EARLY RANKS

Week 7 fantasy football rankings

Watson has been fantastic. Tim Warner/Getty Images

These are my very early ranks, so keep in mind I post these on Thursday. I will update them on Friday. Make sure you check the injury report on Sunday for players that have missed practice. If it doesn't look like a player will play this week, I typically won't rank him. Keep in mind, these are PPR rankings, and don't forget to set your lineup for Thursday Night Football.

If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter. Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5FM. We're on every Sunday morning from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.

@JoshJordan975

@Moneyline975

@JerryBoKnowz

QB

1Deshaun Watson

2Russell Wilson

3Lamar Jackson

4Patrick Mahomes

5Matt Ryan

6Jared Goff

7Dak Prescott

8Kyler Murray

9Josh Allen

10Tom Brady

11Carson Wentz

12Jacoby Brissett

13Aaron Rodgers

14Kirk Cousins

15Jimmy Garoppolo

16Daniel Jones

17Gardner Minshew

18Matthew Stafford

19Philip Rivers

20Derek Carr

RB

1Dalvin Cook

2Leonard Fournette

3Saquon Barkley

4Ezekiel Elliott

5Phillip Lindsay

6Alvin Kamara

7Josh Jacobs

8David Johnson

9Mark Ingram

10Chris Carson

11Marlon Mack

12Le'Veon Bell

13Aaron Jones

14Devonta Freeman

15Kerryon Johnson

16Derrick Henry

17Tevin Coleman

18Austin Ekeler

19Royce Freeman

20James White

21Devin Singletary

22Sony Michel

23Jamaal Williams

24Melvin Gordon

25Carlos Hyde

26Joe Mixon

27Matt Breida

28Miles Sanders

29Latavius Murray

30David Montgomery

31Jordan Howard

32LeSean McCoy

33Darrell Henderson

34Damien Williams

35Tarik Cohen

36Malcolm Brown

WR

1Cooper Kupp

2T.Y. Hilton

3Michael Thomas

4Tyreek Hill

5DeAndre Hopkins

6Julio Jones

7D.J. Chark

8Julian Edelman

9Larry Fitzgerald

10Adam Thielen

11Robert Woods

12Keenan Allen

13Tyler Lockett

14Brandin Cooks

15Tyler Boyd

16Courtland Sutton

17Stefon Diggs

18Michael Gallup

19John Brown

20Alshon Jeffery

21Will Fuller

22Calvin Ridley

23Terry McLaurin

24 Kenny Golladay

25Golden Tate

26Auden Tate

27Allen Robinson

28Phillip Dorsett

29Mike Williams

30Mohamed Sanu

31Dede Westbrook

32Emmanuel Sanders

33Marvin Jones

34Allen Lazard

35D.K. Metcalf

36Robby Anderson

37Jamison Crowder

38Cole Beasley

39Marquez Valdes-Scantling

40Marquis Goodwin

TE

1George Kittle

2Evan Engram

3Travis Kelce

4Austin Hooper

5Zach Ertz

6Hunter Henry

7Mark Andrews

8Darren Waller

9T.J. Hockenson

10Gerald Everett

11Jason Witten

12Jared Cook

13Eric Ebron

14Jimmy Graham

15Delanie Walker

Defense/Special Teams

1Buffalo Bills

2New England Patriots

3San Francisco 49ers

4Chicago Bears

5Jacksonville Jaguars

6Green Bay Packers

7New Orleans Saints

8Minnesota Vikings

9Los Angeles Chargers

10Tennessee Titans

11Detroit Lions

12Philadelphia Eagles

Kicker

1Justin Tucker

2Harrison Butker

3Robbie Gould

4Greg Zuerlein

5Will Lutz

6Zane Gonzalez

7Jason Myers

8Jake Elliott

9Mason Crosby

10Mike Nugent

11Matt Prater

12Josh Lambo

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The Dodgers host the Astros this weekend! Composite Getty Image.
  • It’s the first place Houston Astros against the first place Los Angeles Dodgers as they open their latest head-to-head series. This is not a recording. The two most dominant powers in the sport over the last decade gather at Dodger Stadium this Independence Day weekend. The Astros have a sizable lead in pursuit of their eighth American League West championship in the last nine years. The Dodgers have an even more sizable lead as they chase their fourth straight National League West crown, which would be their 12th in 13 years. Each franchise has won two World Series in that time frame, each has lost two. All Astro and Dodger parties would sign off immediately on a 2025 World Series matchup. This three-game set carries no big picture significance, but every game counts, and it’s just fun seeing these two get after it. It would be more fun if the Astros had Yordan Alvarez available. Then again, the Dodgers won’t have Josh Fields.

