Fantasy football Week 7 QB preview: Kirk Cousins earns trust, Patrick Mahomes faces tough matchup

Heading into Week 7, I project eight quarterbacks as true must-start options. Only a couple of them were drafted to be such. Drake Maye, Jordan Love, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Joe Burrow, Matthew Stafford, Bryce Young, and C.J. Stroud all projected for at least 21.8 Fantasy points in a standard CBS league. If Lamar Jackson returns from his ankle injury, he joins them. And while they don’t project as such, I would guess that most people who have Caleb Williams and Dak Prescott will start them as well, despite the fact that Williams has a bad matchup and Prescott is coming off a stinker. Another QB with a bad matchup, Kirk Cousins, may be working his way into this conversation as well.

Cousins has thrown multiple touchdown passes in five of six games this season and leads the NFL with 14 passing touchdowns. He’s also averaging 263 passing yards per game, despite only throwing for 170 in an easy season-opener against the Dolphins. There won’t be anything easy about Week 7. Cousins faces a Rams defense that hasn’t allowed any QB to throw for more than 218 yards. Still, he is a better option than Patrick Mahomes or anyone you will find on the waiver wire. Cousins won’t be listed in the waiver wire section below because he is rostered in 75% of leagues, but if you find him available in your league, you should be adding him.

Let’s get to the rest of the preview:

Week 7 QB Preview

• 24.07 — The Chiefs and Seahawks have given up a combined 24.07 Fantasy points per game to QBs. You should sit both Sam Darnold and Patrick Mahomes.
• 48 — Tanner McKee had 48 dropbacks in his first start. That’s nearly four more than any other starter has averaged this year.
• 243 — J.J. McCarthy threw for 243 yards in Week 6 despite playing just 40% of the offensive snaps. You don’t want to start him against Houston, but if he gets and keeps the job, he could be a good start against bad defenses later in the year.
• 213 — Jayden Daniels ranks second amongst QBs with 213 rushing yards despite only playing four games so far. He is a must hold even with Terry McLaurin going down.
• 3.23 — Caleb Williams’ time to throw was 3.23 seconds in Week 6. That was still the fifth-highest mark, but it is a step in the right direction.
• 10 — Tyler Shough has 10 red zone passing touchdowns, tied with Kirk Cousins for the most in the league.
• 309.8 — Bryce Young leads the NFL with 309.8 passing yards per game.
• 100.9 — C.J. Stroud has a passer rating of 100.9 this season, which would be a career high if he maintains it.

My full set of Week 7 Fantasy football projections for every position is here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don’t live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 7. Projected stats for all starting quarterbacks are available and will be updated throughout the week as I make changes.