NFL DFS Picks Week 7: Best sleepers, value players for DraftKings, FanDuel daily fantasy football lineups

With the 2021 NFL season now six weeks old, it’s time for us to quickly turn the page to Week 7 and pick our favorite NFL DFS sleepers and value picks for daily fantasy football lineups. With six teams on bye, including stacked offenses like the Bills, Chargers, and Cowboys, plus the usual six teams in prime-time games, this is a challenging week in DraftKings and FanDuel contests. But as we do every Tuesday, we’ll scour the most popular daily fantasy football sites to help you with your roster construction.

If you regularly play DFS or you just like to find an edge or angle with all your football-related bets, this column will be up your alley all season. Each week, we compile a list of FanDuel and DraftKings sleepers and/or dark horse picks to help you win some cold, hard cash. The more value players you add, the more money you’ll have left for proven weekly studs at other roster spots. 

MORE WEEK 7 DFS: Best stacks | Lineup Builder

If you read this column ahead of Week 6, you would have benefited from our advice to plug a plethora of low-cost, high-value players into your DFS lineups. Here’s a short list of some of our hits from last week, including each player’s DraftKings cost and final PPR output:

• Kirk Cousins, Vikings at Panthers (DK: $6,200 | FD: $7,100): 34.52
• Carson Wentz, Colts vs. Texans (DK price: $5,400 | FD: $6,700): 21.02 
• Mac Jones, Patriots vs. Cowboys (DK: $5,200 | FD: $6,500): 18.76 
• Latavius Murray, Ravens vs. Chargers (DK: $5,700 | FD: $5,800): 13.6
• Devontae Booker, Giants vs. Rams (DK: $5,400 | FD: $5,900): 10.9
• Robert Woods, Rams at Giants (DK: $6,100 | FD: $6,900): 11.1
• Jakobi Meyers, Patriots vs. Cowboys (DK: $5,500 | FD: $5,800): 11.4
• Mark Andrews, Ravens vs. Chargers (DK: $5,200 | FD: $6,300): 17.8
• Hunter Henry, Patriots vs. Cowboys (DK: $3,900 | FD: $5,600): 10.5
• Indianapolis Colts D/ST vs. Houston Texans (DK: $3,500): 14.0 

That’s a jolly good week for us and a ton of points at very affordable prices. By mixing in some of these low-cost, high-production plays, you likely afforded yourself two or three more studs at other roster spots. Getting the most bang for your buck has always been the name of the game in DFS, so it’s important to do your due diligence before constructing lineups.

Without further ado, let’s jump right into Week 7!

All player values are from DraftKings and FanDuel. All stats are from NFL.com and Pro Football Reference.

WEEK 7 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo

NFL DFS Picks Week 7: QB sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel

Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins vs. Falcons (DK: $5,500 | FD: $7,100) 

It was back to Tua time last week for Miami, but the Dolphins had some jetlag in London and lost to an 0-5 Jacksonville team. Tagovailoa had a great game, though, completing 33 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns for over 25 fantasy points. The ‘Phins will be back in South Beach this weekend, welcoming in the league’s second-worst scoring defense. The Falcons give up 29.6 points per game and rank 23rd in fantasy points allowed to QBs, so you should feel pretty confident in the No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Atlanta was lucky to face Zach Wilson and the Jets in its last game, but it won’t be so lucky this time around. 

Derek Carr, Raiders vs. Eagles (DK: $6,000 | FD: $7,400) 

Carr just put up 24.5 fantasy points in the Raiders’ 34-24 road win over division-rival Denver, posting 341 passing yards, two TDs, and a 134.4 QB rating, but his DraftKings’ cost only went up $400 this week. We’ll take it, as the Raiders head back to Vegas to welcome a spotty Eagles secondary. Carr got the green light to unleash the ball downfield last weekend, making two connections of at least 48 yards (one to Henry Ruggs, one to Bryan Edwards), and he has the second-best receiving tight end in football in Darren Waller. Get in the Carr and don’t look back. 

Mac Jones, Patriots vs. Jets (DK: $5,300 | FD: $6,800) 

I’m doubling down on the Mac Attack since he made me look good last weekend against the Cowboys. The rookie QB almost led the Patriots to the win, going 15-of-21 for 229 yards and two TDs. New England almost always beats up on the division-rival Jets, and Jones has grown exponentially as a passer since these squads met up in the Meadowlands in Week 2. For added results, stack the Mac with his favorite target, Jakobi Meyers.

