Fantasy Football Report: Week 7 Brings Acute QB Shortage
As the seventh week of the fantasy football season approaches, a severe shortage of capable quarterbacks has become a pressing concern for many fantasy team owners. With two of the preseason favorites for NFL Most Valuable Player, Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, on bye this week, the pool of available quarterbacks has dwindled significantly. To make matters worse, Jackson is already injured, and Allen is hurting after his Bills dropped two in a row.
Most of the better replacement QBs, such as Caleb Williams, Jaxson Dart, and Sam Darnold, are likely already gone in your league. On the other hand, some really poor options like Justin Fields, Cam Ward, and Geno Smith are also no longer available. This leaves fantasy team owners with a limited number of viable quarterback options. Fortunately, there are a few promising alternatives to consider, including Michael Penix Jr. of the Falcons, Aaron Rodgers of the Steelers, C.J. Stroud of the Texans, and Bryce Young of the Panthers.
Michael Penix Jr. is coming off his best two games of the season and faces a reeling San Francisco defense that is now missing its best player, all-world linebacker Fred Warner. Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, has been averaging two TD passes per game and should at least match that Thursday night in Cincinnati. C.J. Stroud is coming off a season-best performance against the Ravens, and Bryce Young has feasted on bad Miami and Dallas defenses the past two weeks.
Sitting Stars and Matchup Games
The Chiefs’ defense is rounding into form and will mostly put clamps on Vegas RB Ashton Jeanty. Tennessee RB Tony Pollard will do little against New England, especially now that Tajae Spears is back to take some of his workload. The Vikings’ defense will disrupt Eagles’ inconsistent passing game, limiting receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith. Seattle will devote massive coverage to stopping Houston star wideout Nico Collins.
Rico Dowdle of the Panthers will have another big day against the Jets, while Kimani Vidal of the Chargers should hit paydirt against the Colts. George Pickens of the Cowboys will stay hot against Washington, and Tee Higgins of the Bengals will become a favorite of Joe Flacco against Pittsburgh.
