Week 7 Fantasy Football WR Start Decision: Should You Be Playing Courtland Sutton over Demario Douglas, Ladd McConkey, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Others?

Taking a look at several fantasy wide receiver starting options for week 7.

There’s not many great starting options in the week 7 Thursday night matchup between the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints, but one name is sticking out on the FantasySP start/sit tool.

Let’s discuss Courtland Sutton as a starting option, pitting him against Demario Douglas, Ladd McConkey, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Xavier Legette and Josh Downs.

Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.

Season Stats

Across six games, Sutton has 277 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions and 47 targets. He’s reached double figures in fantasy points three times, but also had a five- and four-point showing.

Douglas has 245 yards and a touchdown on 24 catches and 33 targets this season. He barely did anything in weeks 1, 2 and 4, but has gone for at least 50 yards in the other three weeks. In Drake Maye’s first start last week, Douglas had 92 yards and a touchdown on six catches and nine targets.

McConkey has 219 yards and two scores across 19 grabs and 32 targets and in five games. He’s been in double figures in fantasy points twice, and scored seven or more points in three straight outings.

Smith-Schuster broke out in week 5, and now has 147 yards, a touchdown, nine catches and 12 targets for the season. His 130-yard, seven-catch, nine-target performance in week 5 came in the Chiefs’ first game without Rashee Rice, but he also scored in double figures in week 3 after scoring a touchdown.

Legette has 174 yards and two touchdowns on 16 catches and 25 targets this season. He’s scored in double figures in two of the past three weeks, but a touchdown bailed out an otherwise down showing this past week.

Downs has 239 yards, two touchdowns, 27 catches and 35 targets for the season across four games played. He’s scored at least 16 fantasy points with Joe Flacco serving as the team’s quarterback, while being held to five points when Anthony Richardson started.

Week 7 Matchups

Sutton has a pretty favorable matchup against the Saints on Thursday night. New Orleans allows 36 fantasy points per week.

Douglas has an even better matchup against the Jaguars, who allow 45 fantasy points per game. McConkey also has a favorable clash against the Cardinals, who give up 37 points a week.

Smith-Schuster has a tough test against the Niners, who surrender just 30 points per week. Legette has another favorable matchup against the Commanders, who allow 40 points a week. Downs has a brutal clash against the Dolphins, who give up on 23 points per week.

Projections, Start/Sit Data and Recommendations

Sutton and McConkey are the top-projected wideouts in this discussion, at 13 points each.

Downs checks in at 12 points, while Douglas and Smith-Schuster are at 10 points each. Legette sits at nine points.

In terms of the start/sit data, Sutton is the preferred starter in all but one matchup.

Fantasy owners prefer Sutton over Douglas (40-13%), McConkey (24-21%), Smith-Schuster (27-11%), Legette (50-5%), but like Downs more (27-19%).

Considering everything, I prefer Sutton over all these other wideouts. He should be the Broncos’ top receiver on Thursday, and the matchup is solid enough to expect a pretty safe floor and some decent upside.

I’d take a chance on Downs next. It’s risky because of the tough matchup and if Richardson is the QB throwing to him, but after a couple big fantasy outings in a row, I’d want to keep starting Downs if I could.

Things get trickier to decide after that, but I’ve settled on Douglas for my third spot. The matchup is fantastic, and I like what I saw between him and Maye last week. Hopefully that was the start of a great connection between the two.

I’d take McConkey slightly ahead of Smith-Schuster and Legette for the last few spots.

The matchup is what is really appealing in taking McConkey over Smith-Schuster, and because both could be their team’s leading receiver, while Legette is clearly behind Diontae Johnson, that’s what gives McConkey and Smith-Schuster the edge there.

Best of luck as you set your week 7 lineups! Make sure to use the FantasySP start/sit tool, and the site’s several other tools to help in your decision!

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