Fantasy Football 2018: Start or sit for Week 7

Start

Jared Goff at San Francisco– Last week, I was correct on the call to sit Goff in the winter wonderland of Denver. The Rams found success on the ground early and often with Todd Gurley, and were able to utilize him to control the flow of the game. Goff’s performance last week was simply not due to bad play, and will look to get back on track to his 300 plus yard performances, a feat he accomplished five weeks in a row before coming to a stop in Week 6.

Goff and the Rams travel to face a San Francisco defense that has allowed an average of 279 passing yards per game, with only one interception on record through six weeks of play. With Aaron Rodgers and the Packers lighting up the 49ers on Monday night, the hope is Sean McVay and the Rams will be able to replicate that same success. Start Goff and trust his offense to lead him back to fantasy prominence.

Andy Dalton at Kansas City– The Chiefs simply cannot stop any offenses through the air. Giving up 340 passing yards per game, playing Kansas City is a fantasy quarterback’s dream. The Bengals/Chiefs game is expected to be a high scoring affair, which bodes well for Andy Dalton and his production. Last week against Pittsburgh, Dalton was held to a modest output, despite tossing two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

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Dalton has managed to throw at least two touchdowns in all but one game thus far, with his lowest fantasy output coming in at 14 points. It’s clear that Dalton has established a high fantasy floor with quite the ceiling as well. Kansas City provides Dalton and the rest of the Bengals offense with one of the best potential offensive outputs in week seven, as it’s rare an offense with this much talent lines up across a defense that has played so poorly.

Sit

Drew Brees at Baltimore– Given the circumstances, I’m not too sure if this can qualify as a “bold” call, yet seeing Brees as a sit in any fantasy category is surprising. Brees has again put up great numbers thus far in 2018, ranking as a top ten fantasy quarterback coming into week seven as the Saints head to Baltimore in what is one of the most highly anticipated match-ups of the season.

Baltimore’s defense has been nothing short of dominant this season, and with cornerback Jimmy Smith still settling his feet in after arriving back from suspension in week five, this is a rare occasion where Brees probably shouldn’t start on your team. Brees’ play on the road includes tearing up a depleted Falcons secondary, and an extremely quiet day against the Giants. Outside of a dome, Brees simply isn’t the same player, and traveling on the road against the league’s top defense is enough reason to shelf the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards.

Deshaun Watson at Jacksonville– After a Cowboys thrashing of the Jaguars defense, one would think Watson would find himself on the opposite end of the spectrum in regards to start/sits. Watson has performed well for most of the early season, scoring no less than 23 fantasy points in weeks two through five. Yet Watson appears to be on a slight decline after a disappointing outing at home against the Bills.

This sit suggestion is more reliant on the Jaguars ever so confident defense getting their swagger back after having 40 points dropped on them by Dak Prescott and company. ESPN pointed out Watson has thrown interceptions in every game this season, while also fumbling in two. In addition, the Jaguars lead the league in quarterback pressures, which doesn’t translate well for an offensive line that allows the most pressures per drop back.