Fantasy Week 7 POV: Start QB’s Mahomes, Wilson; sit Bridgewater

We’re in a groove now. It is the seventh week of the fantasy football schedule and the third “Bye” week.

Some players, like Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, play well after the week off and others just continue to post big numbers, like Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, in anticipation of their upcoming “Bye” week.

But You will not see any Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins or Minnesota Vikings on the “Surefire Starters”, “Underrated” or “Sleeper” lists for week 7 because it is their “Bye” week.

If you drafted wisely, you have a suitable substitute to start in place of players like Lamar Jackson, Philip Rivers or Kirk Cousins.  If you question the strength of your bench, this is a good week to evaluate available personnel and make the necessary adjustments to your roster.

Surefire Starters at Quarterback

• Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, completed 21 of 26 passes for 225 yards and 2 touchdown passes against the Buffalo Bills last Monday night.   He should be able to exceed the 20.6 fantasy football points (FPP) he scored in week 6.
• Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks quarterback, should be well rested after the Seahawks took their week 6 “Bye”.  He leads the league in touchdown passes with 19 and will present a tough test for an Arizona defense that held the Cowboys in check last Monday night.
• Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills quarterback, faces the perfect opponent this weekend in the New York Jets.   If Allen felt his offense was out of sync against the Chiefs in last Monday night’s loss, he’ll work out the kinks in a Sunday game with the winless Jets.

Riding the Bench

Note:  These quarterbacks have week 7 ”Byes”.

• Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens quarterback
• Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts quarterback
• Ryan Fitzpatrick or Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins quarterback
• Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings quarterback

Underrated

• Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, is exactly the quarterback that Tampa Bay needs for a sustainable playoff run in 2020.  In what was expected to be a quarterback battle between Brady and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, the Bucs’ defense turned two interceptions into a two-touchdown lead. Brady 17 passes for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Rodgers completed 16 passes for 106 yards and threw 2 interceptions.

 Overrated

• Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers quarterback, is averaging 16.5 FFP per game which is too low for a starting fantasy football quarterback.  He is well suited to serve as the relief quarterback when your starter has a “Bye” week, but Bridgewater seldom throws more than one touchdown per game and his TD-to-interception ratio is 6-to-5

Sleeper QB of the Week

• Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints quarterback, seems like an unlikely candidate for “Sleeper QB”, but he is No. 21 among quarterbacks according to ESPN’s standard scoring system.  Brees is averaging 17 ,8 FFP per week and should better that average against the Carolina secondary.