Fantasy Football Week 7 Rankings: Matchups We Love and Player Stat Projections

For fantasy football owners, Week 7 looks something like a minefield with notable offenses such as the Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals on bye.

Despite the absences, matchups will once again rule the fantasy landscape. With six games in the books for most teams, owners have plenty of data to work with when it comes to starting a lineup with the highest ceiling.

Below, let's take a look at player projections at each position based on the data and point out some of the top matchups to know.

Week 7 Schedule

Sunday, Oct. 25	Time (ET)
Monday, Oct. 26	Time (ET)
Buffalo at Jacksonville	9:30 a.m.
Pittsburgh at Kansas City	1 p.m.
Houston at Miami	1 p.m.
Atlanta at Tennessee	1 p.m.
Cleveland at St. Louis	1 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Washington	1 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit	1 p.m.
New Orleans at Indianapolis	1 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at New England	1 p.m.
Oakland at San Diego	4:05 pm
Dallas at N.Y. Giants	4:25 pm
Philadelphia at Carolina	8:30 pm
Baltimore at Arizona	8:30 pm

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Carson Palmer	21
2	Andrew Luck	19
3	Cam Newton	18
4	Philip Rivers	17
5	Tom Brady	14
6	Matthew Stafford	12
7	Blake Bortles	10
8	Ryan Tannehill	9
9	Eli Manning	9
10	Drew Brees	9
11	Matt Ryan	9
12	Alex Smith	8
13	Ryan Fitzpatrick	8
14	Joe Flacco	8
15	Teddy Bridgewater	8

It's not 2005, but Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer looks like one of the most consistent players in the league, making him downright deadly from a fantasy standpoint.

Over six games, Palmer has hit 16 or more points in each, even exploding for 21 or more points twice while hitting big-name targets such as Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown with Chris Johnson in the backfield behind him.

It's going to be another big day for Palmer against the Baltimore Ravens, the team giving up the most points to the position on average. At home against a team he knows quite well thanks to his time in the AFC North, Palmer looks ready to explode.

So too does Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. He returned last week and posted a whopping 27 points on three scores, a number he might just be able to match against the New Orleans Saints—the team ranked right behind the Ravens in terms of points allowed to quarterbacks.

It doesn't get better than these two from a matchup standpoint, especially with Luck back and healthy.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Todd Gurley	23
2	LeSean McCoy	21
3	Devonta Freeman	20
4	Adrian Peterson	18
5	Arian Foster	14
6	Le'Veon Bell	14
7	Latavius Murray	13
8	Doug Martin	12
9	Lamar Miller	11
10	Justin Forsett	10
11	DeMarco Murray	10
12	Frank Gore	10
13	Mark Ingram	9
14	Christine Michael	9
15	Chris Ivory	9
16	Chris Johnson	9
17	Dion Lewis*	9
18	T.J. Yeldon*	8
19	Matt Jones	8
20	Danny Woodhead	8
21	Melvin Gordon	7
22	Rashad Jennings	7
23	Jonathan Stewart	6
24	LeGarrette Blount	6
25	Antonio Andrews	6
26	Shane Vereen	6
27	Ameer Abdullah	5
28	Duke Johnson Jr.	5
29	Alfred Morris	5
30	C.J. Spiller	5

It's an odd time when owners have to turn to a rookie at running back, but so it goes when a talent like St. Louis Rams lead back Todd Gurley sits in an amazing matchup. 

Gurley has an encounter with the Cleveland Browns on deck, the team allowing the fourth-most points to backs this year. Three of the team's six opposing backfields have managed to scrape together 27 or more points against the unit.

Gurley, on the other hand, quietly has two 15-point outings in a row now that he's a bigger part of the plan.

Latavius Murray was always a major part of the plan in Oakland, but a tough slate for the Raiders thus far has hindered his numbers.

Not anymore. This week Murray does the divisional dance with the San Diego Chargers, the team surrendering the most points to backs on average—a team with 20 or more points allowed to the position in five of six games.

