Fantasy Football Week 7 Rankings: Flex and PPR Outlook for Top Players

The least tantalizing NFL matchups will often generate ample excitement for fantasy football players.

Fans will expect offensive fireworks when the New Orleans Saints face the Indianapolis Colts, but heroes will emerge from less hyped Week 7 contests. A losing squad can churn out winning fantasy performers, especially against the right opponent.

Another NFL Sunday beckons, so let's break down Week 7's top flex players for standard and point-per reception formats.

Rank	Standard	PPR
1	Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL	Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL
2	DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU	DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU
3	Le'Veon Bell, RB, PIT	Le'Veon Bell, RB, PIT
4	Arian Foster, RB, HOU	Julio Jones, WR, ATL
5	Todd Gurley, RB, STL	Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI
6	Julio Jones, WR, ATL	Brandon Marshall, WR, NYJ
7	Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE	Arian Foster, RB, HOU
8	Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG
9	Brandon Marshall, WR, NYJ	Todd Gurley, RB, STL
10	Latavius Murray, RB, OAK	Julian Edelman, WR, NE
11	Chris Ivory, RB, NYJ	Calvin Johnson, WR, DET
12	Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN	Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE
13	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG	Keenan Allen, WR, SD
14	LeSean McCoy, RB, BUF	T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND
15	Frank Gore, RB, IND	Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN
16	Calvin Johnson, WR, DET	Dion Lewis, RB, NE
17	Mark Ingram, RB, NO	Steve Smith Sr., WR, BAL
18	DeMarco Murray, RB, PHI	Latavius Murray, RB, OAK
19	Keenan Allen, WR, SD	Justin Forsett, RB, BAL
20	Dion Lewis, RB, NE	Allen Robinson, WR, JAX
21	Julian Edelman, WR, NE	Chris Ivory, RB, NYJ
22	Justin Forsett, RB, BAL	Antonio Brown, WR, PIT
23	Doug Martin, RB, TB	LeSean McCoy, RB, BUF
24	T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND	Mark Ingram, RB, NO
25	Lamar Miller, RB, MIA	John Brown, WR, ARI
26	Allen Robinson, WR, JAX	DeMarco Murray, RB, PHI
27	Steve Smith Sr., WR, BAL	Amari Cooper, WR, OAK
28	Mike Evans, WR, TB	Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA
29	John Brown, WR, ARI	Frank Gore, RB, IND
30	Eric Decker, WR, NYJ	Doug Martin, RB, TB
31	Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR	Mike Evans, WR, TB
32	Danny Woodhead, RB, SD	Eric Decker, WR, NYJ
33	Antonio Brown, WR, PIT	Lamar Miller, RB, MIA
34	Amari Cooper, WR, OAK	Danny Woodhead, RB, SD
35	Chris Johnson, RB, ARI	Donte Moncrief, WR, IND
36	Martavis Bryant, WR, PIT	Greg Olsen, TE, CAR
37	Donte Moncrief, WR, IND	Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC
38	Antonio Gates, TE, SD	Antonio Gates, TE, SD
39	Vincent Jackson, WR, TB	Martavis Bryant, WR, PIT
40	Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA	Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI
41	LeGarrette Blount, RB, NE	Travis Benjamin, WR, CLE
42	Greg Olsen, TE, CAR	Allen Hurns, WR, JAX
43	Travis Benjamin, WR, CLE	Willie Snead, WR, NO
44	Jordan Matthews, WR, PHI	Travis Kelce, TE, KC
45	Travis Kelce, TE, KC	Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR
46	Allen Hurns, WR, JAX	Stefon Diggs, WR, MIN
47	Alfred Morris, RB, WAS	Chris Johnson, RB, ARI
48	Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC	Vincent Jackson, WR, TB
49	Rashad Jennings, RB, NYG	Brandin Cooks, WR, NO
50	Willie Snead, WR, NO	Golden Tate, WR, DET

Latavius Murray, RB, Oakland Raiders

Aaron Josefczyk/Associated Press

Following a breakthrough effort against the Cleveland Browns, two dull outings and a bye week cooled the Latavius Murray push. Rested from a Week 6 hiatus, the Oakland Raiders running back will regenerate the buzz on Sunday.

