Hello and welcome back, Nerds! The Dynasty Nerds writers are here to provide you with weekly starts and sits. I will be doing the WR starts and sits for the 2023 season! We, as a group, will be making our recommendations based on weekly consensus PPR rankings from FantasyPros. Here is our squad and the position groups they will be covering to help you each week. Follow, DM, and Tweet us.

We look forward to hearing from you!

One thing to keep in mind when making your start/sit decisions, it will ALWAYS depend on who your other options are. The players listed below are WRs that I expect to finish above/below their respective rankings. But it doesn’t mean you need to take them out of (or put them into) your lineup unless your alternatives are worth it.

NOTE: Rankings are based on a 12-team PPR league. So, saying WR2 means top 24, or TE1 means top 12, etc., and are pulled from Fantasy Pros consensus expert rankings.

RECAP

Before we get into the recap of last week’s picks, let’s go over how I determine the success and failure of my picks: 

1. Regardless of whether I have a player listed as a start or sit, if they get injured during the game where it significantly impacts their fantasy output, it is ruled a no decision based upon injury.
2. If a player finishes within a handful of spots of their ranking, either above or below, it is considered a push. 
3. My goal is always to get all my picks correct. 

However, I consider above 50% a moderately successful week. Let’s get to it.

Week 6 was a step in the wrong direction for my picks. All three of my ‘starts’ ended up as top-32 receivers. However, two were still classified as ‘misses’ because they finished 7 and 8 spots below their ranking. The final ‘start’ was a ‘push’ as he finished within a few spots of his ranking. My ‘sits’ were slightly better. DeVonta Smith and Gabe Davis both finished well below their respective rankings. However, Garrett Wilson had a big week. Overall, I had 2 ‘hits,’ 1 ‘push,’ and 3 ‘misses’. I have to do better than that. Here we go…

START

Deebo Samuel, 49ers – WR 30

Week 6 Stats | WR 101 | FPts: 1.1 | Tgts: 1 | Rec: 0 | Yds: 0 | TDs: 0

I have Deebo Samuel as my first ‘start’ for this week. He left the Week 6 contest early with a shoulder injury and could not return. This ‘start’ is naturally entirely predicated on whether Deebo can suit up for the 49ers or not. As of writing this, it is unclear if Deebo and/or Christian McCaffrey will be available for the game. 

If I had to predict it as of now, I think that Deebo is going to play, but I would be surprised if McCaffrey does. If that is the case, I anticipate a much heavier workload for Samuel as both a rusher and receiver. This 49ers team has serious Super Bowl aspirations, so I don’t think they’ll let him suit up if he’s not healthy enough to contribute. If Deebo plays, he should be in your lineup.

Romeo Doubs, Packers – WR 36

Week 6 Stats | WR x | FPts: x.x | Tgts: x | Rec: x | Yds: x | TDs: x (BYE WEEK)

Romeo Doubs is my next ‘start’ for Week 7. This call is almost entirely based on the matchup with the miserable Denver Broncos defense. They are allowing the third-most passing yards per game at 268.0, and it looks like they would struggle to slow down a high school offense right now. Denver is also very porous against the run, but Green Bay’s passing offense has been much more successful than when they try to run the ball. So, I expect Jordan Love to lean more heavily on the pass, with Romeo Doubs being the main beneficiary. Fire up Doubs if you have him.

Diontae Johnson, Steelers – WR 32

Week 6 Stats | WR x | FPts: x.x | Tgts: x | Rec: x | Yds: x | TDs: x (BYE WEEK)

My third ‘start’ for the week is Diontae Johnson. He has been out since injuring his hamstring in the opening week of the season. However, Diontae Johnson appears to be fully healthy and ready to get back on the field. Assuming he is activated off the IR, Diontae should be put straight into your starting lineup. We have seen Johnson be peppered with targets in this offense, which gives him a high floor for fantasy production. I expect to see Johnson heavily involved, and this Rams’ defense shouldn’t scare you from a matchup standpoint. I am putting Diontae in my lineup every chance I get.

Drake London, Falcons – WR 28

Week 6 Stats | WR 5 | FPts: 21.5 | Tgts: 12 | Rec: 9 | Yds: 125 | TDs: 0

My fourth and final ‘start’ for the week is Drake London. London is coming off a big game in Week 6, where he finished as the WR5 on the week. After his inexplicable 1 target game in the opening week, London has received a healthy dose of targets (42 in five games. That kind of target share is something that I always want to target.

This week, the Falcons play Tampa Bay on the road. Through the first six weeks, the Bucs have the 8th-best rush defense but the 7th-worst pass defense on a per-game basis. We know the Falcons love to run the ball, but I think we will see a bigger focus on the pass in this game. As long as Drake London is averaging more than eight targets in a game, I’ll be putting him in my starting lineups.

SIT

George Pickens, Steelers – WR 26

Week 6 Stats | WR x | FPts: x.x | Tgts: x | Rec: x | Yds: x | TDs: x (BYE WEEK)

George Pickens is my first ‘sit’ for the week. We last saw him hauling in a long touchdown pass to help Pittsburgh beat the Ravens in Week 5. Without Diontae Johnson on the field, I hoped to see George Pickens take over as a reliable fantasy option every week. Unfortunately, what we got was inconsistent performances that were hard to predict. Pickens had a WR6 and WR5 finish, but between those performances, he finished as WR38 and WR75. 

Part of this has to do with the struggles of the Pittsburgh offense, so we can’t fully fault George Pickens. However, we can be cautious before putting him into our starting lineups. With the impending return of Diontae Johnson, I anticipate the volatility to increase for Pickens. He always has the chance to make you look bad with one long touchdown catch, but I am staying away from George Pickens if I have any better options.

Michael Pittman, Colts – WR 20

Week 6 Stats | WR 9 | FPts: 19.9 | Tgts: 14 | Rec: 9 | Yds: 109 | TDs: 0

My second and final ‘sit’ for the week is Michael Pittman. Usually, I would be excited to start a wide receiver who already has four games with double-digit targets. However, I am looking elsewhere for a starting option for my fantasy teams. The Colts face off with the Cleveland Browns this week. Cleveland is allowing a league-best 121.4 passing yards per game. That number is more than 40 yards better than the second-best team in the NFL. This defense is no joke.

Additionally, after the decision for Anthony Richardson to have season-ending surgery, the Colts will be turning to Gardner Minshew for the remainder of the season. Minshew is a serviceable backup, but I don’t want to rely on a backup QB to distribute the ball against the best defense in the NFL. You may not have better options this week, but I am concerned for Pittman against Cleveland.

That’s it for Week 7. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@THEtristancook) if you have any specific questions about who I would start. 

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