Start Darnell Washington or Darren Waller? Week 7

Updated Oct 21, 9:01 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 Darnell Washington over Darren Waller

Start

Darnell Washington

TE · PIT · at NO

Market projects: 6.6; fantasy pts
NO D vs TE: 17.9; 6th most to TEs (2026)
Upside: High; 96 of 100 at TE
Snap share: 66%; Through Week 6
Target share: 10%; Through Week 6

Sit

Darren Waller

TE · CAR · vs TB

Market projects: 6.2; 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

Should I drop Darnell Washington for Darren Waller?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Darren Waller projects 73 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.6 a game over 11 games), Darnell Washington 62 (6.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Darnell Washington over Darren Waller, 6.6 to 6.2 projected PPR points. So make the move after his Week 7 game.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Darnell Washington over Darren Waller in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Darnell Washington at 6.6 points and Darren Waller at 6.2, a gap of 0.5. 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 6.6 fantasy points for Darnell Washington, with 100 percent of the markets a TE needs posted.

The market-based projection for Darnell Washington is 25 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (8, 8 and 13 market sources).

Player markets imply 6.2 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 0.2 touchdowns (12, 9 and 12 market sources).

That puts Darnell Washington 0.5 points ahead of Darren Waller on the market projections.

Week 7 matchups

Darnell Washington and PIT visit NO on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

NO allowed 17.9 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 6th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 76 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against NO.

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.

By points allowed to the position, Darnell Washington has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Darnell Washington is not on the injury report.

Darren Waller is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Darnell Washington played 66 percent of PIT snaps, drew 10 percent of the targets, earned 6 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Darnell Washington, Week 3 against CIN: 47 of 62 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 67 yards.

Darnell Washington, Week 4 against CLE: 51 of 72 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 27 yards, 1 touchdown.

Darnell Washington, Week 5 against IND: 38 of 60 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 12 yards.

Darnell Washington, Week 6 against TB: 56 of 79 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 25 yards, 1 touchdown.

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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Darnell Washington played 16 games for PIT and scored 73.4 PPR points, 4.6 a game, finishing TE39.

He caught 31 of 43 targets for 364 yards and 1 touchdown, with 8 red zone targets and 135 air yards.

He was on the field for 57 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

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.

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 Darnell Washington for Darren Waller?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Darren Waller projects 73 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.6 a game over 11 games), Darnell Washington 62 (6.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Darnell Washington over Darren Waller, 6.6 to 6.2 projected PPR points. So make the move after his Week 7 game.
Should I drop Darren Waller for Darnell Washington?
No. Keep Darren Waller: he projects 73 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (6.6 a game over 11 games), Darnell Washington 62 (6.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Darnell Washington over Darren Waller, 6.6 to 6.2 projected PPR points.