Daily Fantasy Football Week 7: DraftKings Optimum Lineup Advice, Matchup Guide

In order to win in daily fantasy football, you need a good mix of top stars and cheap sleepers, all of whom perform at a high level. Adding in some off-the-grid picks could also help in bigger contests.

While there are tons of all of these options in Week 7, make sure you pick the right ones set to go off with big numbers. Here is a look at the best picks for the weekend no matter where you choose to spend the bulk of your money.

Quarterback

	Player	Team	Opp	Price
Top Performer	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts	NO	$7,600
Safe Bet	Carson Palmer	Arizona Cardinals	BAL	$6,700
Value Pick	Ryan Tannehill	Miami Dolphins	HOU	$5,700
Wild Card	Landry Jones	Pittsburgh Steelers	KC	$5,100

You never want to bet against Tom Brady ($8,500), especially with his "revenge tour" in 2015. If you want to pick him again in Week 7, there is no problem, even with a tough matchup against the New York Jets.

That said, Andrew Luck is significantly cheaper as the No. 2 quarterback of the week and has a much better matchup in front of him. Luck returned from injury last week and looked like himself (312 passing yards and three touchdowns), giving hope to plenty of season-long fantasy owners as well as those looking to draft him for a reasonable price in daily fantasy.

With the New Orleans Saints allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks this year, according to ESPN.com, Luck has a chance to put together another strong showing.

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

The only defense worse than the Saints this year is that of the Baltimore Ravens, allowing 21.5 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. This is good news for Carson Palmer, who seemingly is the safest pick for a decent price every week on DraftKings.

Palmer is coming off a "down" game against the Pittsburgh Steelers where he still managed 421 passing yards. He has had at least 18 fantasy points on DraftKings in each game, and this one will be no different.

A bit of a bigger gamble might be Ryan Tannehill, who has made plenty of mistakes lately with seven interceptions in his past three games. On the plus side, he also has four multitouchdown games in a row and now leads a much better offense with interim head coach Dan Campbell at the helm (Campbell isn't an offensive genius—he just decided to actually use the run game to provide some balance).

In any case, Tannehill is putting up solid numbers and should keep it up against an inconsistent Houston Texans defense.

For those who want a bigger risk, take a look at Landry Jones. Ben Roethlisberger has a chance to come back this week, but offensive coordinator Todd Haley isn't expecting it, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This leaves Jones, who inspired confidence in the Steelers offense when he went into the game last week:

With Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant all capable of making plays after the catch, Jones could be a surprising top scorer in Week 7 if he plays.

Running Back

	Player	Team	Opp	Price
Top Performer	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings	DET	$7,600
Safe Bet	Chris Ivory	New York Jets	NE	$5,800
Value Pick	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	HOU	$4,600
Wild Card	Theo Riddick	Detroit Lions	MIN	$3,400

Adrian Peterson struggled to get anything going last week, but the Minnesota Vikings still trust him enough to give him 26 rushing attempts. In fact, he remains in the top five in the NFL with 101 carries for the season despite already having his bye week.

He should once again get at least 20 carries in Week 7 while this time having a lot more room to run. Considering the Detroit Lions are tied for the league lead with 10 rushing touchdowns allowed this season, Peterson has a chance to get into the end zone at least once on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Chris Ivory has quietly become one of the more consistent fantasy options in the NFL, leading all running backs with 115 rushing yards per game. When asked about the Jets making the playoffs this season, ESPN's Mike Greenberg said it all comes down to Ivory:

Opposing teams haven't put up big rushing numbers against the New England Patriots this season, but that is more because they abandon the run early. The defense does allow 4.9 yards per carry to rank 30th in the league, and Ivory could have a strong game if New York sticks with the rushing attack.

The top value on the board for the week is Todd Gurley ($5,000), but with everyone likely to jump on the bandwagon, it's important to see other options. This includes Lamar Miller, who finally got the touches many have been asking for since the start of the season.

After totaling 113 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, the Dolphins running back remains a solid choice for cheap going forward.

Finally, an interesting pick for the week could be Lions running back Theo Riddick. Joique Bell appeared likely to return this week, but Kyle Meinke of MLive noted there might have been a setback. With Zach Zenner out for the season and Ameer Abdullah incapable of holding onto the football, the team is out of running backs.

Riddick has been a useful part of the offense as a receiver and now can show what he can do as a running back as well.

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Wide Receiver

	Player	Team	Opp	Price
Top Performer	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans	MIA	$8,600
Safe Bet	Larry Fitzgerald	Arizona Cardinals	BAL	$7,400
Value Pick	Willie Snead	New Orleans Saints	IND	$4,300
Wild Card	Jamison Crowder	Washington Redskins	TB	$3,700

He will likely slow down eventually, but for now DeAndre Hopkins is playing at a historic level:

Brian Hoyer loves throwing him the ball, and it seems Hopkins can catch anything in sight. This will allow him to have more big days regardless of the opponent. Even after jumping $900 in price from last week, it's hard to bet against him at this stage.

Larry Fitzgerald had a similar stretch earlier in the year, but don't count out what he has done since. A quiet day last week featured eight catches and 93 yards, and he has had at least 14 fantasy points in each week this season. With the Ravens struggling to defend the pass, he could get a lot more yards to add to his impressive season.

With Willie Snead, you have the opportunity for the post-hype contrarian pick. While this is a mouthful, the logic is people went from being in love with him after his 141 yards in Week 5 to forgetting about him after 55 yards in Week 6. Despite this decline, Snead remains a big part of the New Orleans Saints offense and should have a bounce-back week.

The Indianapolis Colts allow the third-most fantasy points to opposing receivers this year, and top cornerback Vontae Davis will likely stick with Brandin Cooks. This could allow Snead to have a good game while still at a cheap price.

Another inexpensive option without too much risk is Jamison Crowder. The rookie was slowed down last week by the Jets' impressive secondary, but his 40 yards still led the team, and only running back Chris Thompson had more targets. With DeSean Jackson expected to miss Week 7, Crowder should once again be the top safety net for Kirk Cousins.

His high catch rate should help him excel in points-per-reception scoring against a struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense.

If you are looking for some more cheap options, you could do well with any of Donte Moncrief ($5,200), Stefon Diggs ($4,200), Michael Floyd ($3,200) or Dorial Green-Beckham ($3,200).

Note: All prices and fantasy score info courtesy of DraftKings. Unless otherwise noted, all stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.

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