Murray had seemingly arrived as a star rusher in Week 3, amassing 139 rushing yards and a touchdown on a season-high 26 carries. He then, however, attained 88 yards on 28 combined handoffs in the next two games, both Raiders losses. According to OddsShark, the San Diego Chargers are 3.5-point favorites at home against Oakland.

WEEK	OPP	RUSH	YD	TD
3	CIN	26	139	1
4	BAL	15	49	0
5	CLE	13	39	0

They also stink against the run, relinquishing six rushing touchdowns and an NFL-worst 5.4 yards per carry. Even after two underwhelming contests, Murray is averaging 4.2 yards per rush, so Oakland merely needs to avoid falling into a large early deficit.

This continues a favorable schedule for Murray, who has already faced three bottom-10 running defenses in terms of yards per carry. He couldn't fully capitalize against the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals, but he decimated Cleveland, which yields 5.0 yards per rush.

James Starks only needed 10 carries to register 112 yards and a score against San Diego last weekend. Murray, who enters as his team's unquestioned starter, is a top-10 back in such an exploitable matchup.

Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders

Aaron Josefczyk/Associated Press

Like his teammate, Amari Cooper stalled after a sensational September. Unlike Murray, he runs into another tough test this weekend.

While Murray gets a poor run-prevention unit, Cooper faces a defense allowing the third-fewest ESPN.com fantasy points to wide receivers. Most of the credit goes to Jason Verrett, who has contained elite competition all year. 

NFL.com's Matt Harmon examined star wideouts' scant production against San Diego this season:

Verrett's next challenge, Cooper, has caught 28 passes for 386 yards and two touchdowns this season. After a pair of 100-yard outings, he mustered 49 yards against Chicago and 47 against the Denver Broncos' lockdown secondary.

Nevertheless, San Diego's second-year cornerback complimented the rookie wideout's strong start, per Chargers.com's Ricky Henne:

"

His footwork is off the charts. He is so quick in and out of his breaks. He’s strong and fast. That was the type of guy that Derek Carr was looking for, and he can take the top off for their offense. It is definitely a matchup I am looking forward to and am going to be excited for. This is an important game for us and I can’t wait to get out there.

"

Cooper has proven he can at least salvage 45-50 yards out of a poor matchup, and Oakland will move the ball enough through Murray to create scoring opportunities. Verrett and the Chargers limit his upside, but a receiver averaging 77.2 yards per game remains a solid No. 2 starter even in a rough setting.

Travis Benjamin, WR, Cleveland Browns

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

When Travis Benjamin scored four times in three weeks, the consensus recommendation was "Sell, sell, sell." Despite those scores, he left September with 10 receptions, making him too reliant on big plays. As a pure deep target, his value figured to tumble with Josh McCown throwing him passes instead of Johnny Manziel.

As expected, the touchdowns regressed to the mean, and he hasn't found the end zone in three games. His latest activity, however, should encourage fantasy owners even more. He has received double-digit targets in each of Cleveland's last four games, accruing 21 catches for 279 yards over the past three contests.

Stat	Weeks 1-3	Weeks 4-6
REC	10	21
TAR	17	35
REC YD	249	279
TD	4	0

Against the potent Broncos, a nightmare matchup for any wide receiver, Benjamin strung together nine receptions for 117 yards. He's on pace for a 1,408-yard, 10-touchdown campaign.

It's time to take him seriously as a big-play threat also getting plenty of looks as a No. 1 option. Although the St. Louis Rams rank No. 10 in passing defense, they also surrender a 73.6 completion percentage. This would have scared everyone off earlier in the year, but Benjamin no longer needs a 50-yard strike to matter.

As long as Cleveland's aerial assault keeps clicking, Benjamin is a viable No. 3 wideout or flex play in all leagues.