Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Week 7: Kyler Murray, Woody Marks, Ashton Jeanty, Tucker Kraft, and More

Injuries and bye weeks are making fantasy football lineup decisions increasingly difficult. We also have enough information six weeks into the season to know which roles are real, which performances were fluky, and which matchups should materially change how we view a player.

That's especially important with start/sit decisions. I'm not here to tell you to start obvious superstars. The useful calls come further down the rankings, where two players may look similar on the surface but usage, opponent tendencies, or expected game script can provide a meaningful reason to prefer one over the other.

A "sit" also doesn't always mean a player absolutely belongs on your bench. Running back is thin enough that managers may have no realistic alternative to someone such as Ashton Jeanty. In those cases, the designation is more about lowering expectations and understanding where the risk comes from.

Here are my favorite fantasy football starts and sits for Week 7.

Start Kyler Murray, QB, Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings were on bye last week, and those players can occasionally get overlooked when managers scan the previous week's box scores before making waiver claims. Kyler Murray was available in one of my leagues where I needed a replacement for Trevor Lawrence, and I was able to add him without anyone else even bidding.

I like Murray quite a bit against the Indianapolis Colts. He scored 18.26 fantasy points against the New Orleans Saints in Week 5, and the Colts are allowing 18.4 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. That isn't an overwhelmingly favorable matchup, but it is good enough when paired with Murray's improving rushing usage.

Murray has 84 rushing yards over his past three games. He ran 10 times for 51 yards against New Orleans before the bye, and those rushing points give him a path to a useful fantasy day even if Minnesota doesn't need him to pile up passing attempts.

The primary concern is volume. Indianapolis may not put enough pressure on the Vikings to create a back-and-forth game, and Minnesota could conceivably score three or four touchdowns without Murray accounting for all of them. Still, the combination of matchup and rushing upside puts him firmly in streaming territory for me.

Sit Tyler Shough, QB, New Orleans Saints

Tyler Shough scored roughly 27 fantasy points last week, but the way he got there is exactly why I'm fading him in Week 7.

Shough threw for only 144 yards. He somehow turned that into three passing touchdowns, then added 32 rushing yards and another touchdown on the ground. All four scores counted, of course, but touchdown production like that doesn't correlate well with such limited yardage. It was an extremely efficient fantasy result that I don't view as sustainable.

We saw the downside one week earlier when Shough threw for only 96 scoreless yards against the Vikings. The Saints also have one of the weakest running games in football, which puts even more responsibility on Shough when the offense runs into a difficult matchup.

Pittsburgh qualifies. The Steelers are allowing just 11.9 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, the fourth-fewest in the league. Their pass rush can also make life difficult for a quarterback who hasn't consistently handled pressure well.

I expect the entire New Orleans offense to have trouble moving the ball, particularly with this game being played overseas. Shough may have to throw enough to accumulate some volume, but I'm not chasing the four-touchdown box score from last week.

Matchup matters a great deal to me when we're choosing among non-elite quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers, for example, has scored at least 17 fantasy points in four consecutive games and multiple touchdowns in four straight. I'd rather look for a streamer in a better situation than force Shough into my lineup.

Woody Marks was my sit at running back last week. He is now my favorite start at the position for Week 7.

The reason for the reversal is simple: My concern last week was Jacksonville's run defense, not Marks' role. He still managed 10.1 PPR points on 15 carries for 56 yards and two receptions for 25 yards. More importantly, the underlying usage was exactly what fantasy managers wanted to see.

Marks played 78% of Houston's offensive snaps and ran a route on 60% of C.J. Stroud's dropbacks. Those are lead-back numbers, not committee numbers. Jawhar Jordan will spell him for a drive here and there, but Marks handled 18 of Houston's 25 running back opportunities last week.

Jordan also happened to score Houston's only rushing touchdown on a long run. I don't view that as evidence that Marks lost the valuable carries. Marks had already been Houston's goal-line back when David Montgomery was active, and I expect him to get opportunities near the end zone if the Texans reach that area against the New York Giants.

The matchup is much more favorable this time around. The Giants are allowing the 15th-most fantasy points per game to running backs, and Houston should have a positive game script. Marks has seen 15 carries in back-to-back games, with a strong receiving role attached to that workload.

Sit Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

Most managers cannot actually bench Ashton Jeanty, so think of this as a warning rather than an instruction to sit him for any running back you can find.

I continue to be unimpressed by his rushing performance. Jeanty is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry and hasn't reached 60 rushing yards in a game since Week 1. He has also been held to exactly 10 carries in back-to-back games.

The usage trend is becoming a concern. Jeanty handled only 50% of the Raiders' rushing attempts last week, when Mike Washington Jr. had nine carries to Jeanty's 10. Jeanty turned those 10 attempts into just 22 yards against a Buffalo defense that entered the game as a favorable rushing matchup.

His receiving work has covered up much of that inefficiency. Jeanty is averaging 10.5 fantasy points per game from his receiving production alone. In PPR formats, several catches can rescue an otherwise poor rushing day, and that's largely why he remains difficult to bench.

Los Angeles does allow a 19.5% target share to running backs, the eighth-highest rate in the league, so there is certainly a path for Jeanty to accumulate receptions again. The problem is that the Rams are allowing the 12th-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs overall and only 93 rushing yards per game to the position.

