Fantasy football cheat sheet: Start, sit and more tips for Sunday

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[h=1]Fantasy football cheat sheet: Start, sit and more tips for Sunday[/h]
Joe Kaiser
ESPN PLUS


Are you looking to get the edge in your Week 7 fantasy football matchups? Well, you've come to the right place!


With a little luck, you scored big with the Denver defense on Thursday night against Arizona, or at least dodged playing against the team that had the Broncos' D. Either way, there's a lot of football left to be played this week, and we're here to help you build your best lineups.


The ESPN+ cheat sheet provides a rundown of the best tips from all of our ESPN+ fantasy football content. You'll find answers to the biggest questions of the week, along with injury updates, matchup advantages and wild-card plays from Eric Karabell, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Mike Clay, Al Zeidenfeld and KC Joyner. It's all the best advice in one handy article.


Here's what our experts are saying about Week 7 in the NFL:
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[h=2]Top tips[/h]
Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens


"The Saints have allowed opposing quarterbacks to average 26.5 DraftKings points per game this season," Zeidenfeld writes in his daily fantasy best buyscolumn. "The Ravens have a reputation of being a run-first team, but have previously led the league in pass attempts, and Flacco is second in that category this season behind only Andrew Luck. It's true that passing volume doesn't correlate directly to fantasy scoring, efficiency does. Still, New Orleans is allowing opponents to pass the ball so very efficiently that when you couple the matchup with the volume of throws Flacco has attempted, this could result in a huge day."


Cincinnati Bengals offense


"Outside of A.J. Green, the Bengals players have been unreliable fantasy point producers this season, and even Green has fallen a bit short of expectations by ranking 11th in wide receiver fantasy points," Joyner writes in his offensive line rankings. "That trend should change for the better in a highly favorable matchup against the Chiefs. Kansas City's defense has been arguably the worst rush defense in the league, as it ranks last in my good blocking rate (GBR) metric that measures how often a rush defense prevents an offense from giving its ball carriers quality run blocking. The ranking might not even fully detail how bad this defense has been in GBR; a mark of 50 percent will usually qualify for last, but the Chiefs weigh in with a 57.5 percent GBR allowed.


"The Bengals' 43.8 percent GBR on offense ranks 17th, but Cincinnati has posted a 48 percent or higher GBR in two of its past three games and had a 61.9 percent GBR in Week 4. The Bengals are capable of posting that caliber of run blocking in this matchup as well, so Joe Mixon should be a strong RB1 and Giovani Bernard (if he is healthy enough to return to the lineup this week) or Mark Walton could have solid flex value."


[h=2]Playing the matchups[/h]
<aside class="inline inline-photo full" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; height: 376.172px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 221, 223); border-left-color: initial; border-image: initial; clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 0px 0px 15px; width: 565px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px;">Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland Browns


"The Buccaneers' defense hasn't intercepted any of the past 100 passes it has faced, and it has two sacks in its past two games, surrendering 70.9 fantasy points combined to Mitchell Trubisky and Matt Ryan in the process," Cockcroft notes in his weekly best and worst matchups writeup. "Trubisky, incidentally, averaged 1.5 fantasy points per pass attempt in that Week 4 game, the highest rate per attempt by any player in the league this season. Although Mayfield isn't even as polished a passer as the second-year Trubisky, he does have 7.0 yards-per-attempt and a 2.6 percent touchdown rate -- those aren't really out of line with the 6.7/3.4 averages by rookie quarterbacks this century -- and he did so despite two tough matchups out of his three starts coupled with one of the weaker receiving corps around the league.



"In this matchup, Mayfield's receivers shouldn't have much trouble getting open, especially slot receiver Jarvis Landry, who faces a defense that has afforded slot receivers 20 PPR fantasy points more than any other team in the league (and that's despite the Buccaneers having already had their bye), and tight end David Njoku, who faces a defense ranked 30th against his position (see below). Things seem to be aligned nicely enough for Mayfield to have a chance at a top-10 week."


Devin Funchess, WR, Carolina Panthers


"Philadelphia is a staple in this article because the Eagles' perimeter corners continue to struggle," Clay writes in his best and worst receiver matchupscolumn. "With Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills handling most of the snaps at outside corner, Philadelphia is allowing 32.8 fantasy points per game to perimeter receivers, which is second most behind only the Saints (35.9). Incredibly, the two corners both rank top-three in terms of how often opposing receivers are targeted when lined up against them. Receivers against Mills have 36 catches for 566 yards, both league highs.


"Enter Funchess, who aligns outside on 82 percent of his routes and has been targeted on a generous 21 percent of his routes this season. Expect that number to be higher this week, as Darby and Mills have both been targeted on one-quarter of their routes. Former Eagle Torrey Smith also benefits from the matchup but isn't seeing enough volume to warrant a fantasy start."


Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns


"The Buccaneers are allowing 41.1 fantasy points per game to slot receivers, which is 10.1 more than any other defense," Clay writes. "M.J. Stewart has been the main culprit; receivers aligned against him have been targeted on 28 of 95 pass routes and have caught 24 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns. Stewart has been targeted on a massive 29 percent of his coverage snaps and is allowing 0.82 fantasy points per coverage snap, which is easily worst among corners who will play a sizable role this week. Landry is in prime position for a big rebound week."