WEEK 7 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

NFL DFS Picks Week 7: RB sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel

Chuba Hubbard, Panthers at Giants (DK: $6,100 | FD: $7,300)

Chuba-Chuba choo-choo! All aboard the Chuba chugger, who has locomotioned his way to 34.9 combined PPR points over the course of Carolina’s past two games. Now that Christian McCaffrey has officially been placed on the IR, Hubbard can run free without the impending threat of getting bumped back down the depth chart. With an organizational reputation of having a strong front-seven, you might think the G-men are good against the run, but New York has surrendered the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season. 

Damien Harris, Patriots vs. Jets (DK: $5,700 | FD: $6,800) 

Harris has had quite the roller coaster season. He scored 29.1 fantasy points over the course of the first two weeks, then he totaled 7.7 points across Weeks 3 and 4. He bounced back to score 31.6 between Weeks 5 and 6. I think he will buck that weird “two good, two bad” trend this week against the Jets, who he trucked for 62 yards and a touchdown back in Week 2 in the Meadowlands. Bill Belichick likes to control the clock against inferior opponents, so expect a healthy number of touches for Harris this Sunday. He might finish with a similar game log to his Week 6 performance against Dallas: 18-101-1.

J.D. McKissic, Washington at Packers (DK: $5,000 | FD: $5,700)

Whether or not Antonio Gibson suits up with his calf and shin ailments, McKissic looks like a great value play. A strong pass-catcher out of the backfield, he will get plenty of run in a game oddsmakers project to finish at or around 30-20 Green Bay. McKissic finished last week with eight carries for 45 yards and caught a whopping eight-of-10 targets for 65 yards. That’s 19 PPR points without even sniffing the end zone, for those keeping score at home. 

WEEK 7 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

NFL DFS Picks Week 7: WR sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel

Jaylen Waddle, Dophins vs. Falcons (DK: $5,600 | FD: $5,900)  

Waddle’s ceiling undoubtedly increases with a healthy Tua Tagovailoa, as he caught 10-of-13 targets for 70 yards and two scores in Tua’s return last week. It marks just the second game in which Waddle found the end zone, with the first being in Week 1 before Tua’s injury. Follow the trend, and stack the ‘Phins against a Falcons defense that often gets gashed by WR1s. 

Jakobi Meyers, Patriots vs. Jets (DK: $5,300 | FD: $5,700) 

As I mentioned in the Mac Jones blurb, Meyers gets a healthy amount of looks in New England’s offense. He has enjoyed a 24.6-percent target share this season, and he’s caught nearly 70 percent of passes thrown his way. Meyers now has 121 career catches for 1,434 yards, so to say he’s due for his first career touchdown would be a massive understatement. 

Mecole Hardman, Chiefs at Titans (DK: $4,300 | FD: $5,400) 

Hardman has always been talented and downright explosive, but he just always seems to cede targets to the superior talents of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Well, this year Hardman already has 35 targets through six games, and he has 13 catches for 138 yards over Kansas City’s past two. The Titans rank dead last in fantasy points allowed to wideouts, so play Hardman and hope he breaks off a big one. 

NFL DFS Picks Week 7: TE sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel

Kyle Pitts, Falcons at Dolphins (DK: $5,900 | FD: $6,100) 

Pitts finally emerged with a huge game in Week 5, hauling in nine-of-10 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown in a win over the Jets. Now he and the Falcons travel to Miami to face a Dolphins team that ranks 21st against the tight end position in fantasy points allowed. Projected to be a close game with an implied Falcons total of 25 points, Pitts should have another busy day this weekend. 

Zach Ertz, Cardinals vs. Texans (DK: $3,900 | FD: $5,300)

You just know that Kyler Murray is going to find Ertz for a score this Sunday, don’t you? The MVP-candidate has spread the ball around masterfully this season and now he finally gets to replace the injured Maxx Williams (knee) at tight end. Meanwhile, Ertz finally gets to leave the tight end-logjam in Philly, where he always seemed to battle Dallas Goedert for touches. Mo-Alie Cox had a touchdown against the Texans last week, Hunter Henry caught six-of-eight passes for 75 yards and a score against them two weeks ago, and Dawson Knox went for 5-37-2 against them In Week 4. Ertz is a strong play at $3,900 in his Cardinals debut in front of the Phoenix faithful. 

NFL DFS Picks Week 7: D/ST sleepers, values for DraftKings, FanDuel

Arizona Cardinals vs. Houston Texans (DK: $3,100 | FD: $5,000) 

Not to beat up on the Texans, but they stink. The Cardinals have a defense that seems to be clicking on all cylinders, and the infusion of J.J. Watt opposite Chandler Jones on the line has produced great results. Safety Budda Baker remains the Defensive Player of the Year candidate nobody seems wants to talk about, too. The Cards D/ST should put up 12-15 points this week, making it a steal at $3,100.