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Erickson: NFL Week 7 fantasy football start 'em or sit 'em

Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) walks onto the field before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Eileen T. Meslar-USA TODAY Sports

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My Week 6 start/sits picks went 18-8-2 with an even split stemming from the quarterback position. It's crucial to bounce back with fantasy teams in need of quarterback waiver wire pickups due to the dreaded bye weeks. 

Here are starts and sits for Week 7 of the 2021 NFL season.

Jump to a position group:

QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST


QUARTERBACKS

START

JUSTIN FIELDS, CHICAGO BEARS

This is the week Fields breaks out in fantasy football. The Bears quarterback flashed a fantasy pulse last week with season-highs in rushing yards (43), pass attempts (27) and expected fantasy points (18.2). 

Because Chicago was trailing against a formidable opponent, the offense was forced to call more pass plays. That led to the Bears' pass-rate increasing to 61% on early downs — a far cry from their average across the previous three weeks (41%). 

The surge in dropbacks also created more opportunities for Fields to take off and run, as all of his rushing yards came on scrambles. 

No team has faced a higher percentage of pass plays than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year (77%), which sets the stage for Fields to have his best fantasy outing to date. Also helping Fields’ outlook is the fact that Tampa Bay has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.

Related: NFL Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings via Andrew Erickson

TUA TAGOVAILOA, MIAMI DOLPHINS

Tagovailoa made his return to the lineup versus the Jacksonville Jaguars and impressed tremendously. The Dolphins quarterback threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns on his way to an 81.0 PFF passing grade (70% completion rate). That grade was the highest of Tagovailoa’s NFL career, and the performance earned him 27.7 expected fantasy points — the fourth-highest mark on the week. 

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