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A Thursday night game is in the books where little was rewarded for fantasy owners with 49ers or Seahawks players. With six other teams on bye weeks it’s going to be crucial maximizing your roster depth and inserting the proper starters.

Quarterbacks

Matt Hasselbeck-
Hasselbeck still has value even at the end of his career. For years Tennessee was a running team with Chris Johnson, but now they have a trio of receivers that can uplift the offense while Johnson struggles. Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, and Kendall Wright are as solid as a triple threat of receivers in the NFL. Add Jared Cook to that mix, and Hasselbeck has enough weapons at his disposal to have a big fantasy game against the Bills.

Sam Bradford-
Even with Danny Amendola sidelined, Sam Bradford has kept turning the corner. Next up for Bradford is going to be finding a way to manufacture more points. He is making big plays every game with an accurate deep ball and great accuracy overall. They face a Packers team that made a statement last week against the Texans. That was one game, overall this season they have been susceptible. Bradford will have a solid game in terms of fantasy.

Sit: John Skelton, Jay Cutler, and Andrew Luck

Running Backs

LeGarrette Blount-
Tampa Bay’s running game has not lived up to the off-season transition with draft pick Doug Martin. Look for the Buccaneers to maybe give Blount a few extra carries in the split backfield. Keeping Drew Brees off the field is always a tough task. In order to do that the Buccaneers have to extend drives against a poor Saints defense.

Shonn Greene-
The Jets will keep pounding the ball with Greene and hope for the best. He has always been a streaky running back that carries over big games for stretches. Ride that trend with Greene. The Jets were over using Sanchez earlier in the season. Rex Ryan knows how to defend Tom Brady and the Patriots offense, and he won’t mind punting the football if the running game isn’t working early on.

Alfred Morris-
All the attention that RG3 has drawn has boosted Morris’s play exponentially. He’ll likely be a back that regresses next season, but for this year he will finish as a top eight back overall. The Giants defense has always been one that’s better at applying pressure than stopping the run. They did a great job against Frank Gore, but the 49ers did not have a mobile quarterback the Giants had to contend with.

Sit: Michael Bush, Steven Jackson, and Jonathan Stewart

Wide Receivers

Jacoby Jones-
Jones is a bit buried on the Ravens depth chart but gets his fair share of involvement in the Ravens offense. There is nothing like a player facing off against his old team. Jones will be baiting Harbaugh for an extra ten to twelve snaps on the field. With the Ravens offense having to score every week, the football will be tossed around to all Ravens receivers. Jones will get in the end zone against his old team.

DeNarius Moore-
Since Moore’s return the offense has been revitalized through the air. Carson Palmer seems to finally be settling in, remember he was thrown into the Raiders mix and named starter instantly upon coming back from his holdout from Cincinnati. Look for Palmer to continue heating up and hitting Moore this week against the Jaguars.

Brandon Lafell-
Sooner or later Cam Newton is going to snap out of his funk. Coming off a bye week against the Cowboys who are yet again getting scrutinized lies the perfect opportunity. Expect Newton to have a big day through the air and to find LaFell more than Steve Smith.

Sit: Justin Blackmon, Miles Austin, and Emmanuel Sanders

By Vidur Malik
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Rashard Mendenhall – Though Ben Roethlisberger is back under center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mendenhall should still be a crucial part of the offense. He had 27 carries in Roethlisberger’s first game on Sunday, and should continue to get plenty of touches as the team’s feature back.

Ray Rice – It’s been a tough season so far for Rice, but he should help the Baltimore Ravens run wild over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Rice is one of the best running and receiving threats in the game, and the Bills rank last in the league in rushing yards per game with 182.4. Look for Rice to have a big day.

Don’t Do It:
LeSean McCoy – Though the Philadelphia Eagles convincingly beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, McCoy struggled, gaining only three yards per carry. His numbers probably won’t be much better this Sunday, when the Eagles play the physical Tennessee Titans. The Titans rank eighth in rush defense, and after giving up over 100 yards to Felix Jones in week five, they shut down Maurice Jones-Drew on Monday night.

Michael Crabtree – Both Crabtree and the San Francisco 49ers seemed to have picked up their game recently. The 49ers get their first win of the season in week six, and Crabtree has caught a touchdown pass in the last two games, after not catching any during the first four games. He only had 57 receiving yards after going over 100 the week before, and even though the 49ers will play a Carolina Panthers team that is fifth in the league in pass defense, Crabtree has become a primary target for the offense, and he should get a good amount of looks on Sunday.

Mike Wallace – It’s not common for your leading receiver to only have 12 catches after six games, but Wallace leads the Pittsburgh Steelers with that many receptions. The key number is Wallace’s 25.1 yards per catch average. With that kind of production, Wallace only needs a few catches a game to have a huge impact. That should be much of an issue with Roethlisberger’s strong arm.

Don’t Do It:
Marques Colston – Colston leads the New Orleans Saints in receptions and receiving yards, but doesn’t have any touchdowns this year. The Saints will always have one of the most explosive offenses in the league, and any one of their weapons can have a huge game, so don’t leave him on your bench for too long, but as Saints quarterback Drew Brees distributes touches to all his weapons, it looks like Colston’s numbers might fall a bit.

Matt Hasselbeck – Hasselbeck is coming off of a solid, but not impressive day in the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, but he should have a more productive day this weekend, when he and the Seahawks take on the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona ranks 26th in pass defense, giving up over 240 yards per game. A smart, veteran quarterback like Hasselbeck knows how to exploit a defense’s weak spots. Look for him to do that against the Cardinals.

Aaron Rodgers – The Green Bay Packers play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and Rodgers should build off of his 300+ yard performance against Miami in week six. He only threw for one touchdown in that game, but he’ll be at home and against a team that gave up three touchdowns to Tony Romo in week six. The Vikings rank sixth in pass defense, but Rodgers should also be able to throw for a few touchdowns against his archrival.

Don’t Do It :
Donovan McNabb – McNabb hasn’t thrown for more than one touchdown pass in a game so far this year, and that’s probably not going to change this week against the Chicago Bears, who are third in the league in points per game with 16.2. The Redskins are ninth in passing yards per game with 244.2, but one touchdown a game isn’t going to cut it in fantasy.

Listen in on Week Seven’s Podcast