NFL DFS Week 7 Example Lineups: Top Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel Contests

Updated: Sunday, Oct. 22 at 11:45am ET

Ready to build some winning DFS lineups for NFL Week 7? By now you should have read through all of the Fantasy Alarm content, picked players from the Playbook and DFS coaches and started building some lineups already. Again, let me urge you to not ignore cash games. Your 50/50s – not Double-Ups – should serve as your bread and butter each week and whenever you play a GPP tournament, you are playing a cash game to make up the money you should expect to lose in a GPP contest. Yes, that's right, you should always expect to lose in a GPP contest. That's one of the biggest misses by novice DFS players. GPP tournaments are extremely difficult to win and, more often than not, you aren't taking down huge sums of cash every week. That's why you play cash games – to offset the cost of tournament play. The lineups are built differently. In a cash game, you are just looking to beat half the field. You splash in a few chalk guys to keep pace with the herd, but your focus is on high-floor players and you want to build a zero-fat lineup. That's what I do which is why you don't hear me crying over losses on the variety of Fantasy Alarm programming you listen to and watch. Build your best cash lineup which you can also play in a GPP tournament if it's not too chalky, and then have some fun with high-upside plays and, if you like, a stack. That's where you shoot for the moon with some off-beat plays. But if your tournament lineup misses because you were taking a chance on a Raiders stack with Brian Hoyer and it didn't pan out, at least your cash lineup is there. Capice? Excellent. Now let's get to it!

Just a few notes here about the lineups below...

The cash lineups were built solely off the players I put in the Playbook. These are the guys who, unless I have indicated otherwise, offer up the higher floor and will help you cash in your Double-Ups and 50/50s. For GPP tournaments, particularly the large-field ones, you need to find alternative routes to the cash line. I will utilize players from the Playbook and the DFS Dart Board to fill in the gaps, but what I am looking for are some lower-owned stacks that make sense based on expected game flow and other news. You may also see in the GPP lineups, there may be some names I haven't discussed this week on the site, but have talked about during the week on the Fantasy Alarm Show or even on the Fantasy Alarm Sunday Gameday Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. You will also notice, though, that others on the site have mentioned some of these players in places such as the position coaches, so it's not like we're trying to hide anything from you. The only time, and I mean the only time you will see a player in a GPP lineup who hasn't been discussed is if we are using a stack and need a player from the other team coming back. But it's rare when that happens.

Again, these lineups are meant to serve as examples for you; a sounding board, as I said. They are not meant for you to plug in as your own. That's the lazy way and we don't condone it. We are trying to teach you how to be a better DFS player; we aren't lineup-sellers. You should be creating your own lineups using all the information we provide you throughout the week and then coming here to see if there is anything you may have missed or simply for an alternative perspective.

**Be sure to check the Playbook and Dart Board for late changes

Best of luck to you this week and let's make some money!

SUNDAY MORNING NOTES:

According to Adam Schefter:

Browns’ QB Deshaun Watson, listed as questionable for Sunday, is tracking to play vs. the Colts but also needs to pass his pre-game warmup test before the team signs off on it

Cardinals ruled out QB Kyler Murray for Sunday’s game at Seattle

Bears officially ruled out QB Justin Fields for Sunday’s game vs. the Raiders due to his thumb injury

Packers’ RB Aaron Jones, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a hamstring injury, is expected to play vs. Denver

Rams’ rookie RB Zach Evans -- one of the most added players in fantasy football this past week -- is expected to back up both Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson today against the Steelers, while RB Myles Gaskin is expected to be inactive today
Seahawks’ RB Zach Charbonnet, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a hamstring injury, is not expected to play vs. the Cardinals

Browns’ RB Kareem Hunt, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a strained thigh, will be tested in pre-game warmups to determine if he can play vs, the Colts, but Cleveland has concerns about his availability

Lions’ RB Craig Reynolds, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a hamstring and toe injury, is expected to play vs. the Ravens

49ers’ RB Christian McCaffrey, who practiced limited today for the first time this week, is questionable for Monday night vs. the Vikings due to his oblique injury

Dolphins have activated RB Jeff Wilson off injured reserve and elevated TE Tanner Conner for Sunday’s game vs. the Eagles

In each of the previous two weeks, Seahawks’ WR DK Metcalf was listed as questionable due to a rib injury but wound up playing. This time, Metcalf is listed as questionable for Sunday due to a hip and rib injury, and this time there are more concerns about his availability than there were the past two weeks, per source. A decision about whether he can play vs. the Cardinals is likely to be determined in pre-game warmups

