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Kyle McCarthy's five fantasy football bold predictions for Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season. Expert predictions for Justin Herbert, Jaylin Lane, Kenneth Walker and more.
Welcome back to another round of my bold predictions for Week 7 of the NFL season. Our Week 6 bold predictions largely delivered.
Patrick Mahomes finished as QB1, Javonte Williams failed to reach 50 rushing yards, Drake London recorded 10 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown, and Brian Thomas Jr. fell short of our ambitious 150-yard prediction but still finished with seven catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. He could have added a 54-yard score if not for Travis Hunter lining up offsides.
We'll look to keep the good times going here in Week 7. So, let's dive in and look at my five bold predictions for Justin Herbert, Kenneth Walker, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaylin Lane, and Dallas Goedert.
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Justin Herbert Finishes as the Overall QB1
Herbert will need to put on his Superman cape again in Week 7 as the Chargers face off against the Colts’ explosive offense. Indianapolis has been moving the ball and scoring at will all season, which should force Los Angeles to stay aggressive. After leading the league in pass rate over expected early in the year, the Chargers have dialed back their passing volume over the past three weeks.
The Chargers were forced into a shootout last week in Miami, where Herbert dropped back 40 times and posted his best fantasy performance since Week 2. He’ll also have another explosive weapon returning in Quentin Johnston, who missed last week with a hamstring injury.
Justin Herbert’s passing chart from Week 6 against the Dolphins is up.
(Per @NextGenStats) https://t.co/OLAauewDUG pic.twitter.com/4JJlFPp0m7
— ChargersWorld (@ChargersWorld) October 16, 2025
There are still concerns with the state of the Chargers' offensive line, but Indianapolis has their own issues defensively. They're around the middle of the pack in pressure rate, but are also dealing with multiple injuries in the secondary. And Herbert has had success in his small sample of facing Colts' defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo.
In their first matchup back in 2021, he completed 26 of 35 passes for 317 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, totaling 26.28 fantasy points. When they met again last season on Sunday Night Football, he went 17 of 36 for 297 yards and two touchdowns while adding 65 rushing yards on five carries, finishing with 24.38 points. The rushing element could be a big piece to a monster all-around day for Herbert, but he's rushed only eight times over the last four games.
Kenneth Walker Rushes For 125+ Yards
It's been a frustrating season for Walker owners this season. Walker has been the better back by nearly every statistic, but Zach Charbonnet continues to be involved at a heavy rate. The split doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, but Walker should continue to be efficient on his touches on Monday night against Houston.
Houston’s defense has the third-worst success rate against zone runs this season (57.1%), which plays right into offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s hands and his zone-heavy rushing scheme. The Seahawks have the second-most zone runs in the league, and Walker has averaged 4.87 yards per carry on those plays.
Kenneth Walker makes a great cut against the grain, a great example of how the RB can make zone runs "right" against overflowing LBs and lack of gap discipline. pic.twitter.com/62eDBb5Lwv
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 15, 2025
There have been mixed signals from the Seattle coaching staff regarding Walker’s usage, but he’s maintained a consistent role with double-digit touches in every game, including 20 back in Week 4. His explosiveness and ability to rip off long runs always give him a path to a big fantasy day, even if the workload isn’t massive.
Houston’s pass defense is among the NFL’s elite with Derek Stingley and company patrolling the secondary. They rank second in EPA per dropback (-0.26) and allow just 175 passing yards per game. This could be a game where Seattle leans on the ground attack and targets runs outside the tackles, where Houston is more vulnerable, allowing 4.8 yards per carry. A 125-yard outing from Walker would mark the third-highest total of his career.
Amon-Ra St. Brown Matches Ja'Marr Chase With 16 Catches
St. Brown is just a beast. He's caught at least seven balls in every game this season and leads the league with six touchdowns. He and QB Jared Goff have established a deadly connection and have relied on each other as they have transitioned away from Ben Johnson's offense.
There’s a potential blowup spot for St. Brown in Week 7 on Monday night against Tampa Bay and head coach Todd Bowles. Bowles is known for his aggressive defensive style and consistently ranks near the top of the league in blitz rate. This season is no different, ranking sixth (36%), per MatchQuarters.
