I’m sticking with the team-by-team format this week, which gives me more room to explain how I’m viewing each offense after my initial projection process, including both short- and long-term outlooks. I’ve also added a quick Trending Up/Trending Down section under each position to highlight players whose outlooks are shifting. These are just my current vibes, not automatic start/sit or add/drop recommendations.
As a reminder, my process isn’t manually moving players up and down a rankings list. I go team by team, matchup by matchup, projecting every player and how their usage and production impact their teammates. Those projections fuel our fantasy rankings, DFS models, and prop tools. This article is my chance to explain the why behind those numbers.
The tiers below are simply a snapshot of my initial projections, not my final lineup recommendations. I’m constantly refining those projections throughout the week as I dive deeper into every matchup, uncover things I may have missed initially, and account for new information.
That’s why I encourage everyone to use the early part of the week to game plan rather than lock in sit/start decisions. An answer I give on Tuesday could easily flip by Sunday. By roughly 30 minutes before kickoff, I’ve had several more days to fine-tune everything, and we typically have the injury news, inactives, and clarity needed to make the most informed decisions possible.
When that window arrives, everyone is making their lineup decisions at essentially the same time. While I can’t personally answer every sit/start question, I’m effectively answering them for everyone through my updated rankings, which I’m obsessively refining right up until kickoff.
So use the tiers and trends for a quick snapshot, jump to any team breakdown below for more context, and always use my updated rankings when it’s actually time to make your lineup decisions. And if two players are ranked right next to each other, it’s probably a genuine coin flip. That’s part of what makes fantasy so fun!
And one final reminder: this is simply a snapshot of my initial ranks. You should always refer to my updated ranks when making actual lineup decisions, as those will change as we get more news/info and as I have more time to dive into each game.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings, Expert Tiers, and Thoughts
Editor’s note: Our weekly fantasy football rankings, tiers, and expert projections are part of our 2026 fantasy football kit. Click here to get access!
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals went with a run-heavy approach against the Rams, which worked and led them to the upset win. With Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight playing well, they may not want to rush Jeremiyah Love back. If he returns, it’ll be tougher to trust anyone in this backfield. I’m still low on Love’s upside for the rest of his rookie season but high on him in 2027 and beyond.
Michael Wilson hasn’t done much since Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded away. But as I’ve been saying, Marv wasn’t commanding that many targets, while Jalen Brooks, who has taken most of his snaps, has been drawing targets. I still think Wilson should be a low-end WR2 going forward, while Trey McBride is obviously a top-2 TE. They’re the only pass catchers we can really trust in this offense right now. Kendrick Bourne is more of a WR4/5 in deeper PPR leagues.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons’ run game finally had a dud, but they should bounce back. Bijan Robinson is obviously a top-3 option, while Brian Robinson is outside my top 40 with Atlanta being home underdogs against the 49ers. We can only really roll the dice on him in games where the Falcons are favored.
Drake London is the only WR we can trust right now, while Kyle Pitts’ underlying usage was much better last week as he went 5/60/2. That’s back-to-back games with a 70%+ routes run rate. He’s more of a high-end TE2 now but is still going to be inconsistent. That’s just who he is at this point.
Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson seems like a coin flip to return this week. It’s impossible to accurately rank this offense until we know for sure, as his return would mean roughly a 40-yard increase in their projected passing yards.
Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers are the only must-start skill players, while Mark Andrews is more of a high-end TE2. I expect we’ll see rookies Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas continue to take on larger roles as the season goes on, filling the void left by Isaiah Likely.
Buffalo Bills
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