Fantasy Football Week 7: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Welcome to The Big Lead's weekly start 'em, sit 'em column. We are here to dig into the toughest decisions you may be facing for your fantasy matchup this week and give you answers. Some of those answers may even be right!

Presenting our Week 7 start 'em, sit 'em calls.

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens shockingly do not have a bye week after playing in London on Sunday so Jackson is still very much in play for fantasy in Week 7. The problem? Two straight weeks of bad stats from the former league MVP. He put up less than 10 points against the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago, then put up 17 points against the Tennessee Titans. Not a great pair of performances after a hot start. But we recommend staying the course as the Ravens take on the Detroit Lions this week, who have a good but not great defense that will likely struggle to keep up with Jackson athletically. START 'EM

Rachaad White, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

White is a bit of a frustrating fantasy player because he's playing 77 percent of all offensive snaps and is the absolute, undisputed top running back in Tampa Bay. Yet he just isn't being efficient with his touches and the Bucs' offense isn't good enough to consistently get him touches in great volume, leading to four disappointing outings in five appearances. Things are not slated to get any better next week as White takes on a difficult Falcons defensive front that has ranked in the top-five defending opposing fantasy rushers in a bitter divisional matchup. Pass on White this week. SIT 'EM

Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

Remarkably it took until Week 6 for Nacua to put up a bad statline in fantasy. After a scalding opening five weeks, Nacua caught only four passes on seven targets on Sunday for a total of 26 yards. With Cooper Kupp getting back to full speed after missing the first four weeks with a hamstring injury, it's fair to ask if a steep production drop-off is in sight when it comes to Nacua. For our money, though, the answer is no. Nacua is no longer Matthew Stafford's favorite target but the Rams have a very thin RB room that got banged up last week so there is not going to be any decrease in Stafford's attempts. Now that Nacua has his trust, there will still be opportunities aplenty to put up fantasy stats. Keep rolling. START 'EM

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Taylor appears to be ramping up to speed, recording seven touches in his first game of the year in Week 5 before getting 13 touches on Sunday against Jacksonville. However, the expectations are probably too high. He does not seem suited to reach the RB1 tier he occupied two years ago and will settle more into a RB2/flex year as the season goes on. At the moment, however, he is barely a flex option since the Colts clearly consider him to be part of a two-pronged backfield with Zack Moss. And with Indy going up against a Browns defense that is making a legitimate case to be considered best in the league, you don't want to blindly trot Taylor out there. Not yet, anyway. SIT 'EM

Jameson Williams, WR, Detroit Lions

Williams appears to finally be on the right track after receiving the equivalent of a medical redshirt for most of his rookie year and then missing the start of this season due to a gambling suspension. And by "back on the right track" we mean "catching long touchdowns." While Williams' ceiling is still a complete unknown we do know that he's a threat to score on every passing down. Does that warrant him enough fantasy faith to start? The answer, reader, is absolutely not. Williams obviously needs to do more to establish that we can rely on him in fantasy, but we'll have to see some more designed plays for Williams from Detroit's coaching staff, too. For now it's an equal opportunity offense that tends to slant slightly towards Amon-Ra St. Brown but otherwise the love is shared across the board. SIT 'EM