C.J. Uzomah, TE, Cincinnati Bengals


"Fantasy managers have had to dig deep to fill the tight-end spot in many cases this season, and Uzomah stands out as one of Week 7's best streaming choices," Cockcroft writes. "After Tyler Eifert (ankle) was lost for the season, Uzomah played 91 percent of the Bengals' offensive snaps in both Weeks 5 and 6, drawing seven targets in the latter, two of them coming in the red zone. While the Chiefs' defense is bad all around, it has been especially susceptible to the big game from tight ends, especially beneath-the-radar types such as Uzomah. Jesse James scored 24.8 PPR fantasy points against the Chiefs in Week 2, Jeff Heuerman scored 9.7 against them in Week 4, and Niles Paul scored 13.5 against them in Week 5."


[h=2]Injury impact[/h]
Mohamed Sanu, WR, Atlanta Falcons -- Sanu (hip) is questionable for Monday's game against the Giants and was held out of Thursday's practice.


Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons -- Ridley (ankle) is questionable for Monday and was held out of Thursday's practice.


Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons -- Freeman has been placed on IR and cannot return to play in a game until Dec. 23.


Matt Bryant, K, Atlanta Falcons -- Bryant (hamstring) has been ruled out for Monday's game against the Giants.


Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills -- Allen (elbow) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Indianapolis. Veteran QB Derek Anderson has been tabbed the starter in his place.


Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears -- Robinson missed Thursday's practice and is questionable for Sunday's game against the Patriots.


DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans -- Hopkins (foot) missed Thursday's practice and is questionable for Sunday's game against Jacksonville.


Jack Doyle, TE, Indianapolis Colts -- Doyle (hip) is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Bills.


T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts -- Hilton (hamstring) was limited at Thursday's practice and is questionable for the game against Buffalo.


Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars -- Fournette didn't practice all week aside from some individual work on Friday and has been ruled out for Sunday's game against Houston.


Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams -- Kupp (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the 49ers.


Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins -- Tannehill remains out for Week 7 due to a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder.


Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings -- Cook (hamstring) didn't practice on Thursday and left Friday's practice after warmups. On Friday afternoon, was ruled out for Sunday's game against the Jets.


Isaiah Crowell, RB, New York Jets -- Crowell (foot) didn't practice on Thursday but was spotted with his helmet on during Friday's practice. He is questionable for Sunday's game against Minnesota.


Quincy Enunwa, WR, New York Jets -- Enunwa has been ruled out for Sunday and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks due to a high ankle sprain.


Jamison Crowder, WR, Washington Redskins -- Crowder (ankle) is expected to miss the next few games. He is officially listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the rival Cowboys.


Paul Richardson, WR, Washington Redskins -- Richardson (knee) didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday and is questionable for Sunday's game against the Cowboys.


[h=2]Lottery tickets[/h]
Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions


"Although he suffered an ankle injury in the team's Week 4 game, the bye week's rest apparently did him some good, as he's practicing early in the week and is fully expected to play," Cockcroft writes. "Johnson's explosiveness makes him an intriguing option going forward, as he has taken eight of his 50 carries for 10-plus yards, with that 16 percent rate fourth-best among running backs with at least 50 attempts. While the Dolphins tend to be a weaker defense against pass-catching running backs -- James White (31.2 PPR fantasy points in Week 4), Tarik Cohen (23.1 in Week 6) and Dion Lewis (22.0 in Week 1) have the three best single-week point totals against them this season -- Johnson is plenty capable in the receiving game, with 15 targets for 19.8 of his 54.4 points this season in that department. Overall, the Dolphins have been the third-worst defense against the position in the past five weeks (5.8 Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed)."


Willie Snead IV, WR, Baltimore Ravens


"Setting aside any 'revenge game' narrative, the Saints have allowed the most WR points per game in the league through the first six weeks," Zeidenfeld writes. "More specifically, their CB2 and slot corners have been extremely exploitable -- and that's what we're going to be targeting here. This is more than a 'dart throw,' as Snead has been getting a sizable share of targets over the past three weeks (24), with no less than seven looks in any single game -- and double-digit fantasy points in each contest. We're looking at predictable volume, a great floor for the price, and all the upside we could want against a defense that hasn't been able to stop anything through the air in 2018."


Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears


"As noted in my Week 6 fantasy blocking review article, Jordan Howard's 5.6 GBYPA mark is drastically lower than he has posted in previous seasons and has led to his posting subpar fantasy point totals, including a meager 7.4 fantasy points over the past two weeks," Joyner writes. "Both of those trends have a very good chance of turning around this week in a matchup against a New England rush defense that ranks 22nd in GBR (47.0) and 20th in GBYPA (7.8). It's the type of matchup that should make fantasy managers feel much more comfortable in placing Howard into a flex start role or even using him as a starting running back."


[h=2]Big question of the week[/h]
How will the Falcons' backfield shake out between Tevin Colemanand Ito Smith with Devonta Freeman now placed on Injured Reserve?


"I get why Smith, the rookie from Southern Mississippi, has become so popular this week, the most added player in ESPN standard leagues," Karabell writes in this week's Stock Watch. "Smith has scored a rushing touchdown in three consecutive games, and with starter Freeman sidelined with pending groin surgery, opportunity knocks. Of course, Coleman is probably just as talented as Freeman and should handle most of the touches, but it is hard to ignore pedestrian numbers for the past month, save for a few short receiving touchdowns. Smith could be more than fantasy insurance."

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