Fantasy Football Matchup of the Week – Week 7

Another week is done, and another slate of games is in the books. Week 6 hit us with a slew of big-time injuries and the downfall of the last two remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL. Who knew all it would take was a pair of backup quarterbacks with stout defenses? The Bills almost lost their matchup against the Giants,  and Patrick Mahomes is not playing elite football. Welcome to the wild world of the NFL.

With mayhem comes vast fantasy football potential. Week 7 is sure to deliver on this promise with some enticing matchups on tap. The Chargers at Chiefs will be an AFC West slugfest, Monday night’s 49ers at Vikings game has significant fantasy appeal and Detroit at Baltimore could be sneaky high-scoring. Last week, I chose to stay away from the low-hanging fruit matchup; this week, I’m plucking it off the tree, cooking it, and serving it up for dinner, because it’s Sunday Night Football. My Fantasy Football Matchup of the Week is the marquee clash between the

Miami Dolphins vs. Philadelphia Eagles

I said I would be featuring the Dolphins a few more times before year’s end, and here we are again. When looking for fantasy relevance, it’s hard to stray too far from the NFL leader in Red Zone Scores per game (3.5), yards per game (498.7),  and points per game (37.2). They are literally having a historic season and we should be tuning in to watch the weekly fireworks. A few more times of this, and I might as well change it to the Miami Dolphins’ Matchup of the Week. Philadelphia has the firepower on offense to compete, so this should be an exciting way to end our Sunday.

Quarterbacks

Tua Tagovailoa continues to play at an elite level and with the way things are going for the Dolphins, there are no signs of him slowing down anytime soon. His best fantasy games of the season have come against the Chargers and the Broncos, two of the most generous teams to give up points to the quarterback position (3rd and 1st overall respectively). The Eagles are giving up the 6th most fantasy points to quarterbacks, so it’s wheels up for the signal caller on the league’s best offense in 2023. Take Tua and call me in the morning.

Jalen Hurts has a score to settle with Tua, and if we’re lucky, he’ll use Week 7 as his time to do it. At the University of Alabama, Hurts was playing poorly in the 2018 College Football Playoff championship game and was benched at halftime. Tua came in and led the Crimson Tide to an overtime championship. That game saw Tagovailoa supplant Hurts as the starter for the following season.  Hurts will be out to redeem himself and prove that he is the better quarterback. Fingers crossed that he does because that’ll easily translate to fantasy greatness. Start him.

Running Backs

Miami

1,626 total yards and 31 touchdowns! That’s what Raheem Mostert is on pace for if he continues his dominant ways in this potent offense. It’s hard to imagine that he keeps up this ridiculous touchdown pace, but we also thought the same thing back in 2006 when all-time Chargers great LaDainian Tomlinson hit paydirt 31 total times, setting the NFL record for most touchdowns in a season by a running back.  Mostert is no Tomlinson, but one thing is clear: this is Mostert’s backfield and you ride him as far as he can take you, even against a defense like Philadelphia’s who ranks 3rd best against running backs. There’s no way you sit him and his week-winning potential. 

The bigger question at running back for the Dolphins is who is getting the secondary carries behind Mostert. With Devon Achane on IR, last week it was Salvon Ahmed who filled that backup role to the tune of 6-23-1 on the ground and 3-11-0 on 5 targets through the air. Ahmed is a reliable runner but he isn’t a special talent that demands playing time.

Jeff Wilson Jr. looks poised to see his first game action of the year this Sunday, making it a toss-up who gets backup duties. My bet is on Wilson Jr. resuming his 2nd string role, pushing Ahmed down the depth chart. That doesn’t mean I’m playing him this week though. I’d rather take a wait-and-see approach with him to see how the carry counts shake out in this bad running back matchup. If his snap count looks solid, he’ll be an option for me next week against New England.

