Fantasy plays: Players to start and sit for NFL Week 7

There are few guarantees in fantasy football, but these players are as close as you’ll get to a sure thing in Week 7 of the NFL season.

Start: Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers vs Ravens

Mayfield is second in QB fantasy points on the season, yet somehow there are 13 signal-callers who are more widely owned in fantasy going into Week 7. Maybe that will change after this Sunday, when Mayfield could post elite fantasy numbers, whether the Buccaneers win or lose. Mayfield is averaging almost 24 fantasy points a game over the season, and this week he’ll face a Ravens team that is a top-five matchup for opposing QBs. The Ravens are also a bottom-five matchup for opposing RBs, so the Bucs will need to attack them through the air.

Other locks:

—Jalen Hurts vs Giants

—Andy Dalton at Commanders

—Jayden Daniels at Panthers

—Jordan Love vs Texans

Avoid: Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs at 49ers

Mahomes is relying on name recognition to stay relevant in fantasy this season, as he’s just QB24 on the season. Averaging fewer than 14 fantasy points per game in 2024, Mahomes will face a 49ers team that isn’t the juggernaut it’s been in the past but still manages to give teams fits. Minus what would have been his No. 1 WR in Rashee Rice, Mahomes will rely on a short passing game and his running backs.

Start: Chuba Hubbard, Panthers at Commanders

Hubbard is off to a strong start. He didn't score in Week 6 as he had in the three previous games, but he still topped 100 all-purpose yards against a stout Falcons defensive front. It could be much easier this week when the Panthers will go up against a Commanders team that’s a top-10 matchup for opposing running backs.

Other locks:

—Tony Pollard at Bills

—Joe Mixon at Packers

—JK Dobbins at Cardinals

—Bijan Robinson vs Seahawks

Avoid: Josh Jacobs, Packers vs Texans

Jacobs is one of the least efficient backs in the league, and what’s worse is that the rest of the Packers offense is so potent. Jordan Love and company have a strong passing game. Jacobs gets ample carries, but Emanuel Wilson is eating into his workload with close to double-digit touches in Week 6. In an unenviable matchup with Houston’s top-10 run defense in Week 7, Jacobs could underwhelm.

Start: Tank Dell, Texans at Packers

Dell is finally getting loose, now that he’s healthy and Nico Collins is out for the time being. In Week 6, Dell led the team in targets (nine), picking up 57 yards and a score against a middling Patriots secondary. His outlook is even better this week, as Dell will face Green Bay. They’re a top-10 matchup for opposing WRs, and Dell is primed to take advantage.

Other locks:

—DeVonta Smith at Giants

—Jordan Addison vs Lions

—Zay Flowers at Buccaneers

—Diontae Johnson at Commanders

Avoid: Brandon Aiyuk, Chiefs vs 49ers

Aiyuk had 147 yards in Week 5, before a quiet Week 6. He only managed two catches for 37 yards last week against Seattle, and his matchup in Week 7 is even worse, as he’ll face the Chiefs vaunted secondary. With only one game of more than 50 yards so far this season, avoid Aiyuk in this tough matchup.

Start: Evan Engram, Jaguars vs Patriots

Engram is back and playing spectacularly, catching all 10 of his team-leading targets in Week 6 for 102 yards against the Bears. No worse for wear after missing four games with a hamstring injury, Engram could continue to roll this week against the Patriots.

Other locks:

—Cade Otton vs Ravens

—Dalton Schultz at Packers

—Kyle Pitts vs Seahawks

—Trey McBride vs Chargers

Avoid: Tucker Kraft, Packers vs Texans

Kraft has rendered Luke Musgrave obsolete in the Packers offense, with big games in Weeks 4 and 5. Going over 130 total yards and catching three combined TDs, Kraft cooled off considerably in Week 6, when Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs returned to the lineup. Kraft is the fourth option at best when the Packers WRs are healthy, and he’s likely to be bottled up by Houston’s strong TE defense in Week 7.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by RosterWatch, www.rosterwatch.com.

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell holds onto his touchdown reception in the endzone against New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones (31) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) runs the ball against Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons (31) in the first half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Fantasy plays: Players to start and sit for NFL Week 7

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) celebrates as he leaves the field following an NFL football game against New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Fantasy plays: Players to start and sit for NFL Week 7

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid is trying to believe in the good that can come from asking for help. Embiid’s career has yielded an MVP — and so many more DNPs — with a biography littered by the kind of devastating injuries that can, in time, heal.

