The Tennessee Titans will face the Buffalo Bills in Week 7. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Titans skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 7 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Will Levis, QB
The next time Will Levis finishes inside the top 20 producers at the position will be the first this season. We thought that the moves this offseason would foreshadow more fantasy intrigue for the second-year QB, but he’s reached 20 completions just once and has a 30-yard completion in just one game this year.
Getting the Bills on short rest is a good spot for most, but Tennessee’s primary threats in the passing game align on the perimeter, the strength of Buffalo’s pass defense. There aren’t five quarterbacks I’d be less inclined to play on this slate than the former second-round pick.
Tony Pollard, RB
Pollard has four top-20 finishes on his 2024 résumé, with the lone exception being the result of the game script: Tennessee ran the ball just 11 times against the Packers in Week 3 in a 16-point loss.
In short, Pollard has been much closer to the weekly option that we assumed he was going to be a season ago (2.2% over expectation this season compared to 16.4% below with the Cowboys in 2023). He’s been running as hard as anyone in the league through six weeks (4.04 yards per carry after contact), putting him in position to produce a strong stat line against a Bills defense that allows the third-most yards to backs before contact per carry.
I’ll stop shy of saying that he puts up 169 yards on Buffalo like Breece Hall did on Monday night, but if Tennessee can keep this game competitive, a top-10 performance is a reasonable expectation.
Tyjae Spears, RB
We were all impressed with Spears as a third-round rookie, as he gave the Titans no choice but to keep him involved, even in an offense that revolved around Derrick Henry.
With Henry taking his talents to Baltimore this offseason and Tennessee making moves to suggest an opening up of their offense, Spears was labeled as a sleeper candidate for many, especially with Tony Pollard coming off of a poor season as the Cowboys’ featured back.
As it turns out, Tennessee likes Spears in his limited and not fantasy-friendly role. He’s cleared eight touches just once this season and is now battling a hamstring injury that sounds like it’ll sideline him for at least a week … if not more.
If you’ve been holding out hope, you can cut ties. The lack of Spears over the next two games makes Pollard even more appealing, as Tennessee’s best defense on the road in Buffalo and Detroit might be a ball-control offense.
Calvin Ridley, WR
We’ve all come across an individual who has their job based solely on their last name, right? Sometimes said person is ultra-qualified for the position and other times not so much. But there is no denying that their last name played a big role in the opportunity.
If not for Ridley’s name, would he still be rostered? Since Week 3, he has as many targets as receiving yards (14).
Let me say that another way. Since Week 3, there are only 259 players (minimum two games played over that stretch) averaging more receiving yards than Ridley.
Will Levis’ completion percentage is up eight percentage points from his rookie season, but his decision-making hasn’t progressed the way that we need. With a lower average depth of throw, this version of Levis might actually be less valuable for his receivers.
Ridley shouldn’t be sniffing fantasy lineups at this point, and if you have a pressing need on your roster, cutting ties is certainly deserving of consideration.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR
The usage metrics look fine (over 28% on-field target share in three consecutive games with an aDOT that is in line with his career average), but if 2024 has taught us anything, it’s that not all targets are created equal.
The future Hall of Famer has just one top-40 finish on his résumé this season, and without Will Levis showing tangible signs of development, why would we expect things to change in a meaningful way?
Hopkins and Calvin Ridley are both in the middling WR4 discussion, which is not enough to matter in anything but the deepest of formats.
