Noto's NFL DFS Key Personnel: Week 7

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2025-10-17 15:47:40 Premium Content Part of the product NFL DFS

A daily fantasy sports OG, Notorious has been roaming the DFS streets ever since they were invented. So, who better to walk you through all of the key NFL DFS positions each week? Noto has racked up multiple live final seats and several six-figure tournament wins in his DFS career, and he will mix it up in all different types of contests. In his Key Personnel article for Week 7, he will walk you through his favorite NFL DFS picks, ways to pivot away from the chalk, and overall strategy for the upcoming featured slate.

My friends, welcome back to the Key Personnel!

Kevin Garnett week (Week 5) was great, while Jay Cutler week (Week 6) went exactly how you might expect. How many times did we get our hopes up with Cutler in his career only to be slightly disappointed in the end? My main tournament lineup got off to a blazing start, but the fire was quickly put out thanks to an injury to Emeka Egbuka. It rarely does any good to go back and consider all of the potential swaps, but I was a 2v2 away from my biggest week of the season. This may sound like a complaint, but it is not. I made a vow to never complain about profitable weeks. This was simply an explanation of my close-to-amazing week.

At this point, we can’t stray away from the retired athlete theme. We have quite a few choices for Week 7, including “Pistol” Pete Maravich, John Elway, Mickey Mantle, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Brandon Roy. As the only vote, I have decided to call this the John Elway week. Though racking up many accolades in his career, he always fell short of winning the big game. He lost three Super Bowls in a matter of four years (1987, 1988, and 1990) and didn’t get back to the championship until 1998. He finally broke through and won the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons. He’s a great story of perseverance, and one that we can apply to our journey in DFS.

Cheers to Elway week- let’s get after it!

NFL DFS Top Picks & Plays: Noto’s Key Personnel for Week 7

This week’s slate lacks star power at every position except wide receiver. The pricing feels softer than it did in Week 6, but that has more to do with the players on the slate than the actual pricing. It’s easy to make lineups that project well, but I’m not sure we will love the way that they look. We also have fewer options, as two teams are on bye, two games are on Monday night, and there’s another London game.

With so many key injuries to monitor, I’ll make sure to update my Core Plays tags in our NFL DFS optimizer, LineupHQ.

Top Quarterback Plays

Week 7 is one where I plan to keep my quarterback player pool extremely small. I had a difficult time finding six quarterbacks to write about in the article, and will likely only end up having exposure to the ones in Tiers 1 and 2. We usually don’t have to worry much about ownership at the position, but two quarterbacks are projected as the chalk.

Tier 1 – Core Plays

After suffering a knee injury early in the season, everyone was worried that Jayden Daniels ($6,900 DK / $8,700 FD) wouldn’t be as mobile when he returned to the lineup. Those concerns quickly faded, as he’s had 18 rushing attempts for 91 yards in 2 games since returning from injury. He’s coming off his best fantasy outing (23 fantasy points) of the season and now gets to face the Cowboys, who have given up career games to opposing quarterbacks this season. Dallas is dead last in EPA allowed per dropback and has allowed 29 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Daniels will be popular, but he offers the highest floor and ceiling combo on the slate.

Caleb Williams ($5,800 DK / $7,900 FD) deserves more credit than the media and fantasy football players have given him this season. He has averaged a healthy 7.6 yards per attempt and has topped 20 fantasy points in 3 of 5 games. He’s also led the Bears to three straight wins over the Commanders, Raiders, and Cowboys. He draws a nice matchup against the Saints, who are 28th in both EPA allowed per dropback and fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. Perhaps more importantly, New Orleans is dead last in PFF’s pass rush grades. When given time, Williams is an excellent quarterback. He’s affordable and easy to stack with, especially if DJ Moore ends up being out.

Tier 2 – Strong Plays

After beating the Lions, Patrick Mahomes ($7,000 DK / $8,000 FD) is now the favorite to win MVP at +175. He’s certainly been playing the best football that we’ve seen from him in a long time. His efficiency hasn’t been as good as some of the other top quarterbacks in the league, but he’s been incredible from a fantasy standpoint. He has topped 23 fantasy points in 5 of 6 games this season and has put up 30 fantasy points in back-to-back games. He gets his best receiver (Rashee Rice) back this week and draws a matchup against the Raiders, who have a very beatable defense. The only concern here is the 11.5-point spread.

Drake Maye ($6,300 DK / $8,200 FD) continues to be one of the best quarterbacks in fantasy football. Believe it or not, he’s also been one of the best real-life quarterbacks as well. He’s currently 3rd in EPA per play among quarterbacks. The most impressive part is that he’s done most of it with his arm. He’s been held under 15 rushing yards in 3 of 6 games this season. We know the rushing upside is still there, and he finally has two obvious stacking candidates in Stefon Diggs and Hunter Henry. He’s firmly in play against the Titans, who are 24th in EPA allowed per dropback.

Tier 3 – Sprinkle Plays

It took a little bit of late magic, but Justin Herbert ($6,400 DK / $7,600 FD) and the Chargers escaped with a win over the Dolphins last week. The injuries on the offensive line remain a concern, but Herbert has scored at least 14 fantasy points in every game this season. The offense will need to be firing on all cylinders to keep up with the Colts, who have one of the best offenses in the NFL. I know the Chargers had success on the ground against the Dolphins last week, but I’m still not encouraged by a backfield that includes Kimani Vidal and Hassan Haskins. The Chargers will need a big game from Herbert to beat the Colts.

I almost ended up on Spencer Rattler ($4,800 DK / $6,600 FD) in one of my main tournament teams last week. The weather in Carolina scared me off Bryce Young, and I really liked the rest of the lineup. Luckily, I was able to move pieces around and get up to Maye instead. It doesn’t feel great clicking on Rattler on a full slate, but he has averaged 15 fantasy points per game this season. He has rushed for at least 20 yards in 4 of 6 games, which gives him a solid rushing floor. Targeting bad quarterbacks on the road rarely works, but he draws an elite matchup against the Bears, who are 29th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.

🏈 Quarterbacks – Noto’s Notes

🏆 Core Plays: Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams
💪 Strong Plays: Patrick Mahomes, Drake Maye
🌧️ Sprinkle Plays: Justin Herbert, Spencer Rattler
% Ownership Angle: Daniels and Mahomes are accounting for 35% of the QB pOWN
🔗 Potential Pairings: Daniels + Ertz, Williams + Odunze, Mahomes + Rice
❤️‍🩹 Key Injuries: Kyler Murray (Q), J.J. McCarthy (Q)

Top Running Back Plays

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