Start Em, Sit Em Week 7: Should Fantasy Owners Start Carson Palmer, Kyle Boller?

At least for one week, the only Oakland Raider worth a fantasy start is running back Darren McFadden, with quarterback Kyle Boller getting the nod over the newly-acquired Carson Palmer against the Kansas City Chiefs this afternoon.

While Palmer may prove to be a must-start fantasy quarterback later this season, those fantasy owners who chose to snag him after he became a Raider cannot use him this week, and that doesn't make Boller a useful option either.

First, there's the issue that, depending on quality of game play and head coach Hue Jackson's plans, the Raiders could use a rotation of quarterbacks today. That immediately tanks any marginal fantasy value Boller and Palmer had going into Week 7.

But most importantly, even if Boller plays every offensive snap today, he's still a must-avoid for fantasy GMs. There's zero chance he will start beyond this Sunday, and there's nearly zero chance that he will take the kinds of risks that result in big plays and high yardage and would make him in any way beneficial to your fantasy team's chances.

Boller has had only one season, 2004, in which he threw more touchdowns than interceptions (13 to 11), and he's never averaged more than 199.9 yards per game in his career.

He's lucky to have McFadden to hand the ball off to, because if the team were to rely on Boller to lead the offense, the Raiders would have a lot of trouble getting points on the board.

Yes, there are a lot of high-caliber fantasy quarterbacks on the bye this week, but hopefully you've shored up those issues already should you have one of them as your regular starter. Unless you're in an extremely desperate situation, don't add Boller and don't start him.

Even with those bye-week quarterbacks unavailable, Boller is still only owned in one percent of Yahoo! leagues. There's a reason for that. Don't give into whatever misguided temptation that may have you considering Boller for Week 7; there are better options.