Week 7 WR Rankings: Welcome Back, Rashee Rice
Matthew Freedman highlights his favorite WRs from his Week 7 fantasy football rankings.
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 WR 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 football rankings, and my weekly projections, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my favorite Week 7 fantasy football plays.
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Week 7 Wide Receiver Rankings
George Pickens Hurdles Up the Week 7 WR Ranks
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Sunday that No. 1 WR CeeDee Lamb (ankle) "has a chance to play" this week against the Commanders, and Cowboys EVP/COO Stephen Jones echoed that same sentiment on Monday.
That's great … but Lamb hasn't practiced since exiting Week 3 early. He might return this week, but I'm skeptical he will.
If he plays, I'll probably still be high on George Pickens, because the team could choose to ease Lamb into action.
And if Lamb is out, then Pickens might be in my positional top three, especially if No. 3 WR KaVontae Turpin (foot) is also out.
On the one hand, that seems outrageous. On the other hand, Pickens since Week 3 has 24-427-5 receiving on 35 targets and is the No. 2 WR in Utilization Score (91, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report).
Without question, Pickens is trending up.
And now he has a favorable matchup against the Commanders, who are No. 5 in largest fantasy boost allowed to WRs (+4.4). With the Steelers last year, Pickens had 5-91-1 receiving on seven targets (plus a four-yard rush) vs. HC Dan Quinn's defense.
And with QB Dak Prescott, the Cowboys have historically performed well in the NFC East: For his career, Prescott is 30-13 ATS (35.6% ROI, per Action Network).
Multiple players in the Cowboys offense could go off this week.
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Rashee Rice Is an Immediate WR1 Upon Week 7 Return
Well, it's finally here. For the first time since Week 3 last year, Rashee Rice—the presumed No. 1 WR for the Chiefs—will play football.
We've been on quite a journey to reach this point.
Rice was strong as a rookie in 2023. While he started out the season as a rotational player, he had 58-693-5 receiving on 74 targets in his final 10 games of the regular season, and then in the playoffs he kept it going with 26-262-1 receiving on 33 targets (and 2-5-0 rushing) as the Chiefs won the Super Bowl.
But that offseason he found himself plagued by multiple legal issues … and then—after a promising first few games to the campaign (24-288-2, 29 targets)—Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4.
And then … he was suspended for the first six games of 2025.
So here we are: Some bad mixed with some good.
But right now I see more good: Rice seems likely to make a full recovery from his injury (his ACL, MCL, and meniscus are intact), the suspension has afforded him extra time to rehab and get in shape, and the Chiefs have worked through their early-season offensive woes (30.7 points per game in Weeks 4-6 vs. 20.0 in Weeks 1-3).
Give the state of the Chiefs offense and what we've seen out of Rice in his career—as well as the sheer number of pass-catching injuries incurred over the past month—Rice is an upside-seeking WR1 in his 2025 debut.
In his two career games against the Raiders, Rice has 14-164-1 on 22 targets vs. DC Patrick Graham's unit.
Jerry Jeudy Looks for Week 7 Breakout
The season has not been kind to Jerry Jeudy.
One year after having a career-best 90-1,229-4 receiving campaign, Jeudy in 2025 has a scoreless 240 yards.
His efficiency (5.0 yards per target) is the stuff of nightmares.
But at least he has volume: Since Week 4—which No. 2 WR Cedric Tillman (hamstring, IR) exited early—Jeudy has averaged nine targets per game, and I expect him to maintain his workload given that No. 1 TE David Njoku (knee) is uncertain after exiting Week 6 multiple times with injury.
Granted, Jeudy did almost nothing with the 13 targets he saw last week: His 43 yards receiving is a small number, and it's made all the smaller by his league-high 105 unrealized air yards.
But I'm optimistic that Jeudy will more effectively convert targets into yards (and maybe even a TD?) this week against the Dolphins, who are No. 32 in defensive dropback SR (55.3%, per RBs Don't Matter) as well as defensive pass DVOA (43.4%, per FTN).
Truly, the Dolphins might have the league's worst pass defense … and No. 1 CB Storm Duck (ankle) hasn't played since Week 1.
Sterling Shepard to Capitalize on Injury Onslaught in Week 7
The Buccaneers are beyond injured at WR.
- 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
I'm skeptical that any of these guys will play this week, which could leave the Bucs with a WR unit led by veteran slot man Sterling Shepard.
Fortunately, Shepard has a few factors in his favor.
