Tight Ends For Fantasy Football Week 7: Point Ahead to Brock Bowers

Before we get into my favorite tight ends for fantasy football Week 7, let's take a look back at some of the players I liked in Week 6.

Quarterbacks: Pretty much nailed it. But …
Running Backs: Tank Bigsby. Scoreless 24 yards.
Wide Receivers: DJ Moore. Scoreless 20 yards.
Tight Ends: Pat Freiermuth. Scoreless 16 yards.

I'm just trying to set expectations appropriately low.

As of Tuesday evening, here's an early look at my (preliminary) favorite Week 7 fantasy plays—the guys who (in some combination) …

Might be high in my fantasy rankings relative to the industry consensus.
Need to be started in most season-long leagues.
Must be added if they are on waivers.
Possess underappreciated upside.
Have advantageous matchups.
Should be considered in daily fantasy.
Make for desirable dynasty acquisition targets.
Are on teams with player-friendly betting odds.
Catch my eye with their player projections.
Stand out in our Fantasy Life Player Prop Tool.

Some notes.

Updates: After I submit this piece, any changing opinions I have will be reflected in my weekly fantasy football rankings and my NFL player projections (accessible with a FantasyLife+ subscription), which I will update throughout the week.

Scoring & Ordering: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated. Players are ordered within position roughly (but maybe not precisely) according to my rankings.

Abbreviations: Check out the end of the piece for abbreviations I might use.

Bye Week: This week, the Bears and Cowboys are off. That's great news for me as a Cowboys fan: They're guaranteed not to lose on Sunday.

Sports Betting Data: Odds are as of 10:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and based on the consensus lines in our Fantasy Life Odds Page.

Freedman's Favorites: Although we publish this piece as four separate articles broken out by position, I think of it as one cohesive whole and write it as such. With that in mind, please be sure to check out the rest of my favorite Week 7 fantasy football plays in the other positional previews.

For the rest of my favorite fantasy football plays for Week 7, sorted by position, see below:

Best TEs for Fantasy Football Week 7

Brock Bowers (Raiders) at Rams

Raiders: +6.5
O/U: 43
TT: 18.25

Being pessimistic about Brock Bowers entering the season looks like one of my biggest mistakes to this point in the campaign. Through six weeks he has flashed with 37-384-1 receiving on 46 targets (plus a 12-yard carry), and he could be even more productive going forward without WR Davante Adams (traded).

For this week, he could additionally be without WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle) and TE Michael Mayer (personal). Last week, he had a career-high 83% route rate, which he turned into 9-71-0 receiving on 10 targets without Adams, Meyers, and Mayer.

As for the matchup, the Rams are No. 32 in defensive pass DVOA against TEs (79.1%) and missing FS John Johnson (shoulder, IR).

By the end of the season, Bowers might be the owner of the greatest rookie TE season of all time.

The Hot Route

George Kittle (49ers -1, TT: 24) vs. Chiefs: Kittle is the No. 1 TE with a 9.3 Utilization Score, and the Chiefs are No. 1 in most fantasy points allowed to TEs (11.7) and largest fantasy boost allowed to TEs (+4.3). In the words of Melvin Udall, "What if this is as good as it gets?"

Colby Parkinson (Rams -6.5, TT: 24.75) vs. Raiders: I doubt we see WRs Puka Nacua (knee, IR) and Cooper Kupp (ankle) return to action this week, and Parkinson has a 25% target share in their absence since Week 3. The Raiders are No. 31 in defensive pass DVOA against TEs (30.6%) and without SS Marcus Epps (knee, IR).

Juwan Johnson (Saints +2.5, TT: 17.25) vs. Broncos: Joker TE Taysom Hill (rib) hasn't played since exiting Week 4 early, and now the Saints could be without WRs Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (knee). Last week Johnson had a season-high 75% route rate with Olave missing most of the game.

More Fantasy Football Plays for Week 7

Abbreviations

Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
Against the Spread (ATS)
Over/Under (O/U)
Team Total (TT)
Moneyline (ML)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
Expected Points Added (EPA)
Success Rate (SR)
Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)
Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR)
Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
Short Down and Distance (SDD)
Long Down and Distance (LDD)

Players Mentioned in this Article