Should I drop Alvin Kamara for Kenny Gainwell?

Not on these numbers alone. Alvin Kamara projects 62 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.2 a game over 10 games) and Kenny Gainwell 61 (6.1 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Kenny Gainwell over Alvin Kamara. Alvin Kamara is listed questionable.

Start Alvin Kamara or Kenny Gainwell? Week 7

Updated Oct 20, 4:41 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Early kickoff: 9:30 AM ET in Paris, set your lineup before then.

Start Kenny Gainwell over Alvin Kamara

Gainwell projects lower, 5.3 to 7.2, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 95 for Gainwell, 164 for Kamara.

Start

Kenny Gainwell

RB · TB · at CAR

Market projects: 5.3; recent weeks avg
CAR D vs RB: 25.7; 5th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 37 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 36%; Through Week 6
Target share: 9%; Through Week 6

Sit

Alvin Kamara

RB · NO · vs PIT · Questionable

Market projects: 7.2; fantasy pts
PIT D vs RB: 20.4; 15th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 34 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 31%; Through Week 6
Target share: 12%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Kenny Gainwell for Alvin Kamara?

Not on these numbers alone. Kenny Gainwell projects 61 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.1 a game over 10 games) and Alvin Kamara 62 (6.2 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Kenny Gainwell over Alvin Kamara. Alvin Kamara is listed questionable.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Kenny Gainwell over Alvin Kamara in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Kenny Gainwell at 5.3 points and Alvin Kamara at 7.2, a gap of 1.9. Kenny Gainwell still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 95 against 164, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Kenny Gainwell this week yet, so his 5.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4, 5 and 6 (4.3, 5.3 and 6.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 7.2 fantasy points for Alvin Kamara, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Alvin Kamara is 17 rushing yards, 13 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (11, 11, 11 and 12 market sources).

No Week 7 player market is posted for Kenny Gainwell yet. His market-based projections were 4.3, 5.3 and 6.5 points in Weeks 4, 5 and 6, an average of 5.3, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

That puts Alvin Kamara 1.9 points ahead of Kenny Gainwell on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Alvin Kamara 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.

Kenny Gainwell and TB visit CAR on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CAR allowed 25.7 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 5 games, the 5th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 103 yards and 1.2 touchdowns a game against CAR and caught passes for 34 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Kenny Gainwell has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Alvin Kamara is listed as questionable with a undisclosed injury.

Kenny Gainwell is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Alvin Kamara played 31 percent of NO snaps, took 28 percent of the carries, drew 12 percent of the targets and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Alvin Kamara, Week 3 against LV: 24 of 74 snaps, 9 carries for 36 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 5 yards.

Alvin Kamara, Week 4 against ATL: 28 of 74 snaps, 7 carries for 23 yards, 7 targets and 5 catches for 35 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Alvin Kamara, Week 5 against MIN: 12 of 45 snaps, 3 carries for 12 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for -6 yards.

Alvin Kamara, Week 6 against NYG: 19 of 72 snaps, 7 carries for 34 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 35 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 6, Kenny Gainwell played 36 percent of TB snaps, took 12 percent of the carries, drew 9 percent of the targets and had 10 percent of the red zone chances.

Kenny Gainwell, Week 3 against MIN: 32 of 69 snaps, 3 carries for -4 yards, 5 targets and 2 catches for 14 yards.

Kenny Gainwell, Week 4 against GB: 27 of 64 snaps, 3 carries for 5 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 22 yards, 1 touchdown.

Kenny Gainwell, Week 5 against DAL: 26 of 72 snaps, 4 carries for 18 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 10 yards.

Kenny Gainwell, Week 6 against PIT: 11 of 74 snaps, 2 carries for 17 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 7 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Alvin Kamara played 11 games for NO and scored 100.7 PPR points, 9.2 a game, finishing RB46.

He ran 131 times for 471 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 33 of 39 targets for 186 yards.

He was on the field for 63 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Kenny Gainwell played 17 games for PIT and scored 222.3 PPR points, 13.1 a game, finishing RB16.

He ran 114 times for 537 yards and 5 touchdowns, and caught 73 of 85 targets for 486 yards.

He was on the field for 49 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 7 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 7, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Kenny Gainwell for Alvin Kamara?
Not on these numbers alone. Kenny Gainwell projects 61 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.1 a game over 10 games) and Alvin Kamara 62 (6.2 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Kenny Gainwell over Alvin Kamara. Alvin Kamara is listed questionable.
Should I drop Alvin Kamara for Kenny Gainwell?
Not on these numbers alone. Alvin Kamara projects 62 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.2 a game over 10 games) and Kenny Gainwell 61 (6.1 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 7 the call starts Kenny Gainwell over Alvin Kamara. Alvin Kamara is listed questionable.