There’s probably no tougher decision to make in fantasy football than whether or not you should bench one of your studs on any given week. While it’s a tough call in many instances, there are certain instances where you just have to do it. Heading into Week 7 of the 2016 NFL season, we’re going to take a look at a few studs who you’re going to want to leave on your fantasy football bench. Whether it be due to bad matchups or just inconsistency, these names below don’t deserve to crack the starting lineup.
DeAndre Hopkins, wide receiver, Houston Texans
If not for a few late catches last weekend, Hopkins would be on a roll of brutal games heading into a dreadful matchup against the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, it’s not really his fault either. Quarterback Brock Osweiler has targeted Hopkins 57 times this season, and 15 times last game alone, but isn’t connecting at a very high rate, as the star wideout has just 31 receptions. Putting all of that to the side, it’s really his matchup against the Broncos that’s terrifying, and should result in fantasy players keeping him out of the lineup in Week 7.
Russell Wilson, quarterback, Seattle Seahawks
While the matchup against the Arizona Cardinals isn’t completely terrifying, it’s still not great. Even with that said, it’s still a good idea to fade Wilson on Sunday. Through Seattle’s first five games of the 2016 season, Wilson has thrown just five touchdowns, and three of them came in one game. Over the other four games, Wilson has thrown one touchdown twice, and no touchdowns the other two times. There’s no reason to believe that’s going to change against the Cardinals, so go ahead and insert the backup this weekend.
Julian Edelman, wide receiver, New England Patriots
The former point-per-reception monster, Edelman, has seemingly taken a step back. While he’s been dealing with a foot injury, he’s still failed to impress, even with quarterback Tom Brady back in the lineup. The good news is that Edelman has seen 17 targets over the past two weeks with Brady, and has nine receptions. The bad news? He has just 65 total yards over that stretch. It’s not a great spot, as other pass-catchers have stepped up in a big way, leaving Edelman forced to take a back seat in some ways.
There’s a good chance Edelman could bounce back this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but with this defensive unit knowing they need to step up without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, it could make things even tougher for the receiver.
Brandin Cooks, wide receiver, New Orleans Saints
Fresh off a massive performance against the Carolina Panthers, a game in which Cooks caught seven passes for 173 yards and a touchdown, it’s going to be hard to leave Cooks on the bench. With that said, the Saints top wideout could very well wind up seeing a whole lot of cornerback Marcus Peters in Week 7 on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs. Obviously, if we could see into the future and know that Cooks wasn’t going to get shadowed by Peters then it may be a different story. Unfortunately, we don’t know if that will be the case, so it could wind up being a tough spot for both Cooks and fantasy football owners.