Goff loves to find his main man, St. Brown, when the heat is on and pressure is coming. St. Brown has the highest Targets Per Route Run (40%) and Yards Per Route Run (5.69) in the league when the Lions are blitzed this season, per Fantasy Points Data Suite. Teams have been reluctant to blitz the Lions this season, at the sixth-lowest rate (24.6%), but we know how Bowles likes to operate.
Here’s Todd Bowles on Amon-Ra St. Brown — he mentions that among the great things he does, he’s underrated as a blocker, too: pic.twitter.com/EzSy0RokX6
— River Wells (@riverhwells) October 16, 2025
St. Brown has faced Bowles’ defense three times in his career, posting lines of 12 receptions on 15 targets for 124 yards and a touchdown, 11 receptions on 18 targets for 119 yards, and eight receptions on 14 targets for 77 yards and a touchdown. That’s pretty ridiculous.
We’ll go out on a limb and predict St. Brown to catch even more than his previous highs against Tampa Bay and match Ja’Marr Chase’s 16-catch performance on Thursday.
Jaylin Lane Will Be The Washington WR to Break Out
It's an unfortunate situation for Washington as they head into a critical divisional matchup against Dallas without their top three wide receivers. Young players like Jaylin Lane and Luke McCaffrey will be forced to step up and produce, while veterans Chris Moore and Zach Ertz will also be relied on.
Lane, a 2025 fourth-round pick out of Virginia Tech, possesses the athletic traits and an intriguing production profile. The rookie was heavily utilized on designed and manufactured touch plays in college, which translates well to Kliff Kingsbury’s scheme. Lane is dynamic with the ball in his hands, evidenced by his punt return TD back in Week 3 against the Raiders.
I'd expect him to be featured on some of the plays normally run for Deebo Samuel Sr. He was already used on a funky end-around last week against the Bears, where QB Jayden Daniels spun around three to four times, and Lane picked up seven yards.
I want to see more Jaylin Lane. pic.twitter.com/QHN3VB4ILM
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) October 16, 2025
He’s demonstrated the ability to win vertically with his 4.34 speed, and his profile suggests he can be effective as an underneath receiver while generating yards after the catch. The highest route share that Lane has had in a game was 48.1% back in Week 2, but that's also higher than any route share that McCaffrey has had in any game this season (43.5%), for what it's worth. Both should be expected to rise in Week 7 against Dallas.
That’s also where Lane’s breakout opportunity lies, as the Dallas defense has been pathetic, allowing the most PPR points per game to opposing wide receivers. Washington may lean on the run to exploit Dallas up front, but Lane could be a featured piece of the passing attack with quick passes and screens, and on a few vertical shot plays to find explosives. As a bonus, keep an eye out for Robbie Chosen on a deep shot. It will happen at some point.
Dallas Goedert Puts Up a Repeat Strong Performance with 100+ Yards & TD
Goedert put up the fourth-most PPR points (26) by a tight end this season in Week 6 against the Giants, with nine catches (11 targets) for 110 yards and a TD. Overall, he's been one of the best values at the position through six games, ranking as TE2 in PPR points per game (15.7).
With the Eagles' offense totally out of sync and Jalen Hurts playing close to a bottom-10 QB level at the moment, he's resorted to a lot of dump-off passes to Goedert. Especially when faced with two high safety looks, Goedert has a 24% TPRR. And that rises even more against Cover 2.
Among WRs and TEs with at least 25 routes, Goedert has the seventh highest YPRR (2.73) and tied for the eighth highest TPRR (28%) against Cover, both a clear lead on the team. DeVonta Smith is closest with a 16% TPRR and a 1.43 YPRR. This is notable because the Vikings run Cover 2 at the highest rate in the league (35.2%, next closest is Tennessee at 31.3%). And they are second in terms of the rate of shell coverage used (Cover 2, Cover 4, Cover 6).
Dallas Goedert leads the Eagles with 4⃣ rec TDs in 2025, surpassing his highest single-season total since 2021 👏
Watch live out-of-market games on #NFLPlus
Blackout restrictions may applypic.twitter.com/hqLDDuoH46— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) October 5, 2025
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores runs a scheme that is very challenging for opposing quarterbacks. Jalen Hurts has struggled more against zone coverage than man coverage historically, which could be problematic in this matchup. Expect Goedert to be targeted early and often, and for him to post back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time since December 2021.
