Start Darren Waller or Colby Parkinson? Week 7

Updated Oct 21, 5:01 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Darren Waller over Colby Parkinson

Start

Darren Waller

TE · CAR · vs TB

Market projects: 6.3; fantasy pts
TB D vs TE: 15.7; 10th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 69 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 46%; Through Week 6
Target share: 12%; Through Week 6

Sit

Colby Parkinson

TE · LAR · at LV

Market projects: 6.0; fantasy pts
LV D vs TE: 17.7; 7th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: High; 94 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 62%; Through Week 6
Target share: 7%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Colby Parkinson for Darren Waller?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Darren Waller projects 74 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 11 games), Colby Parkinson 53 (5.3 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Darren Waller over Colby Parkinson, 6.3 to 6.0 projected PPR points.

Parlae may earn a commission from price links.

Colby Parkinson rookie cards

Make this call for your own roster

Sync your league and My Team sets this week's lineup for your actual roster, spot by spot. Free, no account.

Sync my league

Sleeper ESPN Yahoo

Or get it by email

Tuesday 8am ET: one email with what moved on the board and who is worth a claim.

Free. One a week, one tap to stop.

Our Week 7 call

Start Darren Waller over Colby Parkinson in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Darren Waller at 6.3 points and Colby Parkinson at 6.0, a gap of 0.3. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 6.3 fantasy points for Darren Waller, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Darren Waller is 23 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (12, 9 and 12 market sources).

Player markets imply 6.0 fantasy points for Colby Parkinson, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Colby Parkinson is 22 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.2 touchdowns (13, 12 and 13 market sources).

That puts Darren Waller 0.3 points ahead of Colby Parkinson on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

Darren Waller and CAR host TB on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TB allowed 15.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 10th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 56 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against TB.

Colby Parkinson and LAR visit LV on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

LV allowed 17.7 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 7th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 54 yards and a touchdown a game against LV.

By points allowed to the position, Colby Parkinson has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Darren Waller is not on the injury report.

Colby Parkinson is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Darren Waller played 46 percent of CAR snaps, drew 12 percent of the targets, earned 10 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

Darren Waller, Week 2 against ATL: 29 of 66 snaps, 3 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Darren Waller, Week 3 against CLE: 39 of 77 snaps, 8 targets and 5 catches for 51 yards.

Darren Waller, Week 4 against DET: 40 of 75 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 36 yards.

Darren Waller, Week 6 against PHI: 36 of 79 snaps, 2 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Through Week 6, Colby Parkinson played 62 percent of LAR snaps, drew 7 percent of the targets, earned 2 percent of the air yards and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

Colby Parkinson, Week 2 against NYG: 44 of 62 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 15 yards.

Colby Parkinson, Week 3 against DEN: 37 of 86 snaps, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Colby Parkinson, Week 5 against BUF: 53 of 82 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 3 yards.

Colby Parkinson, Week 6 against ARI: 36 of 58 snaps, 6 targets and 5 catches for 31 yards, 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Darren Waller played 9 games for MIA and scored 88.7 PPR points, 9.9 a game, finishing TE33.

He caught 24 of 34 targets for 283 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 7 red zone targets and 210 air yards.

He was on the field for 45 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Colby Parkinson played 15 games for LAR and scored 129.8 PPR points, 8.7 a game, finishing TE17.

He caught 43 of 56 targets for 408 yards and 8 touchdowns, with 20 red zone targets and 137 air yards.

He was on the field for 59 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 Colby Parkinson for Darren Waller?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Darren Waller projects 74 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 11 games), Colby Parkinson 53 (5.3 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Darren Waller over Colby Parkinson, 6.3 to 6.0 projected PPR points.
Should I drop Darren Waller for Colby Parkinson?
No. Keep Darren Waller: he projects 74 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 11 games), Colby Parkinson 53 (5.3 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Darren Waller over Colby Parkinson, 6.3 to 6.0 projected PPR points.