Ask even the most casual 76ers fan, and they can rattle off a CliffsNotes version of Embiid’s injury timeline: The broken bones in his feet, the grotesque dislocated finger that made it resemble a used bendy drinking straw, the torn meniscus in his right knee, the torn ligament in a thumb, a bout with Bell’s palsy, and even his latest ailment — a busted sinus that compelled him to ask a media horde to cut the camera lights because of his sensitivity to the brightness beaming in his face.

Embiid played Friday night wearing a carbon graphite mask straight out of the “Phantom of the Opera” prop department. He needed the protection to save his face from another errant elbow, another sudden strike, that could thrust him into the kind of prolonged absence that has defined his star-crossed career.

With the 7-footer boasting a wingspan that could stretch a couple of Liberty Bells, his knack for knocking down spot-up 3s, Embiid's presence in the lineup is all that separates the Philadelphia 76ers from a playoff team and title contender to one drowning in the NBA standings.

He feels the burden. He understands the hardships.

Selected by the 76ers with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Embiid carries the weight of expectations of Philly — and beyond — with him, and the injuries that sidelined the 2023 MVP and have denied him a real shot at being heralded as one of the NBA's greats have led him to admit the cracks they formed in his mental health was something he could no longer ignore.

So the native of Cameroon who once never believed in seeking help from others had decided over time — much like elite athletes Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and retired swimmer Michael Phelps — to shake the once-taboo stigma of therapy and go all-in on the process to steer him through turbulent times in his professional career.

“It's kind of hard when you get in those moments where it's kind of hard not to feel bad about yourself, especially when you know who you are and what you can accomplish but it's not the way it is,” Embiid said. “One lesson that I learned is to try and stop feeling bad about myself and just live day-by-day. Enjoy good people around me, positivity and not focus on the negativity.”

Embiid has openly talked at times over the last year of feeling depressed from time on the shelf — he was sidelined for two full NBA seasons, and had chunks of so many others recovering, rehabbing, even resting — and this season was no different.

Embiid had his homegrown sidekick in All-Star Tyrese Maxey and nine-time All-Star Paul George along for the ride to form a kind of Big Three expected to challenge Boston, New York and Cleveland for Eastern Conference supremacy.

With all three walloped by injuries, they have played start-to-finish in all of two games this season.

Embiid slogged through headaches and dizziness to drop 34 points and led the 76ers past Charlotte on Friday night in a win that completed a 4-0 season sweep against the Hornets and propped the 76ers' record to a meager 9-16 overall.

“He does make the game so easy,” George said. “A lot of stuff was just plays we weren't in sync on. We'll get that as we're on the court more.”

The question again is raised around the NBA — what could the 76ers have accomplished had Embiid been healthy enough to always play 80 games a season?

As is the norm with Embiid, the two-time scoring champion will sit out the second game of a back-to-back Saturday at Cleveland.

“As long as it gets better every day,” Embiid said, “that'll be good.”

It's a modest goal as Embiid tries to make the days — using his word “manageable” — until perhaps it feels close to 100% in time for the playoffs.

His frankness in admitting he needed therapy belies a public persona of a 30-year-old who has delighted in playing the role of troll to needle rivals both in the locker room and on social media. Embiid — who signed a $193 million contract extension ahead of the season — has leaned on his wife and young son to push him through the hard days.

Embiid's a big brother to 20-somethings on the team like Maxey and rookie Jared McCain and he finally has a relatable peer this season in a fellow Olympic gold medalist George, who has had his own career interrupted by catastrophic injuries.

“You can never get enough of the support,” Embiid said. “If I'm being honest, when you've got the support from your family, people close to you, teammates, guys like (George), that's the reason why you want to keep doing it and you want to keep figuring it out. That's who you play for. The people who care about you, people that support you, people that push you. I have a hard time disappointing people, which I'm working on. When you've got that type of support, it's kind of hard to feel bad about yourself. I like to please people. You've just got to keep going.”

Keep going.

It's all Embiid can do now to find happiness on the court and in his personal life — and find some peace through treatment along the way.

He can at least improve his state of mind, even if the state of his body takes longer to heal.

“It's a work in progress. We'll see if it works," Embiid said. "You get to a point where nothing is working, I'm always willing to try anything and see if it works.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid left, tries to go up for a shot against Charlotte Hornets' Vasilije Micic during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid walks the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, left, goes up for a shot against Charlotte Hornets' Moussa Diabate during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid holds the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid reacts after being fouled during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)