Week 7 Love/Hate

Matthew Berry backs A.J. Brown as a love play despite last week's drops and alligator arms, citing 33% target share and 97% route participation in his first game back; wide receivers have averaged over 20 fantasy points per game against Chicago this season, which allows 16.3 yards per reception (third most in NFL); Berry ranks him wide receiver 10 this week and expects a high-scoring game given Philadelphia's need to keep pace with Caleb and Chicago's three starting offensive linemen out.

Matthew Berry ranks Aaron Jones as an RB2 this week despite Jordan Mason returning for the Vikings, citing his passing involvement as the key. Over the last three games, Jones has seen a 19% target share. The Colts defense has allowed the third-most receiving yards per game to opposing running backs, making this a favorable matchup for Jones' receiving role. Berry believes the Vikings won't suddenly move away from the guy leading them in passing work.

Matthew Berry has Aaron Rodgers as a high-end QB2 play this week in Paris. Rodgers has thrown for multiple touchdowns in each of his last four games and historically plays well in international games.

Matthew Berry identifies Blake Corum as a survival flex play in deeper leagues this week. The Raiders have been a top-10 matchup for running backs this season, and the Rams have a top-5 implied team total, suggesting they'll be playing from ahead. Berry expects Corum to get double-digit touches and significant work in the second half.

Matthew Berry identifies Braylon Allen as a strong play if Breece Hall remains out. In the three games Hall has missed, Allen has averaged an 88% snap rate with approximately 20 touches per game. This week he faces the Dolphins, who have been the second-best fantasy matchup for opposing running backs this entire season. Even if Hall returns, Berry likes both Jets running backs against Miami. The Dolphins have allowed over 21 fantasy points to every backfield they've faced this season.

Matthew Berry likes Braylon Allen in Week 7 against Miami; Allen is the downhill runner (contrasted with Breeson's shifty style), faces a favorable Dolphins defense, and the Jets' offense will likely rely on the running game in what should be a close contest.

Matthew Berry ranks Bucky Irving as running back 12 this week against Carolina, highlighting his elevated role and favorable matchup. Irving had an 85% snap rate last week (a season high) and has gotten 44 touches over his past two games. Carolina allows the fifth-most yards per rush before contact and is bottom-five in fantasy points allowed to running backs. With Baker Mayfield expected back for the Buccaneers, Berry believes the entire offense opens up, but it will still run through Irving. The floor appears to be 15-22 carries, and Irving catches the ball well, which should be utilized more with Baker back.

After struggling the last couple of years, CJ Stroud is now playing the best football of his career. He faces the Giants, who rank fifth-best as a fantasy matchup to opposing quarterbacks and allow touchdown passes at the sixth-highest rate. For three straight weeks, Stroud has finished as a top-13 fantasy quarterback. With Marvin Harrison's role expanding and Tank Dell back in the lineup, Matthew Berry expects continued strong performance and calls it 'Stroud-tober,' noting he's owned the month with 20-plus fantasy points.

Matthew Berry lists Cam Akers (Cam Scadaboo) as a running back hate for Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, citing the tough matchup as a key reason to fade him.

Matthew Berry ranks Chuba Hubbard as running back 10 this week, highlighting his consistency and workload. Over the last four weeks, Hubbard has played 87% of snaps with 24 touches per game, ranking as running back six in utilization score. Over the last three games, he's had at least 20 touches and at least 82 rushing yards in each game, with a low of 15 fantasy points. He's finished as a top-12 running back every single week this season, yet Berry notes everyone's sleeping on him.

Matthew Berry has Denzel Boston as a top 30 play this week despite a rough game last week, noting he has seen an end zone target in every game this year but one; Tennessee is the second-best matchup for perimeter wide receivers.

Matthew Berry loves Devontae Smith as a ride-or-die with backup quarterback Tanner McKee, citing 32.5% target share and at least 27% in every game this season; Dallas allows seventh most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers; Berry notes McKee's tendency to spam the number one target with backup quarterbacks, and Smith's historical performance with backups shows 31, 20, 30, and 20.5 fantasy points in past games; ranks him wide receiver 11 this week.

Matthew Berry lists Emmanuel Wilson as a running back hate for Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, citing the tough matchup as a key reason to fade him.

Matthew Berry ranks Emmanuel Wilson as running back 35 in Week 7; Zach Charbonnet is expected back and will take red zone and goal-line work from Wilson, similar to how he displaced Ken Walker; Wilson has minimal passing game involvement at just 4% target share; tough matchup against Kansas City.

