Week 7 Fantasy Football Projections: Stat Predictions for Top 100 Players

With Week 6 in the books, we are now more than one-third of the way through the NFL season. Panic is beginning to trickle in.

While the stakes are just a tad bit smaller in the virtual world, things are even more dire.

With about half of the regular season in the rearview mirror in fantasy football leagues, patience is starting to fly out the window. If you're sitting pretty at 6-0, 5-1 or even 4-2, then there's no reason to worry. But if your record is anything worse (in most cases), you can't keep trotting the same team out there.

It's time to start hitting the waiver wire, engaging in the trade block and, perhaps most importantly, rolling the dice more with your lineup decisions. Some first-round picks are no longer must-starts. Rookies can be trusted. Drew Brees is the No. 15 quarterback. Joe Flacco is No. 7. Up is down. Superman is Catwoman.

With the pressure mounting, let's take a look at how the top 100 individually ranked players will fare in Week 7.

Thursday, October 16	Time (ET)
Sunday, October 19	Time (ET)
Monday, October 20	Time (ET)
NY Jets at New England	8:25 PM
Atlanta at Baltimore	1:00 PM
Tennessee at Washington	1:00 PM
Seattle at St. Louis	1:00 PM
Cleveland at Jacksonville	1:00 PM
Cincinnati at Indianapolis	1:00 PM
Minnesota at Buffalo	1:00 PM
Miami at Chicago	1:00 PM
New Orleans at Detroit	1:00 PM
Carolina at Green Bay	1:00 PM
Kansas City at San Diego	4:05 PM
Arizona at Oakland	4:25 PM
NY Giants at Dallas	4:25 PM
San Francisco at Denver	8:30 PM
Houston at Pittsburgh	8:30 PM

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projections
1	Peyton Manning, DEN	250 PAS, 2 TD
2	Aaron Rodgers, GB	280 PAS, 3 TD
3	Andrew Luck, IND	300 PAS, 2 TD, 2 INT
4	Philip Rivers, SD	270 PAS, 2 TD
5	Tom Brady, NE	300 PAS, 3 TD, 1 INT
6	Cam Newton, CAR	235 PAS, 50 RUS, 2 TD, 1 INT
7	Jay Cutler, CHI	275 PAS, 2 TD, 2 INT
8	Matt Ryan, ATL	250 PAS, 2 TD, 1 INT
9	Russell Wilson, SEA	210 PAS, 30 RUS, 1 TD
10	Drew Brees, NO	330 PAS, 3 TD
11	Matt Stafford, DET	280 PAS, 2 TD, 1 INT
12	Joe Flacco, BAL	285 PAS, 2 TD
13	Colin Kaepernick, SF	230 PAS, 30 RUS, 2 TD, 1 INT
14	Tony Romo, DAL	260 PAS, 2 TD
15	Andy Dalton, CIN	240 PAS, 1 TD, 1 INT
16	Ryan Tannehill, MIA	250 PAS, 40 RUS, 1 TD
17	Eli Manning, NYG	250 PAS, 2 TD, 1 INT
18	Ben Roethlisberger, PIT	265 PAS, 2 TD
19	Blake Bortles, JAX	315 PAS, 2 TD, 2 INT
20	Carson Palmer, ARI	300 PAS, 2 TD

Sleeper: Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

In his first start since Week 1, Carson Palmer completed 28 of his 44 throws for 250 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, ranking him 15th among QBs in standard leagues.

Perhaps it was slightly underwhelming considering the Washington Redskins were absolutely torched by Nick Foles, Eli Manning and Russell Wilson in the previous three weeks, but this needs to be more of a glass-half-full situation.

Playing just four days after being able to throw at only 35-40 percent, Palmer produced top-15 numbers. That's damn impressive.

