Best Week 7 Contrarian NFL DFS Cheap Value Targets on DraftKings and FanDuel

Looking to gain an edge in Week 7 DFS? These under-the-radar cheap value plays on DraftKings and FanDuel could be the key to unlocking a big GPP payday.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave (12) at Caesars Superdome. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Rico Dowdle delivered a two-game fantasy winning streak in Week 6, making him the top value play. He gained 239 combined yards against the Cowboys with a touchdown and four catches on an impressive 34 touches. His success over this stretch was outdone by a waiver wire back in 2012.

Here’s a look at the top value plays in the DFS market in Week 7:

J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos (DK: $5,600/FD: $6,700)

Heading into Week 7, the Broncos played two games in Denver. Their offense was sluggish in Week 1 in a 20-12 win over the Titans. Three weeks later, they dominated Cincinnati on both sides of the ball, leading to a 28-3 win while outgaining the Bengals 512 to 159 yards. 

Dobbins averaged 14.50 fantasy points in PPR formats over his first five starts. Denver gave him 16.6 touches a game, leading to 425 combined yards, four touchdowns, and six catches. Last week, the Jets’ defense in Germany surprisingly bottled up the Broncos’ offense and their lead back (14/40).

Shawn Childs

The Giants' defense ranks 25th against running backs (145.00 fantasy points). They allow 5.3 yards per carry to backs with six touchdowns, 28 catches, and 182 yards. The Commanders’ threesome at running back gained 164 combined yards in Week 1 with one touchdown and three catches. Javonte Williams (18/97/1 with six catches for 33 yards) and Omarion Hampton (165 combined yards with one score and five catches) had the most success.

I expect the Broncos to play from the lead, giving both of their backs a chance at winning days. In the DFS market, Dobbins will be overlooked due to his limited ceiling. To fill his salary bucket, he must gain over 100 yards rushing with at least one score. Any value in catches would be a bonus.

Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots (DK: $5,200/FD: $5,700)

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson (38) runs the ball against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at Gillette Stadium. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Heading into Friday night, I have Stevenson projected 29th at running back in PPR formats, just behind teammate TreVeyon Henderson. The Patriots' running back run game was lost in the abyss against the Bills (19/59) and Saints (22/45), but they did score twice against Buffalo. New England had Stevenson on the field for 72% of their plays last week, leading to an avoid rush stat line (13/18). This year, he’s gained only 3.1 yards per carry while surprising looking better in space when catching the ball (13/154 –11.8 yards per catch). 

Shawn Child

The Titans rank 30th in fantasy points (180.60) allowed to running backs. They’ve given up a league-high 10 rushing touchdowns, with backs gaining 4.9 yards per carry. Jonathan Taylor mauled their defense for 118 combined yards with three touchdowns and three catches. Last week, Ashton Jeanty (23/75/1 with two catches for 11 yards) failed to find space on many plays vs. Tennessee.

With Drake Maye testing the Saints’ defense over the top last week, the Titans will be focusing on attacking the quarterback and tighter coverage downfield. One of two things should happen in this game for the Patriots’ run game. Stevenson will either deliver a surprising game in his favorable matchup, or New England will flip the switch to Henderson in this matchup, and he finally flashed his high ceiling.

After Week 7 is complete, many DFS players will look back and wonder why they didn’t play any Patriots’ backs in this winnable run matchup. In Week 3, Woody Marks had empty rush stats over three games (12/44) while projecting as the Texans’ RB2 vs. the Titans. He beat Tennessee for 119 combined yards with two scores and four catches.

For a daily gamer cheating RB2, rotating New England’s two running backs may lead to much better results than expected. My advice is to play the same DFS roster twice, with each back in GPP contests.

A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles (DK: $5,800/FD: $7,600)

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) reacts after making a catch against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Six games into 2025, Brown ranks 38th in wide receiving scoring (58.40), just behind Keon Coleman (58.70), who received his Yahoo walking papers this week. The Eagles have tried to get him the ball over his last five matchups (8, 10, 9, 8, and 9 targets), but he caught only 54.5% of his chances (65.3% over his first three years with the Eagles) while gaining only 11.0 yards per catch (15.8 before this year). Last week, Brown (6/80 on nine targets) appeared to turn the corner in his downfield value.

Philadelphia threw the ball much more over the last two weeks (71 passes – Jalen Hurts averaged 24.1 passes in 2024), resulting in two productive games in completions (23 and 24) and passing yards (280 and 283). Game score was a factor last week.

Shawn Childs

The Vikings lead the wide receivers defense (37/483/2 om 63 targets). They’ve faced Chicago (14/144/1), Atlanta (5/69), Cincinnati (6/65), Pittsburgh (7/139/1), and Cleveland (5/66), which spells a favorable wide receiver schedule. In addition, Minnesota has faced only 138 pass attempts (27.6 per game), which is well below last season (32.2). DK Metcalf (5/126/1 on five targets) exploited some of their weaknesses in coverage vs. big physical wideouts.

Brown brings a 30.00+ fantasy day ceiling while seeing his DFS salary slide as the season moves up. Before this season, he averaged 18.41 fantasy points per game in DraftKings scoring over 47 starts for the Eagles, painting a 3X starting floor vs. Minnesota.

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints (DK: $5,400/FD: $6,200)

The last time I tried to use Olave in my DFS line came in Week 6 in 2024. He played well over three games (4/81, 6/86/1, and 8/87), followed by a losing effort vs. the Chiefs (2/10). I teed him up in a bounce-back situation against Tampa, only to see him leave the game after two plays with a concussion. The previous season, the Bucs held him to two short outcomes (1/4 and 3/26), which should have been enough information to avoid him in the DFS market.

Over his first two seasons with the Saints, Olave set a high floor in catches and receiving yards (72/1,042/4 and 87/1,123/5), leading to him averaging 13.85 fantasy points over 31 games. After a down third season (32/400/1 over 44 games), New Orleans has worked Olave closer to the line of scrimmage (8.8 yards per catch – 13.4 over his first three seasons), leading to six double-digit fantasy days (12.40, 6/54, 10/57, 3/20/1, 7/59, and 6/98) while averaging 10.5 targets. 

The Bears have played better than expected against wide receivers (7th in fantasy points allowed – 161.90), considering they lost their top CB, Jaylon Johnson, after only being on the field for 20 plays in Week 2. The Lions’ wideouts beat their secondary for 13 catches for 266 yards and four touchdowns, highlighted by winning games from Amon-Ra St. Brown (9/115/3) and Jameson Williams (2/108/1). Chicago held all the Vikings, Raiders, and Commanders receivers to fewer than 50 yards despite giving up three touchdowns.

I sense a let-down game for the Bears’ defense, but Chicago should score against the Saints. Olave must hit on a big play and a touchdown to reach playable status in the DFS market. My projections support a top 10 wide receiver fantasy day.