Analyze Darren Waller's matchup for week 7
A red-hot Waller has scored in three straight games, owns a 40 % TD rate, and faces a Browns D that’s coughed up three TE touchdowns in five weeks; start him as a locked-in TE1.
Cleveland’s single-high scheme leaves linebackers and safeties isolated on big tight ends, and the Browns’ 12th-easiest TE schedule (0.6 TD per game allowed) plays directly into Waller’s 6'6" red-zone prowess. With Tyreek Hill done for the year, Tua has fed Waller a team-high share of red-zone looks since Week 4, and the Dolphins’ quick-strike plan should neutralize Myles Garrett’s pressure while creating YAC chances underneath.
4 TDs in 3 games, snap share doubled from 27 % to 58 %, and red-zone usage spiked after Hill’s injury—Waller is Miami’s undisputed goal-line weapon.
Since returning from a hip injury in Week 4, Darren Waller has been the most efficient tight end in football, turning 10 catches into 4 scores and posting back-to-back double-digit fantasy weeks before a 7-point effort against the Chargers that still included a touchdown. His snap count has climbed in every contest, signaling restored conditioning and growing trust from Mike McDaniel, while Hill’s absence funnels those high-leverage looks to a player who’s historically elite at the catch point. The Browns’ linebacking corps has struggled with size all year—Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Jordan Hicks both grade below average in contested-catch situations—and when Cleveland rolls to Cover-3 Waller can sit down between the hashes against safeties Grant Delpit or Juan Thornhill who have allowed a combined 129.6 passer rating when targeted in their area. Expect quick outs, seam option routes and play-action glance patterns inside the 20, with Tua releasing the ball in under 2.4 seconds to negate Garrett. Regression will come eventually, but the usage, matchup and scoring equity all align for another spike week in Week 7.