Fantasy Football Week 7: Quarterback rankings for 2-QB leagues

Winning is a poor indicator of fantasy football success, especially with our quarterbacks. Fantasy Football week 7 offers some juicy matchups for 2-QB leagues, and this is your go-to rankings.

In Fantasy Football Week 6, Matt Ryan completed 30 of 36 passes, throwing for 356 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. In six games this season, Ryan has completed at least 27 passes every time; he’s surpassed 300 yards in every game; he has five multi-touchdown games. Oh, I almost forgot. The Falcons are 1-5 and are one of the worst teams in the NFL.

While Ryan lit it up again, a number of other quarterbacks salvaged bad weeks with sneaky rushing. Tom Brady rushed for two scores. Baker Mayfield added 9.5 fantasy points on the ground. Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton and Jimmy Garoppolo all got into the action as well. This isn’t predictive of anything, just interesting.

What does seem predictive is that the guys who consistently run are becoming the top options at the position. Right now, the top three fantasy quarterbacks all run: Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson.

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Oddly enough, rushing points have even accounted for more than 15 percent of Brady’s total fantasy output. Go figure. The guys who don’t contribute anything on the ground (Philip Rivers, Jameis Winston, Jared Goff, etc.) are lagging behind because of it. So who’s the best play in Fantasy Football Week 7? Play the matchups wisely.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate Fantasy Football Week 7 in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Fantasy Football Week 7 – The Top 12

Russell Wilson (Dan’s Ranking: 1, Todd’s Ranking: 2), Deshaun Watson (Dan: 3, Todd: 1), Matt Ryan (Dan: 2, Todd: 4), Patrick Mahomes (Dan: 7, Todd: 3), Dak Prescott (Dan: 4, Todd: 7), Kyler Murray (Dan: 5, Todd: 8), Lamar Jackson (Dan: 10, Todd: 5), Jared Goff (Dan: 6, Todd: 11), Josh Allen (Dan: 9, Todd: 9), Tom Brady (Dan: 13, Todd: 6), Carson Wentz (Dan: 8, Todd: 12), Daniel Jones (Dan: 11, Todd: 10)

Dan Salem on Brady at 13: Brady has been struggling in the passing game lately and I don’t expect his “running ability” to save him versus the Jets. New York’s defense is expected to get a boost with the return of C.J. Mosely, so Brady is not going to shine like he’s accustomed to. This drops him out of the top 12 this week.

13. Jacoby Brissett (Dan: 12, Todd: 15)

Dan Salem: I have him in my top 12 this week because Houston gives up a ton of points. Plus, Brissett has been extremely consistent from a fantasy standpoint.
Todd Salem: Back from a bye, Brissett will be thrust into a very important divisional game. If he can stand toe-to-toe with Watson, the Colts will be in great shape.

14. Aaron Rodgers (Dan: 15, Todd: 13)

Dan Salem: I too am gun shy with Rodgers. He’s playing well, but not great for fantasy purposes. He needs to have a really dominant week before I’m ready to put him back into the top 12.
Todd Salem: This must be the first time Rodgers has dropped out of my top 12, but he simply hasn’t been that good in fantasy thus far. He’s had one really good performance, last week was pretty good, and then four underwhelming scores. The Packers have a good matchup in Week 7, but so do a number of his positional peers ranked above him.

15. TIE – Jimmy Garoppolo (Dan: 14, Todd: 19)

Dan Salem: I love the juicy matchup against Washington and it feels like Garoppolo is due for a breakout performance. There is no better opponent this week for a rolling 49ers team to run up the score against.
Todd Salem: Jimmy G is a dividing line. He isn’t a good fantasy quarterback. You have to use him against Washington, though. So which takes precedence, the past performance or the upcoming matchup? I am leaning toward the former by ranking him below the likes of Stafford and Rivers.