Murray's good for a floor of 15 rushes in such a scenario, a pitch count he's turned into 14 or more points twice in three tries so far. It'll morph into three of four against the Chargers.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Larry Fitzgerald	22
2	DeAndre Hopkins	19
3	Calvin Johnson	18
4	Brandon Marshall	16
5	Julian Edelman	14
6	Keenan Allen*	14
7	Odell Beckham Jr.*	12
8	Julio Jones	12
9	Allen Robinson*	11
10	Eric Decker	10
11	Jordan Matthews	10
12	T.Y. Hilton	10
13	Jeremy Maclin*	9
14	Antonio Brown	9
15	John Brown	9
16	Willie Snead	9
17	Steve Smith Sr.	8
18	Jarvis Landry	8
19	Donte Moncrief	7
20	Travis Benjamin	7
21	Golden Tate	7
22	Michael Crabtree	7
23	Mike Evans	6
24	Mike Wallace	6
25	Allen Hurns*	6
26	Brandin Cooks	6
27	Amari Cooper	6
28	Pierre Garcon	6
29	Rishard Matthews	6
30	Kendall Wright	5
31	Martavis Bryant	5
32	Kamar Aiken	5
33	Michael Floyd	5
34	Ted Ginn Jr.	5
35	Vincent Jackson	5

It's the year of the throwback. 

Also like Palmer, owners can lean on old reliable Brandon Marshall, the top receiver for the New York Jets.

Gary Hershorn/Associated Press

Marshall has been one of the league's notable target hogs with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center, as noted by his four-game tear of at least seven receptions and catching a touchdown in four of five outings.

It's going to hit six thanks an encounter with the New England Patriots. Head coach Bill Belichick's team has allowed seven touchdowns to wideouts already, and the Jets will need to do plenty of passing to keep pace.

Fitzgerald seems like the obvious choice in Arizona, but don't forget Palmer's other favorite target, John Brown.

Brown has three trips to double digits this year, including last week's eye-popping line of 10 grabs for 196 yards, good for 17 points. It's not what owners should expect every week, but a showdown with the Ravens writes itself—the defense gives up the second-most points to wideouts on average and will have its hands full with Fitzgerald, leaving Brown to slip behind deep and cash in on big plays.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Rob Gronkowski	14
2	Antonio Gates*	12
3	Greg Olsen	11
4	Travis Kelce	10
5	Delanie Walker	9
6	Julius Thomas	8
7	Jason Witten	8
8	Jordan Cameron	8
9	Jordan Reed	6
10	Benjamin Watson	6
11	Charles Clay	5
12	Gary Barnidge	5

Back to basics for owners in Week 7—start whichever tight end lines up against the Oakland Raiders.

Oakland is laughably bad against tight ends, which is nothing but a good thing for those who stashed Chargers tight end Antonio Gates on their rosters.

Gates returned from suspension two games ago and has back-to-back performances with nine catches. He scored two touchdowns for 21 points in Week 5, production owners wouldn't be too silly to hope for against the Raiders.

Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs seems like he's in a great situation too. He's been quiet since double-digit outings in two of his first three games, but he should be back to normal against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers have struggled against tight ends of Kelce's caliber (Rob Gronkowski and Gates), helping the unit to allow the third-most points to tight ends on average. Kelce should at least get back to double digits this weekend.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Bills	12
2	Cardinals	10
3	Rams	8
4	Panthers	8
5	Eagles	8
6	Patriots	6
7	Texans	6
8	Vikings	5
9	Steelers	4
10	Jaguars	4

The top projected play is usually the unit in the best matchup when it comes to defenses. 

This week it's all about the Buffalo Bills. The old adage about playing whichever defense lines up against the Jacksonville Jaguars isn't as surefire as it used to be, but it holds up well here.

The Jaguars have allowed 17 sacks of quarterback Blake Bortles, and he's tossed seven picks thanks to the pressure. Buffalo has already picked off seven passes of its own and creates consistent pressure, so Sunday looks like a prime chance at more points.

As a bonus, this one goes down in London. Bortles might be rattled after such a drastic change to the usual schedule and environment.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Chandler Catanzaro	8
2	Kai Forbath	8
3	Stephen Gostkowski	8
4	Josh Brown	8
5	Graham Gano	7
6	Matt Prater	7
7	Andrew Franks	7
8	Jason Myers	7
9	Nick Novak	6
10	Blair Walsh	6

Thanks to the prolific offense always moving up and down the field, Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro has been one of fantasy's most reliable plays at the kicker position this year.

Catanzaro boasts a minimum of six points in every game this season. It might feel like the Ravens are a punching bag this weekend, and that's because they are—the team has allowed 15 or more points to kickers in four of six games this year.

At home, Catanzaro will have plenty of chances to pile on the points and the comfort of his home surface to knock down long-range attempts if necessary. He's the top play by quite a large gap.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats as of Oct. 22. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com. Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers on bye.