Five NFL daily fantasy plays for Week 7, and the Chiefs’ pick of the week

Below, you’ll find a list of players I have spotlighted for daily fantasy selections leading into the fourth week of the NFL season.

I use the following criteria to try and find players — NFL Vegas totals, NFL team stats, what the fantasy gurus are saying and my GUT.

Without further ado, let’s not wait any longer. Let’s see who’s made my list of five players this week!

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Sterling Shepard, WR Giants

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The Giants face the Falcons in Week 7, and while I’m not big on the Giants offense, I am big on a couple of other factors leading up to the game.

The first factor is the 54.5 point total Vegas has laid out for the Giants/Falcons game. The second factor is the Falcons have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers (30.3). Combine those two points and Sterling Shepard should be an affordable option for teams looking for points.

Joe Mixon, RB Bengals

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I typically don’t pick players who are their team’s first option at their position, but this is a special case.

With Joe Mixon recently returning from an injury, his price may currently be a bit deflated. The Chiefs are the second worst team in terms of fantasy points allowed per game for running backs (29.0) and the massive 58 point total in the Chiefs/Bengals game should lead to a big game from Mixon.

Robert Woods, WR Rams

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Robert Woods has had a pretty great start to his season. Unfortunately for the Rams, Cooper Kupp has been ruled out for their upcoming game against the 49ers. This should lead to Woods having more opportunities than usual.

The Rams/49ers game has a Vegas total of 52 points, and the 49ers are in the bottom third of the NFL in points allowed to wide receivers per game (26.7). Add all of these together and we have a perfect storm for Woods to have a big game. He may be a bit pricey, but he should provide solid value on Sunday.

Frank Gore, RB Dolphins

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I love the fact I’m picking a 35-year-old Frank Gore, who somehow defies all logic when it comes to aging at the running back position.

With Ryan Tannehill out, it’s likely the Dolphins will try and use their ground game more frequently. Seriously, I’d advise against asking Brock Osweiler to drop back 40 times.

That leaves the Dolphins looking to run the ball against the Lions, and it makes sense. The Lions have allowed the third-most fantasy points to running backs so far in the season (26.0). Gore could be an affordable option that gobbles up a decent amount of points on Sunday.

David Njoku, TE Browns

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The Browns face off against the Buccaneers on Sunday, and that’s good news for David Njoku because the Buccaneers have allowed more points per game to tight ends than any other team in the NFL (13.3).

Also, since Baker Mayfield has taken over for the Browns, Njoku has seen his target share continuously rise. Mayfield and Njoku could be tuning their connection and good things may happen on Sunday for a relatively cheap price with Njoku.

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You win some, you lose some. Two weeks ago I picked the Chiefs defense to be the “Chiefs pick of the week,” and boy did they show up against the Jaguars.

Last week... my decision making wasn’t as crisp. I picked Demetrius Harris to be the Chiefs fantasy pick, and he didn’t even collect a single reception.

Maybe I’ll do a little better with this week’s pick:

Travis Kelce

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Typically, I pick players who are more of the “unsung hero” type, but after getting my butt kicked last week I plan on going with Kelce — and for good reason.

The Bengals allow the seventh-most fantasy points per game to tight ends (9.6). Looking at the Bengals linebackers and their coverage abilities, it is very clear the Bengals will have a problem against Kelce.

I’m looking for Kelce to have a huge game on Sunday.