Philadelphia

Ever since his Week 2 breakout, D’Andre Swift has logged at least 100 yards from scrimmage or a touchdown in every game he’s played. Even in a tough matchup against the Jets’ stingy front seven, he was more than fantasy-relevant with an 8-40-1 receiving line. This week he faces Miami’s middle-of-the-pack rush defense (14th) with no real competition for carries behind him. Kenneth Gainwell only logged four touches in last week’s loss to New York. Swift should have a solid game in this matchup. I’d play him over Isiah Pacheco, Bijan Robinson, and Travis Etienne Jr.

None of Gainwell, Boston Scott, or Rashaad Penny are start-worthy assets. They shouldn’t even be rostered save for deep leagues where all backups are rostered.

Wide Receivers

Miami

Tyreek, the freak, Hill is the star of the Dolphins’ aerial attack. He likes to take a page out of Ricky Bobby’s playbook, “if you ain’t first, you’re last.” He lives up to this motto every time he steps onto the field. He outruns everyone on the defense and there’s nothing they can do to stop him. Rolling safeties over the top of him just force him to make plays in the middle of the field. He is the cream of the crop, and that sort of talent should never hit your bench. Fire him up as the WR1 on the week.

Jaylen Waddle is starting to see some signs of life these last few weeks, posting 5-35-1 against the Giants in Week 5, and 7-51-1 last week against Carolina. His yardage totals might not be where you want them, but his involvement is undeniable with 19 targets between those two games. The Dolphins will need all of Waddle and more to outpace the Eagles’ talented offense. I’d feel pretty good about starting Waddle this week, and I’d play him over Chris Olave, Puka Nacua, and his wide-receiver counterpart, DeVonta Smith.

Despite the game’s shootout potential, the tertiary options in Miami’s wide receiver room are not in play for me. Braxton Berrios or Cedrick Wilson Jr. might catch a long pass or a touchdown, but there’s no way I’m trying to guess and pray for it to happen.

Philadelphia

As sure as Hill is on the other side of the field, so too is AJ Brown for the Eagles. This is truly a battle of elite options at wide receiver: Hill vs Brown, Waddle vs Smith. Personally, I’d rather take the Miami side of the ball with the way they’re playing, but I would never be disappointed to start Brown in my WR slot. There are some players who are just more physically and mentally gifted to play wide receiver in the NFL. Hill is one, and Brown is another. Start your WR1 with confidence.

DeVonta Smith, on the other hand, is not an auto-start type of option. Draft capital might make you feel that way, but we are well past considering their draft cost. Now it’s just a matter of what have you done for me lately, and for Smith, he hasn’t been great. He’s only had one double-digit fantasy outing in the last month, and that only applies to PPR formats. He did receive 11 targets last week though, so that’s a point in his favor. If I had Smith, I’d actually be happy to start him this week. I’d feel good about starting him over Tyler Lockett, Marquise Brown, and Calvin Ridley.

Update: Smith missed practice on Wednesday with a hamstring injury. This definitely throws some shade on him as an option; monitor the week’s practice reports to see if he even suits up. If he does play, he drops in the projections to more of a high-risk, high-reward flex play.

Tight Ends

Durham Smythe is one of those players who is better in real life for the Dolphins than he is in our fake game. There are things Smythe does well on the field that don’t translate to fantasy points. Since I haven’t come across any leagues that reward pass and run-blocking efficacy, then I’d say you can leave Smythe and his one target over the last two games on the waiver wire.

Dallas Goedert, on the other hand, is very fantasy-relevant, but even that can be argued against. While he does have at least five catches in four of the last five games, that hasn’t equated to valuable fantasy points. His only game where you were happy with Goedert came in Week 5 when he put up 8-117-1 against the Rams. Beyond that, he hasn’t eclipsed 42 yards. Goedert is a name that you probably have to start because of the lack of options on waivers. Even still, I’d be fine to play him in this week’s highest over/under. I’d play him over Logan Thomas, Darren Waller, and Evan Engram.

It feels like every time that the Dolphins play football, something exciting happens. If you want to feel like something exciting will happen in your fantasy lineups this week, head over to FFFaceoff.com and check out all our rankings, articles, videos, and tools to set yourself up for success. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Good luck and high scoring!

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