Sometimes when your opponents zig, you need to zag. Doug Moore presents his Week 7 fantasy football bold predictions that will separate you from the competition.
As we enter Week 7 of the NFL and fantasy football seasons, fantasy owners may be looking for players to turn around their season and keep their playoffs hopes alive, or to replace injured or disappointing players. With that being said, here are 10 bold fantasy football predictions for the week.
[dt_divider style=”thick” /]Despite having seven touchdown passes in the past two games, Matthew Stafford struggles against Washington
In his past two games against the Eagles and the Rams, the Vikings quarterback has thrown for 450 yards and seven touchdowns. With emerging superstar Marvin Jones at his disposal, Stafford has been great lately. Unfortunately for him, he is facing a Washington team that has not given up many points to quarterbacks recently. Over the last three games, Washington has allowed just 612 yards (204 yards per game) and two passing touchdowns to opposing QBs. The Lions have struggled running the ball, which will allow Washington to focus on Detroit’s passing game. Stafford will likely have his playmakers blanketed by a solid secondary and therefore may not have a good game.
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Even with his early season struggles, Blake Bortles has a great day against the Raiders
Over the first five games of the season, Bortles has thrown for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has struggled to utilize Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson and has not been as efficient in the redzone. Luckily for him and the Jaguars, they face the Raiders in Week 7. Oakland has given up 881 yards (293 yards per game) and five touchdowns (nearly two per game) over the past three games. Bortles may have been struggling so far this season but he has a solid match-up in Week 7 and has thrown for at least one touchdown every single game this season.
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Lamar Miller has a terrific week even against a tough opponent in the Broncos
Miller had easily the best performance of his Texans career in Week 6 against the Colts. He ran for 149 yards and a touchdown while also snagging four receptions for 29 yards and another score. He was the main reason why the Texans won that game and it looks like they will certainly use him like the work-horse running back they signed him to be this off-season. He faces the Broncos in Week 7, which isn’t actually the most daunting challenge for running backs. The Broncos have given up almost 500 yards from scrimmage (271 rushing, 214 receiving) and two total touchdowns to opposing running backs over the past three games. With the Broncos elite pass defense, the Texans will likely rely on Miller a lot. With his usage, he has a good shot at repeating last week’s stat line.
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Tevin Coleman shreds the San Diego defense even as second string behind Freeman
While Coleman didn’t have a spectacular game against the Seahawks, he has a terrific opportunity against the Chargers in Week 7. The Chargers have given up over 445 yards and five combined touchdowns to opposing running backs over the past three games . Coleman is clearly the “1B” to Devonta Freeman’s “1A” but he will get plenty of opportunities against the Chargers, who have been particularly bad against pass-catching running backs, which is Coleman’s forte. They have given up the most receptions (27) and receiving yards (201) to running backs over the past three games. In what could be a high scoring game with two teams that lack solid defenses, Coleman could see a lot of usage.
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In a tough divisional match-up, Christine Michael hits a wall
In a big divisional match-up, Michael and the Seahawks face the Cardinals. The Cardinals have not been generous to running backs, giving up only 143 rushing yards and a touchdown over the past three games. While Michael has run for at least 50 yards in every game, he has managed only one game with over 66 yards and all four of his touchdowns have come in two games. Going up against the tough Cardinal’s defense Michael may gain some yardage on the ground but is unlikely to find pay dirt.
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Despite only one touchdown this season, Jeremy Maclin finds the end zone against the Saints
Since Week 1 Maclin hasn’t scored a touchdown and has only hit more than 70 yards once. Despite that, he is heading into a great match-up this week against the porous Saints defense. The Saints have given up 409 yards and two touchdowns to opposing wide receivers over the past two weeks. And with the Chiefs not having any other viable wide receiver options other than Maclin, he may be able to take full advantage of this beatable New Orleans secondary. If Dontrelle Inman and Devin Funchess can score a touchdown, so can Maclin.
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With a tough match-up and back-up quarterback, Antonio Brown has an off week
Brown is arguably the best wide receiver in the game, unfortunately, his quarterback with be Landry Jones and he is going up against the Patriots, who have been able to hold both Terrelle Pryor and A.J. Green in check for the past two weeks. With Ben Roethlisberger out following knee surgery, Jones will step in and be a major downgrade for all Steelers play-makers, including Brown. They have only given up two touchdowns to opposing wide receivers over the past three games and will be able to focus a lot of attention on Brown. He may not put up his usual superstar numbers in Week 7.
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Bad news for Hopkins owners as DeAndre doesn’t do much against Denver
Speaking earlier about Denver’s elite pass defense, Hopkins gets to experience it first-hand in Week 7. The Broncos have allowed only 229 yards and no touchdowns to opposing wide receivers over the past three games. And with Will Fuller expected to return to his normal role this weekend, Hopkins may see even less targets. The Texans wideout has been off and on this season with the erratic Brock Osweiler throwing to him, and going up against the NFL’s best secondary doesn’t help solve that problem. He isn’t expected to fill up the stat sheet this weekend.
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Antonio Gates who? Hunter Henry continues to show why he is the future versus Atlanta
Henry has been a revelation for the Chargers this season. He has at least 61 yards receiving in each of the past four games and has scored in three straight contests. While Antonio Gates is back in the line-up, he himself admitted he isn’t 100%. That means more opportunities for the emerging Henry against Atlanta. The Falcons have given up 191 yards (63 yards per game) and a touchdown over the past three games to opposing tight ends. Henry has a solid match-up this weekend as he continues to settle in as San Diego’s latest budding star tight end.
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Despite the hot start, Kyle Rudolph doesn’t do well against the Eagles
With Sam Bradford under center for the Vikings, Rudolph has accumulated 29 targets, 17 receptions, 171 yards and three touchdowns over the past four games. He even went three straight games (Weeks 2-4) with a touchdown. Unfortunately, he goes up against the Eagles who have given up only two receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown to opposing tight ends over the past two weeks. Stefon Diggs has a chance to return in Week 7, which would take away targets from Rudolph as well. He doesn’t appear to have a good game lined up for him this weekend.
Follow Doug on Twitter @DMooreNFL. Check out Doug’s articles on 2016’s most underdrafted fantasy players and bounce back candidates for the year.
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