Start Rashod Bateman or Kyle Williams? Week 7

Updated Oct 24, 5:56 PM ET. Locked at kickoff. Graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Rashod Bateman over Kyle Williams

Start

Rashod Bateman

WR · BAL · vs CIN

Market projects: 4.8; recent weeks avg
CIN D vs WR: 29.5; 9th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 19 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 70%; Through Week 6
Target share: 13%; Through Week 6

Sit

Kyle Williams

WR · NE · at CHI · final

Market projected: 4.4; pre-game
CHI D vs WR: 31.5; 15th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 24 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 28%; Through Week 6
Target share: 6%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Kyle Williams for Rashod Bateman?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Rashod Bateman projects 41 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (4.6 a game over 9 games), Kyle Williams 29 (3.2 a game over 9 games).

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Our Week 7 call

Start Rashod Bateman over Kyle Williams in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Rashod Bateman at 4.8 points and Kyle Williams at 4.4, a gap of 0.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Rashod Bateman this week yet, so his 4.8 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4, 5 and 6 (5.6, 4.0 and 4.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 7 player market is posted for Rashod Bateman yet. His market-based projections were 5.6, 4.0 and 4.7 points in Weeks 4, 5 and 6, an average of 4.8, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

The market-based projection for Rashod Bateman is 0.2 touchdowns (12 market sources).

Player markets imply 4.4 fantasy points for Kyle Williams, with 100 percent of the markets a WR needs posted.

The market-based projection for Kyle Williams is 20 receiving yards, 1-2 receptions and 0.1 touchdowns (12, 13 and 14 market sources).

That puts Rashod Bateman 0.4 points ahead of Kyle Williams on these projections.

Week 7 matchups

Rashod Bateman and BAL host CIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CIN allowed 29.5 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 5 games, the 9th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 123 yards and a touchdown a game against CIN.

Kyle Williams and NE visit CHI on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

CHI allowed 31.5 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 6 games, the 15th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 160 yards and a touchdown a game against CHI.

By points allowed to the position, Kyle Williams has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Rashod Bateman is not on the injury report.

Kyle Williams is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 7

Through Week 6, Rashod Bateman played 70 percent of BAL snaps, drew 13 percent of the targets, earned 20 percent of the air yards and had 5 percent of the red zone chances.

Rashod Bateman, Week 3 against DAL: 56 of 64 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 37 yards.

Rashod Bateman, Week 4 against TEN: 30 of 64 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 46 yards.

Rashod Bateman, Week 5 against ATL: 61 of 76 snaps, 6 targets and 5 catches for 62 yards.

Rashod Bateman, Week 6 against CLE: 17 of 57 snaps, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Through Week 6, Kyle Williams played 28 percent of NE snaps, drew 6 percent of the targets, earned 11 percent of the air yards and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.

Kyle Williams, Week 3 against JAX: 22 of 63 snaps, 3 targets and 1 catch for 34 yards.

Kyle Williams, Week 4 against BUF: 19 of 76 snaps, 2 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Kyle Williams, Week 5 against LV: 27 of 75 snaps, 3 targets and 3 catches for 91 yards, 1 touchdown.

Kyle Williams, Week 6 against NYJ: 25 of 68 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 12 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Rashod Bateman played 13 games for BAL and scored 55.4 PPR points, 4.3 a game, finishing WR102.

He caught 19 of 38 targets for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 8 red zone targets and 185 air yards.

He was on the field for 69 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Kyle Williams played 17 games for NE and scored 49.2 PPR points, 2.9 a game, finishing WR112.

He caught 10 of 21 targets for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 0 red zone targets and 130 air yards.

He was on the field for 30 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 7 calls

This call locked at kickoff and was not edited 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 Kyle Williams for Rashod Bateman?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Rashod Bateman projects 41 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (4.6 a game over 9 games), Kyle Williams 29 (3.2 a game over 9 games).
Should I drop Rashod Bateman for Kyle Williams?
No. Keep Rashod Bateman: he projects 41 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (4.6 a game over 9 games), Kyle Williams 29 (3.2 a game over 9 games).

Should I drop Rashod Bateman?