Fantasy football rankings Week 7: Dave Richard's tough start/sit calls put Patrick Mahomes on thin ice — SkimNews
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- Dave Richard built his Week 7 start-sit calls around four bye teams, injuries, defensive coverage, pass-rush pressure, backfield workloads and target distribution, arguing that familiar names are not automatic starts.
- Patrick Mahomes faces a difficult matchup against Seattle, placing the featured quarterback under the same matchup scrutiny applied to less prominent players.
- Hunter Henry turned 14 targets over three weeks into a 12-154-2 stat line, with 11-plus PPR points per game, four red-zone targets and six checkdowns since Week 4; Richard labels him a low-end starter.
- Caleb Williams was not fully recovered from his hamstring injury, posting a 3.23-second time to throw and 3.9-yard average depth against Atlanta, but he completed all 26 unpressured attempts for 255 yards against New England’s inconsistent rush.
- Aaron Rodgers averaged a 4.2-yard depth of target and 2.46-second time to throw over his previous two games, compared with 9.3 yards and 2.85 seconds through the first four weeks.
- Kyle Pitts had only one target beyond 10 air yards in his last three games but received at least six targets in each of his previous two, including five in the red zone; Richard offers him as a back-end No. 1 tight end.
- Luther Burden III produced 8-95-0 on eight targets despite season-low 39% snap participation and a 44% route rate on Williams’ dropbacks, leading to a flex recommendation rather than an automatic start.
Why it matters: For fantasy managers navigating four bye weeks, Richard’s evidence favors workload and matchup over star power: Henry’s 12-154-2 line on 14 targets over three weeks earns a borderline-start label, while Seattle presents a difficult test for Mahomes. The resulting calls give managers explicit distinctions between starts, flex options and sits.
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