National Football League

Fantasy Football: Week 7 NFL Daily Fantasy Picks

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Playing daily fantasy football in week 7 of the 2016 NFL Season? Read these DFS suggestions before you set your FanDuel or Draft Kings lineup.

Oct 16, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) makes a throw in the second half of the game against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints won, 41-38. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Week 6 was my best week so far this season from a daily fantasy perspective as I went really heavy on the Drew Brees to Brandin Cooks connection at home against the Panthers. There is no doubt that Brees and Cooks are both different players on the home turf as they haven’t been able to duplicate that same success on the road. I also rolled with LeSean McCoy on a majority of my rosters and he rewarded his owners with a 3 TD day.

At this point in the season we need to be monitoring the news pretty frequently up to the start of the games as the injuries are starting to pile up for a number of teams. We saw it last night with the Green Bay Packers as they were essentially using one of their backup WR’s at running back due to having every other healthy back injured.

Sharp players can take advantage of these situations by finding the value plays that come out of these situations. This week we already have essentially a “free square” with LeSean McCoy being ruled out already after injuring his hamstring in practice. Mike Gillislee takes over as the lead back in a good matchup against Miami and near minimum price nearly everywhere in DFS. Starting your lineup with a player like Gillislee makes life a whole lot easier when trying to find the perfect combinations.

With that said, let’s jump into the players I would spend my fake salary cap on this week.

DISCLAIMER – Salary cap numbers are based on FanDuel’s pricing for this week.

Oct 16, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (5) passes the ball against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

Geno Smith ($5000) Jets vs. Ravens – The Jet’s finally pulled the plug on the interception prone Ryan Fitzpatrick and will roll with Geno Smith this week against the Ravens. Now don’t take this as my full endorsement of the ability of Smith as an NFL Quarterback, this is simply a price based play that allows you to pretty much play what you want everywhere else if you roll with Smith. Smith was a guy that has largely been a disappointment as he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype after coming out of West Virginia. Baltimore’s defense is basically league average, but when you are only paying $5,000 for a QB, you aren’t expecting him to get you 30 points. Geno’s ability to run provides a few extra points and he really only needs about 15 points to be a solid value option at QB.

Kirk Cousins ($7300) Redskins @ Lions – Cousins and the Redskins have quietly rattled off 4 straight wins with nobody talking about them. The Lions have made QB’s like Brian Hoyer and Case Keenum look like Pro Bowlers the past two weeks and I don’t think there is any doubt that Cousins is more talented than both of those players. Through 6 weeks, the Lions have given up the most average points to the quarterback position and I think the Skins keep rolling this week. It does sound like Jordan Reed may sit again this week, but I don’t think it really matters as Cousins should be able to find wide open receivers all day long in what is a homecoming game for him. You like that?

Blake Bortles ($7400) Jaguars vs. Raiders – Bortles is a guy that just hasn’t had anywhere close to the same success as he did last season. Coming off 6 300 yard games last season while throwing 35 TD’s, year three seemed like it could be the year that he moved into the “elite” category. He hasn’t necessarily been awful this season, but has only 8 TD’s in their five games. This week he gets to face a Raiders team that is allowing an NFL leading 312 passing yards per game so far this year. Since the Jaguars have not been able to establish anything on the ground, it only makes sense that they let Bortles air it out this weekend and he has a chance to finally have a big game.

Others I Like – Tom Brady ($9100), Matt Ryan ($8700), Alex Smith ($7200)

Oct 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray (29) runs during the first quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

RUNNING BACK

Mike Gillislee ($5300) Bills @ Dolphins – As I mentioned in the opening, Gillislee is the free square this week that allows you to pay up at a number of positions after locking him in. This is a guy that we really don’t know a whole lot about as he as only ran the ball 70 times in his three seasons in the NFL. However, in those 70 carries, he is averaging 5.8 yards per carry and ran for 61 yards last week on only 6 touches. $5300 is the price tag on Gillislee and he is virtually dirt cheap about everywhere in the industry. Miami is 2nd worst in football allowing 147 yards per game on the ground and I think Gillislee is going to get 20 touches this week. Fire him up with confidence.

