Raise your hand if your fantasy team is absolutely ravaged by bye weeks. If you put your hand up, that probably looked a little weird. But more importantly, I empathize with you. Clearly, the NFL schedule-makers don’t play fantasy football. Even if it’s slim pickings for you this week, there are still some pretty good options to choose from. I outlined a few players you should consider for your lineups, as well as some players you should avoid for Week 7. Have any more fantasy questions? Feel free to hit me up on Twitter @ZachCohenFB.

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QUARTERBACKS

Start: Tua Tagovailoa vs. ATL ($6,200)

You’ll find it tough to find 12 better quarterbacks to play than Tagovailoa. He’s Jaime Eisner’s QB13 this week, but I prefer Tagovailoa to Sam Darnold and maybe Joe Burrow (more on Darnold next). In his return from IR, Tagovailoa posted 21.4 points on a whopping 47 pass attempts. I don’t expect him to see that type of volume against Atlanta, though the Falcons’ defense has been very kind to quarterbacks. After all, they did allow Taylor Heinicke to score 27.9 points in Week 4. Tagovailoa may not have much upside, but his floor is high enough to warrant a spot in your lineup.

Other Players to Consider: Derek Carr, Matt Ryan

Sit: Sam Darnold @ NYG ($6,000)

Things have soured pretty quickly for Darnold. He was QB5 through the first four weeks, which included two performances of 25+ points. Since then, Darnold scored 6.1 and 15.1 points in Weeks 5-6, respectively. He’s also thrown six picks in the last three games after tossing just one in the first three. His matchup against the Giants isn’t even that bad. I just can’t give you good enough reasons to be confident in Darnold this weekend. You’re better off avoiding him altogether.

Other Players to Consider: Daniel Jones, Teddy Bridgewater

RUNNING BACKS

Start: Cordarrelle Patterson @ MIA ($6,700)

It’s official: Patterson is a weekly must-start. It’s more to do with the sheer lack of viable starters at the position. But hey, Patterson is the overall RB3 in fantasy points per game! So why are people doubting his status as a weekly starter? Aside from Week 5—when he played 59% of the snaps—Patterson has yet to play more than 42% of Atlanta’s snaps. He truly is an anomaly. With bye weeks set to take their toll, Patterson is a lock to start from this point forward.

Other Players to Consider: James Conner, J.D. McKissic, Darrel Williams

Sit: Elijah Mitchell @ IND ($5,400)

The 49ers’ backfield has been one wild ride this season. There was one point where Mitchell looked like he was destined for fantasy greatness. That has yet to happen, mostly due to missed time from injury. I’m not expecting the rookie to bounce back anytime soon, either. That is, as long as Trey Lance is under center. In Week 5, Lance ran 16 times, whereas Mitchell only ran nine times on just 67.7% of the team’s snaps. It’s tough to buy into Mitchell when Lance is being treated like the primary running threat. Trey Sermon’s looming presence also isn’t great. On top of that, the Colts have allowed the third-fewest points to fantasy running backs this season. Mitchell is too risky to slot in your lineups.

Update: Trey Lance is dealing with a knee injury and may miss Sunday’s game. If that were to happen, Mitchell would be much less risky.

Other Players to Consider: Myles Gaskin, Javonte Williams, Melvin Gordon

WIDE RECEIVERS

Start: Sterling Shepard vs. CAR ($5,600)

Just like with Patterson, Shepard should be locked into your lineups. Forget his usage among his team—Shepard saw the third-most targets in the league in Week 6. While a slew of injuries paved the way for a few extra targets, Shepard did see 19 targets in the season’s first two games. He’s also averaging nearly 92% of the team snaps when healthy. Shepard’s matchup against the Panthers isn’t the greatest, but his usage negates any concern you should have. At his value, Shepard is a great receiver to start this week.

Other Players to Consider: Jaylen Waddle, Tim Patrick, Michael Pittman Jr.

Sit: Tee Higgins @ BAL ($5,100)

Suddenly, there are a lot of mouths to feed in Cincinnati. His usage and production in Week 6 weren’t great, but the Bengals were playing ahead and didn’t really need Higgins. Following a two-game hiatus due to injury, Higgins only played 70% of the team’s snaps, which was similar to his playing time in Week 1. Of course, there’s always the possibility Higgins scores, but that’s a lot to bank on against a stingy Baltimore defense. They haven’t allowed a WR touchdown since Week 2 and are coming off a lockdown performance against Keenan Allen and Mike Williams—who both saw two of their lowest-scoring games of the season. There are better options than Higgins this week.

Other Players to Consider: Jakobi Meyers, Allen Robinson, Christian Kirk

TIGHT ENDS

Start: Ricky Seals-Jones @ GB ($4,500)

This will be the third time in two weeks that I say this sentence: Seals-Jones is a viable starter as long as Thomas is out. Seals-Jones is playing nearly every snap and is a major factor in the passing game. Excluding flukey performances from David Njoku and Noah Fant, Seals-Jones is TE8 since becoming Washington’s starter. I will say that Green Bay hasn’t allowed a touchdown to a tight end since Week 2, but the position is so bad right now, it makes Seals-Jones a lineup lock for Sunday.

Other Players to Consider: Tyler Higbee, Zach Ertz

Sit: Evan Engram vs. CAR ($4,300)

Let’s run through some stats, shall we? In four games this season, Engram is the TE24 while averaging:

6.1 pts
5.25 targets
67.71% snaps
31.75 yards

Catch my drift? As the rotten cherry on top, only two tight ends have posted double-digit points against Carolina: Dalton Schultz (17.8) and Tyler Conklin (10.1). Don’t start Engram this week.

Other Players to Consider: Gerald Everett, Jonnu Smith