Both continue to roll along despite rashes of injuries. When the Astros awoke May 24 their record sat at 26-25. Since then they have gone 26-10. That is a dominant stretch despite this clearly not being a dominant team. The still Alvarez-less offense is mediocre. So is the starting pitching apart from the one-two awesome punch that Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez have been. When Brown or Valdez has been the Astros’ starting pitcher this season, the team record is 25-9. With anyone else making the start, 27-26. They have been every bit as dynamic a duo so far in 2025 that Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole were for the Astros in 2019 when Verlander edged out Cole to win his third Cy Young Award. Brown is a lock to be named to his first American League All-Star team this Sunday. Valdez is worthy of a third consecutive selection but could get caught in a numbers squeeze. Eight or nine starting pitchers are picked for each league.

The Dodgers won’t face Brown this weekend, but will have to deal with Valdez on Saturday night. His mound counterpart will be Shohei Ohtani. Oooooooh! Framber didn’t give up a run in 13 innings over his last two starts, and over his last 10 outings has a super-spiffy 1.72 earned run average. The amazing Ohtani is easing back into pitching after his second Tommy John surgery. Ohtani has started three games, totaling just four innings. He has yet to throw 30 pitches in an outing. Saturday he probably will be allowed 30 to 40.

Arms race

While Friday’s outing isn’t remotely a make or break start for Lance McCullers, it does speak to a significant question the Astros hope to find a pleasing answer to over the remainder of the regular season. Who is their third starting pitcher in a playoff series? After Brown and Valdez there is simply no one who inspires confidence at this point. McCullers has been awful his last two times out, jacking up his ERA to 6.61 eight starts into his season. 20 walks issued in 32 2 /3 innings pitched is glaringly bad. McCullers is still reasonably in ramp up mode, but given his injury history along with performance concerns, the third starter spot can’t be considered his to lose. Spencer Arrighetti’s resume is thin but his return at the level he pitched at after the All-Star break last season would be massive. Colt Gordon and Brandon Walter have both done some nice fill-in work, but no one plausibly wants them starting what would be a do or die game if the Astros wind up in a game three of a best-of-three Wild Card series.

Historic achievement

Not as if it’s subplot or anything this weekend, but let’s call it notable that the two active career hits leaders in Major League Baseball share the field this weekend. Jose Altuve this week vaulted past Jeff Bagwell for second in Astros’ history behind Craig Biggio. Altuve enters the weekend 743 hits behind Biggio. He is no lock to catch him before Altuve’s five-year contract expires at the end of the 2029 season. Altuve will be 39 then. Biggio was 41 when he rapped his 3000th hit, then added 60 more before beginning the waiting game for election to the Hall of Fame.

Like Biggio got and presumably someday Altuve will get, Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman will get the call from Cooperstown some day. Like Altuve, Freeman is 35 years old, has won a Most Valuable Player Award, one Gold Glove, and with his selection this week been named an All-Star nine times. Aaron Judge may change this in the next couple of years, but among active players only Mike Trout (by a long shot) has compiled more Baseball-Reference offensive Wins Above Replacement than Freeman (second) and Altuve (third).

For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch! 

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