Fantasy Football Week 7 Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Denzel Boston or Carnell Tate?

Denzel Boston and Carnell Tate are trying to make a name for themselves in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race. Both wide receivers have just over 340 receiving yards and rank among the top 35 fantasy football players at their position. Neither is a shoo-in for fantasy football managers, but they can be useful if the outlook is bright. Today, I debate which rookie has the better Week 7 ahead.

The Case of Denzel Boston

Boston's season has been very strong, featuring 5.7 targets, 2.8 receptions, 57.5 yards, and 0.5 touchdowns per game. Boston's target share is 20% on 92% of his on-target snaps. He has 1.63 Yards per Route Run (NFL Average = roughly 1.75).

Usage is always important in start-sit debates. Teams quickly skew from expectations. As the game goes on, the offense's script shifts. Time of possession can also matter. To be safe, I weigh usage rather than pure numeric targets, receptions, and yardage, and I weigh those over projections.

That is where Boston is a strong player in fantasy football. Beyond his strong snap rate, Boston runs the most routes of any Brown pass-catcher: 5.0 more than Harold Fannin Jr., the next most.

Boston will face the Tennessee Titans this Sunday. They rank 10th-worst in Yards per Target Allowed to outside wide receivers, the exact matchup Boston wants. The Titans play an above-average rate of zone coverage (72%) which, Boston wants. He has 0.38 PPR Fantasy Points per Target in man coverage and 3.22 against zone coverage.

The Case of Carnell Tate

Tate's rookie season averages 7.3 targets, 4.8 receptions, 58.4 yards, and 0.17 touchdowns per game. He has a 27% target share, an 81% snap rate, and 1.95 Yards per Route Run.

Tate runs the most routes on the team, 3.6 more per game than Wan'Dale Robinson and about 10 more per game than Elic Ayomanor. So the usage is rarely at risk.

The Titans compete against the Cleveland Browns this Sunday. Tate runs 30% of his routes out of the slot, with the rest lined up wide. The Browns rank 14th-worst in Yards per Target Allowed to Wide Receivers, but 6th-best allowed to outside wide receivers. They are far worse against the slot, far worse where Tate will hope to exploit his limited route tree. Robinson has the better matchup among all Titans.

The Browns do play a very high rate of man coverage. However, it matters very little for Tate, who has been equally good regardless of the coverage being faced.

Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Denzel Boston or Carnell Tate?

The gap between these tw wide receivers is very thin. The debate matters because neither option is a lock to start, and both rank around WR3 in Week 7 fantasy football.

Tate is the better option this week. His target share is seven percentage points higher. While his snap rate is lower, he's a priority skill player when he's on the field. His depth chart offers less competition, as Boston shares the field with KC Concepcion, Jerry Jeudy, and Harold Fannin Jr.

In fact, Tate's projection is quite high this week, set as the WR25 as of Friday afternoon. Boston is WR39; 1.2 fewer non-PPR points and 1.9 fewer in full PPR.

Boston is the boom-or-bust option here with his vertical ability. He averages 20.3 Yards per reception, compared with Tate's 11.9. But Boston does have three of his six games this season with two or fewer receptions. Tate has had 6+ receptions three times and fewer than three only once.

Start Carnell Tate in Week 7 over Denzel Boston.

More Fantasy Sports On SI News:

This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Fantasy Football Week 7 Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Denzel Boston or Carnell Tate?.