Moreover, the future outlook is encouraging, according to head coach Bruce Arians, via AZCardinals.com's Darren Urban:

Palmer gets the Oakland Raiders in Week 7. Despite facing Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick, a then-struggling Tom Brady and Ryan Tannehill in four out of five weeks, The Silver and Black are 26th in the NFL in yards per pass allowed, 31st in sacks and 29th in sack percentage, per pro-football-reference.com.

As he moves closer to full strength, Palmer, who has a multitude of weapons in the passing game, is a QB1 against the 0-5 foes.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	DeMarco Murray, DAL	175 RUS, 2 TD
2	Arian Foster, HOU	125 RUS, 20 REC, 1 TD
3	Marshawn Lynch, SEA	110 RUS, 30 REC, 1 TD
4	Giovani Bernard, CIN	85 RUS, 45 REC
5	Matt Forte, CHI	70 RUS, 60 REC
6	Jamaal Charles, KC	100 RUS, 25 REC, 2 TD
7	Le'Veon Bell, PIT	130 RUS, 20 REC, 1 TD
8	Alfred Morris, WAS	90 RUS
9	Andre Ellington, ARI	80 RUS, 50 REC, 1 TD
10	Ben Tate, CLE	125 RUS, 1 TD
11	Frank Gore, SF	85 RUS
12	Branden Oliver, SD	90 RUS, 45 REC, 1 TD
13	Justin Forsett, BAL	75 RUS, 40 REC, 1 TD
14	Fred Jackson, BUF	45 RUS, 45 REC
15	Ahmad Bradshaw, IND	50 RUS, 30 REC, 1 TD
16	Eddie Lacy, GB	70 RUS
17	Andre Williams, NYG	85 RUS, 1 TD
18	Lamar Miller, MIA	60 RUS, 35 REC
19	Ronnie Hillman, DEN	65 RUS
20	Jerick McKinnon, MIN	35 RUS, 60 REC, 1 TD
21	Knowshon Moreno, MIA	75 RUS
22	Joique Bell, DET	60 RUS, 35 REC, 1 TD
23	C.J. Spiller, BUF	30 RUS, 30 REC
24	Shane Vereen, NE	15 RUS, 55 REC
25	Zac Stacy, STL	25 RUS
26	Trent Richardson, IND	35 RUS, 25 REC
27	Bishop Sankey, TEN	60 RUS
28	Chris Ivory, NYJ	75 RUS
29	Pierre Thomas, NE	20 RUS, 55 REC
30	Reggie Bush, DET	25 RUS, 40 REC

Sleeper: Jerick McKinnon, Minnesota Vikings

Jerick McKinnon is a Bugatti with a rocket strapped to its back. Matt Asiata is a Geo Prizm with engine problems.

Fortunately, the Minnesota Vikings seem to have finally figured that out. They have been using McKinnon in the last couple of weeks, but during Sunday's 17-3 loss to the Detroit Lions, Mike Zimmer and Norv Turner finally turned to the athletic specimen on a near-exclusive basis.

McKinnon racked up 82 total yards on 17 touches, while Asiata finished with 13 on three.

As many were quick to note, the changing of the guard is seemingly complete:

Asiata may be the veteran, and he's solid in pass protection, but there is no question the explosive, elusive, dynamic McKinnon gives the Vikes a much better chance to move the ball down the field.

