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

If Thursday Night Football is any sign, Week 7 in NFL fantasy football will be quite the rollercoaster. 

It wasn't easy to pick which members of the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders to target. But the latter's Amari Cooper certainly didn't come to mind after a miserable first six games of the season, including three sub-one point performances. 

So naturally he scored 33 against the Chiefs. 

It might just be one of those weeks. With a few huge matchups on the schedule, here's a look at a rankings guide based on Yahoo standard leagues. 

Week 7 Schedule

Arizona at L.A. Rams 

Baltimore at Minnesota

Carolina  at Chicago

Jacksonville  at Indianapolis

New Orleans at Green Bay 

N.Y. Jets at Miami 

Tampa Bay at Buffalo 

Tennessee  at Cleveland

Dallas  at San Francisco 

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh

Denver at L.A. Chargers 

Seattle at N.Y. Giants 

Atlanta at New England 

Washington at Philadelphia

Quarterbacks

Player	Projected Points
Tom Brady	21
Dak Prescott	20
Drew Brees	19
Matt Ryan	18
Tyrod Taylor	17
Kirk Cousins	17
Cam Newton	16
Russell Wilson	16
Marcus Mariota	15
Jameis Winston	15
Carson Wentz	14
Carson Palmer	12
Ben Roethlisberger	12
Jared Goff	12
Blake Bortles	12

Now might be the time to bank on yet another huge game from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. 

The usual suspects will have big weeks, but Prescott has managed to fly under the radar this year despite three consecutive performances at more than 22 points, including most recently hitting 30.74 before a Week 6 bye. 

Prescott gets to come out of said bye with an extra week of prep for a trip to San Francisco. There, he'll face a 49ers defense allowing the seventh-most points to his position on average, so another big day seems likely. 

It's a similar story for Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor. He too hits this week coming out of a bye, yet he hasn't been as flashy. He has yet to hit the 20-point mark, and his pre-bye performance was a 9.94-point dud. 

The clouds seem ready to clear, though, as Taylor gets to relax at home against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense allowing the fourth-most points to quarterbacks. He might not have the greatest weapons around him, but even Mike Glennon put up nearly 30 points on the Buccaneers. 

Running Backs

Player	Projected Points
Le'Veon Bell	22
Leonard Fournette	20
Adrian Peterson	20
LeSean McCoy	18
Devonta Freeman	17
Ezekiel Elliott	17
Todd Gurley	15
Mark Ingram	14
C.J. Anderson	13
Jordan Howard	12
Carlos Hyde	12
Jerick McKinnon	12
Jay Ajayi	12
Doug Martin	11
Melvin Gordon	11
DeMarco Murray	11
Alvin Kamara	11
Christian McCaffrey	11
Chris Thompson	10
Tevin Coleman	10
Joe Mixon	10
LeGarrette Blount	10
Derrick Henry	8
Aaron Jones	8
Matt Forte	8

If he plays, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette could have the top outright performance this week at his position. We'd say overall, but the Cooper breakout game could be untouchable. 

Fournette looks like a fresher version of Adrian Peterson, and he announced his debut in the fantasy realm with an 18.4-point outburst in Week 1. Since, he's gone over that mark three more times, including a dip above 30. 

Another trip north of the mark wouldn't come as a surprise this week against an Indianapolis Colts defense surrendering the second-most points to the position. Fournette simply needs to be on the field, though it sounds like he will be despite an injury scare last week, according to Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.

And please, please don't sleep on Peterson. 

AP's debut last week with the Arizona Cardinals wasn't an anomaly. Maybe he doesn't hit 25.4 points every week, but he's a good fit in the offense and looks like his usual self. 

It's great news for owners, but bad news for a Los Angeles Rams defense allowing the outright most points to fantasy backs on average. 

Sometimes it just writes itself. 

