Welcome to another edition of Sriracha’s NFL Game Theory. In this article, I will outline my favorite plays at each position for NFL’s Week 7 Slate. You can find all of the Karma staff’s cores through our NFL Premium Package. Without further ado, here’s my favorite plays at each position.
| Quarterback | RBs: | WR: | TE: | Game Stacks: | QB/WR stacks |
| Kyler Murray | K. Hunt | D. Hopkins | T. Kelce | SEA/ARZ | Murray/Hopkins |
| Russell Wilson | G. Bernard | D. Metcalf | N. Fant | HOU/GB | Wilson/Metcalf |
| Deshaun Watson | C. Carson | W. Fuller V | T. Hockenson | DET/ATL | Watson/Fuller V |
| Matthew Stafford | M. Davis | T. Boyd | D. Fells | CLE/CIN | Stafford/Golladay |
| Drew Brees | J. Robinson | J. Smith Schuster | E. Ebron | SF/NE | Brees |
Tilt your mobile device on it’s side for optimal viewing
*If you don’t already play 3 lineups and 3 max entry contests daily, try using the teams provided in the stacks above to maximize upside and correlation in your NFL lineups.
Quarterbacks:
QB1: This is a great, great slate. Probably one of the best we have seen so far this season. Not only do we have a loaded slate with great games, we have an “all day” type of slate with FanDuel including the SEA/ARI game after it was moved to Sunday Night. There are a ton of great quarterbacks that I would not mind using this week, but I will be focusing in on these three QBs, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, and Deshaun Watson. This SEA/ARZ game was shifted to SNF, and FD still included the game on the main slate, so it looks like we will be having an all day slate as a main slate. The only downside to this is this last game should garner a ton of ownership, so we will be sitting around all day to see where we end up at the end of the night. Speaking of SEA/ARZ, I want to focus on both QBs- they are very similar in floor and upside. Murray and Wilson both flash upside with their wheels but Murray in particular has been a star on the ground, he’s first in rushing yards, rushing TDs, and carries this season for a QB. I slightly lean Murray here for the $300 discount but you really cannot go wrong playing either Russ or Kyler. This game environment should lead to some massive scores for both. Kyler has rushed for a TD in almost every game this season, while Russ is first in the league with 19 passing touchdowns through 5 games. I would make sure I have one of these guys in CASH.
The other QB I wouldn’t mind as a pivot is DeShaun Watson. Watson gets the harder matchup out of the three QBs I listed above, but he has similar upside. He won’t see the nearly as much ownership but him and Aaron Rodgers could definitely try to replicate the game environment in the SEA/ARI game and create their own shootout here in Houston. These two teams have struggled a bit on defense as of late, Green Bay was just torched by Tampa Bay and Tennessee just beat Houston with 2 touchdown games from Henry and Brown. This is a game where I can definitely see a similar shootout environment alike SEA/ARI. There are a ton of QBs I like this week but if I had to choose just one for a cash game lineup, Murray is definitely the guy I want.
QB2/Value/GPP: Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow highlight this section for me, they are on the cheaper side, both under 7.5k. They have been on and off all season but they have upside here in their respective matchups. I still prefer playing any of the guys I listed above in all formats but these guys are pure GPP darts for me. I’ll be running 150 lineups and I’ll have atleast 10 of each of Stafford and Burrow. Stafford gets a nice matchup vs Atlanta who has been just a dream matchup for QBs this season. The only real issue with Stafford is that backfield who has seen a lot of red zone touches, limiting his upside. Burrow has a great matchup and Mixon was just ruled out so expect the Bengals to shift up their game plan a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Burrow in the top 5 value wise with this matchup.
Running Backs:
Alvin Kamara- I was banking on Michael Thomas playing this week so I didn’t have Kamara in my initial article but everything has been changed at this point. Thomas is out again with a hamstring injury and Emmanuel Sanders will also miss the game. This will just funnel more targets to Kamara and this could be another game where he gets 10 targets just because of the Saints’ personnel on the field. Great volume play and I’ll be doing my best to fit him in cash games.
