

Wide Receiver

Weekly Strategy - With Davante Adams (knee) out, Puka Nacua (calf) would likely see nearly 20 targets. Unfortunately, Nacua suffered a calf issue on Thursday, and he is now questionable. If he plays, he will be the top scorer at any position this week. Ja'Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Malik Nabers are the top pivots. I also like both Panthers' starters and both Packers' starters. I will have at least one of those four in all of my lineups. It may be as a cheap WR1 or an expensive WR2. Jameson Williams makes sense as a WR2 pivot from St. Brown in Packers-Lions game stacks. The rest of the WR2 field is sketchy. I like Denzel Boston, Keenan Allen, Jaylin Noel and Omar Cooper Jr., but none jumps off the page. I may just spend up and get two of the top nine I already listed. WR3 is also pretty ugly. You can take a flyer on Ja'Kobi Lane, Savion Williams (ankle), Isaac TeSlaa, Chris Bell and Christian Kirk. With the pool of players looking this shady, this is probably the week to spend up for more sanity.

Fantasy four-pack.

Puka Nacua ($8,400 DK, $9,100 FD), Rams (@ LV) You never really need to justify playing Nacua (calf), but now that Davante Adams (IR - hamstring) will miss most of the rest of the regular season, Nacua becomes even more valuable. Adams missed three games at the end of last season. In those games, Nacua posted 27-348-4 on 37 targets. Those numbers feel amateurish after watching Nacua post 17-138-1 on 24 targets just two weeks ago. Nacua came down with a calf issue midweek, but I expect him to play. If he goes, he will be a 25-plus point player. Just check back to confirm he goes. If he is out, the tight ends and Konata Mumpfield will see an enormous boost.

Amon-Ra St. Brown ($7,800 DK, $9,000 FD), Lions (vs. GB) I will have more exposure to the Green Bay side of this contest. Targeting the home team's top receiving option in this game isn't a bad strategy. I just wish his price was lower. Game stacks become tougher when using St. Brown versus Jameson Williams or Sam LaPorta. Still, I wouldn't feel bad if you use St. Brown as a runback to the Packers' stacks. Plus, following back-to-back mid-level performances by Amon-Ra, his ownership could be among the lowest in this game, making this a potential slate-breaker.

Ja'Marr Chase ($8,100 DK, $8,800 FD), Bengals (@ BAL) Chase has always destroyed the Ravens. In 11 career matchups, Chase has double-digit targets and seven-plus receptions in nine of them. He also topped 100 receiving yards in six of those games (including the last four), and he even topped 200 receiving yards in two of those contests. Chase hasn't seen a 100-yard game yet this season, but that changes this weekend.

Malik Nabers ($6,800 DK, $7,900 FD), Giants (@ HOU) It didn't matter who was under center for the Giants last week, as both Jameis Winston and J.J. McCarthy repeatedly targeted Nabers and Isaiah Likely. Last week's outing was a third straight 100-plus yard game for Nabers, and he now has 35 targets over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, the Texans have slowed down the last two WR1s that they have faced, but the first four they faced this season posted an average of 8.8-107 with five touchdowns. Consider a McCarthy-Nabers-Likely stack, and then use your savings to land both Jahmyr Gibbs and Christian McCaffrey.

Sleepers

Keenan Allen ($4,800 DK, $5,900 FD), Colts (@ MIN) With the continued absence of Alec Pierce (IR - heel), Allen is flying under the radar right now as he has seen 29 targets over his last three games. He also has five or more receptions in four of his five games. Minnesota's defense will frustrate the Colts offense, but I expect Allen will get free often enough to pull in 6-55-1.

Omar Cooper Jr. ($4,100 DK, $5,100 FD), Jets (vs. MIA) Cooper caught his first career target for a 30-yard reception way back in Week 1. He then promptly found himself on the IR and missing the next four weeks. In Week 6, he returned and immediately made his presence felt. After that performance, I am ready to proclaim Cooper as the top rookie wide receiver of this draft class. Things will only get better as he continues to grow, and that starts this week against arguably the worst team in the league.

