Fantasy Football Q&A Mailbag - Week 7

October 19, 2018

Your weekly fantasy football Q&A mailbag. Mike Dente answers your lineup and start/sit questions from Twitter to help you put together winning rosters for Week 7.

Week 6 of the 2018 NFL Season is in the books, and here is a quick fantasy recap to keep you up to date. Welcome back Jameis Winston! Winston led the way at the quarterback position with 30.9 points, followed by none other than Dak Prescott. If that isn't crazy enough, Brock Osweiler finished in the top seven with 26 fantasy points. What is happening!?

At running back it was more of the same with Saquon Barkley, Todd Gurley, and Melvin Gordon rounding out the top three. Peyton Barber had his best outing of the season, which isn't saying much, but he did manage to crack the top 10 with 20.6 points. Tyreek Hill exploded for three touchdowns and sits atop the wide receiver list for Week 6, and he had a few fresh faces join him in the top five, as Albert Wilson and Cole Beasley had their best games of the season.

With Week 7 quickly approaching, it's time to dig into the RotoBaller Mailbag. I will be answering several of the best questions from Twitter each and every week. Thanks to everyone who sent theirs in for this edition!

Week 7 Reader Q&A

Before we get to the questions, here is a quick look at all of the upcoming games, as well as the current Vegas spreads and point totals:

• Denver (-1.5) at Arizona - Total 42.0
  
• Tennessee at LA Chargers (-6.5) - Total: 45.0
  
• New England (-3.0) at Chicago - Total: 49.5
  
• Buffalo at Indianapolis (-7.5) - Total: 43.5
  
• Houston at Jacksonville (-5.0) - Total: 41.5
• Detroit (-3.0) at Miami - Total: 47.0
  
• Minnesota (-3.0) at NY Jets - Total: 46.5
  
• Carolina at Philadelphia (-5.0) - Total: 45.5
• Cleveland at Tampa Bay (-3.0)- Total: 50.0
  
• New Orleans at Baltimore (-2.5) - Total: 50.0
  
• Dallas at Washington (-1.5) - Total: 41.5
  
• LA Rams (-9.5) at San Francisco - Total: 52.0
• Cincinnati at Kansas City (-6.0) - Total: 58.0
  
• NY Giants at Atlanta (-5.5) - Total 54.5

Matt Breida against a tough Rams front or Corey Clement this week PPR league?

— Isaac Simpson (@Isaac_Rivals) October 17, 2018

Mike's Take:

Both players have semi-difficult matchups this week with Clement facing the ninth-ranked Carolina run defense and Breida going up against the 13th-ranked Rams defense. Breida's touches and overall play should continue to improve as he gets healthier. Furthermore, the 49ers offensive line is suddenly looking like one of the better ones in the NFL, particularly in terms of run-blocking. I would expect the 49ers to come out and run the ball often, as they try to control the clock and keep the Los Angeles offense off the field. This all leads to Breida over Clement for this week, although it's not by much.

LeSean McCoy or Taylor Gabriel

— Jackson Murphy (@jmurph2002) October 17, 2018

Mike's Take:

At this point, I want absolutely nothing to do with the Buffalo offense. McCoy is averaging just 9.2 fantasy points per game in PPR formats, compared to Gabriel's 14.6. Gabriel is also coming off back-to-back 100-yard performances and he's facing the 21st-ranked New England pass defense in a potential shootout, so I favor him pretty easily this week and moving forward. When in doubt it's never a bad idea to go with the better offense.

How's the Colts D look right now? Anderson isn't going to Brock or Fitzmagic this is he?

