Start CJ Donaldson or AJ Dillon? Week 7

Our Week 7 call

Start CJ Donaldson over AJ Dillon in Week 7.

Market-based projections have CJ Donaldson at 3.2 points and AJ Dillon at 2.9, a gap of 0.3. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Both numbers are scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. Market coverage on CJ Donaldson is 70 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 3.2 fantasy points for CJ Donaldson, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for CJ Donaldson is 11 rushing yards and 0.2 touchdowns (9 and 12 market sources).

Player markets imply 2.9 fantasy points for AJ Dillon, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for AJ Dillon is 13 rushing yards and 0.1 touchdowns (7 and 12 market sources).

That puts CJ Donaldson 0.3 points ahead of AJ Dillon on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

CJ Donaldson and NO host PIT on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

PIT allowed 20.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 15th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 86 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against PIT and caught passes for 35 more yards.

AJ Dillon and CAR host TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 17.0 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 3rd fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 65 yards and 0.3 touchdowns a game against TB and caught passes for 36 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, CJ Donaldson has the softer matchup.

Injury status

CJ Donaldson is not on the injury report.

AJ Dillon is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, CJ Donaldson played 28 percent of NO snaps, took 11 percent of the carries, drew 3 percent of the targets and had 4 percent of the red zone chances.

CJ Donaldson, Week 3 against LV: 12 of 74 snaps, 1 carry for 5 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

CJ Donaldson, Week 4 against ATL: 28 of 74 snaps, 3 carries for 18 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 5 yards.

CJ Donaldson, Week 5 against MIN: 19 of 45 snaps, 4 carries for 13 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 7 yards.

CJ Donaldson, Week 6 against NYG: 24 of 72 snaps, 6 carries for 39 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Through Week 4, AJ Dillon played 12 percent of CAR snaps, took 18 percent of the carries, drew 1 percent of the targets and had 3 percent of the red zone chances.

AJ Dillon, Week 1 against CHI: 7 of 68 snaps, 5 carries for 28 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

AJ Dillon, Week 2 against ATL: 4 of 66 snaps, 3 carries for -3 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

AJ Dillon, Week 3 against CLE: 12 of 77 snaps, 4 carries for 16 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for -2 yards.

AJ Dillon, Week 4 against DET: 11 of 75 snaps, 5 carries for 2 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 5 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, AJ Dillon played 7 games for PHI and scored 9.1 PPR points, 1.3 a game, finishing RB113.

He ran 12 times for 60 yards and 0 touchdowns, and caught 3 of 3 targets for 21 yards.

He was on the field for 11 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 7 calls

• Start Corey Kiner over CJ Donaldson.
• Start Devin Singletary over CJ Donaldson.
• Start George Holani over CJ Donaldson.
• Start Devin Singletary over AJ Dillon.
• Start Isaiah Davis over AJ Dillon.
• Start Jaylen Wright over AJ Dillon.