Well Rush Nation, Week Seven is upon us. There has not been any disruptions due to COVID in Week Six, and this week saw Bucs v Raiders move out of Sunday Night Football into the late window, swapping with Seahawks v Cardinals. This makes planning starts and sits a little easier. 

I have gotten this out a little later than usual. Firstly, there wasn’t going to be a feature for Thursday Night Football in here and secondly, have been working on some other things unfortunately.

However, I am back with my Starts and Sits for Week Seven. So here we go!

Starts

Matt Ryan- QB Atlanta Falcons

Julio Jones returning made Matt Ryan look more like the 2016 MVP than the fantasy wash out he had been the two games before. In the three games that Julio has played in this season, Matt Ryan has scored over 28 fantasy PPG in each, in the three games without Julio, Ryan had only 32 points combined. This game against the Lions should be a shootout. This means fire up everyone.

Ben Roethlisberger- QB Pittsburgh Steelers

Big Ben didn’t bring the heat in Week Six. And he didn’t need to. The game was over before half time, and Ben just ran he clock out and didn’t allow the Browns a chance to make a comeback. This week, against the highly efficient Titans offense, he won’t have that luxury. And the Titans ship touchdowns to opposing Quarterbacks. Gardner Minshew, Deshaun Watson and even Kirk Cousins managed to put 3 touchdowns on them. I expect Ben to do the same in this shootout.

Ronald Jones- RB Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I have to take the L on Jones. When McCoy and Fournette joined, I didn’t see a path to success for Jones. However, with Fournette being hurt and McCoy being more a blocker, RoJo has taken his opportunity with both hands and literally run with it. Three straight 100 yard rushing games makes him a fringe RB1 this week. Especially with the much improved offensive line of the Buccaneers creating the holes. This could easily be Jones’ 4th straight 100 yard rushing game.

D’Andre Swift- RB Detroit Lions

I’m still not bullish on Swift. Friend of the show Dwayne McFarland shows that he is still getting less than 45% of snaps in the backfield. However, he is becoming explosive and far more efficient. He is making the plays when Stafford and Co simply cannot. I don’t expect him to jump up and get 80% of the work. However, I see his volume going up this week. And, against a poor Atlanta D, I think he makes the most of it yet again.

Will Fuller V- WR Houston Texans

Without Bill O’Brien there, Fuller and Cooks have come to life. And whilst I expect the Packers to win this game, I don’t see how the Texans don’t try and fightback once again, like they have done in the last couple of weeks. To do that, it’s finding Fuller deep and letting him take it to the house. The Packers can be passed on, and this is the time to show the league how to do it.

Robby Anderson- WR Carolina Panthers

The shock of the season so far has to be Robby Anderson. Even the most ardent of Panthers and Anderson fans did not expect this level of production from him. I expect the Robby Anderson train to keep running this week with a big game against the Saints. The Saints have been susceptible to the big play downfield, and lead the league in pass interference plays in the NFL this season. As a result I think they will have to get less handsy and let the receiver try and make a play. This bodes well for Anderson.

Rob Gronkowski- TE Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Rob Gronkowski is now officially fantasy relevant. Now, just to calm it down a tad, he is not going to be 2015/2016 Gronkowski. Far from it. However, he is earning his reps and he is earning his targets. He still is managing to get separation. And that Brady to Gronkowski chemistry is still there. I’m not expecting him to go off as such. But I can see a stat line of 5/69/1 for Gronkowski this week.

Sits

Teddy Bridgewater- QB Carolina Panthers

Last week Teddy just didn’t throw the ball well. His timing was off. His footwork was off. And he looked like he lost a little bit of zip. This week, he will be required to throw the ball a lot. And I think the more he has to throw, the more it is likely to lead to failure. Not to mention, he won’t have a ton of possessions as the Saints are extremely potent at managing the clock. If Teddy has more than 6 possessions, I’ld be shocked.

Cam Newton- QB New England Patriots

What can be said about Cam. First 3 games he was electric. The last two have been awful. This is Cam Newton post surgery in a nutshell. This biggest issue he has is that he just can’t seem to get time to make plays. And when he does, he doesn’t have someone out there making them. When James White is the man you are relying on to make plays for you, you know there are bigger problems than just the Quarterback’s ability. However, it’s also fair to say he has not been good in his last two starts. This game will be interesting, considering both Quarterbacks are struggling right now.

Damian Harris- RB New England Patriots

This isn’t a pick on the Patriots column. Far from that. I appreciate what they are trying to do. However, Harris has not been efficient with the football. He has the challenge of facing one of the best defenses in football also. Kyle Shanahan will not allow the Patriots to run over them. I expect them to really bottle up Harris who won’t be more than a RB3 this week at best.

Kenyon Drake- RB Arizona Cardinals

This is a tough spot. Because if you have Drake, you have to play him, more than likely. You drafted him in the second or third round. And with the injuries around, there is hardly any fill in for Drake. However, do not expect him to have a good game this week. I have Drake on the fringe of the RB2 conversation and can easily see him being a RB3. The game script will go against him. And, with the exception of last week, when he came to the party, he has barely made an impact. Expect the Seahawks to keen Drake honest and don’t expect to see the numbers of last week from Drake.

Ju-Ju Smith Schuster- WR Pittsburgh Steelers

Ju-Ju is arguably one of the fantasy busts of the season. He has been out there every week. However, he seems to be a bit of a ghost. All of the attention and looks were first going to Dionte Johnson, and now, with Johnson being hurt, to Chase Claypool. This weekend sees both Johnson and Claypool in the lineup alongside Ju-Ju. As a result, I have Ju-Ju as a WR4 this week. I can’t see him getting the volume in the slot to get enough production to score much higher than that. If you own Ju-Ju, he is now a weekly starts and sits discussion.

Julian Edelman- WR New England Patriots

Edelman is clearly playing hurt. He cannot seem to get separation and looks slower and less mobile than usual. I think in most teams, Edelman would be sitting a week or two to get healthy. However, I don’t think the Patriots can afford to do that. Edelman is relying on a not performing Cam Newton and an inefficient run game to help him out. Which does not make for a great recipe for success. Edelman also has zero touchdowns on the year so far, which is an area is excels in usually. That probably won’t change this week either. He is a desperation flex play this week.

Tyler Higbee- TE Los Angeles Rams

Higbee hasn’t caught fire for a few weeks now and was even out-performed by his TE teammate Gerald Everett two weeks ago. The Rams have looked really good at times this year. However, those times have come against the abysmal NFC East. In any game not involving the NFC East, they have lost. Ok, against the Bills, they looked great in the second half. However, it is showing that that second half v the Bills was the anomaly and not the rule. Higbee is suffering mostly due to Goff’s inaccuracy and play. I would say Woods, Kupp and Higbee are all downgrades this week. However, Higbee would be the only starts and sits conversation of the three that would result in a sit.

That will do it for this week. Thank you so much for reading. If you have any questions, then please do get in touch. However, until next week with more starts and sits Rush Nation, and more starts and sits, Keep Rushing!

– Murf (@murf_NFL)