Start Devaughn Vele or Deebo Samuel Sr.? Week 7

Updated Oct 21, 10:46 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 Devaughn Vele over Deebo Samuel Sr.

Start

Devaughn Vele

WR · NO · vs PIT

Market projects: 10.2; fantasy pts
PIT D vs WR: 28.6; 6th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 67 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 91%; Through Week 6
Target share: 19%; Through Week 6

Sit

Deebo Samuel Sr.

WR · SF · at ATL · Out

Market projects: 9.2; recent weeks avg
ATL D vs WR: 37.0; 6th most to WRs (2026)

Should I drop Deebo Samuel Sr. for Devaughn Vele?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Devaughn Vele projects 104 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (10.4 a game over 10 games), Deebo Samuel Sr. 26 (2.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Devaughn Vele over Deebo Samuel Sr. Deebo Samuel Sr. is listed out.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Devaughn Vele over Deebo Samuel Sr. in Week 7.

Deebo Samuel Sr. is listed out on the injury report, so this is not a close call: start Devaughn Vele. Drafters take Devaughn Vele at ADP 213 and Deebo Samuel Sr. at 118.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Deebo Samuel Sr. yet. His market-based projections were 9.3 and 9.1 points in Weeks 4 and 5, an average of 9.2, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

Player markets imply 10.2 fantasy points for Devaughn Vele, with 100 percent of the markets a WR needs posted.

The market-based projection for Devaughn Vele is 42 receiving yards, 4-5 receptions and 0.3 touchdowns (13, 10 and 13 market sources).

That puts Devaughn Vele 1.1 points ahead of Deebo Samuel Sr. on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Deebo Samuel Sr. and SF visit ATL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

ATL allowed 37.0 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 6 games, the 6th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 180 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against ATL.

Devaughn Vele and NO host PIT on Sunday at 9:30 AM ET.

PIT allowed 28.6 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 6 games, the 6th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 142 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against PIT.

By points allowed to the position, Deebo Samuel Sr. has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Deebo Samuel Sr. is listed as out with a hamstring injury.

Devaughn Vele is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Devaughn Vele played 91 percent of NO snaps, drew 19 percent of the targets, earned 24 percent of the air yards and had 11 percent of the red zone chances.

Devaughn Vele, Week 3 against LV: 65 of 74 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 39 yards.

Devaughn Vele, Week 4 against ATL: 66 of 74 snaps, 9 targets and 6 catches for 54 yards, 1 touchdown.

Devaughn Vele, Week 5 against MIN: 43 of 45 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 26 yards.

Devaughn Vele, Week 6 against NYG: 66 of 72 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 42 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Deebo Samuel Sr. played 16 games for WAS and scored 188.2 PPR points, 11.8 a game, finishing WR25.

He caught 72 of 99 targets for 727 yards and 5 touchdowns, with 11 red zone targets and 261 air yards.

He was on the field for 72 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Deebo Samuel Sr., Week 18 of 2025 against PHI: 2 carries for 1 yards, 5 targets and 2 catches for 20 yards, 4.1 PPR points.

Deebo Samuel Sr., Week 17 of 2025 against DAL: 36 of 44 snaps, 2 carries for 25 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 68 yards, 11.3 PPR points.

Deebo Samuel Sr., Week 16 of 2025 against PHI: 44 of 54 snaps, 4 targets and 3 catches for 35 yards, 6.5 PPR points.

In 2025, Devaughn Vele played 13 games for NO and scored 66.3 PPR points, 5.1 a game, finishing WR95.

He caught 25 of 39 targets for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 4 red zone targets and 259 air yards.

He was on the field for 51 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 Deebo Samuel Sr. for Devaughn Vele?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Devaughn Vele projects 104 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (10.4 a game over 10 games), Deebo Samuel Sr. 26 (2.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Devaughn Vele over Deebo Samuel Sr. Deebo Samuel Sr. is listed out.
Should I drop Devaughn Vele for Deebo Samuel Sr.?
No. Keep Devaughn Vele: he projects 104 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (10.4 a game over 10 games), Deebo Samuel Sr. 26 (2.6 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Devaughn Vele over Deebo Samuel Sr. Deebo Samuel Sr. is listed out.