Fantasy Football Week 7 Wide Receiver Start/Sit: Rashee Rice, Stefon Diggs and More

Welcome to Week 7's fantasy football wide receiver start/sit breakdown! 

As always, let's start with some accountability by going over how my picks from last week performed. Unfortunately, this week, the answer to that question is mediocre.

On the start side, Kendrick Bourne had another huge game … but I listed him alongside Jauan Jennings, so that's only half a point. Romeo Doubs was okay with eight half-PPR points, but Michael Pittman Jr. was a total dud.

I did better on the sit side, albeit with some help from the injury gods. Calvin Ridley exited early en route to a 2.3-point finish, and Chris Godwin missed the week entirely. My only sit pick to stay healthy, Tee Higgins, joins Doubs in the “meh” category with 8.7 points for a WR31 finish.

Picking from borderline startable fantasy receivers is always going to be a high-variance adventure, but I'd still hope for better results than that on a weekly basis. Hopefully, I can bounce back this week; let's get started. 

For more help with your toughest Week 7 start/sit decisions, check out FantasySP's NFL Start/Sit tool!

Wide Receivers to Start Week 7

Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs

Maybe it's just managers being slow to activate him following his suspension, but Rice is currently being started in less than 50% of ESPN leagues. That number should be closer to 100%, as Rice is the 17th-highest-projected receiver in our Week 7 projections.

Since he's been suspended, not injured, there's no real reason to expect a slow start from the third-year WR. The Chiefs reportedly don't plan to ease him back in; it's wheels up, right away.

And wheels up for Rice means good things for fantasy managers. In the three weeks he played before suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2024, he averaged a massive 17.6 half-PPR points per game. Even if we don't get exactly that level of production, Rice should be a huge part of a suddenly rejuvenated Kansas City offense. He is a must-start. 

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

Olave ranks second in the league in targets. That's really all you need to know to put him in your fantasy football lineup. Yes, he's been hugely inefficient with those opportunities. According to PFF's expected fantasy points formula, he is second to only Jerry Jeudy with a massive 26.2 half-PPR points below his expected scoring.

But even with that underperformance, Olave is averaging a solid 9.8 points per game. He has scored at least 8.4 points in all six weeks of the season, a feat matched only by Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Especially once we consider he gets a good matchup against a Chicago defense allowing the seventh-most points per game to opposing WRs, Olave is someone you should start unless you have truly elite alternatives. 

Tez Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Where Olave and Rice are being started in less than half of leagues, Johnson is only rostered in just 14% of fantasy leagues. But the seventh-round rookie is a solid streaming option for this week.

The Buccaneers' wide receiver room has been absolutely decimated by injuries. And last week with Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka, and Chris Godwin all sidelined, Johnson led the team with an 84% route participation rate. He saw three targets and only caught one … but that one was a 45-yard TD.

Really, that is a big part of this. Even on limited volume, playing as one of Baker Mayfield's receivers is a recipe for fantasy success. Mayfield connected with both Tez and former UDFA Kameron Johnson for deep TDs on Sunday.

Even Egbuka was seeing relatively mediocre usage compared to his elite production. Especially if Evans is out, this situation gives Tez a shockingly high ceiling for a guy with six career receptions. He's someone to consider if you're unhappy about your flex or WR3 options in deep leagues. 

Wide Receivers to Sit Week 7

DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles

For all the drama surrounding Philadelphia's offense struggles, Smith has been fine. His 8.8 half-PPR points per game are nothing to write home about, but they're not terrible, either. As usual, his scoring has been unsteady, with a couple of big games mixed in with a few duds, but the big games are still there.

However, this doesn't look likely to be one of them. The Vikings have absolutely shut down opposing receivers so far this season. Brian Flores' defense has allowed 20% fewer receptions, 21% fewer yards, and 22% fewer points per game than the next-closest team in each metric. That's a glaring red flag for a player who is already prone to up-and-down performances.

To be fair, Smith's volatile nature is also due to his big-play ability. He's not a must-bench, as he can have a solid day on just one snap. But if you've got other options, I'd leave the Heisman winner on your bench. 

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders

To start the season, Meyers was comparable to Olave, seeing elite usage on a bad offense. Players like that can be frustrating, but they usually come good eventually. However, Meyer's usage has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. He averaged a 24% target share in Weeks 1-4; over the last two weeks, that number has fallen to 17%. 

Given that Meyers has failed to produce regardless of his usage (just 7.9 points per game and only one game in double digits), this trend in the wrong direction is enough to make him an unappealing fantasy option.

Things are made worse by the fact that the Raiders face the Chiefs this week, who have allowed the seventh-fewest points to opposing receivers so far this season. Put it all together, and Meyers is a safe bench candidate in most formats this week.

Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots

Diggs' first six weeks as a Patriot have been weird. To start the season, he was seeing terrible usage, seeing just a few targets per game in a part-time role. Then in Week 4, he exploded for 101 yards on six catches. Even more importantly, he posted a 77% route participation rate, a massive step up to a fantasy-viable number. 

The veteran followed up that big performance with another, recording 146 yards against his former team in Buffalo … but his route participation rate dropped back down. Last week, that lower usage also showed up on the stat sheet, as he saw just three targets, catching all three for 28 scoreless yards.

With how well Drake Maye is playing, Diggs isn't a must-bench. But he should be viewed similarly to a guy like Keon Coleman — capable of having a big game thanks to his elite QB, but also capable of dropping complete duds due to subpar usage. In most leagues, you should be able to find a more reliable option.