Fantasy Football Week 7 Start Or Sit: Tavon Austin

By Jordan Wevers @JordanWevers on October 16, 2014

It is not very likely that Tavon Austin will be blanketed in coverage by cornerback Richard Sherman on Sunday. Even still, it’s probably best to stay away from starting him in Week 7 of the 2014 fantasy football season. He has not proven that he can be reliable over the first 17 games of his pro career.

St. Louis Rams quarterback Austin Davis has done a mostly commendable job since taking over as the starter. He has gotten some key players involved in the offense and appears to be a gunslinger with true aspirations of putting up 3500-plus yards every season in the NFL.

However, the key players who Davis is targeting these days do not happen to have the name Austin on the back of their jerseys. Austin has big-play ability in the slot, but has yet to see more than five targets in a game this season. Last week against the San Francisco 49ers, offensive coordinator Greg Roman lined Austin up at running back for a few snaps to try and get him more touches. Not much came of that.

The Rams should keep things fairly close with the Seattle Seahawks this weekend. Davis has been great at exploiting the talents of TE Jared Cook, WR Brian Quick, and to a lesser extent, the once-promising Kenny Britt.

Given Austin’s rather unfavourable match up against this week’s opposing defense, owners should look elsewhere for a starter in Week 7, especially in a PPR league. There is an outside chance that Austin could put up a line of three receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown, but that would be surprising.

St. Louis’ running backs figure to see a lot of touches after the Dallas Cowboys and DeMarco Murray showed what dominating time of possession with a strong running game can do against the Seahawks. With that said, a lot of check-downs and crossing routes to the middle of the field will probably be Davis’ preferences in the passing game. He won’t go after Sherman or safety Earl Thomas much in this one.

Jordan Wevers is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanWevers, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.