7 QBs to start or sit

Quarterback remains the deepest position in fantasy football in Week 7. This is true even if a handful of teams have a bye each week.

Fantasy football managers are lucky that the position won’t be affected too badly by losses in Week 7. Tua Tagovailoa and Derek Carr remain out of action, while Dak Prescott and Caleb Williams will be on byes this week.

Nevertheless, there will be many players at the position who are capable of starting. There are so many good options that some players who would normally consider automatic starts could be benched in favor of streamers in more favorable matchups.

It may not be sexy to play Kirk Cousins instead of Joe Burrow, but that could be a good strategy in Week 7.

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Here’s a breakdown of the quarterbacks to trust and fade in Week 7 of the fantasy football season.

Fantasy Football starts them: QBs of Week 7

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Baltimore Ravens)

Mayfield has had an excellent start to the 2024 NFL season. He leads the NFL with 15 passing touchdowns and has completed 70.9 percent of his passes while leading the Buccaneers to a 4-2 record.

The Ravens may not sound like the best matchup, but they have allowed at least 253 passing yards and two touchdowns to quarterbacks in three of their last four games. That includes a 371-yard, five-touchdown performance against Joe Burrow. Mayfield can also take advantage of Baltimore’s leaky secondary with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and should have the volume to be a top-10 fantasy quarterback again.

Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (vs. Seattle Seahawks)

Cousins won’t have 509 yards and four touchdowns every week like he did in Week 5, but he can be trusted as the QB1 in favorable matchups. The Seahawks qualify as one.

Seattle allowed an average of 132.3 yards and one touchdown in its first three games; Since then, those numbers have increased to 257.7 passing yards per game and eight total passing touchdowns in three games, giving him a high ceiling for a high-scoring game.

Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (at Atlanta Falcons)

Smith continues to confuse fantasy owners by posting exactly one passing touchdown every game. However, he could break out of this streak in a solid Week 7 matchup against a Falcons team that has given up multiple touchdowns to quarterbacks in three of its last four games.

Add in the fact that Smith leads the NFL in pass attempts (251), completions (173) and passing yards (1,778), and he’s a high-floor bye-week replacement who could be an ideal replacement for Prescott or Williams .

Drake Maye, New England Patriots (vs. Jacksonville Jaguars)

Maye could be a worthwhile play if you’re brave or simply looking for a DFS sleeper or SuperFlex option. In his first start for the Patriots, he recorded three touchdowns and struggled at times against the Houston Texans’ defense that applied a lot of pressure, but showed his high-end potential at other times.

Maye will experience a much more forgiving matchup in Week 7 against a Jaguars team that is allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. They are the only team to have allowed 14 passing touchdowns through the first six weeks of the season, so Maye could have another multi-touchdown effort in London.

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Fantasy Football Sit ‘Em: QBs of Week 7

Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (at Cleveland Browns)

Many are questioning Burrow’s must-start status after he scored just one touchdown against the New York Giants, and rightly so. The Giants put a lot of pressure on the star quarterback, preventing him from making the downfield plays against Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins that most are accustomed to.

Cleveland could present a similar problem. They don’t have the same type of interior pass rushing threats as the Giants, but Myles Garrett is one of the best edge rushers in the NFL and has regularly harassed Burrow when the two have faced off throughout their careers. That’s why the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has completed just 61.2 percent of his passes for 835 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions in his last four games against the Browns.

Add to that the fact that Garrett will largely be competing against rookie tackle Amarius Mims, who struggled against Azeez Ojulari and the Giants, and this seems like a good place to leave Burrow out.

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (at Minnesota Vikings)

Goff has been outstanding in his last two starts for the Lions, completing 83.7 percent of his passes for 607 yards and five touchdowns. Detroit’s explosive offense will consider Goff for a starting role every week, but he likely won’t be a top-15 prospect in Week 7.

The Vikings have allowed 263 passing yards per game – third-most in the NFL – but have only allowed quarterbacks a total of eight touchdowns in five games this season. That makes this seem like a tough matchup for Goff, especially since the Lions tend to be run-heavy in goal-to-go situations with the tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

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Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. New York Jets)

Fields is always in the running for the QB1 position because of his rushing abilities. However, his floor may be lower than usual in his Week 7 game against a stout Jets defense that just limited Josh Allen to 18 rushing yards in Jeff Ulbrich’s head coaching debut.

The Jets have allowed quarterbacks just 15.3 rushing yards per game this season, so it’s probably best not to trust Fields in Week 7. He has more favorable streaming matchups against the Giants and Washington Commanders in Weeks 8 and 9, but could give up his starting job to Russell Wilson. All in all, this is a quarterback situation to avoid.

Fantasy Football: Start’em, Sit’ems, Week 7

Looking for more fantasy football advice? USA TODAY Sports offers you:

→ A good running back makes the difference. A bad running back can cost you a lot of points. Here’s who to start with and who to attend in Week 7.

→ The wide receiver position has been decimated this season. Protect yourself in Week 7 with start ’em, sit ’em advice for wideouts.

→ Tight ends can be the perfect x-factor for any fantasy team. Here’s who you should start and sit with in week 7.

→ Good defense can shut down your fantasy opponent’s offense. Here are some D/ST options for starting and participating in Week 7.

→ Kickers are people too: Here are some of the most clutch kickers your fantasy team should have in Week 7.