Rest-of-Season (ROS) Rankings: Brian Thomas and DK Metcalf are Rising for Week 7

The fantasy football rest-of-season (ROS) rankings provide a comprehensive overview of projected player performances for the season’s remaining games; they are here to help… but they are also not the Ten Commandments.

They should serve as a North Star that guides you toward making informed decisions regarding trades, waiver wire transactions, and starting lineups.

You can find our full set of ROS rankings here. They're free for everyone, but as always, if you want a deeper look, consider trying our Tier 2 subscription (download Comet and then sign up for FantasyLife+).

With that in mind, I’m going to take a look at some of the biggest movers in the ROS ranks going into Week 7. Some we’ll be targeting as nice buy-low options or “players to trust.” These are players whose the consensus is likely too low, given the poor start or usage to begin the season.

But this just isn’t going to be a plain old “bullish takes only” article either. I’ll also recommend a couple of names that I think the consensus is too high on, and that I’d look to sell high on as well—aka, players to distrust.

The Week 7 ROS highlights are below.

Brian Thomas Highlights Week 7 Fantasy Football Rest-of-Season Rankings

Brian Thomas finally had the breakout game most fantasy managers were waiting for in Week 6 vs. the Seahawks. He took advantage of a beat-up secondary and dominated looks from Trevor Lawrence, posting 8 receptions, 90 yards and a TD, with a 24% target share and 33% total air yards share (via the Utilization Report).

There was an opportunity for Thomas to have done more as well. He dropped a pass in the middle of the field that would have meant an extra 15-20 yards (and put him over 100 yards in leagues that award bonuses) and also had a big TD called back due to an off-the-ball penalty on Travis Hunter. With Hunter struggling and the run game starting to sputter, Jacksonville doesn’t have any more time to mess around and should be happy to give Thomas 8-10 targets a game going forward. With his ADP still outside the top 10, now’s the time to be a buyer on the second-year WR.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Commanders

Jacory Croskey-Merritt managed only 61 yards and 1 reception for 7 yards in the Commanders' loss to the Bears in Week 6, but he’s still a player you should be bullish on going forward. His 71% rush rate in Week 6 was a season high, and he was one of only two backs to receive a carry in that game, the other of which was Jeremy McNichols, who helped fumble away the game for them late in the fourth.

The rookie has clearly taken over as the lead back for the Commanders, who need to rely on him now more than ever with Terry McLaurin out and Deebo Samuel, who managed only 16 yards in Week 6, clearly not 100%. Take advantage now while he’s still being ranked outside the top 15 at his position.

Other players to trust: Patrick Mahomes QB5, Trey McBride TE1

Week 7 Sell-High Candidates

Nico Collins, WR, Texans

Nico Collins hasn’t been an abject disappointment, but given that most people took him inside the top 12 or even top 10 of redraft leagues, the fact that he’s only WR18 in FPPG in full PPR leagues is somewhat concerning. While you’d like to think he might be able to overcome the slow start and finish as a top 10 or even top 5 WR, the Texans have started to work in rookie Jayden Higgins, who has a similar skill set to Collins, and also just got Christian Kirk back, who led the team in receiving yards their last time out.

Collins will still have his moments and undoubtedly a big spike week or two before it’s all said and done, but his chance of being a consistently excellent fantasy starter like a Justin Jefferson or Puka Nacua seems all but dead for 2025. If someone was hot on him after the Houston spike game in Week 5, I’d be fine letting him go.

Travis Etienne, RB, Jaguars

I’m not necessarily entirely out on Etienne, but after a couple of big games to start the year, the wheels have come off a bit. He averaged just 4.0 YPC vs. the Chiefs and last week against Seattle, in an admittedly tough matchup, could only muster 27 yards on 12 attempts for 2.3 YPC. His inability to produce also led to Trevor Lawrence dropping back 40+ times in Week 6, which led to Seattle racking up seven sacks on the day.

At some point, and potentially soon, you’ll likely see Jacksonville’s staff give rookie Bhayshul Tuten a bigger role. The young RB has looked explosive in spots and did manage a couple of decent runs vs. Seattle last week. I’d rather be ahead of that curve and cash in my Etienne chips than hold on too long.

Other potential sell-high candidates: Jake Ferguson TE6, Jaxson Dart QB11

Week 7 Buy-Low Candidates

DK Metcalf, WR, Steelers

Despite DK Metcalf coming into this week ranked 12th in FPPG in full PPR leagues, there is still an air of skepticism about him in fantasy circles. Even in our consensus weekly ranks, he’s well outside the top 20, and there isn’t a ton of weekly hype around the former Seahawk, despite him finding the end zone in four straight games.

The fact is, there are only a handful of WRs you’d rather have than Metcalf at the moment. Since Week 5, he’s produced a 31% target share, and with slot man Calvin Austin out, and the Steelers' TE situation a weekly mystery box, he’s very likely to maintain top billing in this offense. A great buy-low candidate if anyone is scared of a slowdown before he takes on a weak Bengals defense in Week 7.

Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs

Don’t look now, but Kelce is slowly becoming one of the better weekly TE options in fantasy football land again. Over his last two games, he’s produced 13 catches and is up to TE5 in full PPR scoring. While his pure upside isn’t what it used to be, Kelce is also starting to benefit from a more wide-open KC passing scheme that isn’t allowing defenses to key in on him every single play.

He’s converted on 13 of his last 15 targets, and since Xavier Worthy came back, his target share has actually increased (22% since Week 5, via the Utilization Report). He’s also tied for the team lead in red zone targets over the last two games. As just the TE9 and with people still skeptical if he’ll remain a big part of the Chiefs offense—with Rashee Rice coming back—now is the time to buy back in on the 36-year-old, soon-to-be married man.

Other potential buy-low candidates: D’Andre Swift RB28, Jameson Williams WR38