Week 7 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Flex picks ft. Quinshon Judkins, Kenneth Walker III, Deebo Samuel and more

If you’re like me, your fantasy football roster has experienced a number of injuries to start the season. Good thing it’s Week 7. Oh man, it’s really only Week 7? Yup. It’s been a grind so far to work around hurt players, BYE weeks, and underperforming roster cloggers that stress us to no end. Welcome to fantasy football. This is what we signed up for. This is what we love. This is also when the best players show that this game isn’t all luck.

Knowing when to make a move and who to play is a skill. You’re reading articles like this. You watch all the games. It’s a part-time job being a winning fantasy player these days. But we can’t simply take for granted our starting lineups and roll the same few players out there. If you’re playing Chase Brown of the Bengals every week, you know what I mean. At this point, you have to evaluate every roster position based on who is going to help you now, not where you drafted them two months ago.

Looking at matchups, I’ve found six plays that you need to be aware of before you set your lineup this weekend. Here are my Week 7 start/sit picks.

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Start:

Syndication: Akron Beacon Journal - Source: Imagn

Quinshon Judkins (RB) CLE - There isn’t a better matchup of late for running backs than the Miami Dolphins. On the season, Miami ranks 5th in fantasy points allowed to running backs. Over the past two weeks, the Dolphins have been shredded by Rico Dowdle for 206 yards (32.4 PPR points) and Kimani Vidal for 124 yards (22.8 PPR points). Next up is Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins. A promising rookie season took a slight detour in Week 6 as Judkins only rushed for 36 yards in a 23-9 Browns loss to the Steelers. That’s OK. It happens. The Browns offense will lean heavily on Judkins as fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel is under center. I fully expect Judkins to see 20 total touches, and I’d bet on a touchdown or two. This is money in the bank.

Jaylen Warren (RB) PIT - If you thought Miami was awful against runners, wait until you dig into the Bengals’ numbers. Cincinnati allows the most running back points in the league. Last week, Josh Jacobs gashed Cincy for 93 rushing yards, two touchdowns, and five receptions en route to 32 fantasy points. Warren is back from injury and didn’t set the world on fire in his return a week ago. I fully expect the Steelers veteran to not only lead the backfield in carries, but the Bengals can be had through the air. Warren is a very capable pass catcher who has 14 receptions in four games. It wouldn’t shock me if Warren has 50 yards receiving this week in a laugher for the Steelers on the road.

Deebo Samuel (WR) WAS - An injured heel slowed Samuel on Monday night. He was held to just four receptions for 15 yards. A healthier Samuel will face a Cowboys secondary that couldn’t cover an anti hill with a 20-foot tarp. Dallas allows the most fantasy points to wide receivers through six weeks. Some might see the potential return of Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin as a detriment to Samuel. I see it as even less attention being paid to the elusive Samuel. In Weeks 1-2, when both McLaurin and Samuel were healthy, Samuel still saw seven targets per game. I fully expect more of the same this weekend. Samuel is also someone who creates without having to work on the outside against the top corners. Samuel has worked from the slot 64.3% of the time, the fourth-highest number of all wideouts. With McLaurin working back into the mix, defenses can’t focus on Samuel, and that will open up an opportunity for a big day.

Sit:

NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars at San Francisco 49ers - Source: Imagn

George Kittle (TE) SF - Welcome back, Mr. Kittle. We’ve missed you. As we plug the All-Pro tight end back into our lineup, we should prepare for a major letdown. On Sunday night, the Atlanta Falcons come to Levi’s Stadium sporting the fewest fantasy points allowed to tight ends. Only one tight end has scored on the Falcons, Dawson Knox, who did it a week ago - his only catch. In fact, no tight end has gone over 25 yards against this super athletic Falcons defense. I’d also expect Jake Tonges to get work as the Niners ease Kittle back into game action. That lack of a full-time workload won’t help our fantasy matchups either. I might let Kittle rest one more week on my bench and find one of the upside options like Oronde Gadesden or Cade Otton in Week 7.

Jaxon Dart (QB) NYG - Look, I’m a fan of Dart’s. He’s exciting. This is the kind of player you want on your fantasy football team. Just not this week. The Denver Broncos defense is a wrecking crew that will take away whomever Dart thinks he’s throwing to this week. The Broncos rank as the second-toughest matchup for fantasy quarterbacks. You might think Dart will get there thanks to his legs, not against this defense. Denver has faced three very good rushing quarterbacks so far in Daniel Jones, Jalen Hurts, and Justin Fields. They combined for 36 rushing yards. The Broncos are led by Nick Bonitto, who is the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year. I’m finding another quarterback this week instead of Dart.

Ken Walker (RB) SEA - It’s time to get off the Ken Walker train. Over the Seahawks' last two games, Waker has played just 38% of the snaps while Zach Charbonnet has played nearly 60%. It’s the same story in rushing attempts and routes. Walker is being treated like a between-the-tackles plodder, while Charbonnet is getting all of the hurry-up work and anything on long down and distance. On the season, Charbonnet has also worked as the goal-line back, which is frustrating to Walker owners who saw that as a strength of his game. Their opponent this weekend is Houston, which has yet to allow any running back over 75 yards rushing. They stifled Derrick Henry in Week 5 to the tune of 33 total yards. I’m out on Walker today and going forward.