Fantasy Football Warning Signals for Week 7: Jared Goff, J.K. Dobbins, D.J. Moore

October 21, 2022

Kev Mahserejian's fantasy football start em, sit em picks for Week 7. The players with warning signals who have struggled and are worth benching, sitting, and avoiding.

With injuries and middling performances ravaging fantasy teams to start the season, it's okay to consider benching players who were relatively highly drafted (top-100) for this week and moving forward.

This may be hard to stomach as you bench your QB1 or RB1 for a free-agent acquisition, but sometimes such measures must be taken to ensure victory in the heart of the fantasy football season.

Here is a look at some fantasy football players who have shown warning signals recently, and you should think twice about putting them in your lineup in Week 7. Will they bounce back, or continue to underperform? For any and all issues or concerns, contact @RotoSurgeon on Twitter.

Quarterback Concerns - Sit 'Em for Week 7?

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions @ Dallas Cowboys

Jared Goff and the Lions are coming off of a needed bye week but head into Dallas to face the 3rd-best pass defense by DVOA in Week 7. Goff's had a solid fantasy year as the QB6 in PPG ahead of Justin Herbert and Kyler Murray but that is unlikely to hold up.

Goff is a fine fantasy QB option but one that can hit the bench in any sort of troubling matchup. The Cowboys have playmakers at all three phases of defense while Goff's weapons have taken a significant hit this season with injuries to Amon-Ra St. Brown,

DeAndre Swift, and D.J. Chark. St. Brown is healthy now and Swift is on track to play but Chark remains out. Luckily, Goff's OL is intact but that can only help so much. Bench Goff and sleep easier at night.

What To Do

Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders vs Houston Texans

Derek Carr is coming off of his bye much like Jared Goff but he has the benefit of facing one of the league's worst defenses. The Houston Texans are better against the pass than rush through their five games played but it does not matter given how much the Raiders play through Josh Jacobs.

Carr and the Raiders will be driving down the field often, allowing for plenty of scoring opportunities for Carr, Adams, Renfrow, and potentially Darren Waller through the air.

Running Back Concerns - Sit 'Em for Week 7?

JK Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens vs Cleveland Browns

Not only is J.K. Dobbins struggling as a rusher to start the season, his surgically repaired knee "tightened up" in Week 6 and he missed practice on Wednesday. While benching Dobbins is much easier if he's inactive, in the case he does play, he should remain on that fantasy bench.

Dobbins is averaging 3.5 yards-per-carry and 4 yards-per-touch through 4 games and has only seen 6 total targets. He is a TD-dependent play on an offense that looked much more explosive when Kenyan Drake touched the ball. Dobbins snaps fell to a season-low 27% after sustaining 50% through the 2 games prior. He is not one to trust until he proves himself once more.

What To Do

Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys vs Detroit Lions

Tony Pollard is on pace to put up a repeat performance of his breakout 2021. He already has as many TDs through 6 games as he did through 15 last season. The only issue with Pollard is touch volatility as the Cowboys are still splitting them with Ezekiel Elliott, however, Pollard gets the benefit of a matchup against the league's worst defense to mitigate those concerns.

The Detroit Lions are dead-last in overall defense and 2nd-worst against the rush and face a Cowboys' offense that returns QB1 Dak Prescott. Pollard and Elliott are both in a position to put up significant fantasy points, making it the easiest decision of the season for any manager.

Wide Receiver Concerns - Sit 'Em for Week 7?

D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This bench is a two-fold decision. Firstly, D.J. Moore is just not getting it done on the field. Moore is averaging 8.4 PPR points per game and is outside the top-50 WR despite getting drafted among the top 20.

He is still extremely talented with multiple years of results at a young age to back him, but the circumstances of the offense this season between QB and coaching are miserable. Moore cannot even be schemed the ball as he's seen more than 8 targets just once this season. He is seeing the fewest targets per game since his rookie season!

As a second point, this matchup against the Buccaneers is brutal. Tampa Bay sits 4th in defense against the pass and 8th against the rush. They are playing at an extremely high level to compensate for the sluggish offense and it will continue through Week 7 as Carolina trots out 3rd-string QB P.J. Walker. Moore is almost impossible to start. Any manager brave enough to would be praying for garbage time with a soft defense allowing him chunk yardage.

What To Do

Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers @ Washington Commanders

Allen Lazard is surprisingly smashing this season. He missed Week 1 due to injury but has shown up as the Packers' quasi-WR1. Lazard has at least a TD or 100 receiving yards in each game played thus far and sits at WR21 in fantasy PPG.

Lazard is worth starting this week against a Washington passing defense that is below average and still without lead edge rusher Chase Young. Unless the Packers trade for a WR and dip Lazard's 20% target share down to his career 15% range, he should be in lineups every week regardless of matchup.

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