Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 7. We’re almost at the halfway point of the fantasy football regular season. That was quick.
Let’s talk about Bye weeks for a second. In Week 7, just two teams are on Bye – the Bills and Ravens. But in Week 8, six teams will be on Bye for the only time this season. People will call it Bye-mageddon and other ridiculous things. It’s fantasy football, folks, not life and death. Anyway, whatever term you decide to use, six teams on Bye is a lot, and it means that fantasy managers are going to be competing for fill-ins and streaming options and especially at the “onesie” positions: Kicker, D/ST, tight end, and quarterback. My advice is to look ahead THIS WEEK at the Week 8 schedule, and if you have the flexibility with your roster, pick up what you need now, before the Christmas rush.
OK, on to the Week 7 Waiver Wire, which isn’t offering league-winners but has players who can help.
The Process: Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch. Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the two Week 6 Monday night games (BUF@ATL, CHI @WAS).
Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Kimani Vidal, Rashid Shaheed, Harold Fannin, Jr., or Darren Waller, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues.
WEEK 7 BYES: BAL, BUF
Week 7 Waiver Wire
Quarterback:
QB availability will vary widely between 1-QB and Superflex leagues.
1-QB
Sam Darnold, Matthew Stafford, C.J. Stroud, Michael Penix, Jr., Tua Tagovailoa, Bryce Young, Aaron Rodgers, and Spencer Rattler won’t be available in most Superflex leagues. They’re the obvious places to start if you need long-term help or an injury replacement in a 1-QB league. I like them roughly in this order for the rest of the season (although I would ding Stafford if Puka Nacua misses significant time), but in terms of streaming them, check the matchups for a given week and target them accordingly.
Superflex/2-QB Leagues
I don’t like Jaxson Dart’s matchup in Week 7 (@DEN), but of all the “QB2s” that might be sitting on your waiver wire in a 1-QB league, I like his long-term prospects best, given the rushing floor. He needs to stop taking so many unnecessary hits, though.
Joe Flacco might be mostly washed at this point, but with the excellent weapons he has in Cincinnati plus a favorable schedule, he’s worth a look in this format, if you need QB help.
It’s unclear if J.J. McCarthy will be back for Week 7, and despite what the team has said, if he’ll immediately supplant Carson Wentz when he does return. The passing game weapons make the Vikings’ quarterback fantasy-relevant, whoever it is.
I won’t be shocked if the winless Jets bench Justin Fields at some point. Their offense has been putrid for the last three weeks, outside of some second-half garbage time in Weeks 5 and 6. Tyrod Taylor is a possible stash if you’ve got a deep bench.
Running Back:
Over the last two weeks, the Cardinals and Chargers have befuddled fantasy managers with their running back usage. Again, I’ll assume Kimani Vidal is long gone. Zonovan “Bam” Knight got scooped in some leagues Sunday morning when it was announced that he’d be starting at Indianapolis, but he’s still available in over 50% of leagues on most platforms and he’s clearly worth targeting after a nice outing Sunday. I’d also look to scoop up Michael Carter if he got dropped, as this situation could easily flip-flop again, before Trey Benson returns.
Kendre Miller is a name I keep mentioning. He has some stand-alone value, and if Alvin Kamara gets traded as has been rumored, Miller should step into a lead-back role.
Depth adds: Tyjae Spears, Tyler Allgeier, Ollie Gordon, II, Zavier Scott, Bhayshul Tuten, Kyle Monangai, Brian Robinson, Jr., and Blake Corum.
Wide Receiver
The free agent offerings continue to be wanting at wide receiver, but the injuries keep piling up, which does create some opportunity.
Kayshon Boutte is going to be inconsistent. He showed out in Week 1 with a 100 yard game, didn’t exceed three catches or 45 yards in any of his next four games, and then spiked again in Week 6 with 93 yards and a pair of TDs on five catches. Drake Maye is rising up the fantasy quarterback ranks, the schedule is cake, and there can be a place for a spike player on your roster. Just know what you’re getting.
Romeo Doubs, Keon Coleman, and Kendrick Bourne are three receivers I like long-term, who might still be broadly available. Bourne has played too well (140+ yards in back-to-back games tends to get my attention) to just disappear when the other 49ers receivers are fully healthy. Plus who knows if that’ll happen? Doubs continues to have an excellent opportunity with Jayden Reed out.
The Bucs top four receivers were all sidelined with injuries during the second half on Sunday, once Emeka Egbuka left the game with a hamstring issue. Four! That makes Sterling Shepard, Tez Johnson, and maybe even Kameron Johnson interesting short-term adds, and I like them in that order. The Bucs and Baker Mayfield pass it a ton, and a potential shootout with the Lions and their decimated secondary looms in Week 7. But try to get as much info as you can on Egbuka, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin before making a claim.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey looked good on Thursday night, with Darius Slayton out. He’s a potential depth add, with the Giants’ receiver corps depleted and Dart needing reliable (and heathy) targets.
Zay Jones could step into a pretty decent volume role if Marvin Harrison (concussion) misses Week 7 (or more).
Others to consider for depth: Travis Hunter, Malik Washington, Christian Kirk, Troy Franklin, Luther Burden III, Jalen Coker (he could be back next week), and Parker Washington. I haven’t totally given up on Rashod Bateman (once Lamar Jackson is back), although it’s been awful so far after the 2024 mini-breakout.
Tight End:
Mason Taylor was quiet in Week 6, but the Jets only had nine completions for 45 yards. Really. They’re short on receiving options (and especially if Garrett Wilson misses time with a knee ailment) and Taylor has flashed in the last couple of weeks.
Evan Engram got dropped in a lot of leagues when he was injured early in the season. I like his long-term prospects in Denver’s offense and think he could develop into a low-end starting TE.
Others to consider if you need a streamer or depth at tight end: Theo Johnson, Colston Loveland, A.J. Barner, and Dalton Schultz. Oh, and the Taysom Hill show has returned, as he vultured a rushing TD on Sunday. You’ve seen this movie before, so only buy a ticket if you like that kind of film.
PK and D/ST Streamers, Week 7 (ranked outside the Top-14 for the week):
PK: W. Lutz (vs. NYG), A. Borregales (@TEN), J. Myers (vs. HOU)
D/ST: MIA (@CLE), CAR (@NYJ), NYG (@DEN)
Good luck with your waiver claims!
***This column appears each Monday right here at Big Blue View. Each Thursday, my weekly fantasy preview with my rides, fades and sleepers (start/sit) appears here, and on Fridays you can find my weekly Giants Props of the week, also right here. ***
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