Fantasy football 2024 Week 7 sleepers: Drake Maye among QB matchups to target

Maye made his first regular-season NFL start in Week 6. The results were decidedly mixed. His 243 passing yards and three touchdown tosses against the Texans were encouraging. But most of his yardage and two of the three scores came in the second half with the Patriots trailing big. There was one other glimmer of hope in Maye’s debut: his 38 rushing yards. If you’re a Patriots fan, you don’t love that it was a team-high for the game. If you’re a fantasy manager, it gives you a reason to think the rookie is a viable fantasy option. 

Maye’s rushing ability is an underrated part of his game. He ran for more than 1,100 yards in his final two seasons at North Carolina and posted 32 rushing yards on seven carries during the preseason. This week, the Patriots travel from New England to Olde England to face the Jaguars. Jacksonville has been gracious to opposing quarterbacks, giving up three 300-yard games. The Jags have also allowed multiple touchdown passes in four straight games -- most recently surrendering four to Caleb Williams. Maye’s ceiling is still a QB2, but he is a viable option in 2QB/Superflex formats and very deep leagues.

After Carolina’s Week 6 loss to the Falcons, head coach Dave Canales reaffirmed that Dalton would remain the team’s starter in Week 7. That feels like an ominous way to open a sleeper hype piece. There is always going to be a cap on the Panthers offense, regardless of who’s under center. This is a team that is still short on talent overall. But with Dalton at quarterback, it’s a more productive unit.  

The hope for fantasy managers (and Panthers fans) is that Dalton and pals will be able to exploit the Washington secondary. Last week, Lamar Jackson threw for 323 yards against the Commanders, becoming the third passer to top 285 yards against this defense in 2024. He also became the third QB to have multiple TD passes against Washington this year. Dalton’s ceiling might not be that high, but he could challenge to be a low-end QB1 this week.

I might have been the victim of a heat check last week when I was touting Will Levis as a startable quarterback. It’s just that I saw everyone torching the Colts and figured Levis could do the same. Yeah, that was wrong. What remained steady was Tony Pollard, who had another good game running the rock. He went over 85 scrimmage yards for the fourth time in five games and scored his third touchdown of the season.  

Now he’ll take on a Bills defense that has been very RB-friendly this year. Look no further than Monday night when Breece Hall scorched it for 169 scrimmage yards. Buffalo’s linebackers have been a problem, especially in coverage, and that could be key for the player who is third on the Titans in targets and second in receptions. Pollard’s negative air yards per target figure means he’ll need to rack up big yards after the catch. The good news? Buffalo has allowed the second-most yards after the catch to running backs this season. The Titans are struggling to find multiple consistent weapons. Why not lean on one you know can produce? 

In his first season with the Commanders, Ekeler has offered fantasy managers a solid weekly floor. The dual-threat running back has scored double-digit PPR points in every game he’s played this year. The problem is that the ceiling hasn’t been much higher than the floor. Ekeler’s high-water mark was 13.7 in Washington's Week 3 game against the Bengals. Austin Ekeler lives in a tiny house! 

Matching up with the Panthers could raise Ekeler’s ceiling. Carolina’s 30th-ranked run defense has surrendered a league-high 12 rushing scores. Brian Robinson Jr. missed last week’s contest with a knee injury and was limited at practice Wednesday. If Robinson can’t go again this week, Ekeler will see an increase in rushing work and should put together one of his better games this year. Even if Robinson is available, Ekeler could see enough work in Washington’s run-heavy offense to put up a flex-worthy number.  

I’m old enough to remember when fantasy folks thought that the Raiders signing Mattison was an endorsement of Zamir White. Turns out that Mattison was the guy your coach told you not to worry about. Even before a groin injury put White on the shelf, Mattison was starting to take away his opportunities. He’s been every bit White’s equal in the running game while providing far more in the passing game. That has made Mattison less game-script dependent. 

