Fantasy Football Week 7 WR Preview: Return of Diontae Johnson would make Steelers receivers tough to start – CBS Sports

Diontae Johnson was a full participant in practice on Wednesday, which means we’re ranking him for Fantasy purposes. It also means the Steelers‘ wide receivers are terribly difficult to project. They have no shortage of talent with Johnson, Chase Claypool, JuJu Smith-Schuster and even James Washington. But guessing which one to trust in Week 7 seems nearly impossible.

Johnson might be the easiest to project in terms of volume, if he could just stay healthy. In the first two games of the season he dominated target share (31.9%). But he’s left each of the past two games due to injury, and that opened the door for Claypool.

I can’t imagine anyone is going to sit Claypool no matter what I say. I’m not. But it’s worth noting he had five total targets in the two games Johnson finished. And he only has one game all season with more than four targets. He’s not going to continue averaging 13.96 yards per target, but it’s reasonable to think his target share will grow due to his recent performance. 

Smith-Schuster is certainly the most frustrating. Not once all season has he led the Steelers in targets, and he hasn’t had more than five targets in a game since Week 2. I do not believe Smith-Schuster’s talent has been stolen by the Monstars, so my expectation is that he’ll eventually be a good Fantasy receiver again. But I can’t offer you any assurance that “eventually” starts in Week 7.

So what am I doing with them this week? I’d start Claypool as a No. 3 receiver or flex. I wouldn’t blame you for starting him over some of the guys I have projected higher than him. I’d start Smith-Schuster over Johnson, but neither are in my top 36 this week and I’d do my best to avoid them. I fully expect one of them to make me look ridiculous for saying that, and it’s possible we get a repeat of Week 1 where Smith-Schuster and Washington are the two best options. As long as they’re all healthy, this profiles as a situation that could frustrate us all year. For your sanity the best option may be to trade whichever one is hot. Currently, that would be Claypool.

More Week 7 help:  Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em | Starts and Sits, Sleepers and Risks | Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em: QB | Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em: RB | Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em: WR | Waiver Wire | Biggest Questions | Trade Values Chart | Cut List | QB Preview | RB Preview | WR Preview | TE Preview

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Week 7 WR Preview

The following players are not being projected to play Week 7 at this time:

• 10 — Jamison Crowder is still the only receiver in football with double-digit targets in every game he’s played. That makes him a must-start despite his disappointing Week 6.
• 0 — A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton and Julian Edelman are the only players in football with at least 36 targets and no touchdowns. 
• 18.7 — Marquez Valdes-Scantling leads receivers with at least 20 targets in average depth of target. He’s not reliable, but this role means he could make your week on any given play.
• 152.8 — Ben Roethlisberger has a 152.8 quarterback rating when targeting Chase Claypool. It’s 86.5 when targeting Diontae Johnson. 
• 4.7 — JuJu Smith-Schuster’s aDOT. It’s nearly impossible to be Fantasy relevant with low volume and a low aDOT.
• 31.8% — Michael Thomas was targeted on nearly a third of the Saints pass attempts last year. Will his return spell the end of Emmanuel Sanders and Tre’Quan Smith as Fantasy options?

So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 7 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big-time last season.