Dennis Sosic | Sat, Oct 19th 2024, 8:27am EDT

7 Fantasy Football Smash Starts: Week 7 (2024)

That’s not bad for a bench warmer. I hope I helped fantasy managers win their weekly matchups in my first venture into weekly smash plays.

Believing in Jared Goff was a wise choice, as Goff threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns in the Lions’ blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys. Tyrone Tracy Jr. finished as the RB7 by rushing for 50 yards and a score and grabbing six receptions for 57 yards.

If you were lucky enough to have the three recommended wide receivers in your lineup, you smashed in Week 6. Zay Flowers finished as the WR11 by catching all nine targets for 132 yards. Terry McLaurin scored twice, which allowed him to finish as the WR5. Jameson Williams continues to make splash plays, scoring on a 37-yard toss from Goff. The losses resulted from misses on Tank Bigsby, a massive disappointment, and Tyler Conklin and the Falcons’ defense not taking advantage of their matchups.

The premise behind this article is simple: Identify fantasy football smash plays on the fringe of your starting lineup. We rarely recommend a top-10 player at any position, but we want to help you fill those critical Flex spots when making fantasy start sit decisions.

As we look at this Week’s smash plays, prepare to win your matchups.

Fantasy Football Smash Starts for Week 7

Quarterback

Kirk Cousins (QB – ATL) vs. Seattle

Kirk Cousins won’t smash for 509 passing yards and four touchdowns as he did when he exploded in Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, Cousins does have a good matchup this week against the Seattle Seahawks, who have allowed 257.7 passing yards per game and eight passing scores across the last three games. The former Spartan did disappoint the previous week against the Carolina Panthers but looks for a bounceback effort in what should be a shootout against Geno Smith and the Seahawks offense.

Running Back

Chase Brown (RB – CIN) at Cleveland

Chase Brown has started to out-touch and out-produce Zack Moss, scoring double-digit PPR fantasy points in three straight games. His 62% snap rate in Week 5 marked a season-high. He’s scored four touchdowns in his last three games. The Bengals’ offense is firing on all cylinders. Brown and the Bengals will take on the Cleveland Browns this Sunday, surrendering 137.3 rushing yards per game, which should provide the opportunity to finish as a high Flex option and cement himself as the Bengals’ No. 1 RB.

J.K. Dobbins (RB – LAC) at Arizona

J.K. Dobbins‘ return from injuries has been a feel-good story this season. He walked into the perfect scenario with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers want to pound the ball endlessly, and now, with Gus Edwards on injured reserve (IR), Dobbins assumes all of the No. 1 RB volume he can handle. Dobbins is averaging 5.4 yards per carry, has three scores through five games and has been fantasy gold for fantasy managers this season. That type of production continues this Week in his matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, who have coughed up the fourth-most rushing yards this season. Dobbins is a massive smash play in Week 7.

Wide Receiver

Tyreek Hill (WR – MIA) at Indianapolis

Fantasy managers can not wait until Tua Tagovailoa returns so he can inject some fantasy production into Tyreek Hill. However, the uptick in Hill’s fantasy production will start this Week in his matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are giving up the ninth-most receiving yards per game to opposing wideouts (192.5). Current Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley just missed on a few big plays with Hill in Week 4, and Hill produced 69 receiving yards in Week 5. The Dolphins were on a bye last Week, which allowed Huntley and Hill to develop chemistry. The mad offensive scientist Mike McDaniel created plays to provide Hill with much-needed splash plays for the Dolphins offense and, more importantly, fantasy managers.

DeVonta Smith (WR – PHI) at New York Giants

DeVonta Smith always shines when a weapon is missing in the Eagles’ offense. With tight end Dallas Goedert ruled out due to a hamstring injury, Smith should shine against the New York Giants’ poor secondary. His explosiveness always provides a high ceiling for splash plays. Smith is currently averaging 75.8 yards per game. Look for that number to increase after this matchup, even though the Eagles will ensure Saquon Barkley gets his revenge against the Giants.

Tight End

David Njoku (TE – CLE) vs. Cincinnati

The Cleveland Browns are on a downward spiral, and the team is turning on quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Amari Cooper trade to the Buffalo Bills is just the beginning of the fire sale. One player that should benefit is tight end David Njoku. Njoku just returned from injury and led the team with seven targets. Look for that trend to continue this week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Stay tuned for Njoku to have a breakout game due to being the only reliable pass-catcher on the Browns offense in a game that should provide a massive negative game script.

Defense

Washington Commanders D/ST vs. Carolina Panthers

The Commanders will bounce back from taking on the stout Lamar Jackson and Baltimore Ravens offense last week. Washington faces the Carolina Panthers offense this week, whose earlier offensive firepower has slowed down significantly. Andy Dalton has come down to earth. His best weapon, wide receiver Dionate Johnson, is questionable to suit up. We might not see the Commanders blow up the Panthers for seven sacks as they did against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5, but they have the personnel and the opponent to create enough havoc to make this defense a smash play this week for fantasy start sit decisions.

Dennis Sosic is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Dennis, check out his archive and follow him @CALL_ME_SOS.

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