A matchup against the Buffalo Bills, owners of the best run defense in the league, isn't ideal, but McKinnon is going to get a full workload. And considering his talent and home run hitting ability, those touches are all he needs to be a consistent top-20 play.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Julio Jones, ATL	110 REC, 1 TD
2	Antonio Brown, PIT	90 REC, 2 TD
3	Brandon Marshall, CHI	85 REC, 1 TD
4	Jordy Nelson, GB	125 REC
5	Dez Bryant, DAL	150 REC, 1 TD
6	Demaryius Thomas, DEN	100 REC, 1 TD
7	Alshon Jeffery, CHI	75 REC
8	Randall Cobb, GB	50 REC, 1 TD
9	Steve Smith, BAL	105 REC
10	DeSean Jackson, WAS	90 REC, 1 TD
11	Mike Wallace, MIA	85 REC
12	Mohamed Sanu, CIN	95 REC, 1 TD
13	Kelvin Benjamin, CAR	60 REC, 1 TD
14	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN	50 REC
15	Michael Floyd, ARI	110 REC, 1 TD
16	Andre Johnson, HOU	70 REC
17	Larry Fitzgerald, ARI	60 REC, 1 TD
18	DeAndre Hopkins, HOU	50 REC
19	Julian Edelman, NE	85 REC
20	Sammy Watkins, BUF	60 REC, 1 TD
21	T.Y. Hilton, IND	95 REC, 1 TD
22	Reggie Wayne, IND	60 REC
23	Eric Decker, NYJ	75 REC
24	Torrey Smith, BAL	50 REC
25	Pierre Garcon, WAS	30 REC
26	Michael Crabtree, SF	65 REC, 1TD
27	Brian Quick, STL	75 REC
28	Terrance Williams, DAL	30 REC
29	James Jones, OAK	60 REC
30	Percy Harvin, SEA	55 REC, 15 RUS, 1 TD
31	Rueben Randle, NYG	45 REC, 1 TD
32	Odell Beckham Jr., NYG	90 REC
33	Brandin Cooks, NO	85 REC, 15 RUS, 1 TD
34	Roddy White, ATL	65 REC
35	Wes Welker, DEN	30 REC

Sleeper: Brandin Cooks, WR, New Orleans Saints

Bill Haber/Associated Press

After racking up seven catches, 95 total yards (77 receiving, 18 rushing) and a touchdown in his first career NFL game, Brandin Cooks has been the epitome of average in four contests since, averaging 56 yards from scrimmage with zero scores.

But don't let his mediocre ranking—39th among WR's in standard leagues—fool you: Cooks is a centerpiece of this offense, and better production is on the way.

He's on pace for 102 receptions, he's averaging 9.3 targets per game over the last three and in Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he led the Saints wideouts in snaps, per ESPN.com's Mike Triplett.

With Jimmy Graham likely out for a couple of weeks, that workload will only continue to grow. The Detroit Lions present a stiff challenge in Week 7, but the Saints have had the bye week to find new ways to get the electrifying Cooks the ball in space.

In PPR leagues, he's a fringe WR1. Even in standard leagues, the likely double-digit targets plus game-breaking ability makes him a solid play.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Julius Thomas, DEN	50 REC, 1 TD
2	Rob Gronkowski, NE	100 REC, 2 TD
3	Jordan Cameron, CLE	65 REC
4	Greg Olsen, CAR	75 REC
5	Vernon Davis, SF	40 REC
6	Jordan Reed, WAS	80 REC, 1 TD
7	Martellus Bennett, CHI	40 REC, 1 TD
8	Antonio Gates, SD	60 REC, 1 TD
9	Travis Kelce, KC	85 REC, 1 TD
10	Jason Witten, DAL	45 REC
11	Delanie Walker, TEN	60 REC
12	Larry Donnell, NYG	30 REC, 1 TD
13	Owen Daniels, BAL	45 REC, 1 TD
14	Dwayne Allen, IND	55 REC
15	Jared Cook, STL	80 REC

Sleeper: Owen Daniels, TE, Baltimore Ravens

Steve Nesius/Associated Press

Ignore Owen Daniels' Week 6 production (two catches on three targets, 34 yards). The Baltimore Ravens jumped out to a 35-point lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before you could say "elite QB," and the rest of the game plan wasn't indicative of what we're likely to see in a more competitive game. 

The previous two games in which Daniels was filling in for Dennis Pitta are more of what to expect: 6.5 targets, 4.5 catches, 56.5 yards per game.

Owens isn't an athletic freak who's going to explode for a massive week, but he's rock solid, has gotten three red-zone targets in the last three weeks and faces an Atlanta Falcons team that has looked atrocious defensively.