Matthew Berry highlights Jared Goff as the second-best quarterback in fantasy football over the last four weeks, averaging almost 25 points per game; he notes Goff has the highest implied team total in Week 7 and has thrown multiple touchdown passes in 8 of his last 10 home games, making him a strong play despite being a surprise omission from many rosters.

Goff is QB2 in fantasy football, averaging almost 25 points per game. He's second in passing yards and second in touchdowns league-wide. Dating back to last year, he's thrown multiple touchdown passes in eight of his last ten home games. With Detroit having the highest implied team total in week seven and playing at home in a dome off a bye week, Matthew Berry expects him to throw multiple TDs again this week.

Matthew Berry loves Jalen Warren this week against the Saints, ranking him as a top-nine play. Even with Jaylen Dobbins back, Warren played 74% of snaps and 93% on third down last week, showing he remains the primary pass-catching back. The Saints have allowed the biggest fantasy boost to opposing running backs this season, allowing over 21 fantasy points to every backfield they've faced. Warren was trusted in crunch time during the overtime game against Tampa, getting the vast majority of carries and touches in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Matthew Berry identifies Jonah Coleman as a must-add off waivers after the Broncos designated him for return from IR. Berry had Coleman as a big preseason sleeper, believing he would eventually become Denver's starting running back. With J.K. Dobbins averaging 3.3 yards per carry and R.J. Harvey averaging 3.9, Coleman could take over as early as this weekend. In week two before his ankle injury, Coleman had 13 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. Berry urges listeners to pick him up ASAP.

Matthew Berry ranks Jordan Love as QB3 for Week 7 against Detroit; he highlights the exceptional matchup against the Lions, noting that every quarterback facing Detroit this season has scored at least 21 fantasy points, with opposing QBs averaging 320 yards and nearly three touchdown passes per game. Berry also notes Love is hitting his stride and playing the best football of his career, calling him a sneaky MVP candidate.

Mo Hassan expresses concern about Josh Downs' role in Chicago's stacked pass-catching room alongside Devontae Smith, Colston Loveland, and others; Hassan notes that Caleb loves Luther Burden and calls him a problem child, iterating they want to get him the ball; with so many elite options, Hassan suggests Downs cannot be trusted as any one of them can explode at any moment.

Matthew Berry ranks Josh Downs outside his top 40 wide receivers this week facing the Vikings, citing a confluence of issues: Minnesota's second-toughest matchup for slot receivers, the Colts' third-lowest implied team total in week seven, Daniel Jones' poor play forcing underneath passes to Keenan Allen instead, and Downs' career-low 20.6% route share. Downs' strength against man coverage is negated by the offensive line struggles that force longer-developing routes, and he failed to produce against the Titans last week, so Berry doubts he'll perform on the road against Brian Flores' defense.

Matthew Berry lists Josh Jacobs as a running back hate for Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, citing the tough matchup as a key reason to fade him.

Matthew Berry is down on Josh Jacobs in Week 7 against Detroit regardless of injury status; Lions are seventh-toughest matchup for opposing running backs; Jacobs has been out six-plus weeks with uncertain workload; Green Bay ranks 26th in yards before contact on RB rushes; Detroit's secondary strength suggests the Packers will attack through the air rather than lean on the run game.

Matthew Berry likes Josh Jacobs long-term despite Week 7 concerns; when at full form under LaFleur, Jacobs is a bell-cow three-down back who can catch the ball well; he has produced well in this scheme previously and has had some of his best career games and seasons with Green Bay, though immediate full production is unlikely.

Keenan Allen has seen more targets than Josh Downs in each of the last two games, benefiting from Daniel Jones' poor play that forces the Colts offense into underneath passing situations. With the offensive line struggling and the Colts' overall offensive dysfunction, Allen is getting the bulk of the work in the passing game.

Walker retains red zone and goal-line work in Seattle's backfield despite Zach Charbonnet being positioned as the primary back; Matthew Berry notes Walker is not involved in the passing game (4% target share) and faces a tough matchup against Kansas City, contributing to his RB35 ranking for the week.

Matthew Berry has Kyler Murray as a top 12 QB play in Week 7 against the Colts, who rank as a top 10 matchup for opposing quarterbacks. Murray is coming off his best fantasy game of the season and has continued to ascend in the KOC offense with Justin Jefferson back and a good receiving core.

An expansion of Marvin Harrison's role is expected as the Texans receiver room becomes deeper with his addition. Matthew Berry notes the receiver room is now probably the deepest in the entire league, with Harrison being Stroud's best receiver from college, acquired for a second-round pick.

