Week 7 Memo: Green Bay's Detroit Date and a Jets Backfield Shift

The lineup calls

Start Tucker Kraft. Detroit has been the most generous defense in the league against tight ends, and Kraft's usage is the real thing: 47 of 61 snaps against the Bears (77 percent, which SI called a bit below his norm because of the score), 52 of 53 snaps in Week 2 with routes on 32 of 34 dropbacks, and all five of his targets in the most recent game. Production has been uneven and analysts disagree on whether that is lingering rust from the ACL or something physical, but nobody disputes the role. In a matchup this soft, the role is the argument.

Jordan Love is a legitimate streamer at Detroit, which has also been 32nd against quarterbacks. He threw for 367 yards in Week 5 with Matthew Golden, Christian Watson and Kraft each taking a catch of 40-plus yards. The split is whether that was a profile or a Bears-flavored spike; ESPN's Bowen buys it, FantasyPros' efficiency numbers and NBC do not. Volume has swung hard, 53 attempts in Week 3 and 31 in Week 5, so treat him as a high-variance QB1 play, not a sure thing. One complication: Josh Jacobs is off the exempt list and eligible to practice a full week, but Green Bay has not confirmed he plays Sunday. Until someone reports a decision, do not plug him in.

Mark Andrews faces Cincinnati, 30th against tight ends, and he is Baltimore's clear TE1 at roughly 75 percent of tight end targets and fourth in target share among 46 qualifying tight ends. The caveat is the quarterback: Lamar Jackson has not practiced since spraining his ankle on Oct. 4 and has missed two games, with his coach calling a return to practice only a possibility. Andrews with a backup passer is a different player, so watch Wednesday.

Fades: Jake Ferguson at Philadelphia is the worst of both worlds, the second-stingiest defense against tight ends and a player with 12 catches for 83 yards outside his three touchdowns through four games, at 0.71 yards per route run. Jaxon Smith-Njigba against Kansas City and Jonathan Taylor at Minnesota both draw the top-ranked defense at their position; you start them anyway, because they are the offense. Brock Bowers versus the Rams is the same call. Volume beats matchup at that tier.

Do not start Jalen Hurts despite the Dallas matchup. He is on IR with deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli, on blood thinners, and is not expected to play again in 2026.

The waiver wire

The most-added names in the last 48 hours are led by Omar Cooper, the Jets' first-round rookie slot receiver. He was eligible to come off IR in Week 6 and the Jets have not announced an activation. Aaron Glenn said after the Browns game that Cooper, Breece Hall, Adonai Mitchell and Dylan Parham are not far away. That is all we have: no return date, and a five-snap Week 1 that Pro Football Rumors correctly called too small to define a role. Speculative stash, not a lineup piece.

The Cleveland Browns defense is the streamer of the week at Tennessee. Roster rate jumped from 2 percent to 18 percent in a week, Rotoballer had it in Tier 1 and SI ninth. The variable is Mason Graham, who led the team with four sacks and sprained his MCL, expected to miss at least a game. I found no later update on him.

C.J. Stroud is a reasonable QB add with the Giants coming in. Nico Collins returned from a two-game absence against Dallas and went for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Pitts is the dart throw: five catches on six targets with a touchdown in Week 5, a season high in targets, but NBC noted a game where he played one snap across Atlanta's first two possessions. There is also no update I could find on who plays quarterback in Atlanta after Michael Penix Jr.'s rib injury, which matters more than Pitts' snap count.

Tank Dell's 21-day window opened Oct. 7 and SI says he could be activated any time before Houston's Week 8 bye. Nothing confirms a debut. Najee Harris is relief work behind Cam Skattebo and nothing more until a beat writer says otherwise. Skip Keon Coleman and Rachaad White this week; both are on bye.

Byes ahead

Week 7: Jacksonville, Buffalo, Washington and the Chargers are out. That removes Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, Jayden Daniels, James Cook, Omarion Hampton, Bhayshul Tuten and Ladd McConkey. Three starting quarterbacks off the board in one week is why the Love and Stroud streams matter.

Week 8 is the bigger squeeze: New Orleans, Houston, San Francisco and the Giants. That is Jaxson Dart, David Montgomery, Christian McCaffrey, Travis Etienne, Cam Skattebo, Nico Collins, Malik Nabers and Chris Olave. If you are adding Stroud or Dell this week, understand you get one game before the bye.

Week 9 is quiet: Pittsburgh and Tennessee, with nobody in the top 60 affected.

Injuries that matter

De'Von Achane tore his ACL and is done for the season. Jalen Hurts is done for the season. Jayden Reed is on IR with a neck injury and Matt LaFleur confirmed season-ending surgery on Sept. 30. Drop all three outside dynasty.

Breece Hall is out again with the quad, his fourth straight absence, with an expected return listed as Oct. 25. Braelon Allen has taken 86 to 94 percent of the backfield snaps in his place, including 32 of 34 against Chicago, with 19-plus touches in each of the last two games. Start Allen against Miami, which has been the most generous defense in the league against running backs. Whether Hall gets the full job back is genuinely unsettled; SI and Yahoo lean toward a split.

Rashee Rice is out with a hamstring, expected return Oct. 25. Saquon Barkley is out with a hamstring, expected back around Oct. 26. Jeremiyah Love was shut down in Week 6 with the ankle and as of Monday was only beginning to test running, with Allgeier and Knight handling Arizona's backfield; the Tuesday running session is the next real data point. A.J. Brown was limited on Monday's estimated report with a lingering ankle sprain ahead of a Thursday game at Chicago, though he drew 10 targets in his return. Ladd McConkey is in concussion protocol with no confirmed clearance; the platform lists Nov. 1 but the report itself does not confirm it. He is on bye this week anyway.

Two Jets notes with thin reporting: Kenyon Sadiq is in concussion protocol with no timetable, and there is no reporting on how New York splits tight end work with Mason Taylor healthy. Tyler Warren is listed out at Minnesota, which was the toughest tight end matchup on the board regardless.