By SCOTT FELTS
Welcome back to I-81 Sports’ weekly fantasy football article that tells you who to bench (sit), who to play (start), and who to pick up off waivers (snipe) heading into your weekly fantasy matchup.
The waiver claims start processing in a few hours in most leagues, so let’s get right to it.
Week 6 delivered a genuine bombshell: Jalen Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season after blood clots were discovered in his lungs. Tanner McKee stepped in and threw for 215 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Carolina, but the Eagles’ offense just lost its engine. The Colts also fired general manager Chris Ballard mid-week, adding instability to an already messy situation in Indianapolis. Bye weeks continue, so roster spots are precious. Grab the right guys now or spend the rest of October watching your bench rot.
Scheduling
The slate opens Thursday night with New England at Chicago on Prime Video. Sunday morning features the international game, this week with the Steelers at the Saints in Paris. The Sunday matinee window is loaded and Monday night closes it out with Cowboys at Eagles.
Four teams are on bye: Buffalo, Jacksonville, the Chargers, and Washington.
Injuries to monitor in addition to Hurts? Rams WR Davante Adams (out 6-10 weeks), Commanders WR Terry McLaurin (out for season), and Chargers WR Ladd McConkey (concussion). Know your backups before you lock anything in.
Here are our lineup recommendations for Week 7.
SIT
QB: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (at Seahawks)
Mahomes is still Mahomes, but this is the worst QB matchup rating on the board this week. Seattle’s defense has been one of the league’s best at generating negative plays, and the Chiefs’ supporting cast has been thin. In a game that projects as low-scoring, Mahomes’ ceiling shrinks fast. If you’ve got a streaming alternative, take it.
RB: Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders (vs Rams)
The efficiency collapse is the story of his 2026. He’s at 3.2 yards per carry on 98 attempts with one rushing touchdown, and he’s been under 30 rushing yards in back-to-back games. There’s also a foot issue of plantar fasciitis that had him on the injury report before he was cleared. Even with volume, the efficiency just hasn’t been there. Sit him if you’ve got a cleaner flex option.
WR: Malik Nabers, New York Giants (at Texans)
Nabers just dropped 165 yards on the Saints, and that’s exactly why you bench him. This is the classic letdown spot, coming off a monster game, facing a Texans secondary that has been one of the better units in the league against receivers. Houston also projects as a lower-total game, which caps the ceiling further. Don’t chase last week’s number.
TE: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (at Seahawks)
The decline is real and it’s measurable. Kelce’s target share has slipped, his red-zone role has thinned, and now he draws the Seahawks in a projected low-scoring road game. Not to mention he picked up an ankle injury in Week 6. Stream a younger, healthier, hungrier option with a clearer path to volume.
START
QB: J.J. McCarthy, New York Giants (at Texans), 0.9 percent rostered, which is basically a rounding error.
The former Michigan starter got his first real run of 2026 in Week 6 with the game out of hand and nearly dragged New York back against the Saints anyway. Houston’s defense is porous as it ranks 20th in fantasy points per game allowed to quarterbacks, and the Giants are 9-point underdogs in a game script that screams garbage time. If McCarthy starts, this is a pure volume play in a dome with no weather to worry about. McCarthy is a deep league start only at this point, but the upside is a weekly QB1 floor if his role sticks.
RB: Bam Knight, Arizona Cardinals (vs. Broncos). Under 1 percent owned coming into the week.
Knight put up 11.8 PPR points on 15 carries and two catches with James Conner, Trey Benson, and Jeremiyah Love all sidelined. Arizona’s backfield is a medical tent right now, and Denver’s run defense ranks dead last in the league. One week of real opportunity against a bottom-five run ‘D.’ That’s the whole case for starting him, and it’s a strong one.
WR: Germie Bernard, Pittsburgh Steelers (at Saints). 50% rostered but still not in half your league’s lineups, which is the exact gap this column exists to exploit.
Bernard caught 11 of 12 targets for 87 yards including the overtime winner last week with Pittman and Wilson on IR. He’s running 54 routes on 56 dropbacks. That’s a full-time role, not a spot start. Aaron Rodgers is feeding him, and the Saints’ secondary is shaky enough to keep the targets coming.
TE: Colby Parkinson, Los Angeles Rams (at Raiders). Under one percent rostered.
Parkinson comes off a 14.1 point PPR week filling in for Terrance Ferguson. He had five catches on six targets and a score in a game where the Rams threw constantly. Las Vegas allows the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends, and Parkinson’s now the clear option one in that room. A streamer with TE1 upside if Ferguson stays out.
SNIPE
QB: Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders (vs Rams) (rostered in roughly 15-20% of leagues)
Cousins just dropped 313 yards and nearly 25 fantasy points against Buffalo. He’s been one of the better streaming quarterbacks over the last two weeks, and now he gets a Rams defense that just allowed 218 passing yards to Jacoby Brissett on the road. If your league is shallow or slow on waivers, grab Cousins before percentages climb.
RB: Bam Knight, Arizona Cardinals (vs Broncos) (rostered under 1% of leagues)
Not only a Start option if you already are in the 1%, but definitely a strong snipe candidate as well. Knight came out of nowhere in Week 6 with 15 carries for 80 yards and two catches for 18 more. That’s a massive workload for a guy nobody owns. Denver’s run defense has been shaky, and if the Cardinals’ backfield stays thinned, Knight is a legitimate flex play. Absolute priority add.
WR: Omar Cooper Jr., New York Jets (vs Dolphins) (rostered in 4-13% of leagues)
Cooper played his first game since a Week 1 high ankle sprain and looked like the rookie everyone drafted him to be: six catches, 103 yards, a touchdown, 85% route participation, and a 24% target share, good enough for first on the team. Adonai Mitchell is still out with a finger injury, so the role is his. He’s the top waiver add in several expert rankings this week. Don’t sleep on him.
TE: Hunter Henry, New England Patriots (at Bears) (rostered in roughly 10-15% of leagues)
Henry has been quietly productive in New England’s offense, and now he draws a Bears defense that has been generous to opposing tight ends. Drake Maye has been one of the hotter quarterbacks in football, and Henry gives you a mid-tier TE with weekly starting upside at a price almost nobody is paying. A sneaky add for leagues where the top options are gone.