Fantasy football projections, Week 7: Washington-Lions featuring Jamison Crowder, Kirk Cousins, Golden Tate, more

The Week 7 matchup between Washington and the Detroit Lions features two teams looking to build on recent victories. We've got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Washington

Despite the bleak outlook of forecasters and predictors, Washington just keeps on rolling. The team has now won four straight games. Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns against the division rival Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6. He’s far from an elite fantasy quarterback, but Cousins can hang with other midrange preseason fantasy draft picks when it comes to delivering value. He just may earn himself a long-term contract in Washington. Week 7 represents a big opportunity for Cousins. He will face a Lions defense that has given up more points to fantasy quarterbacks than any other team in the NFL. Keep that in mind when considering his projected totals.

For those looking to start one of Washington’s wide receivers, Jamison Crowder is worthy of strong consideration. Teammate DeSean Jackson has 22 catches for 333 yards and a touchdown on the season. Crowder has 24 catches for 283 yards and three scores. The problem for Crowder is he just isn’t targeted enough. With tight end Jordan Reed sidelined due to a concussion, however, Crowder could see more work in Detroit. As bad as the Lions are against opposing quarterbacks, they are also pretty relaxed when it comes to defending opposing wide receivers.

Detroit Lions

Golden Tate is a little late arriving at the party as far as his fantasy owners are concerned. After totaling just 134 receiving yards through the first six games of the season, Tate managed to top that number in just four quarters of play against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6. He finished with eight catches for 165 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Hopefully he’s finally found a groove with Matthew Stafford. Projected as the team’s No. 1 receiver coming into the season, Tate is clearly second behind Marvin Jones now. Washington is pretty good at defending the wide receiver position. A second straight solid performance from Tate would go a long way towards gaining the confidence of his fantasy owners. Whether he can pull it off remains to be seen.

If Tate goes back to lower production levels, everything will fall on Jones’ shoulders. The Lions are currently dealing with multiple injuries at the running back position. They’ll likely throw the ball more than they want to against Washington. That should increase Jones’ yardage totals in the immediate future. He’s only caught six passes for 47 yards over the last two games combined. His only saving grace is that two of those catches went for touchdowns. It’s clear Stafford prefers Jones over other receivers when it’s time to score, but Jones will need to be more consistent if he is to challenge his weekly projections on a regular basis. There is really no telling what Week 7 will bring.