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Justin's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 7 of 2025. He looks at surprising performances from Kimani Vidal, Bam Knight, Kayshon Boutte, Ladd McConkey, Michael Mayer.
Welcome back to our fantasy football series, Fact or Fiction. We're heading into Week 7 of the NFL season now after a Week 6 that...well, it honestly didn't feature as many surprises as we might usually have. That was especially true at quarterback. Patrick Mahomes was the overall QB1 for the week, and while the QB2-4 group of Drake Maye, Jaxson Dart, and Daniel Jones would have been shocking if it were Week 1, by Week 6, we kind of knew all three guys had a chance to have big weeks.
That's not to say there weren't some surprises, though, especially at wide receiver, where we saw multiple strong showings from Patriots receivers, none of whom were named Stefon Diggs. That receiver situation there looks like a fantasy minefield, right?
Every week, I'll examine five NFL players whose numbers from the previous week were better than expected. I'll analyze their games and consider their showings in the larger scheme. Below, you'll find my analysis of the biggest fantasy football surprises of Week 6. Are those surprising results a fact, i.e., a sign of good things to come, or a fiction, i.e., an anomalous result?
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Kimani Vidal, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Week 6 stats: 18 carries for 184 yards, three catches for 14 yards and a touchdown -- overall RB8
With Najee Harris out for the season, the Chargers turned to rookie Omarion Hampton, who played two games after Harris went down before picking up an injury of his own and landing on the IR.
So, who was the next man up with both guys out? Second-year back Vidal, a sixth-round pick out of Troy who had 43 carries for 155 yards as a rookie. He almost surpassed that total on Sunday, rushing for 124 yards in the Chargers' 29-27 win over the Miami Dolphins.
This may be my favorite run from #Chargers RB Kimani Vidal’s performance yesterday.
It was not all about speed and outside running yesterday. Watch Vidal shed tackles, and instead of heading out of bounds, he bring the physicality to the defender for the extra yards. pic.twitter.com/mNTVilgtkc
— Dan W. (@DanWSports) October 13, 2025
Anyone who watched Vidal at Troy won't be surprised by this. In his final college season, Vidal rushed for 1661 yards and 14 touchdowns, carrying the ball an FBS-high 297 times and still averaging 5.6 yards per carry despite the high workload.
Vidal is a guy who knows how to keep his feet moving. He's not the greatest at changing direction and eluding defenders, but as long as he keeps getting touches, his ability to burst forward should give him a shot to end up having solid fantasy days. That will end once Hampton returns, but he probably has another month or so of productivity ahead of him.
Verdict: Short-term Fact, long-term Fiction
Bam Knight, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Week 6 stats: 11 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown, one catch for 20 yards -- overall RB14
Like with Vidal, Knight's value this week came because injuries ahead of him forced him into a big role. Knight's role, though, was a little more unexpected because it came due to Emari Demercado getting injured during Sunday's game against the Colts.
Knight found the end zone on Sunday, but he also finished with just 34 rushing yards and 3.1 yards per carry. He also had only two more carries than Michael Carter, plus Knight had three fewer targets than Carter.
Essentially, this is a fantasy performance that you're safe to ignore. If you really need an emergency flex play and Demercado misses Sunday's game against the Packers, then you might be able to get away with playing Knight, but he'd be a touchdown-dependent boom-or-bust option for fantasy managers.
Verdict: Fiction
Kayshon Boutte, WR, New England Patriots
Week 6 stats: five catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns -- overall WR4
Maye continued to show why he deserves to be in the MVP conversation on Sunday, tossing three touchdowns in a road win over the New Orleans Saints. He did that despite wide receiver Diggs having a quiet game, catching just three passes for 28 yards.
With Diggs struggling, Boutte and DeMario Douglas stepped up, with Boutte having the best day, catching all five of his targets for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The third-year receiver has now caught three touchdowns this year, doubling his career total.
