NFL Week 7 Fantasy Football IDP Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Options for Week 7 IDP players will be thin with six teams on byes. That’s all the more reason to check out some of the reasoning behind this week’s sit/start options to determine which players are seeing the type of alignments and snap rates to continue producing — or to come out of nowhere with a big fantasy week. 

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DEFENSIVE LINE

START: ED VON MILLER, DENVER BRONCOS VS. CLEVELAND BROWNS

The Browns are beat up right now with injuries, and that includes key pieces on their offensive line. Both starting tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills were inactive for Cleveland’s Week 6 game against the Cardinals, and Baker Mayfield was sacked five times — tied for the most of any Week 6 quarterback. Heading into a short week on Thursday Night Football, there’s enough cause for concern that they could both be missing again in Week 7.

Miller is licking his chops against a hobbled defense after going back-to-back games without a sack. Miller started the season with 4.5 sacks through the first four games, while also adding 13 total tackles to his box score. He’s been fairly quiet since then with just four total tackles and a QB hit to his name.

However, Miller has managed eight pressures in the past two games, six of which came this past week against the Raiders. Miller is no longer the locked-in IDP starter he once was, but there’s still enough gas left in his tank to make him a matchup-dependent option for most IDP leagues, including Week 7 in Cleveland. 

SIT: DI LEONARD WILLIAMS, NEW YORK GIANTS VS. CAROLINA PANTHERS

Williams is coming off his biggest game of the season in terms of IDP production, but he hasn’t exactly impressed so far this year with just 3 sacks after his 1.5-sack game last week. Williams has consistently earned pass-rush grades in the low 60s or high 50s this season, and he had just one game where he managed more than two pressures before last week. He has really been floating by on his high volume of snaps along the Giants defensive line, while also typically having a tougher time against better offensive linemen.

Related content for you: The Fantasy Football Utilization Report: Week 7 waiver, trade and drop candidates via Dwain Mcfarland

This week, Williams has a decent matchup against the Panthers, so it may be difficult to sit him with so many teams on byes. But there's reason to consider alternatives for those who have them. 

Williams moves around the defensive line quite a bit, spending most of his time as an interior defender. This typically means he’ll face more double-teams and have a more difficult time rushing the passer. When facing multiple blockers, Williams ranks outside of the top-100 defensive linemen (min. 25 snaps) in the league with just a 56.3 pass-rush grade. He isn’t the worst option heading into Week 7, but he’s unlikely to be one of the better ones. 

Leonard Williams ranks among DL | 2021

START: DE J.J. WATT, ARIZONA CARDINALS VS. HOUSTON TEXANS