Start Ted Hurst III or Rashod Bateman? Week 7

Updated Oct 22, 11:06 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 8 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Rashod Bateman over Ted Hurst III

Start

Rashod Bateman

WR · BAL · vs CIN · Questionable

Market projects: 4.8; recent weeks avg
CIN D vs WR: 29.5; 9th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 16 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 70%; Through Week 6
Target share: 13%; Through Week 6

Sit

Ted Hurst III

WR · TB · at CAR

Market projects: 4.0; recent weeks avg
CAR D vs WR: 29.4; 8th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 33 of 100 at WR

Should I drop Ted Hurst III for Rashod Bateman?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Rashod Bateman projects 46 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (4.6 a game over 10 games), Ted Hurst III 29 (2.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Rashod Bateman over Ted Hurst III. Rashod Bateman is listed questionable.

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Our Week 7 call

Start Rashod Bateman over Ted Hurst III in Week 7.

Market-based projections have Rashod Bateman at 4.8 points and Ted Hurst III at 4.0, a gap of 0.7. 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. No player market is posted for Ted Hurst III this week yet, so his 4.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 4, 5 and 6 (4.3, 4.3 and 3.5); 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).

No Week 7 player market is posted for Ted Hurst III yet. His market-based projections were 4.3, 4.3 and 3.5 points in Weeks 4, 5 and 6, an average of 4.0, which stands in until his Week 7 market posts.

The market-based projection for Ted Hurst III is 0.2 touchdowns (12 market sources).

That puts Rashod Bateman 0.7 points ahead of Ted Hurst III 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.

Ted Hurst III and TB visit CAR on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CAR allowed 29.4 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 5 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 148 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against CAR.

By points allowed to the position, Rashod Bateman has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Rashod Bateman is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury.

Ted Hurst III 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.

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.

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 Ted Hurst III for Rashod Bateman?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Rashod Bateman projects 46 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (4.6 a game over 10 games), Ted Hurst III 29 (2.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Rashod Bateman over Ted Hurst III. Rashod Bateman is listed questionable.
Should I drop Rashod Bateman for Ted Hurst III?
No. Keep Rashod Bateman: he projects 46 market-implied PPR points from Week 7 through Week 17 (4.6 a game over 10 games), Ted Hurst III 29 (2.9 a game over 10 games). For Week 7 the call starts Rashod Bateman over Ted Hurst III. Rashod Bateman is listed questionable.

Should I drop Rashod Bateman?