Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Football Matchup Breakdown For Week 7
Fantasy

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Football Matchup Breakdown For Week 7

John Laghezza breaks down a clash between the AFC West Raiders and the NFC West Rams for the Week 7 fantasy football slate.

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Life comes at you fast, especially in the NFL. A mere two weeks ago, we’d be talking about Rams versus Raiders in a totally different light, considering they’ve each dropped two in a row, and three of their last four. It’s early to be using the word desperation, but the 2-4 Rams already sit in last place behind the Cardinals, and another loss here could be disastrous.

Raiders vs. Rams Matchup Breakdown For Fantasy Football Week 7

LA_rams-logo.svgLos Angeles Rams Fantasy Preview For Week 7

Uh oh, Spaghetti-O’s. As if losing Davante Adams for the better part of two months wasn’t enough, Puka Nacua suffered what is believed to be a minor calf injury during practice Thursday. The city of Los Angeles will be waiting with bated breath for a status confirmation, but as a lifetime injury pessimist, you already know I’m expecting at least one game missed.

It’s a huge blow for overall QB11 Matthew Stafford, though that ranking’s a bit misleading. If you lop off the botched travel game to Australia, Stafford vaults up to the QB4, averaging over 327 passing yards/game. He managed to keep the ship afloat with Nacua missing in a Week 2 victory against NYG, though he did fall short against the Broncos, to no real fault of his own (390-2-2). I refuse to sell Sean McVay and the Rams short when given time to prepare, so I’m looking forward to some creativity in the passing schematics.

LAR lost Adams late in the regular season last year, pivoting to more +2-TE sets as a response. I believe we’ll see 12-personnel as the base package for the foreseeable future, forcing more opportunities to the best remaining players, namely Tyler Higbee and Colby Parkinson. Higbee’s likely rostered, having already proven his fantasy viability in 2026 as the TE6 since Week 3. Parkinson, however, is a different story, actually leading the TE room versus Arizona (5-31-1) in what looks like a resumption of last year’s late-season trajectory. Not often I’d recommend starting two TEs on the same team, but this is a clear exception — Parkinson’s up to five red zone targets on just 77 routes run.

You don’t need me to tell you to start Kyren Williams, though WR Konata Mumpfield could be a different story. The second-year, seventh-round pick out of Pittsburgh played really well as a fill-in for Puka, earning 8 targets to go (4-93-1) on strong advanced metrics (17.4% target/route, 2.02 yards/route). Hard to believe he’s carrying a single-digit rostership rate. Fix that now.

  • Start: Matthew Stafford (QB8), Kyren Williams (RB6), Konata Mumpfield (WR58), Tyler Higbee (TE9)
  • Sit: Tutu Atwell (WR81)
  • Sleeper: Colby Parkinson (TE25)

OAK_raiders-logo.svgLas Vegas Raiders Fantasy Preview For Week 7

What a difference three weeks can make. From an undefeated wagon to start October, Las Vegas has now lost three straight, leaving Raiders faithful wondering just how much has to do with competition level. Remember, their victories came against the Dolphins, Raiders, and Saints, who combine for two total wins — while losing to the Chiefs, Bills, and Patriots, who have just three losses between them.

Perhaps the answer’s somewhere in the middle for the team as a whole, since I’d lay very little blame at the feet of Kirk Cousins. Not only has the nearly 38-year-old shot caller finished inside the top-20 every week in 2026, he’s on a streak of four top-10 results in his last five games. Lacking mobility hurts a little, but he makes up for it with ball-handling skills and efficiency in the play-action game — Cousins boasts decent macros (0.20 EPA/dropback, 98.0 passer rating) and leads all starting QBs in play-action EPA/dropback (+0.51), plus third in play-action yardage (502). All that’s to say I don’t think we see Fernando Mendoza’s number get called yet despite the skid.

The Rams’ secondary continues shutting down opposing pass catchers weekly, so I wouldn’t bother starting anyone not named Brock Bowers — the Rams allow the fewest WR catches/game (8.5), second fewest yards (103.5), as well as the second-fewest PPR points/game to tight ends (3.9). Brock’s 11.0 targets/game and sick advanced metrics (28.9% target/route, 2.51 yards/route) make him as close to matchup-proof as you can get, though if there was ever a floor game in store, it could be Sunday. I believe part of McVay’s defensive strategy will revolve around running the ball on offense and playing an element of keep-away.

Regarding the backfield, I can’t remember ever being so down on a player with a 71% backfield share, good for +20 touches/game — yet that’s precisely where I’m at with Ashton Jeanty. Still an obvious start for now; don’t confuse quantity for quality, as the underpinning rushing metrics are downright rotten (3.2 yards/carry, -0.26 EPA/attempt, 26.5% negative rush rate). This undeniable lack of efficiency will eventually lead to ceding work, and Mike Washington just secured his second +35% RB touch share in three weeks. It’s not time to panic over a flippening yet, since Washington’s so far behind in pass protection, but he should still be rostered in more than 32% of leagues. My worst fear? A committee that costs Jeanty the goal-line work he’s managed to hold onto thus far.

  • Start: Ashton Jeanty (RB14), Brock Bowers (TE1)
  • Sit: Kirk Cousins (QB16)
  • Sleeper: Tre Tucker (WR21)

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