Fantasy Football Week 7: Start/Sit Advice For Seahawks-49ers ‘Thursday Night Football’
The Week 7 edition of “Thursday Night Football” actually is a pretty good matchup.
The San Francisco 49ers host NFC West division rival the Seattle Seahawks in a game the defending NFC champions desperately need to avoid a disastrous 2-5 start.
Here’s our fantasy football start/sit advice for the notable players in this game.
San Francisco 49ers
Quarterback: There’s no way you should start Colin Kaepernick, regardless of the scoring format in your league. He’s averaging just 202.8 passing yards per game with a total of six touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. Seattle also gives up just 220 pass yards per contest, the fifth-best mark in the NFL.
Running Backs: Carlos Hyde is worth a flex start this week. He’s only averaging 71.7 rush yards per game, but that’s not his fault because the 49ers have been forced to abandon the rushing attack in a lot of games this season in order to overcome large deficits. His 4.1 yards per carry is impressive, and he also has three rushing touchdowns.
Jarryd Hayne and Mike Davis should not be started.
Wide Receivers: Torrey Smith is a decent start if you’re thin at this position or hoping to get lucky and bank on him catching a long touchdown, which certainly is possible given his elite speed and ability to make huge plays downfield. Other than Smith, there aren’t any other 49ers wideouts worth playing. None of them are averaging more than 60 receiving yards per game.
Tight End: Vernon Davis played 39 of 56 snaps on Sunday and still didn’t receive a single target from Kaepernick. Garrett Celek actually started the game at tight end.
Neither player should be started in Week 7.
Defense: The 49ers have given up 11 passing touchdowns and the most pass yards per game at 306. They also give up over 100 rushing yards per game. It’s clear you want no part of this defense for the foreseeable future.
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterbacks: As stated above, the 49ers have the worst pass defense in the NFL, so expect Russell Wilson to have a bounce-back performance in a Seahawks win. His ability to earn fantasy points on the ground also makes him very valuable.
Running Backs: You’re starting Marshawn Lynch even if his hamstring isn’t 100 percent. He’s the starting RB and always a threat to score a touchdown. He only had 54 yards against the Carolina Panthers last week but he did find the end zone.
Backup running back Thomas Rawls got just one carry on Sunday and is too risky to start this week.
Wide Receivers: Not one Seahawks receiver has at least 30 receptions or averaging at least 50 yards per game. Doug Baldwin should only be started as a flex play in deep leagues of 14 or more teams, but if he doesn’t score a touchdown, chances are he’ll provide next to nothing.
Tight End: If you were patient with Jimmy Graham through his struggles at the beginning of the season, bravo. Graham leads the Seahawks in receiving yards and set season highs in receptions (eight), targets (12) and yards (140) in a Week 6 loss to the Panthers.
He’s a must-start this week.
Defense: Seattle is giving up 20.1 points per game, good for 11th in the league. They also have the fifth-best pass defense, which bodes well against an inaccurate quarterback such as Kaepernick. Don’t be afraid to start the Seahawks’ D this week even if they aren’t as dominant as in years past.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