49ers’ WR Deebo Samuel will miss games at Minnesota, then against the Bengals. The 49ers have a bye in Week 9 before Samuel is expected to have a chance to return in Week 10 game at Jacksonville

Lions’ WR Marvin Jones is not traveling with the team to Baltimore and now has been ruled out of Sunday’s game vs. the Ravens for personal reasons

Seven-time Pro-Bowl WR Julio Jones, whose 13,269 career receiving yards are the most of any active NFL player, was promoted off Philadelphia’s practice squad today and now is expected to make his Eagles’ debut Sunday night vs. the Dolphins

Steelers activated WR Diontae Johnson from injured reserve to the active roster and placed TE Pat Freiermuth on injured reserve.

Browns’ TE Harrison Bryant, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a hip injury, is expected to play vs. the Colts

Players ruled out Sunday include David Montgomery, Jonah Jackson, Marcus Williams, Kevon Seymour, Andrew Thomas, John Michael Schmitz, Matt Peart, Ed Oliver, Quintin Morris, Riley Reiff, Josh Uche, Jimmy Garoppolo, Nate Hobbs, Justin Fields, Nate Davis, Eddie Jackson, Roschon Johnson, Terrell Smith, Pat Freiermuth, Kyren Williams, Jalen Guyton, Justin Watson, Kylen Granson, Braden Smith, Kyler Murray, Jalen Thompson, Greg Dulcich, Reed Blankenship, Bradley Roby and Jalen Ramsey

Other News:

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports Giants QB Daniel Jones (neck) is considered a “long shot” to play in Week 7 against the Commanders.

Browns signed RB Deon Jackson to the active roster.

Chiefs WR Justin Watson (elbow) is out for Week 7.

Patriots TE Hunter Henry is questionable for Week 7 against the Bills

Broncos placed TE Greg Dulcich (hamstring) on injured reserve

WEATHER REPORT:

WAS/NYG – Sustained winds 15-20mph, wind gusts around 25mph

BUF/NE – Sustained winds 15mph, gusts 25mph

DET/BAL – Sustained winds 15-20mph, gusts 25mph

GPP STACKS:

As a reminder, when you're stacking in GPP, you always want to run someone back from the opposing team. One-sided games often turn to a running back seeing higher-than-usual volume or the back-ups start to play. For a stack to really pop, the other team needs to keep things competitive. 

Chalk Stacks (Expect High Ownership): 

*Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice or Kadarius Toney (Ekeler, Allen or Palmer coming back)

*Chargers: Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Joshua Palmer or Austin Ekeler (Pacheco or Kelce coming back)

Lions: Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs or Sam LaPorta (Andrews or Flowers coming back)

*Seahawks: Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf or Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Jake Bobo (Ingram or Brown coming back)

Rams: Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua or Tutu Atwell or Tyler Higbee (Johnson or Najee coming back)

Packers: Jordan Love, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson or Aaron Jones ( Williams, McLaughlin or Sutton coming back)

Possible Lower-Owned Stacks:

*Bills: Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis (Bourne or Stevenson coming back)

Ravens: Lamar Jackson, Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers (Gibbs or St. Brown coming back)

*Commanders: Sam Howell, Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel or Logan Thomas (Barkley coming back)

Giants: Daniel Jones/Tyrod Taylor, Wan'Dale Robinson, Saquon Barkley or Darren Waller (Robinson or McLaurin coming back)

*Browns: Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, David Njoku or Jerome Ford (Taylor or Pittman coming back)

Cardinals: Joshua Dobbs, Marquise Brown, Michael Taylor or Zach Ertz (Walker coming back)

Broncos: Russell Wilson, Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy (Jones or Doubs coming back)

Dart Throw Stacks:

*Raiders: Brian Hoyer, Davante Adams, Michael Mayer or Jakobi Meyers (Foreman or Moore coming back)

Bears: Tyson Bagent, DJ Moore, Cole Kmet or D'Onta Foreman (Adams or Jacobs coming back)

Colts: Gardner Minshew, Michael Pittman, Josh Downs or Jonathan Taylor (Ford or Cooper coming back)

Steelers: Kenny Pickett, Diontae Johnson, George Pickens (Kupp or Nacua coming back)

Falcons: Desmond Ridder, Drake London, Kyle Pitts or Bijan Robinson (White or Godwin or Evans coming back)

*denotes favorite