Key Starters and Tough Calls - Week 7 Lineup Spotlights for Fantasy Football Include Darrell Henderson, Marquise Brown, Geno Smith

October 22, 2023

Scott breaks down his fantasy football lineup starts/sits for Week 7 (2023). He spotlights key NFL players to start, and tougher lineup start/sit decisions.

Welcome back RotoBallers to my Week 7 Lineup Spotlights - Key Starters and Tough Calls for fantasy football. Every week, I zoom in on some of my favored players to go with when dealing with challenging lineup decisions. These choices are based on my Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller NFL Premium Pass. Enter promo code KING at checkout for a discount and get access to my ranks in all formats, plus a full roster of tools and analysis for the 2023 fantasy football season.

We feature players that you should lean to in tough calls, and guys who may exceed expectations this week are also highlighted, so you can feel even more confident about starting or adding them. Skill position analysis here is based on my PPR rankings.

When considering each player for your lineup, also consult our fantasy football rankings to see exactly where they are positioned when compared to your other possible lineup choices.

Running Backs – Fantasy Football Week 7

Darrell Henderson / Royce Freeman / Zach Evans, Los Angeles Rams

After several days of broad fantasy speculation and guesswork, we now have a better picture of what to expect in the Rams’ backfield on Sunday. According to a report from ESPN and Adam Schefter, Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson should share the majority of the workload against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The situation is still uncertain as to whether Freeman or Henderson is the better guy to start, but rookie Zach Evans will apparently be relegated to work behind the two veterans. So we are now attempting to determine who to prefer for fantasy lineups between two Rams running backs, rather than three.

I have both of these Los Angeles RBs ranked just outside of my top 35 at the position. If you have another RB option who is in line for a heavier workload -- such as D'Onta Foreman, or a RB that has already shown us more in a timeshare or committee already, such as Jaleel McLaughlin) -- then I would go with the non-Rams alternative.

Due to six teams on a bye and injuries, many fantasy players have to pick between one of the two Los Angeles options at RB. I have them ranked right next to each other, with Freeman just ahead of Henderson because he is likely in better game shape. During the week leading up to Sunday’s game, Henderson told The Athletic that he was working on getting into game condition again and reviving muscle memory.

Good catching up with Darrell Henderson, who seemed delighted by all the young energy in locker room. He told me he doesn’t know how his role will shake out Sunday, but this week was a lot of “game conditioning” (he has not been on a team) and reviving muscle memory. “Whenever

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) October 20, 2023

Freeman is reportedly expected to start, which does make sense since he has been with the team since the summer. He may be more capable of providing an adequate statistical floor, but it’s hard to be optimistic about his outlook when we consider he averaged less than three yards per carry over his last two seasons of limited work. He has averaged 3.9 yards per attempt in his career.

Henderson didn’t look like a feature back the last time we saw him either, as he averaged seven attempts in 10 games for the Rams in 2022 and never rushed for 60 yards in a game. But he is still 26 years old and he had 14 combined TDs from scrimmage in 2020 and 2021. He certainly has more potential upside, but it may be limited after not playing at all in the preseason and for the first five weeks.

If you can avoid the Rams’ RB situation for Week 7, do so. Those who roster both RBs can consider Freeman to possibly play a little more, but Henderson has definitely been the more productive fantasy RB in recent seasons. The fact that Freeman is starting gives him a tiny bit of an edge over Henderson in my rankings for this week only. Ultimately, I would not expect better than decent numbers from either RB.

In the weeks ahead, before Kyren Williams returns, I will likely prefer Henderson over Freeman as he gets more into game shape and projects to lead a committee. But durability has often been a concern for Henderson in past seasons, so any of the other Rams RBs could figure more into the mix at any time.

Brian Robinson Jr.

The RB position is so thinned out this week that Robinson is a back-end RB1 recommendation. He has averaged 109 scrimmage yards in two career games against the Giants, and Robinson has scored a TD in his last three road games. New York ranks 25^th in Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to RBs.

Latavius Murray

Last week, the 33-year-old RB who never goes away greatly annoyed those who roster James Cook. Murray matched Cook’s snap count percentage of 49, and he is the clearly preferred goal-line runner. New England has allowed five rushing TDs to RBs in five games, so Murray has to be considered as a desperation option.

Wide Receivers – Fantasy Football Week 7

Marquise Brown

If you go strictly by Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to WRs for the season, Marquise Brown would appear to be a good Week 7 starter. Seattle has allowed the most FFPG to the position overall this season.

But the Seahawks' defense has played much better in its last two games, and now all of the prime starters in the secondary are healthy, which was not the case until last week. Against the Bengals, the Seahawks allowed two first-half TD passes but then settled in to only surrender a field goal in the second half.

Riq Woolen, impressive rookie Devon Witherspoon, and Tre Brown form what might be the best trio of cornerbacks in the league. ‘Hollywood” Brown is not ranked in my top 25 WRs for Week 7.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

This can be the week when we finally get the first quality fantasy performance from the Seahawks’ first-round rookie. The Cardinals rank 30^th in yardage allowed to WRs, and DK Metcalf is listed as a game-time decision because of rib and hip issues.

VERY bullish quotes from Pete Carroll on Jaxon Smith-Njigba 🚀

“Any passing of judgement up until now I think was premature. He’s just getting going and we love him and he’s gonna be a real big factor for us. The best is yet to come.”pic.twitter.com/D4hNwe58tU

— Ben Cummins (@BenCumminsFF) October 19, 2023

Geno Smith targeted Smith-Njigba five times last week, aiming for him in some key situations. The rookie has mostly put a wrist issue behind him, and I expect the Seattle coaching staff and QB to get Smith-Njigba more involved in the regular passing flow this week. Consider streaming him if you have lineup holes created by bye weeks or injuries.

Terry McLaurin

I might run with a Washington stack in DFS this week. McLaurin has six-plus receptions in six of seven career games against the Giants. New York ranks 25^th in FPPG allowed to WRs over the past four weeks. Sam Howell will not hesitate to gun the ball, as he already has three games of 290-plus yards. McLaurin is a must-start as a fantasy WR2/3 in Week 7.

Quarterback And Tight End

Geno Smith

This is also an exploitable matchup for Smith, who has floated outside the top 20 fantasy QBs in total points and FPPG so far this season. Arizona ranks 28^th in FPPG allowed to QBs. Smith did pass for 320-plus yards for the second time this season in Week 6, but he did not throw a TD pass and could not punch the team into the end zone, starting from the 11-yard line on the final drive of the game. The Seattle passer has been inconsistent this season and needs to put last week behind him, so expect a good statistical outing.

I love the “the 49ers aren’t using George Kittle in the pass game anymore” narrative less than 2 weeks after he… checks notes… caught 3 touchdowns in one game

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 20, 2023

George Kittle

The San Francisco TE has been very unreliable this season, but he does enjoy performing in front of national television audiences. Kittle has two-plus TD receptions in three of his last four prime time games. The 49ers are dealing with some key injuries on offense, so Kittle might play a large role in the offense on Monday night against Minnesota’s 30^th-ranked pass defense.

Scott Engel's fantasy and betting analysis is also featured at The Game Day.

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