First, he has a long-time established connection with QB Baker Mayfield: In his strong senior season at Oklahoma (86-1,288-11 receiving), Shepard was the No. 1 receiver for Mayfield a decade ago (#ShowerNarrative).
Second, all the other available Bucs WRs—Tez Johnson, Ryan Miller and Kameron Johnson—have little NFL experience, whereas Shepard is now in his 10th NFL season.
Third, Shepard looks like he has finally regained some of the athleticism that was sapped from him by his season-ending injuries in 2021 (Achilles) and 2022 (ACL). The sample is small, but through six games he has been more explosive (9.0 yards per target) than he has been in years.
So Shepard has a real shot to be the No. 1 receiver for Mayfield this week … and then there's the setup: This game has an over/under of 52.5 points, and the Lions will be without CBs Terrion Arnold (shoulder), D.J. Reed (hamstring, IR), Khalil Dorsey (wrist, IR), Avonte Maddox (hamstring) and Ennis Rakestraw (shoulder, IR) as well as SS Brian Branch (suspended).
On top of that, Lions are No. 3 in largest fantasy boost allowed to WRs (+5.5).
Even in Guillotine Leagues™, I might be willing to start Shepard this week.
The Deep Route
Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals) vs. Steelers: Chase did his typical thing of starting slow in Week 1 (26 yards, no TDs), but since Week 2 he has a position-best 93 Utilization Score, which he has leveraged into 40-442-4 receiving on 52 targets in five games. He's the only WR this year with 3+ top-five fantasy finishes (per our Fantasy Life Scoring Matrix). The Steelers might be without CB Darius Slay (shoulder).
Rome Odunze (Bears) vs. Saints: Coming off the Week 5 bye, Odunze didn't impress this past week on Monday Night Football (32 yards, no TDs), but he was dominant in Weeks 1-4 (20-296-5 receiving, 35 targets). The Saints are No. 28 in defensive pass DVOA against No. 1 WRs (32.7%), and CB Isaac Yiadom (hamstring) last played in Week 4. I have the Bears as a four-star bet in our Fantasy Life NFL Game Model.
Ladd McConkey (Chargers) vs. Colts: For the second straight game, I'm giving McConkey a shoutout—especially since he just went off with 7-100-1 receiving on nine targets. As was the case last week, I like his matchup in the slot, where the Colts are injured: Starter Kenny Moore (Achilles) hasn't played since Week 3, and backup Mike Hilton (shoulder, IR) is out. Additionally, perimeter CB Charvarius Ward (concussion) is questionable. Ladd McConkey may no longer be the No. 1 WR in this offense, but that's fine: The Colts are No. 31 in defensive pass DVOA against No. 2 WRs (45.1%).
Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers) at Jets: This is my third straight week to mention McMillan, but it's deserved. Despite being a rookie, the first-rounder is the No. 3 WR in air yard share (48%) and No. 5 WR in WOPR (75%). The Jets could be lethargic coming back from London, and they're No. 30 in defensive dropback EPA (0.278).
"WOPR" stands for "weighted opportunity rating," and it measures the overall quality of a player's aerial role in his offense by considering his share of targets and air yards.
Elic Ayomanor (Titans) vs. Patriots: No. 1 WR Calvin Ridley (hamstring) exited last week with a soft-tissue injury, and the offense might actually improve with the dismissal of HC Brian Callahan. The Pats are No. 30 in defensive dropback SR (53.5%). With 5+ targets in every game but one, Ayomanor is a waiver wire flex flier.
Wan'Dale Robinson (Giants) at Broncos: The Giants have three extra days of rest off Thursday Night Football, and the Broncos are in a tough spot traveling back from London. With WR Malik Nabers (knee, IR) out and WR Darius Slayton (hamstring) uncertain, Robinson could serve as the team's No. 1 pass catcher. In his two full games this year without Nabers, he has 11-114-1 receiving on 14 targets, and last week Robinson had a 100% snap rate.
Kendrick Bourne (49ers) vs. Falcons: WR Brandon Aiyuk (knee, IR) is nowhere close to playing, WR Jauan Jennings (ribs, ankle) was extremely hampered in Week 6, WR Ricky Pearsall (knee) last suited up in Week 4, and TE George Kittle (hamstring, IR)—though a candidate to return—is yet to practice. That means Bourne could be the No. 1 receiver for the 49ers for a third straight week. Over his past two games, Bourne has 15-284-0 receiving on 20 targets.
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 5 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)
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