All 5 of Kayshon Boutte's targets went for 1st downs:
- 3rd & 9 catch-and-run
- Contested deep TD to the backside of a fake screen
- Two grabs during 2 min, including a deep TD where he won leverage before attacking the ball
- Boxed out CB, stayed in bounds on back shoulder pic.twitter.com/AAZtTVcE4R— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 12, 2025
Boutte is an interesting player, but this was also just the second time this season that he had more than three targets, three receptions, and 45 receiving yards. He did catch a touchdown in Week 2 despite having just one catch, but even then, he's been a fantasy bust in half of the games this season.
While Boutte's Week 6 game was a big one, he still played just 67 percent of New England's snaps. On one hand, that was tops among all New England wide receivers, but on the other hand, it shows that the team has a fairly unsettled receiver rotation, as even the top guy in snaps played 21 fewer than the offense as a whole did.
I'm sure we'll get some more strong games from Boutte, but he's just as likely to finish with one reception as he is to have a strong fantasy showing. He has the talent to produce, but I'm not ready to trust that New England will get him the ball enough for that talent to consistently matter.
Verdict: Fiction, but there will likely be a few more boom games mixed in
Ladd McConkey, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Week 6 stats: seven receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown -- overall WR6
This was supposed to be a big year for McConkey, who looked set to be the No. 1 receiver for the Chargers. Instead, the team brought Keenan Allen back, and McConkey has mostly been the third option.
With Quentin Johnston sidelined this weekend with a hamstring injury, McConkey finally had the breakout game that people had been expecting, as he caught seven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. It marked the second week in a row that McConkey found the end zone.
On one hand, this was an encouraging showing. McConkey finally showed some of his explosiveness, and fantasy managers who drafted him in hopes he'd be a consistent fantasy WR2 got what they'd been waiting on.
ladd mcconkey.
📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/Frb9xmCeYx
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 12, 2025
On the other hand, we have to be concerned that this only happened with Johnston out, right? It's a small sample size, but per RotoViz, McConkey has averaged 7.39 more PPR points in his three career games without Johnston than in the 19 with him. There are other factors at play in that, but it has to at least be a little alarming, right?
McConkey might be a WR2 play with Johnston out. However, once the former TCU star returns to the field, things might change again. McConkey still has the upside to be at least a weekly flex option, but these boom weeks might not last once the Chargers have their full complement of receivers.
Verdict: Fiction if we're talking preseason expectations, but he should have more fantasy value than he has so far this season
Michael Mayer, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Week 6 stats: five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown -- overall TE5
We can keep this one relatively short.
Raiders tight end Mayer caught five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown against the Titans on Sunday. Brock Bowers also happened to be out for that contest.
Mayer entered the week with just six catches for 47 yards. It's pretty clear that his strong performance this week was pretty exclusively about the Raiders missing Bowers.
Bowers is a game-breaking talent at tight end, and when he's on the field, there's no room for any other tight end to make a consistent impact. There might be games where Mayer breaks off a couple of good moments, but he won't be usable as a weekly fantasy option.
But hey, the Raiders' playbook relies heavily on the tight end position, and this week we saw that remains true even when someone else is playing the position. Even when Mayer was out with a concussion against the Colts and Bowers was sidelined as well, Albert Okwuegbunam and Ian Thomas had a combined nine targets.
Mayer is a streaming play until the Raiders get Bowers back. More than likely, that will come in Week 9 after the bye, but that at least gives you one chance to use Mayer as a high-ceiling TE2 against the Chiefs in Week 7.
Verdict: Long-term, this is Fiction, but it's a Fact until Bowers returns
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 6 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Kimani Vidal, Bam Knight, Kayshon Boutte, Ladd McConkey, Michael Mayer. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 7. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 7 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Kimani Vidal, Bam Knight, Kayshon Boutte, Ladd McConkey, Michael Mayer. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 7.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 7 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 7 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 7 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 7 for Kimani Vidal, Bam Knight, Kayshon Boutte, Ladd McConkey, Michael Mayer:
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