The quarterback position was loaded when all was said and done on Week 6. Five quarterbacks scored at least 31.3 DKFP while 12 of them had at least 20. In a week that had so many big performances, a couple of them stood out ahead of their Week 7 games. Let’s take a deeper dive into those and see how their salaries will make people perceive them as they build their rosters.

Kirk Cousins ($5,800) vs. Lions

Depending on what your stance was with Cousins, this performance either came out of left or was what you expected. If you’re going to beat the Eagles, the way to do so is throwing the ball, not running it. Entering this game, the Vikings were split evenly down the middle in terms of plays calling, running and passing the ball an even 50% of the time. As for Cousins, he averaged 25 pass attempts per game with a 70% completion rate. If Cousins could continue that in Week 6, the Vikings had a good shot at the win, right?

Not only did Cousins do that but he did it to the tune of four passing touchdowns, which nearly doubled his season total of five. Having someone like Stefon Diggs doesn’t hurt either, as they connected for seven receptions, 167 yards and three touchdowns. Diggs accounted for over 50% of Cousins’ passing yards, who threw for 333. With such a massive game, I expect the buzz on Cousins to be high. His salary gets a $600 bump up from last week, the highest of the season.

The unfortunate part of all this is that the Vikings are still determined to run the ball. The Lions will enter this game with one of the worst run defenses in the league, allowing an average of 29.5 DKFP and 93.7 rushing yards. Where they really get burned is from passes out of the backfield, allowing an average of 69 per game and 13.8 yards per reception. Dalvin Cook has to be licking his chops for this match.

In the end, while it’s great to have these random games where Cousins starts chucking the ball all throughout the field, it’s not something we should get used to. While it’s encouraging that the Vikings are only favored by -1 on the DraftKings Sportsbook, the likely success on the ground will keep the Vikings in the run-first mode here in Week 7.

Kyler Murray ($6,700) vs. New York Giants

If you’re not getting Murray into some of your lineups on a weekly basis, what have you been waiting for? Murray was the third-highest scoring quarterback in the Cardinals Week 6 win over the Falcons by a score of 34-33. This game was easily going into overtime but Matt Bryant, who is about as reliable as they come, missed the PAT to hand the Cardinals the win. Murray was stellar per the usual, completing 27-of-37 pass attempts for 340 yards, three touchdowns and rushed for 32 on 11 attempts. In all, he scored 31.8 DKFP and yet receives just a $200 increase for Week 7.

This week brings a very enticing matchup against almost a non-existent Giants’ secondary, who are allowing an average of 46.8 DKFP, 217 receiving yards and eight touchdowns to opposing receivers. As for quarterbacks against the Giants, they average 23.8 DKFP, 303 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. We haven’t seen a quarterback attempt to run against the Giants, despite them playing Dak Prescott and Josh Allen. For what it’s worth, they combined for 11 rushing attempts and only 33 yards, although Allen did have a rushing touchdown.

The Giants’ defense has the potential to get to Murray, who’s been sacked 21 times, which is the fourth-highest total in the league. The Giants are currently 11th with 16 sacks and have a legitimate chance to pad that total with the Cardinals continued issues at offensive line. With that said, this is a huge spot for Murray, who has the potential to be the highest-scoring QB on a slate any given week. He seems to be getting more comfortable each passing week and is deadly on the ground when needed. Don’t let his upward trending salary fool you, he’s very much in play each and every week.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Steveazors) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.