Tight End

Weekly strategy –George Kittle and Isaiah Likely are approaching the target tier of Brock Bowers and Trey McBride. Amazingly, they are both still much cheaper. They also both have better matchups than Bowers and McBride. I'm currently planning on extensively playing both Tucker Kraft and Sam LaPorta against each other. Tyler Higbee (and Colby Parkinson) should see a target boost with Davante Adams out. The other discount plays that I like are Dalton Schultz and Greg Dulcich.

Fantasy four-pack

Isaiah Likely ($5,300 DK, $5,500 FD), Giants (@ HOU) Likely will probably be in as many of my lineups as possible. The only comparable tight end to face the Texans and not produce a solid line was Jake Ferguson, and that was in the game where CeeDee Lamb was force-fed 21 targets. Over the last three weeks, only three players have more targets than Likely (including the aforementioned Lamb). That volume can only mean production as long as J.J. McCarthy doesn't find himself out of his depth.

George Kittle ($5,700 DK, $6,500 FD), 49ers (@ ATL) Kittle has topped 69 yards and scored at least once in four of his six games. This is downright absurd considering that most doctors and fantasy analysts assumed that he would be completely ineffectual until midway through the season because of last season's season-ending Achilles injury. Fortunately for Kittle, he is one tough dude, and frankly, the Niners have needed him to be a workhorse with all of their other injuries. Four of the six TE1s to face the Falcons have reached double-digit PPR points; Kittle will reach this mark easily.

Trey McBride ($7,400 DK, $7,200 FD), Cardinals (vs. DEN) McBride has been a model of consistency, recording nine or more targets and seven or more receptions in every game this season. What has been disappointing is that the team continues to utilize backup tight ends Teagen Quitorino and Elijah Higgins more than anyone would like to see. Patrick Surtain II (ankle) may return this week, but would Denver actually have him cover McBride? I'm guessing that Surtain and Riley Moss put a stranglehold on Michael Wilson and Kendrick Bourne, leaving McBride free to roam the middle of the field.

Brock Bowers ($7,700 DK, $8,000 FD), Raiders (vs. LAR) The "vaunted" Rams' defense looks a lot shakier following further injuries to key components. Still, I wonder if the Raiders have enough complementary pieces to keep the remaining Rams' defenders from keying on Bowers this week. We saw it come into play last week, as Buffalo shut Bowers down for most of the first half of their game. Eventually, the Raiders got Bowers involved, and he still tied Michael Mayer for the team lead in targets. That said, will other teams follow this strategy and blanket Bowers the rest of the season? At this price, it's gonna be hard to get excited for him here. Still, he will probably finish with 6-60-1, which will be a top-five point total on an otherwise ugly slate.

Sleepers

Tucker Kraft ($4,700 DK, $5,500 FD), Packers (@ DET) Both Kraft and Sam LaPorta make solid plays this week in their matchup. There is even an argument for playing both of them. Thanks to all of their secondary injuries, the Lions have been putrid against opposing tight ends. This season, they have allowed multiple tight end touchdowns in four of five contests and an average of 33.7 PPR points per game to the position.

Tyler Higbee ($3,500 DK, $4,900 FD), Rams (@ LV) With Davante Adams (IR - hamstring) heading to the IR, someone needs to pick up the slack of the 8.2 targets per week that he was seeing. Assuming he plays, a large share of that will fall at the feet of Puka Nacua, but both Higbee and Colby Parkinson should see a boost in value too. Higbee only played one of the three games that Adams missed at the end of last season, but in that game he posted 5-91-1. That is certainly within the realm of outcomes here, but I would be happy with 4-50-1. That would still be 3x on both sites. If Nacua misses this game, Higbee may hit 5x on both sites.

This article originally appeared on The Huddle: DFS - Fantasy Domination - Week 7