Game script might not be as much of a factor this week versus the Rams. Los Angeles is averaging fewer than 19 points per game and has a -45 point differential through five games. The Rams also have a defense that isn’t stopping many people. Los Angeles allows more than 26 fantasy points per game to running backs -- sixth-most in the NFL. Vegas’ poor offensive season can be owed, in part, to facing some tough defenses. It was encouraging to see the Raiders run the ball better in Weeks 4 and 5 against good Cleveland and Denver units. That should give you hope for Mattison and the Raiders' run game in Week 7.

Coming into the season, the fantasy community wasn't too excited about the Patriots offense. It’s understandable. New England has had one of the worst wide receiver rooms in the league in recent years. If there was any excitement about this year's group, it was around the rookies -- Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. All the while, we probably should have given some more love to Douglas.  

Douglas was New England’s top wideout last season with 49 receptions for 561 yards. But he was easy to overlook after failing to score a touchdown in one of the NFL’s least productive offenses. So far, in 2024, he leads the team in receptions and receiving yards ... plus he’s already scored a touchdown! This week, he heads across the Atlantic for a date with a Jaguars defense that has been very accommodating to receivers. Jacksonville has allowed the most yards to wideouts and the second-most receptions. If you’re digging deep and needing a receiver, “Pop” Douglas could be a nice flex option. 

For all our consternation over the Ravens tight ends, the receivers are putting together solid years. Zay Flowers has come to life in the past couple of weeks. But very quietly, Bateman is starting to make good on the promise he showed out of college. The fourth-year receiver is on pace to set new career-highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns. He’s had consecutive games with four receptions and at least 50 yards. And he’s scored 11 or more fantasy points in three of his last four games. 

He'll have a chance to improve upon that this week against Tampa Bay. Opponents are throwing on the Bucs mercilessly, putting it in the air against the 29th-ranked pass defense almost 65 percent of the time (fourth-most). Baltimore’s tight ends being targeted inconsistently could lead to more looks for the wideouts. For managers in deeper leagues or anyone searching for a flex, Bateman could be a nice option versus Tampa. 

Mike McDaniel shared some positive news this week, saying Tua Tagovailoa is expected to play again this season. The bad news is that the earliest the QB could return wouldn't be until Week 8. That means at least one more game with Tyler Huntley under center. The silver lining is a trip to Indianapolis to play a porous Colts defense. 

Indy has been bad defensively in just about every way you can imagine, including against tight ends. The Colts have allowed the fourth-most receptions to the position and are tied for the second-most touchdowns given up. The biggest red flag for Indianapolis is in the red zone. Only the Jaguars have faced as many red-zone targets against tight ends. Meanwhile, all three scores the Colts have allowed to the position have come on red-zone opportunities. Smith should pick up where he left off in Week 5 with plenty of looks between the 20s. But if the Dolphins can get into the scoring area, look for Mike McDaniel to scheme something up for his athletic tight end. 

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from this season, it’s that you can start tight ends against Baltimore. The Ravens have been the fifth-best matchup for the position this year. They’re tied for the most receptions allowed to tight ends and have given up the most receiving yards. 

Otton isn’t considered a big-time option on a roster that has Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. But since Week 3, he's accounted for nearly 20 percent of the team's targets and 16 percent of the team's air yards. The fantasy tight end position has seen some better performances in the past couple of weeks, but plenty of managers are still looking for relief at the position. If you’re one of them, Otton is widely available in many leagues and could be a nice plug-in option in Week 7.

This might be the worst offense the Cleveland Browns have ever fielded. That’s no small feat considering the ignominious history of the rebooted franchise. The Browns' loss in Week 6 means the team has failed to score at least 20 points in every game this season. Just about any way you slice it, Deshaun Watson has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. He has yet to throw for 200 yards in a contest and his -73.3 EPA ranks at the bottom among starting QBs. And yet, Watson remains Cleveland’s starting quarterback ... now with 100 percent less Amari Cooper in the lineup! 

As long as Kevin Stefanski remains steadfast on keeping Watson as his starter, we should target the Browns' offense in fantasy. The Bengals haven’t been the stoutest defense around this year, but they did just stifle the Giants last Sunday night. Although that might have had something to do with New York’s offense. But as much as this matchup could be Stoppable Force vs. Moveable Object, I’ll take my chances opposing an offense that hasn’t posed a threat regardless of the matchup.