15. TIE – Matthew Stafford (Dan: 17, Todd: 16)

Dan Salem: Stafford will shine once again, as his team keeps exceeding our low expectations for them. He’s a reliable play, yet not spectacular.
Todd Salem: After a tough Green Bay defense, things don’t get much easier for Detroit this week. Stafford has to get through this game before the schedule really lightens up. I wouldn’t begrudge someone for preferring his Week 7 counterpart. To me, they are really close.

15. TIE – Gardner Minshew (Dan: 19, Todd: 14)

Dan Salem: I’m willing to give him a chance to rebound against a bad defense. The Bengals will cure what ails Minshew.
Todd Salem: My boy really let me down last week, his first bad outing of the season. But against the Bengals this week, we have to assume he will bounce back. If not, at that point it would be time to reassess.

18. Philip Rivers (Dan: 16, Todd: 18)

Dan Salem: Despite his team’s poor performances, Rivers keeps salvaging his fantasy numbers with garbage time points. This is unlikely to change, but his upside is waning.
Todd Salem: It hasn’t been easy for Rivers this season. His team around him is grossly underachieving. Tennessee’s defense has been surprisingly effective to boot. He will need to limit the turnovers in this one.

19. Kirk Cousins (Dan: 18, Todd: 17)

Dan Salem: Ride the hot hand. It’s that simple. Cousins is on fire and you don’t want to miss out.
Todd Salem: Cousins has been on fire these past two weeks. I assumed it was the matchup in Week 5. In Week 6, he proved it might be something more. Use him while he’s hot.

20. TIE – Sam Darnold (Dan: 20, Todd: 22)

Dan Salem: The Patriots are really good, but Darnold is only going to get better in his second game back from illness. There’s a lot of upside with him and the Jets growing offense.
Todd Salem: Darnold came off of his absence with a flourish and now gets rewarded with the best defense in the league. He feels like a must-start in two-QB leagues, so I’ll roll him out against the Patriots in the worst-case scenario. If Darnold is available or attainable, right now is the time to get him. After New England, he faces seven consecutive defenses ranging from favorable to outright terrible.

20. TIE – Andy Dalton (Dan: 22, Todd: 20)

Dan Salem: Dalton has been consistent and I don’t see this changing against Jacksonville. He’s not spectacular, but he gets the job done nicely.
Todd Salem: There are always tiers to our rankings. There was a small tier, in my mind, after the top 15 this week. But between 19 and 20 is definitely a tier break. I can’t imagine ranking anyone from here on out above the 19 I have listed. Dalton is the best of a bad situation against a defense that has purposely made itself worse this week with the trade of Jalen Ramsey.

22. TIE – Joe Flacco (Dan: 21, Todd: 24)

Dan Salem: I hate Thursday night games, but the Chiefs defense will bolster Flacco’s numbers. It’s doing so for pretty much everyone.
Todd Salem: Okay. He has a good matchup, which is more than we can say about any remaining starting options.

22. TIE – Ryan Tannehill (Dan: 24, Todd: 21)

Dan Salem: If I could have skipped this final spot, I would have. Tannehill might do well, or he might flop. I truly have no expectations for his performance except to say that it will be better than whoever is left off this list.
Todd Salem: It’s plausible he will be invigorated by the starting opportunity and run with it. Mariota was safe with the football but wasn’t making enough plays. Tannehill can make plays down the field.

24. TIE – Derek Carr (Dan: 23, Todd: N/A)

Dan Salem: Don’t sleep on Oakland against Green Bay. The Raiders and Carr pushed around the Bears defense, so they can easily do the same to Green Bay with two weeks to prepare.

dark. Next. NFL Week 7 Best Picks Against the Spread (ATS)

24. TIE – Mitchell Trubisky/Chase Daniel (Dan: N/A, Todd: 23)

Todd Salem: Whoever Chicago tabs as their starter is usable this week. The Saints are no pushover, but coming off a bye, the Bears should have a better offensive plan than they’ve had in recent weeks.

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