Week 7 Thursday Night Fantasy Football Starting Options: Are Denver's Bo Nix and Javonte Williams or New Orleans' Spencer Rattler and Juwan Johnson Worth Starting Spots?

Week 7 of the NFL regular season gets started with a matchup between the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints.

It’s not the most exciting contest, aside from Sean Payton going up against his old team, but we’ll still point out some of the better fantasy starting options.

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Quarterbacks

Spencer Rattler will lead the Saints again, while Bo Nix guides the Broncos.

Rattler made his NFL debut last week, completing 22 of his 40 passes for 243 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He added 27 rushing yards on four attempts.

Nix has started all six games for the Broncos, and been pretty solid of late. Overall, he’s completed 61.1% of his passes for 1,082 yards, five touchdowns and five picks. He’s got 180 rushing yards and three scores on 37 attempts. He’s produced two solid fantasy outings in a row.

This is a tough test for both young quarterbacks, as New Orleans allows opposing QBs to score 13 points a game, while Denver gives up only 12. Nix is projected for 13 points, while Rattler is at 12 points.

I too like Nix a little bit more than Rattler, but I’d do my best to avoid each guy this week. It’s unlikely they’ll be started in a lot of standard leagues with just two teams on byes this week, but you’ll have to check back for the weekly QB start decision story to see if Nix or Rattler are better options than anyone in the streaming mix.

Running Backs

Alvin Kamara is clearly the best fantasy back in this contest. He’s dominated the Saints’ backfield all season, but has been dealing with a hand injury.

If he cannot play, Kendre Miller could serve as the team’s No. 1 back over Jamaal Williams. Miller hasn’t played yet this season, so he’d be a risky play. Williams hasn’t done much in his backup role.

Denver’s backfield is a mess. Javonte Williams leads the way with 79 touches, but Jaleel McLaughlin has also got 48 touches. Williams doesn’t have many even average fantasy weeks this season, while McLaughlin has just one double-digit performance (when he scored).

Audric Estime made his debut last week and also could factor in a bit, especially on a short week.

It’s unfortunate for the Broncos’ backs to not have a lead back, as New Orleans really struggles to slow opposing RBs, giving up 26 points per week. The matchup for the Saints’ backs is average, with Denver allowing 22 points a week.

Kamara is the top-projected back for the game, sitting at 17 PPR points. Williams is at 12 points and McLaughlin seven. 

If Kamara is active, which I expect him to be, then he needs to be in your starting lineups, regardless of league type.

If Kamara is out, I’d prefer Miller over Williams, but do not want to play either outside really deep leagues. We just don’t know how things would shake out, so unless there’s a report that says Miller/Williams will handle most of the snaps, I’d just avoid the potential fantasy duds.

I like the matchup for Williams, but wouldn’t feel great about him as a starting option. Some of you might have to make a tough call if you are dealing with injuries at the RB position, and the matchup is at least good enough to feel OK about Williams.

I’d consider McLaughlin in deeper leagues, but prefer to stay away from him. I’d avoid Estime outside insanely deep leagues.

Wide Receivers

The Saints’ wide receiver room is a mess coming into the game. Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave didn’t practice Monday or Tuesday, putting their status for Thursday in jeopardy. Cedrick Wilson Jr. has also been limited in practice.

That could mean a bigger workload for Bub Means again. He had 45 yards and a touchdown in week 6 on five catches and eight targets with Rattler playing QB. 

Mason Tipton is another wideout who could play more if Shaheed and/or Olave are out.

Courtland Sutton is the top Denver wideout. Josh Reynolds and Lil'Jordan Humphrey are two other wideouts who have played over 100 snaps this season. Last week, Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele got 36 and 34 snaps, respectively. Marvin Mims played 17 snaps.

It’s a pretty favorable matchup for the Denver wideouts, as New Orleans allows 36 fantasy points per week to WRs. It’s a brutal matchup for the Saints, as Denver allows a league-low 23 points.

Sutton is projected for 13 PPR points, while Shaheed is at nine. No other wideouts show up in the week 7 projections.

Sutton is worth considering as a starter, even in the brutal matchup. He might appear in start/sit trending decisions before the game kicks off, so keep checking into the FantasySP tool to see how fantasy owners are handling things. 

I don’t think Olave is going to play, but if he does, he’s a pretty solid starting option, even with Rattler at QB. I have more faith that Shaheed plays, but I still think the chances are slim. He’d be another possible starter if he’s active.

I wouldn’t feel good starting any other wideouts in a standard league. Someone might deliver a good score with a big play, or simply on volume alone with teammates out, but I’d much rather take my chances with wideouts from other games. 

For the Saints, I like the wideouts in this order: Olave, Shaheed, Means, Wilson, Tipton. For Denver, I’d go with this order: Sutton, Franklin, Vele, Humphrey, Mims.

Tight Ends

Lucas Krull played the most snaps among Denver tight ends last week, but had just 11 yards on two catches and four targets. Adam Trautman played 17 snaps, while Nate Adkins was at 15 snaps.

Juwan Johnson played 54 snaps and had 48 yards on three catches and targets last week. Foster Moreau was on the field for 34 snaps and finished with 54 yards on two grabs and targets.

Both defenses allow 12 fantasy points to opposing tight ends, which is a pretty average mark. None of the tight ends in this game make the week 7 projections.

Johnson and Moreau are the only TEs I’d even slightly consider in a standard league, but I’d do my best to avoid both guys. They can be played a little more confidently in deeper leagues. There’s no Denver tight end I’d want to play in any league type, but I’d take them in the order of most snaps played last week.

Kickers

New Orleans’ Blake Grupe and Denver’s Wil Lutz will do the kicking in this game.

Lutz is 13-of-14 on his field goals this season, while making all nine of his extra points. Grupe is perfect on his 10 field goal attempts but has missed two of his 19 extra point attempts.

Both kickers are projected for just four points. The projections seem to expect a low-scoring, ugly game, and I’d agree with that. Neither of these offenses are going to be moving the ball probably, and it means both kickers will be poor fantasy options. I’d avoid them both if I could - I like Grupe if I had to choose one of them.

Defenses/Special Teams

Denver’s defense allows an average of 284.3 yards a game, while giving up just 16 points. New Orleans allows a league-high 395.8 yards, along with 24.5 points.

The Saints have 12 takeaways and nine giveaways this season. The Broncos are at seven takeaways and eight giveaways.

Given the offenses/injuries to offensive players, both of these D/STs have decent outlooks. Denver is projected for eight points, while New Orleans is at seven points.

I think this game is going to be ugly, and that makes either D/ST one to start. I too like the Broncos a touch more, even though I’d take the Saints to win. Takeaways, sacks and low yardages should make both defenses really strong fantasy assets this week.