Matthew Berry loves Matthew Golden against Detroit, noting he leads the NFL in deep targets this season and faces the second-best wide receiver matchup; Detroit allows third-highest completion percentage on deep passes; Golden has two drop touchdowns that would significantly improve his numbers; Berry expects Las Vegas to attack Detroit through the air despite Josh Jacobs' return, as Detroit's run defense ranks seventh-best in the NFL over the last four weeks.

Matthew Berry has Stafford as a top 10 QB play in Week 7 against the Raiders, who rank 24th in pass defense and allow touchdown passes at the fourth-highest rate in the league.

Matthew Stafford is a top-10 play this week against the Raiders, who rank 24th in pass defense so far this season. Despite Devontae Adams being out for the Rams, Matthew Berry still has Stafford as a top-10 quarterback option.

Matthew Berry views Omar Cooper Jr. as a viable flex in deeper leagues this week against Miami, citing 24% target share in his first game back from IR last week; Berry notes Cooper remains viable even if Adonai Mitchell returns.

Matthew Berry has Patrick Mahomes as QB 15 in Week 7 against Seattle, who rank as the second-toughest matchup for opposing quarterbacks with the league's best pass defense (5.2 yards per attempt allowed). Every QB facing Seattle this season has been held under 200 passing yards, and Mahomes may be without Rashid Rice.

Saquon Barkley is expected to return to practice and play Monday against the Cowboys after missing time with injury. Matthew Berry ranks him as running back 15 for the week, noting it's a nice matchup with Dallas, who rank 26th against the run over the last four weeks. Despite the Eagles' beat-up offensive line and Jalen Hurts being on the mend, Berry expects Barkley to be started and likely finish as RB2, though he may not be heavily involved in the passing game given Jalen Hurts' tendency to avoid dump-offs to running backs.

Tank Dell is back from injury and expected to add juice to the Texans offense. Matthew Berry notes that with Tank coming off that injury, it can add a little bit of juice to the team's momentum as they're coming for opponents.

Matthew Berry is lower on Travis Kelce this week against Seattle despite being a big fan of the player, ranking him as tight end nine rather than his typical higher ranking. The Seahawks are the fourth-toughest matchup for opposing tight ends, allowing only 25.5 yards per game to the position; Kelce has had only one game this season with more than five targets. Trey McBride is the only tight end to score double-digit fantasy points against Seattle this year. Berry notes that if Rashee Rice is out, more intermediate passes might go to Kelce, but Rice's 4 for 53 last week shows that hasn't been productive.

Despite concerns about the Seattle matchup, Matthew Berry notes an interesting stat: Travis Kelce is first in yards after catch (YAC) among all tight ends, which is notable given this is theoretically his last year of his career where he should be slowest. George Kittle is second in YAC, making the two elder tight ends stand out in this metric.

Matthew Berry loves Tucker Craft (the Tuckler/Tuck Daddy) as tight end 6 this week against Detroit, which allows the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends (over 14 per game); six different tight ends have scored 13+ fantasy points against Detroit, and the Lions have given up nine touchdowns to tight ends in five games; Craft had eight targets last week and benefits from Watson and Golden leading the league in touchdowns as a duo, opening up the middle of the field.

Matthew Berry prefers Tyler Higbee over Colby Parkinson this week against the Raiders, noting Higbee has run 28 more routes than Parkinson over the last two weeks; Las Vegas is the fourth-best matchup for tight ends this season; with Devontae Adams out, Berry expects the Rams to use more 12 personnel and increase tight end usage.

Matthew Berry has Tyler Scott as QB 16 in Week 7 against the Steelers, who allow the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks and the fifth-lowest touchdown pass rate. The Saints have allowed the fourth-most QB pressure, so Scott will face significant pressure and limited time in the pocket.

Tyrone Tracy looked good last week and is getting significant passing work in the Giants offense, creating workload competition with Cam Saddaboo and suggesting increased involvement in the passing game.

Matthew Berry ranks Woody Marks as a top-20 play this week against the Giants, despite a tough matchup against Jacksonville last week. Marks continues to get all the work in the backfield with Dave Montgomery banged up. The Giants defense has allowed the fourth-most yards per carry to opposing running backs, making this a favorable matchup. Berry expects Marks to get double-digit touches and significant work in the second half as the Rams play from ahead.

Charbonnet is being positioned as the main guy in Seattle's backfield, but this creates a volume split with Kenneth Walker III; Matthew Berry ranks him as RB35 for the week against Kansas City, citing the committee approach and Walker's continued involvement in red zone and goal-line work.

Matthew Berry has Zay Flowers as a top 15 play this week against Cincinnati despite the hamstring injury, citing 32% target share since his return; even if Tyler Huntley starts instead of Lamar Jackson, Berry still ranks him top 15; Cincinnati's secondary allows third-most yards per game to slot receivers.