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

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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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Derek Stingley Jr. is the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans didn’t hold back in his praise for cornerback Derek Stingley in the locker room Sunday after his second interception of the fourth quarter iced a win over Miami.

“That’s probably the best play I’ve ever seen,” Ryans told the team before giving Stingley a game ball after the 20-12 victory.

Tua Tagovailoa and Miami’s offense got the ball back with just under two minutes left to try to tie it. But on the first play of the drive, Tagovailoa attempted a long pass to Tyreek Hill and Stingley stretched out to grab the ball in between Hill’s hands.

Tagovailoa slowly undid his chin straps and shook his head as he watched Stingley and Houston’s defense celebrate a fourth turnover of the game. Stingley and the entire defense raced to the end zone, where several teammates pretended to place a crown atop his head as he clutched the ball.

“It’s very impressive,” Ryans said. “It’s very rare you see a player make a play that way to end the game. That was an All-Pro-type play. That’s what it looks like when you’re one of the top guys at your position in the league going up, matching it up against one of the best wideouts in the league.”

Earlier in the quarter, Stingley snatched another ball before it could reach Hill inside the 10-yard line with about 10 1/2 minutes to go.

Stingley has played well all season but has taken things up a notch in the past month, with four of his five interceptions coming in the last four games. He also had two tackles for loss Sunday to become the first cornerback in NFL history to have two interceptions and two tackles for loss in a game.

His performance earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

“Can’t say enough about how impactful Stingley has been throughout not only those plays (Sunday), but Stingley has been impactful throughout the entire year,” Ryans said. “I think for the past three wins, he’s been our defensive player of the game. So, when he’s making impact plays, it’s putting us in position to win football games.”

Houston’s win over Miami coupled with a loss by Indianapolis on Sunday gave the Texans (9-5) their second straight AFC South title. Next, they travel to Kansas City on Saturday to face the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

Stingley, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, was criticized for not living up to expectations in his first two seasons in the league. He struggled to stay on the field, missing 13 games with injuries while fellow cornerback Sauce Gardner, taken a pick behind him by the New York Jets, won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and twice was selected as an All-Pro.

This year, Stingley has started every game and has defended 17 passes, has 46 tackles and four tackles for loss, which are all career highs.

The former LSU standout was asked if he thinks he’s proved critics wrong with his play this season. He insists he doesn’t care about that.

“My teammates, they know who I am,” he said. “So, really it’s just showing my teammates that they can trust me.”

It’s easy to get teammates and coaches to rave about the season Stingley is having. Getting the player himself to talk about what he’s doing is much more difficult.

And it’s not just that he dislikes talking to reporters. He doesn’t seem to like talking much to anybody.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud shared how the interactions have gone between them when he tells Stingley he should play offense because he has such good hands.

“He doesn’t really talk much … he’s just like mm-hmm,” Stroud said with a laugh. “He doesn’t say nothing. Not too many words out of Sting.”

For now, he’s letting his play speak for him. While others predict that he will make his first Pro Bowl this season and possibly even earn All-Pro honors, he remains focused on the team.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m trying to get to the Super Bowl. If it happens, it happens. If it don’t, it’s cool.”

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