— Theo (@TheoJames10) October 17, 2018

Mike's Take:

The Indianapolis defense ranks in the bottom half of the league in most defensive categories, but I don't think it matters much in this case. Derek Anderson is not throwing for 400 yards or three-plus touchdowns and there is no "Fitz-magic" here. It's not that I don't think Anderson is capable, but the Buffalo offense is clearly lacking weapons all over the field, aside from an aging McCoy. Zay Jones is their top fantasy receiver, averaging a mere seven points per game and ranking 84th in the process. Based on the matchup this week, consider the Colts a top-five defense/special teams play.

would you trade Kenyan Drake and Keke Coutee for Tyler Boyd? .5 PPR
My RBs are Conner, CMC, Mixon, Miller, Drake
My WRs are OBJ, @JOSH_GORDONXII and Coutee

— Kevin (@ANYRangersFan) October 17, 2018

Mike's Take:

Yes. You are thin at the wide receiver position and Boyd can step in right away and perform like a WR2, which he's done all season with an impressive average of 17.8 fantasy points per game. Boyd's target share and overall numbers are nearly identical to A.J. Green's, so he's in good company through the first six weeks of the NFL season. On the flip side, Drake is caught up in a timeshare with the ageless Frank Gore and Coutee is a promising player competing with DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller for targets. Even after this trade it may be a good idea to add some WR depth through waivers as well.

ROS ranking for Gabriel ? After seeing him explode for the last two weeks with 100 plus yds and 2 yds.

— Andre Sorrell (@DRE_SO_RRELL) October 17, 2018

Mike's Take:

Great question. Gabriel seems to be the perfect fit in Matt Nagy's offense and is thriving with 14.6 points per game and a 21 percent target share. I view Gabriel as a low-end WR3/flex option in PPR formats moving forward but also expect him to struggle with consistency with Allen Robinson, Trey Burton, Anthony Miller, Tarik Cohen, and Jordan Howard all in the picture. The Chicago offense looks much better than it did in the early parts of the season, but I don't think they are at the next level of performing well each and every week.

Better stash Rashem Mostert or stay with Morris. I‘m kind of confused after the last 49ers game.

— Steffi (@birdgang_steffi) October 17, 2018

Mike's Take:

It's anyone's guess as to what Kyle Shanahan will do here, but it's going to be very difficult for him to ignore Mostert's Monday night performance, where he rushed for 87 yards on just 12 carries and looked very explosive in doing so. Alfred Morris brings the veteran presence but has looked slow and sluggish this season, which is evident by his average of 0.58 fantasy points per touch and 3.7 yards per carry. He also doesn't add much to the passing game or special teams, which are areas Mostert can make more plays in. At 1-5 it really doesn't make much sense to go with the veteran who will likely not be with the team next year, so I'm favoring Mostert, especially as the season wears on and the 49ers are out of the playoff picture.

need help - RBs Lindsay, Royce Freeman, Gore, DCook, Fournette. standard. should i start both Lindsay and Royce vs Arizona?

— javinohio (@javinohio) October 18, 2018

Mike's Take:

Dalvin Cook fully practiced on Wednesday, which is a great sign for his Sunday availability. The fact that he is not limited tells me that he is nearing a full recovery since injuring his hamstring. I'm very comfortable starting Cook and Philip Lindsay over Freeman and the rest of your options this week. Freeman's 42nd ranked 8.6 fantasy points per game and four receptions on the year are major reasons for concern.

Mike, 1/2-point PPR. Of these 3, which 2 would you start: A Robinson, T Gabriel or K Drake? Thanks

— Howard Burns (@howard_burns) October 18, 2018

Mike's Take: I don't feel comfortable starting two receivers on the Chicago offense, especially with Cohen looking like a primary receiving target. Plus, this could be the breakout game for Kenyan Drake that we have all been waiting for, as he has a golden matchup versus a Detroit defense that has allowed 31.3 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Robinson is the odd man out since Gabriel is coming off back-to-back 100-yard games and has been the better receiver for the Bears this season.

That's all I have for this week, ladies and gents! To have your questions featured next week on our mailbag, please send them to @1ststopfantasy and/or @RotoBallerNFL with #RotoBallerMailbag. Good luck in your Week 7 matchups!

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