Jacquizz Rodgers ($5600) Buccaneers @ 49ers – Rodgers had an amazing 35 total touches in week 4 while filling in for the injured Doug Martin. A RB that might touch the ball 30+ times at under $6000? Sign me up! As I looked through the numbers this week, the biggest one that stood out for me was the rushing yards allowed per game for the San Francisco 49ers defense. 174 yards per game, easily the worst in all of football. I don’t see any way that Rodgers doesn’t pay off his salary this week if he is given over 20 touches in this game. He has always been a good receiving back and should add some receptions as well.

DeMarco Murray ($8700) Titans vs. Colts – Murray is the guy at the high end this week that I want to pay up for as no Big Ben in Pittsburgh makes me hesitate with LeVeon Bell. The Colts are giving up the second most points to the RB position this season and I don’t see them slowing down Murray. I especially like Murray this week after he let most people down last week rushing for only 65 yards without catching a pass, easily his worst game of the season. With a guarenteed workload against a below average run defense, Murray is the guy I am using if paying up.

Others I Like – Spencer Ware ($7000), Devonta Freeman ($7500), David Johnson ($8500)

Oct 17, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) runs the ball against the Arizona Cardinals in the first quarter at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

WIDE RECEIVER

Brandon Marshall ($7400) Jets vs. Ravens – The last time that Geno Smith started for the Jets, he threw the ball 18 times to Brandon Marshall. With Eric Decker out for the year, Marshall is the only reliable weapon left in New York and Geno has locked in on him in the past. Poor QB play hasn’t been enough to slow Marshall down this season and this seems like the week that his targets will easily be in double digits. The Ravens have allowed the most touchdowns to opposing receivers and I like Marshall to find the end zone this weekend.

Mike Evans ($8000) Buccaneers @ 49ers – Evans is a guy that I have mentioned a couple times this season as underrated and better than his overall numbers showed last season. He only scored 3 touchdowns in all of last year, which doesn’t make sense for the type of skill and size Evans has. So far this season, he has found paydirt in 4 of their 5 games and this weekend lines up as a great opportunity for another score. With Vincent Jackson now out, the Bucs are trying to force feed the ball Evans way with double digit targets in 4 straight weeks. The 49ers defense is bad all around and I like the Bucs to put up huge numbers all around this week playing at a higher pace than normal.

Allen Robinson ($8400) Jaguars vs. Raiders – Many people don’t realize just how good Robinson was last season. Not only did he have 1400 receiving yards, he caught 14 touchdown passes on 80 receptions. Despite scoring 2 touchdowns in Week 3, Robinson has not had a game over 72 yards this season and has only 3 TD’s in their 5 games. This is the week that I think Robinson breaks 100 yards and could score multiple touchdowns. Like I mentioned above, the Raiders are allowing more yards than any other defense in football and Robinson is due for a break out game.

Others I Like – Julio Jones ($9200), Amari Cooper ($7900), TY Hilton ($7800)

Oct 16, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) spikes the ball after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

TIGHT END

Rob Gronkowski ($8500) Patriots @ Steelers – Gronk certainly appears like he is “back” after torching the Bengals for 162 yards and a score. Since we are saving so much money with some of these quarterbacks and running backs this week, it looks like the time to finally pay the high price tag for a TE. The Steelers defense is currently ranked 30th in the NFL against the pass and let’s be honest, when Gronk and Brady are both healthy it doesn’t matter what defense they are facing.

Travis Kelce ($6300) Chiefs vs. Saints – Kelce let many people down last week as the Chiefs quickly switched to “game manager” mode taking the air out of the ball against the Raiders. Kelce did catch all three targets, but only ended with 32 yards. The Saints defense has been giving up piles of yards through the air and are clearly one of the worst defense in football. Kelce caught 72 balls last season and is due for a big game. I like him for at least 75 yards and a score this week.

Oct 16, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones (24) and cornerback Josh Shaw (26) tackle New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount (29) during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

KICKER

For some reason FanDuel still includes the kicker spot while many other daily fantasy sites have dropped it. I will make it simple for you, play a kicker from an offense you like with a salary that works with the rest of your team.

DEFENSE

Cincinnati Bengals ($5100) – The Bengals were one of the better defenses in football last season and now get to face the 0-6 Browns on their home field. This pick really hings on the health of Terrelle Pryor, as he is currently questionable and very key to everything that the Browns are trying to do on offense. The Bengals haven’t been one of the better defenses so far this season but they are getting healthy right now and take on an offense that literally has no weapons.

Others I Like – Denver Broncos ($5000), Minnesota Vikings ($4900)