Kareem Hunt- Now that Aaron Jones is Q and will be a GTD, Hunt will be my #1 RB tomorrow. He will get great volume and will likely see 20+ touches vs this weak Bengals front line and defense. He logged a full practice and will suit up and I don’t think the ribs issue will affect his play this week.
Chris Carson- There is a good chance that I will be playing him as a pivot to Kareem Hunt, as Carson gets a very solid matchup in a shootout atmosphere. On top of that, I’ve really liked the way he’s been more involved in the passing game this season and his price is just around where I would consider him playable in all formats. I prefer Hunt>Carson for cash games.
*Honorable Mention: Mike Davis- Probably the last week he will be playable as CMC looks to make his return. Gets a overall solid matchup vs the Saints but they are allowing the 6th fewest rushing yards per game this season. However he will be getting 20+ touches per game and he was severely held back last week in the passing game, so his involvement in that aspect this week will dictate his ceiling.
If you choose to fade Kamara and Hunt, there is great value in Gio Bernard, Jamaal Williams (*), Todd Gurley.
Gio Bernard- Picking up the start for the injured Joe Mixon this week. I don’t think you necessarily need him especially if Aaron Jones is out (that would make Jamaal Williams a TOP play). However, I would look to him for value this week. I think I will end up playing him if Aaron Jones plays, and I’ll definitely run some lineups with him and Jamaal Williams if Aaron Jones sits. He averages around 18 touches without Mixon in the last 2 seasons. His role in the passing game is why I am good with him for all formats.
Jamaal Williams- LOCK if Aaron Jones sits. Houston is putrid vs the run and they got absolutely torched last week by Derrick Henry. I’m not saying Jamaal Williams is Derrick Henry but some of the holes he was able to run through were massive and Henry was out there eating the Houston defense alive. I think you have to play Jamaal if Jones sits.
Todd Gurley– He won’t see any ownership this week but he’s been a great volume RB with 15+ touches every week. He has posted some nice numbers this year and they just have to get him the ball in the red zone. Low owned gem here that could match a guy like Hunt.
Wide Receivers:
Obviously there are a ton of WRs you can play, but I’ll go over my top five this week, two top-tier, two mid-tier and one low owned GPP play.
Top Tier-
DeAndre Hopkins- As of now, he is “hopeful” to play. The only thing that sucks about this one is that it is the very last game of the day. He has an amazing matchup here vs the Seahawks who have been awful vs WRs and their secondary just hasn’t gotten it together. Hopkins is in a prime spot to go for 100+ yards and 10+ catches if he suits up.
Davante Adams- If we get word that Hopkins can’t play, I’ll likely pivot here. He is in a nice matchup of his own vs this Houston defense who was just picked apart last week vs the Titans. AJ Brown scored two touchdowns and they couldn’t stop Humphries either. Davante had his game to get back into the game flow and now I expect him to be back to his normal self this game.
Honorable Mention: Calvin Ridley, Kenny Golladay
Mid Tier-
DK Metcalf- What was FanDuel thinking with this price? He will see ownership for sure and he is definitely mispriced. He hasn’t seen many receptions but his catches have gone for some pretty big gains. He saw his first double digit target game of the season vs the Vikings and turned it into 6/93/2. I like his chances at seeing another 10+ target game for sure.
Tyler Boyd: AJ Green finally woke up last week which took away from Boyd’s usual production but this is a favorable matchup for Boyd, who already went off for 7/72/1 vs the Browns earlier this season. His price tag is pretty fair and he’s been consistent but has only seen the endzone once this year.
Honorable Mention- Christian Kirk- Lock if Hopkins out, great play if Hopkins in.
TreQuan Smith- No Sanders/Thomas, should be de facto #1.
Low owned GPP Play-
Brandin Cooks- In his last two games, he’s seen close to double digit targets, and double digit receptions- catching 17 of 21 targets for a total of 229 yards and two scores. This was against somewhat average defenses, now he gets the Packers who were lit up by Tom Brady last week. It seems like Watson has found the connection with Cooks.
We went over QB, RB, and WR, and I included my game stacks in the table above.
Good luck this weekend!
