It's Week 7.

We're almost halfway through the fantasy football season.

Gone are the illusions and adrenaline. The pretense and potential.

Hope.

All that's left is the present, the future, the mirror, and your roster.

In the words of Jim Morrison: "The soft parade has now begun."

Let's get into the Week 7 TE edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of …

• Favorable betting factors and situational spots
• Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
• Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)

For process notes regarding this series, my Week 7 fantasy rankings, and my weekly projections, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my favorite Week 7 fantasy football plays.

• Week 7 QB Rankings
• Week 7 RB Rankings
• Week 7 WR Rankings

NOTE: You can access our full rankings and projections with a FREE 12-month FantasyLife+ subscription when you download and install Comet, an awesome AI-powered web browser via Perplexity. Get Comet AND FantasyLife+ for free. Win. Win. Win.

Week 7 Top 12 Tight End Rankings

Cade Otton Is Once Again Relevant in Week 7

Last year, Cade Otton—for one glorious month—looked like one of the league's best TEs.

In Week 7 of the 2024 season, WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both suffered injuries. Evans missed the next three games; Godwin, the rest of the campaign.

In that four-week stretch, Otton had 30-293-3 receiving on 39 targets and was the No. 2 TE in Utilization Score (97, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report).

Well, one year later, and we're once again in a similar situation: The Bucs WRs are decimated.

• Mike Evans (hamstring): Out Weeks 4-6, questionable for Week 7
• Chris Godwin (fibula): Out Week 6, doubtful for Week 7
• Emeka Egbuka (hamstring): Exited Week 6, doubtful for Week 7
• Jalen McMillan (neck, IR): Yet to play this year

Now, I don't expect Otton to replicate his peak 2024 success, but he already this year has exhibited notable Evans-based splits.

• Without Evans (Weeks 4-6): 12-141-0 receiving, 15 targets | 61 Utilization Score
• With Evans (Weeks 1-3): 3-25-0 receiving, 7 targets | 38 Utilization Score

And last week, without both Evans and Godwin, Otton had an obscene 100% snap rate.

Against the Lions, who will be without SS Brian Branch (suspension), Otton could approach double-digit targets.

And hey, I said it was great earlier, but let me show you what it can do -- I asked Comet to make me a cool cartoon depiction of everything I wrote above in this blurb (my Week 7 projections actually have him with 48.1 receiving yards and 0.4 TDs, but I won't discourage the enthusiasm):

Harold Fannin Upgrades to TE1 in Week 7

For the season, Harold Fannin is already the No. 12 TE in Utilization Score (70), and last week—with veteran starter David Njoku (knee) exiting the game multiple times with an injury—the third-round rookie was the No. 4 TE (90).

With that usage, he hit career-high marks in targets (10), receptions (7), and yards (81).

Fannin has impressed with his ability to play all across the formation, and under the assumption that Njoku will miss Week 7, Fannin is a waiver priority for TE-needy teams.

And his matchup couldn't be much better: The Dolphins are No. 30 in defensive pass DVOA against TEs (26.6%, per FTN).

The Hot Route

Darren Waller (Dolphins) at Browns: It's just three games … but so far Waller is the No. 1 TE in fantasy (13.6 points per game, 10-117-4 receiving on 12 targets). There's nothing exceptional about his target volume, but Waller is being targeted downfield (No. 1 TE with a 27% share of air yards) and in the endzone (No. 1 TE with a 67% share of EZ targets)—and that combination is hard to beat. The Browns are No. 5 in largest fantasy boost allowed to TEs (+2.3).

Michael Mayer (Raiders) at Chiefs: In Week 1, starter Brock Bowers (knee) played a 50.8% snap rate because of injury, and Mayer had 4-38-0 receiving on four targets. Last week, Bowers was out, and Mayer had 5-50-1 receiving on seven targets and an 80% route rate. I expect Bowers to miss Week 7, which means Mayer is a borderline TE1.

Darnell Washington (Steelers) at Bengals: Washington has been the No. 1 TE on the Steelers since Week 4 (63% route rate, 23% target rate, 16% target share). With that usage, the freakish athlete (4.64-second 40-yard dash at 6-7, 264 lbs.) has put up acceptable numbers (6-82-0 receiving, 8 targets). The Bengals are No. 1 in most fantasy points allowed to TEs (14.7). I probably wouldn't start Washington in Guillotine Leagues, but he's a viable desperado streamer in deep leagues.

Notes

Byes: This week, the Bills and Ravens are on bye.

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings and projections. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings and projections schedule.

• Tue AM: Publish rankings and projections
• Thu AM: Refresh rankings and projections
• Thu PM: Make necessary TNF rankings changes
• Sat PM: Update rankings and projections
• Sun AM: Revise rankings
• Sun PM: Finalize rankings based on news prior to 1 pm ET kickoff

Accuracy: I'm a six-time top-20 ranker in accuracy and a long-time profitable player prop better.

Scoring: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated.

Cohesion: My positional breakdowns are published separately, but I think of them as comprising one whole, so check out the rest of my favorite Week 7 fantasy football plays (via my Fantasy Life author page).

Abbreviations: Here are some abbreviations I might have used in the piece.

• 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)