Jared Goff or Matthew Stafford?: Week 7 Start 'Em Sit 'Em Fantasy Football Projection

Modified Oct 22, 2023 02:12 GMT

Jared Goff or Matthew Stafford in Week 7 Fantasy Football

Fantasy football managers are tasked with difficult decisions during every week of the NFL season on their quest to a potential championship. The players they choose to start and sit each week can often directly determine whether they come away with a victory or defeat in a given matchup. This is especially true for quarterbacks, the highest-scoring position in fantasy football.

Managers finalizing their lineups in Week 7 may be debating between Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff for their quarterback spot. The two veteran options are having strong 2023 NFL seasons so far and have each found fantasy success as well. The following breakdown may make this decision a bit easier.

Is Jared Goff a good pick in fantasy football Week 7?

Jared Goff has been excellent during his time with the Detroit Lions so far since being traded there by the Los Angeles Rams. Everything has come together for the 2023 NFL season, leading the Lions to 5-1 record so far after missing out on the NFL Playoffs by just one game last year. His efficient play has helped them do so, while also making him a solid fantasy football quarterback.

Jared Goff currently ranks as the QB6 overall entering Week 7, with three weekly finishes among the top six fantasy quarterbacks. He has completed 70 percent of his passes this year, recording two 300-yard games and throwing 11 touchdowns. He has also shockingly chipped in with two rushing touchdowns, further increasing his fantasy value.

While he has been playing well all year, he enters this Week 7 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in partuclarly good form. He has totaled five touchdowns and had zero interceptions in his past two games, finishing as a season-best QB4 in both of them. He's also coming off a season-high 353 passing yards last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a difficult defense to play against.

The biggest challenges that Goff will need to overcome this week are losing his starting running back David Montgomery. He has been a workhorse in their offense this year, but is out with an injury. This will require rookie Jahmyr Gibbs to step up as the starter for the first time in his career.

Also Read: Jahmyr Gibbs' fantasy outlook

While Gibbs is much more inexperienced than Montgomery, he offers more explosiveness and was an excellent pass-catcher out of the backfield during his college football career. It will be interesting to see how the change affects the Lions' play-calling, as well as how it could impact Goff's fantasy value. It should, theoretically, help his fantasy football production if the offense decides to pass the ball more often.

The Ravens will present a challenging matchup for Goff as they have defended quarterbacks exceptionally well this year. They enter this game having allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks through six games. They also rank in the top half of the league in defending running backs, demonstrating their elite defense as a whole.

Goff's best game of the season came last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, another stout defense, so he could be up for the challenge of facing the Ravens, especially on the road. His stong season so far and current hot streak make him an interesting option for Week 7 fantasy football lineups, despite the unfavorable matchup.

Is Matthew Stafford a good pick in fantasy football Week 7?

After winning a Super Bowl ring in his first year with the Los Angeles Rams two seasons ago, Matthew Stafford had an extremely disappointing encore performance. The Rams suffered though a ton of injuries last year, including missing Stafford for most of the season. His health was questioned entering the 2023 NFL season, but he seems to have proven the doubters wrong.

Stafford has appeared in all six games for the Rams this year, helping them to a 3-3 record as they look to avenge their disastrous 2022 season. The veteran quarterback has been respectable along the way, totaling six touchdowns. While he has also thrown five interceptions, he has zero over his past two games, demonstrating his progress in bouncing back from last year's injuries.

For fantasy football, Stafford has finished among the top 15 quarterbacks in each of the past three weeks, recording his three best weekly rankings along the way. The yardage has been there for him, exceeding 300 yards in three games this year and another one with more 250 yards. The downside is that he has only one multi-touchdown game this year, limiting his total points in fantasy football.

If Stafford could get things rolling with more touchdowns, his fantasy value is likely to skyrocket. He has a solid chance of doing so, especially with Cooper Kupp returning from injury two weeks ago. It's probably not a coincidence that Stafford has recorded his two best fantasy performances of the year since his superstar wide receiver returned.

Jared Goff vs. Matthew Stafford: Who Should I Start in Week 7?

According to the Start/Sit Optimizer, Matthew Stafford is a better quarterback option than Jared Goff for fantasy football in Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season. This useful tool weighs every various factor for any players in a given week to generate fantasy projections and lineup suggestions.

For this specific comparison, Stafford received the edge for a much higher projected yardage total. This is despite a lower likelihood of throwing touchdowns and having a better chance at recording an interception, per the Optimizer. His projected yardage is enough to give him a higher than expected fantasy score in Week 7.

This suggestion highlights why matchups are so important when making fantasy lineups. While Goff has clearly had the better overall season than Stafford, his matchup against the Ravens' passing defense is much more challenging than Stafford's with the Steelers. They both make for relatively solid choices this week, especially with six teams on a bye, but Stafford is the preferred option.

Edited by Windy Goodloe