Jeanty can PPR scam his way to another acceptable fantasy score. I just don't want managers looking at the name or draft capital and assuming the underlying rushing role is still elite. The carry share is moving in the wrong direction, and Washington is closer to an even split than most managers want to acknowledge.

Start Denzel Boston, WR, Cleveland Browns

Denzel Boston caught one pass for 15 yards last week, which creates exactly the type of situation where fantasy managers start wondering whether they should take a productive player out of the lineup.

I'm going back to him against Tennessee.

Boston has played 92% of Cleveland's offensive snaps this season. That is elite playing-time security for any receiver, much less a rookie. He has also produced 1.82 yards per route run, a strong number given the quarterback environment he's been working in.

The Tennessee Titans are allowing the eighth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. Boston's role gives him the opportunity to benefit from that matchup, and his downfield ability gives him a higher ceiling than several receivers in this range who rely on short receptions.

I have Boston as a top-30 receiver this week. Last week's one-catch performance doesn't change that.

Omar Cooper Jr. returned from injured reserve and immediately gave fantasy managers plenty to get excited about. He ran a route on 79% of Geno Smith's dropbacks and earned a 24% target share, which is an excellent first-game role for a rookie coming off an extended absence.

The production followed. Cooper went over 100 receiving yards and scored a touchdown, showing why he deserves to be rostered and why there is real rest-of-season upside here.

I don't want to chase those points against Miami, though. Part of Cooper's Week 6 production came on a long touchdown created by busted coverage. Take away that one play, and the box score would have looked much less likely to force him immediately into fantasy lineups.

The Miami Dolphins are allowing the second-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers. That sounds strange because their defense hasn't been particularly imposing, but game script matters. Teams have frequently gotten ahead of Miami and no longer needed to throw enough for opposing receivers to pile up fantasy production.

Aaron Glenn wants to run the football when the Jets can control the game. Whether Breece Hall is available or the carries go elsewhere, the larger point is the same: If New York gets ahead, passing volume could disappear quickly.

Cooper's Week 6 usage is a very good reason to hold him. It isn't enough for me to ignore the Week 7 environment and chase last week's fantasy total.

Start Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers

Tucker Kraft hasn't had the breakout season I expected, but there may not be a better spot for him to finally produce a ceiling game.

The biggest issue has been Green Bay's receiving hierarchy. I expected Christian Watson to function as the Packers' No. 1 receiving option with Kraft second. Instead, Matthew Golden has emerged and pushed Kraft closer to third. For tight ends, there is a meaningful fantasy difference between being the second option in a passing game and being the third.

Kraft is still playing enough. His snap share is around 80%, so this isn't a case where he's disappearing from the offense. He has simply scored one touchdown all season and hasn't had the spike game I expected.

Detroit provides about as good a chance as possible for that to change. The Lions are allowing 31.9 fantasy points per game to tight ends. That's more than 10 points per game above the next-worst defense against the position.

That is an absurd gap six weeks into the season, and this game also has the potential to turn into one of the highest-scoring matchups on the slate. Kraft doesn't need to suddenly become the Packers' No. 2 target for me to like him here. He just needs his normal playing time in a matchup that has been historically favorable to tight ends so far.

I think Kraft scores this week, and I have him ranked as one of my top tight ends for Week 7.

AJ Barner is the deeper option for managers who don't have the luxury of starting someone such as Kraft.

There is almost nothing exciting about Barner's season-long fantasy production. He has scored five points or fewer in all but two games and has only one game with more than 20 receiving yards. If we were looking strictly at his previous box scores, there would be no reason to start him.

His role is better than those numbers suggest. Barner has played 89% of Seattle's offensive snaps this season, so he is consistently on the field and available to run routes. The missing piece has been targets.

Kansas City gives us a reason to believe those targets could arrive this week. The Chiefs are allowing the fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers but the third-most to tight ends. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is still going to get his opportunities, but Seattle doesn't have a second wide receiver who has established himself as a consistent target earner.

That creates a scenario where Barner can become the No. 2 option in the passing game for a week. There's plenty of risk given what he's done so far, but managers searching for a waiver-wire tight end usually aren't choosing among safe players.

If I'm down bad at the position because of injuries or bye weeks, Barner is one of the streamers I'm willing to use.

Sit Michael Mayer, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

Michael Mayer is finally relevant enough that calling him a sit actually matters.

Brock Bowers may technically play tight end, but functionally he is the Raiders' No. 1 receiver. Mayer is still occupying the traditional tight end role, and he has produced TE1-level fantasy numbers in two of his past three games.

The problem is what happened in the other game. Mayer has alternated useful performances with complete duds, including a game in that stretch where he barely cleared one fantasy point. That volatility is difficult to embrace when the matchup also works against him.

The Rams are allowing just 8.3 fantasy points per game to tight ends, the second-fewest in the league according to the matchup data I'm using this week. They have been excellent against the pass overall, which lowers my expectations for the entire Raiders passing game.

Mayer's role gives him a reasonable chance to see targets, but I'm not seeing much ceiling in this particular spot. A line around two catches for 20 yards is very much in play if the Raiders struggle to sustain drives.

If you have to use Mayer because the position is thin, that's understandable. If I have another legitimate option, though, this is a week where I'm looking elsewhere.