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McFarland: Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings & Tiers

Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Darrell Henderson (27) is pursued by Arizona Cardinals cornerback Robert Alford (23) in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It's time to set our Week 7 fantasy football lineups and identify our favorite DFS plays and fades.

Below, you'll find tiers and rankings for every position, including analysis, implied point totals, betting spreads and more.

For adjustments after the timestamp below, check out PFF's weekly rankings and projections.

Last updated: 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 20

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KEY:

  • SOS: PFF's Fantasy Strength of Schedule (SoS) metric provides a league-wide, season-long view of opponent matchups for each fantasy position.
  • OL Pass-Block Advantage (OL PBA): offensive-line pass blocking matchup; derived from the OL/DL Matchup tool (pass blocking advantage — the higher the number, the better the matchup for the offensive line, and vice versa).
  • OL Run-Block Advantage (OL RBA): offensive-line pass blocking matchup; derived from the OL/DL Matchup tool (run blocking advantage — the higher the number, the better the matchup for the offensive line, and vice versa).
  • WR/CB Matchup Advantage (WR/CB MU): wide receiver versus cornerback matchup; derived from the WR/CB Matchup tool (matchup advantage grade — the higher the grade, the better the matchup for the receiver, and vice versa).
  • TE Matchup Advantage (TE MU): tight end versus linebackers and safeties; derived from the TE Matchup tool (matchup advantage — the higher the number, the better the matchup for the tight end, and vice versa.
  • Projections: from PFF projections tool.
  • Injuries: Q = Questionable; D = Doubtful (typically removed from ranks on Saturday); GTD = game time decision

JUMP TO A POSITION RANKING:

QB | RB | WR | TE


QUARTERBACKS

Tier Rank Player Opponent Total Spread Implied Points QB SOS OL PBA PPR Injury Status
1 QB1 Lamar Jackson CIN 47.0 -6.5 26.75 3.1 15 25.0
1 QB2 Patrick Mahomes @TEN 57.5 -5.5 31.50 5.4 13 24.0
1 QB3 Kyler Murray HST 47.5 -17.5 32.50 5.5 24 24.6
1 QB4 Tom Brady CHI 47.0 -12.5 29.75 5.9 9 23.4
2 QB5 Jalen Hurts @LV 49.0 3.0 23.00 2.8 -23 17.1
2 QB6 Matthew Stafford DET 50.5 -15.5 33.00 10.0 20 22.4
2 QB7 Aaron Rodgers WAS 49.0 -8.5 28.75 6.3 -44 20.9
3 QB8 Joe Burrow @BLT 47.0 6.5 20.25 3.4 -9 17.6
3 QB9 Derek Carr PHI 49.0 -3.0 26.00 3.7 -30 19.3
3 QB10 Ryan Tannehill KC 57.5 5.5 26.00 3.7 19 19.0
3 QB11 Sam Darnold @NYG 43.0 -3.0 23.00 6.0 3 16.5
3 QB12 Matt Ryan @MIA 47.5 -2.5 25.00 5.3 -33 18.1
3 QB13 Daniel Jones CAR 43.0 3.0 20.00 4.0 -48 17.4
4 QB14 Tua Tagovailoa ATL 47.5 2.5 22.50 4.6 -17 16.8
4 QB15 Mac Jones NYJ 42.5 -7.0 24.75 4.8 -20 16.8
4 QB16 Carson Wentz @SF 44.0 4.0 20.00 2.6 -8 14.2
4 QB17 Jameis Winston @SEA 43.0 -5.0 24.00 4.2 8 14.2
4 QB18 Teddy Bridgewater @CLV 41.5 2.0 19.75 0.0 -2 14.1 Q
5 QB19 Taylor Heinicke @GB 49.0 8.5 20.25 2.2 34 14.9
5 QB20 Zach Wilson @NE 42.5 7.0 17.75 6.1 8 12.9
5 QB21 Justin Fields @TB 47.0 12.5 17.25 1.3 -13 14.6
5 QB22 Case Keenum DEN 41.5 -2.0 21.75 2.8 -2 17.5
5 QB23 Jared Goff @LA 50.5 15.5 17.50 0.4 -69 11.9
5 QB24 Geno Smith NO 43.0 5.0 19.00 0.8 17 14.0
5 QB25 Davis Mills @ARZ 47.5 17.5 15.00 1.8 -25 14.2
5 QB26 Jimmy Garoppolo IND 44.0 -4.0 24.00 3.7 5 13.5 Q
6 QB27 Trey Lance IND 44.0 -4.0 24.00 3.7 5 3.0 Q
6 QB28 Taysom Hill @SEA 43.0 -5.0 24.00 4.2 8 7.5 Q

Removed from list: Baker Mayfield (out — shoulder)

Tier 1 – Lamar Jackson handles 23% of the Ravens' designed rushing attempts (second-most in the NFL) and owns the highest scramble rate (10%) in the league for quarterbacks with at least 150 dropbacks. Once inside the five-yard line, he is the team's No. 1 rushing option, with 63% of attempts. Now the team is on pace to throw the ball at a clip nine percentage points higher than last season. The Ravens have the sixth-highest implied points on the slate.

Tier 2 – The Rams could be up multiple touchdowns by halftime against the Lions, so Matthew Stafford may need to do his damage early in this one. However, he has the best-implied points and top-ranked QB SOS on the slate.

Tier 3 – Joe Burrow's matchup and implied points don't look great, but the Bengals' dropbacks per game have slowly risen over the past three games (excludes overtime), and their neutral first-down pass rate is up to 69% (third-highest in the NFL). As 6.5-point dogs, there is a chance we see Burrow's highest pass attempt total of the season.

Tier 4 – Sam Darnold has cooled off, but the Panthers' offense remains pass-focused with healthy volume and good receivers.

Tier 4 – Matt Ryan has two top-12 performances in as many outings, and the Falcons' offense is pushing the ball downfield more aggressively (11.5 and 8.0 aDOT) with heavy play-action passing (23% and 42%). Calvin Ridley, Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson have big-play ability, and Ryan draws an above-average QB SOS.

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