Wide Receivers

Player	Projected Points
A.J. Green	22
Julio Jones	18
Antonio Brown	17
Mike Evans	16
Dez Bryant	15
Michael Thomas	14
Brandin Cooks	14
Larry Fitzgerald	14
Chris Hogan	13
Demaryius Thomas	13
Jordy Nelson	12
T.Y. Hilton	12
Alshon Jeffery	12
Adam Thielen	12
Jarvis Landry	11
Pierre Garcon	11
Kelvin Benjamin	11
Keenan Allen	11
Doug Baldwin	11
Davante Adams	10
Rishard Matthews	10
Devin Funchess	9
DeSean Jackson	9
Terrelle Pryor	8
John Brown	8
Nelson Agholor	8
Danny Amendola	8
Jermaine Kearse	8
Devante Parker	7
JuJu Smith-Schuster	7

Don't get scared of A.J. Green now. 

The Cincinnati Bengals star wideout might sit in what looks like a tough matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers—they allow the fewest points to wideouts on average so far. 

But this is one of those misleading "bad" matchups. At quarterback, the Steelers have faced the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota's backup, a player eventually benched, Joe Flacco and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Therefore, wideout numbers against the unit won't be great. 

Did anyone mention Green dominates his rival? He has 82 or more yards in four of their past five meetings with three touchdowns and a 224-yard outburst. 

Don't be afraid of Dez Bryant, Prescott's top weapon, either. Bryant has been a dud so far this year, failing to even hit the 12-point mark in a game. Targets haven't helped either, seeing as he's been anywhere from two in a game to 16. 

Still, the 49ers allow the 11th-most points to wideouts, and Bryant figures to be a huge part of the game plan given the obvious weakness.

Tight Ends

Player	Projected Points
Rob Gronkowski	12
Zach Ertz	11
Kyle Rudolph	10
Delanie Walker	10
Evan Engram	10
Austin Seferian-Jenkins	9
Hunter Henry	9
Austin Hooper	8
Jordan Reed	8
Jimmy Graham	7
Cameron Brate	7
Jason Witten	7
George Kittle	7
Zach Miller	6
Jack Doyle	6

Don't stop believing in Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz now. 

Ertz has easily been fantasy's best tight end this year, scoring at least eight points in every game and seeing double-digit targets in three games. He has three scores over his last two appearances, too. 

Long story short, Ertz shouldn't have a problem torching a soft Washington Redskins defense that permits the fifth-most points to the position. He hit the Redskins for eight catches on as many targets for 9.3 points to start the season. 

And though the quarterback situation has been a question mark for Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, he's consistently getting looks and slotting as a must-have option in the right situation. 

With nine targets apiece over his last two outings and a game against the Baltimore Ravens—a unit allowing the third-most points to his position—Rudolph looks poised to have his best game of the season to date.

Defense/Special Teams

Unit	Projected Points
Jacksonville Jaguars	12
Seattle Seahawks	10
Tennessee Titans	9
Denver Broncos	9
Carolina Panthers	8
Pittsburgh Steelers	7
Buffalo Bills	7
Minnesota Vikings	6
Baltimore Ravens	6
Los Angeles Rams	6

It's a Tennessee Titans sort of week in this regard. 

Well, it's a Browns week really. Cleveland, as expected, permits the most points to opposing defenses on average. This week, the big winner here is the Titans. 

Those Titans only have nine sacks on the year, but four interceptions and six forced fumbles shows a knack for hopping all over bad play. 

The Browns offer plenty of that as they turn back to rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer after just one game away from him. Owners can expect at least a few turnovers in a low-scoring affair. 

Kickers

Player	Projected Points
Matt Bryant	11
Stephen Gostkowski	10
Dan Bailey	9
Jake Elliott	9
Justin Tucker	8
Will Lutz	7
Graham Gano	7
Ryan Succop	6
Greg Zuerlein	6
Mason Crosby	6

Why stop banking on the Cowboys now? 

Kicker Dan Bailey looks like he's in a great spot against the 49ers as well. It helps that he's already one of the most consistent performers at the position, having scored at least six points in four of his five games. There's a high of 15 in there for good measure. 

Bailey now gets a 49ers team allowing the second-most points to kickers on average, with four of the six kickers faced hitting double-digit production. 

While guaranteeing 10 or more points might be unwise, it certainly seems Bailey's stock continues to head in that direction. 

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.