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John's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 7 of 2025. Are the breakout performances from Kimani Vidal, Cam Skattebo, DeMario Douglas legit or flukes?
Three NFL players had by far their best fantasy football performances of the season in Week 6 -- Los Angeles Chargers running back Kimani Vidal, New York Giants RB Cam Skattebo, and New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas.
All three of these players were generally selected in the very late rounds or went undrafted in fantasy football leagues this year, but each had breakout games in Week 6 that are making fantasy managers consider starting them in Week 7.
It's not as easy as it might seem on the surface, of course -- we've already seen many players have "breakout" performances, only to regress to being irrelevant. So, let's dive into analysis for each of these guys and recommendations on how to handle them in Week 7!
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Was Kimani Vidal's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
After the injury to Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (ankle), Vidal was the highest-ranked running back on the depth chart. And he got most of the RB work. He rushed 18 times for 124 yards, averaging nearly 6.9 yards per carry, and caught three of his four targets for 14 yards and a touchdown.
That's excellent usage and efficiency. 22 total RB opportunities turned into 138 yards, a score, and 22.8 PPR fantasy points. It might seem like Vidal is a must-start every game until Hampton returns from injury, but it's important to consider the context of the game.
Kimani Vidal in Week 7:
+3.17 Yards After Contact per Attempt (RB3/31, min. 5 rushes)
+0.11 MTF/Att (RB15)
+61.1% Stuff Rate (RB28)
+3.72 YBCon/Att (RB3)22.8 PPR points feels like the product of a bad Miami defense. Tough matchup in Week 7. Not super thrilled starting him
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 14, 2025
The Chargers played against the Miami Dolphins in Week 6. They've had an unbelievably, laughably bad run defense, allowing an absurd amount of yards before contact. That's allowed opposing running backs to build up plenty of speed and avoid getting hit by huge defensive linemen and defensive ends.
Lead RBs vs Dolphins this year:
Week 1: 18 car, 71 yds, 0 TD, 1.67 YBCon/Att
Week 2: 11/54/0, 1.27 YBCon/Att
Week 3: 19/108/1, 1.11 YBCon/Att
Week 4: 14/81/0, 3.36 YBCon/Att
Week 5: 23/206/1, 2.35 YBCon/Att
Week 6: 18/124/0, 3.72 YBCon/AttThink Week 4 is when they gave up. Lol
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 14, 2025
Additionally, they've been very poor at tackling. But what's been even worse is that starting in Week 4, they're allowed an absurd amount of yards before contact per attempt to opposing team's lead running backs. The exact number is 3.05. That likely helped Vidal have a big day.
On average, through those games, opposing RBs are gaining over three yards past the line of scrimmage before they're even contacted by a defender. I don't have the exact numbers, but that's likely one of the worst, if not the single worst, rates in the NFL over that stretch.
Vidal faces a much tougher matchup in Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts. The Chargers defense has been very bad, and the Colts have had one of the NFL's best offenses. I don't really love starting Vidal, but it's understandable depending on your roster.
Week 7 Outlook: Start as risky RB2/Flex option
Was Cam Skattebo's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
In 2024, it didn't take long for then-rookie running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. to snag the RB1 role away from Devin Singletary. He held it for the rest of the season, though his play started to fall off drastically in the second half of the year.
Tracy suffered a shoulder injury in Week 3, which knocked him out for the next two games. He returned in Week 6, but he hardly got any work -- he carried the ball just four times for six yards. Skattebo, the rookie, took 19 carries for 98 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes for 12 yards.
Skattebo answers for the Giants!
PHIvsNYG on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/yuVQXAvrPB— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2025
Skattebo's biggest weakness is his long speed, but he more than makes up for it with his powerful running and tackle-breaking ability. He's likely to remain the team's primary goal-line back as well as handle most of the early down work. It's possible Tracy could mix in a bit on passing downs, of course.
But it doesn't seem like Tracy will be able to carve out much of a role this season. Skattebo clearly outplayed him, and though Tracy had most of the RB opportunities in Week 3 before going down with injury, Week 6 was a statement game from Skattebo.
He appears to have everything the team wants in a running back other than long speed. That's not something that matters too much for an elusive, powerful back. And in fantasy football, volume is almost everything. The Giants offensive line is playing well with elite left tackle Andrew Thomas back in the lineup, too.
Week 7 Outlook: Start in All Leagues
Was DeMario Douglas' Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Douglas finally caught another touchdown this season! Through 37 career games, Douglas hasn't been much of a threat to make it to the end zone. He has just five touchdowns total in that span, averaging less than one score every five games.
However, this year's Patriots offense looks a lot different. Quarterback Drake Maye is simply playing at an elite level in his second season. Through six games, he's the QB5 in fantasy football and has thrown for 1,522 passing yards and 10 touchdowns to just two interceptions.
Not only is Drake Maye the best deep ball passer in the NFL, and not only is he also the best late down QB in the NFL, but he is ALSO the best QB against Man Coverage in the NFL. It's unreal how special the Patriots signal caller is pic.twitter.com/8PUzmm0IOQ
— Brady Penn (@bradypenn21) October 14, 2025
Maye threw three touchdowns in the Week 6 win over the New Orleans Saints, with the other two going to WR Kayshon Boutte. Speaking of Boutte, he caught five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Douglas had three grabs for 71 yards and his score.
And in just the week prior, Douglas and Boutte were basically invisible against the Buffalo Bills. Douglas had two receptions for 17 yards, totaling 3.7 PPR fantasy points, and Boutte had three catches for 43 yards. He had just 7.3 fantasy points as a result.
The fact is that although Maye is playing great football, he tends to spread the ball around very generously and evenly to his pass-catchers. We've also seen tight end Hunter Henry have massive games and subsequently be much less involved in the offense. The only thing that seems to be reasonable to expect is consistency.
"Stefon Diggs! JUST MASTERFUL!" pic.twitter.com/t8cvLfZycn
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 12, 2025
This team's WR1 is still Stefon Diggs. It doesn't even seem like Douglas is the second-best option, as he's easily been outproduced by both Boutte and Henry. He's at best the fourth option on a heavily spread-out passing offense. Some schematic matchups might benefit him, but they seem like they'll be rare.
Douglas didn't have a single game with double-digit PPR fantasy points this season until Week 6. To me, he's not worth even picking up off waivers. It will probably be frustrating having Patriots pass-catchers this season, and I'm glad I have very few shares of them in my redraft leagues.
Week 7 Outlook: Don't Start
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Popular Week 7 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
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