Fantasy Football: Week Seven Staff Must Start, Must Sit and Sleeper Picks

Hal Bent

START:  Ben Tate, RB – Cleveland

Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports

I had to start Tate in one of my fantasy leagues last week and it paid off. I had drafted him probably a round early, but I saw Cleveland running the ball with Brian Hoyer at quarterback and wide receiver Josh Gordon suspended. Unfortunately, Tate–as he has been with his time in Houston–could not stay on the field. The best news for Tate? The schedule. Jacksonville is on tap this weekend and Tate should light up the scoreboard against one of the worst rushing defenses in the league.

SIT:  Drew Brees, QB – New Orleans 

Brees is a number one quarterback…at home. On the road, against a strong running game in the Detroit Lions, and probably not having tight end Jimmy Graham just seems like a disaster for Brees this week. Remember, Detroit already shut down Aaron Rodgers this season in week three. Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley, Ezekiel Ansah, Stephen Tulloch, C.J. Mosley, DeAndre Levy, Rashean Mathis, Glover Quin, Darius Slay: this defense is stacked in Detroit. It looks like a long day for Brees.

SLEEPER:  Antone Smith, RB – Atlanta 

Four straight games with a touchdown. Five touchdowns this season. All of them big plays (the shortest touchdown was 38 yards). I’m not getting that from LeSean McCoy and I drafted him first overall. Maybe it really is time to jump on the Antone train. Yes, Baltimore is a tough match-up, but Smith is a must-play if you have a FLEX position (Maybe a RB2) at this time and now Atlanta just has to do more to get the ball in his hands more often.