Fantasy Football Week 7 Waiver Wire
By Brandon Lane
QUARTERBACK
Sam Howell, Washington Commanders
*Roster Percentage: 39%
While not always pretty, Howell continues to help fantasy managers on a weekly basis. On the year he is a top 12 fantasy QB. He kept things going in Week 6 passing for three touchdowns on 14-of-23 attempts. The Commanders travel to New York to take on what should be a favorable match-up against the Giants.
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Roster Percentage: 28%
The Detroit defense continued to show their dominance holding Mayfield to 19-of-37, 206 yards and no touchdowns. He suffered a injury to his non-throwing hand late in the match which is something to keep an eye on. But with quarterback injuries piling up, Mayfield is someone to consider off the wire this week.
Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts
Roster Percentage: 8%
Rookie Anthony Richardson is considering season-ending surgery which would keep veteran Gardner Minshew under center for the remainder of the season. He will go up against the elite Browns defense this week, so while he isn’t the best option to stream this week he could add some depth for quarterback needy managers. In Week 6 Minshew threw a whopping 55 attempts completing 33 of them for 329 yards and a touchdown. While we like the volume it came at a price as he threw three interceptions and also coughed up the ball once.
Others to Consider: Daniel Jones/Tyrod Taylor (44%/2% vs WASH, watch injury report), Desmond Ridder (8% @ TB)
RUNNING BACK
If available: Jeff Wilson (52%), Roschon Johnson (52%)
Zach Evans, Los Angeles Rams
Roster Percentage: 4%
In Week 6 both Kyren Williams (ankle) and Ronnie Rivers (PCL) suffered injuries leading to rookie Zach Evan finally seeing the field. A five-star recruit Evans signed and played two season with TCU. In his sophomore year he rushing 92 times for 648 yards and 5 TDs (missing six games due to injury). In 2022 he transfered to Ole Miss where he rushed 144 times for 936 yards scoring nine touchdowns (missing games with a hip injury and concussion). While Evans isn’t a burner his vision and decisiveness allow him to consistently win. The Rams have been busy signing some veteran depth to their practice squad (Darrell Henderson, Royce Freeman and Myles Gaskin) leaving some question to how much trust they have in Evans in a full-time role. I like Evans upside the most out of any of the options available and think he’s worth taking a flier on.
Jordan Mason/Elijah Mitchell, San Francisco 49ers
Roster Percentage: 5%
We are still waiting on injury updates for Christian McCaffrey (oblique) but it seems likely we need to pick up the 49ers backups. Both Jordan Mason and Elijah Mitchell are in-line for a big boost if McCaffrey can’t go in Week 7. While Mitchell has taken the lead backup duties in previous seasons it has been Mason who has seen the bigger share in recent weeks. When McCaffrey went down Mason out-carried Mitchell 4 to 1, finishing the day with 27 yards and a touchdown. Both are worth a pick-up but it could turn into a fairly even split if McCaffrey is out.
Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns
Roster Percentage: 37%
Returning from their Bye in Week 6 we saw Cleveland give Kareem Hunt the start. That led to 12 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown, additionally Hunt also caught all three of his targets for 24 yards. While he did get the first series it was a fairly even backfield split with Jerome Ford. I still prefer Ford over Hunt moving forward but Hunt is certainly worth picking up this week to see how this backfield plays out.
Ezekiel Elliott, New England Patriots
Roster Percentage: 43%
Elliott continues to see a continued workload for the Patriots and in Week 6 he carried the rock seven times for 34 yards and a touchdown while reeling in his lone target for 15 yards. In that match-up starter Rhamondre Stevenson left the game but was able to return.
Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans
Roster Percentage: 47%
With the Titans having a Bye in Week 7 some fantasy managers might be looking to drop Spears after a lackluster Week 6 performance where he only rushed four times for 15 yards and caught one ball for 48 yards. The Titans are looking at a lost season where they could consider trading their veterans, with Derek Henry topping that list. If Henry gets moved Spears becomes an every-down back.
Others to Consider:
Justice Hill (42%), Jamaal Williams (39% eligible to return from IR), Keaontay Ingram (20%), Salvon Ahmed (20%), Kendre Miller (16%), Latavius Murray(14%), Devin Singletary (13% Week 7 Bye), Craig Reynolds (2%)
WIDE RECEIVER
If available: Joshua Palmer (53%)
Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs
Roster Percentage: 45%
Behind Travis Kelce the Chiefs have lacked a consistent option in the passing game. But we have seen rookie Rashee Rice’s role grow on a weekly basis. In Week 6 he caught all four of his targets for 72 yards. Rice looks to be the best receiver on the roster and while he has some flaws the upside is there for him to eventually become a WR2 as the season progresses.
Josh Reynolds
Roster Percentage: 49%
While Amon-Ra St. Brown limits the upside of Josh Reynolds he continues to be useful for fantasy producing a respectable day catching 3 balls for 50 yards. The Lions could look to air things out a bit more this week with their backfield being decimated by injury.
Curtis Samuel, Washington Commanders
Roster Percentage: 34%
Samuel was on the list last week and is here again after catching 4 balls for 42 yards and a touchdown. He has now scored in back-to-back games and seems to have locked in the WR2 job for the Commanders. Can he hit pay-dirt again against the Giants this week? We shall see.
Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots
Roster Percentage: 17%
Do I really want to recommend anyone go out and pick up a Patriots receiver… NO! But you can’t ignore the Week 6 volume that Bourne saw (11 targets). He reeled in 10 balls for 89 yards. The Pats will likely have to continue airing it out this week to keep up with the high powered Bills offense. With six teams on Bye, Kendrick could be an option to fill a gap.
Others to Consider:
Jameson Williams (49%), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (48%), Brandin Cooks (43%), Rashid Shaheed (32%) Zay Jones (30% questionable), Marvin Mims Jr. (25%), Wan’Dale Robinson (18%)
TIGHT END
If available: Dalton Schultz (51%)
Jonnu Smith, Atlanta Falcons
Roster Percentage: 19%
Although teammate Kyle Pitts has been seeing his usage rise Smith is still getting his opportunities. In Week 6 he caught four balls for 36 yards and a touchdown. The tight end position has been one filled with inconsistency and disappointment but Smith continues to hold his value on a weekly basis.
Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers
Roster Percentage: 18%
Coming off a Week 6 Bye, Musgrave looks to keep his Week 5 momentum where he caught 6-of-7 targets for 34 yards. The Rookie has the upside to have some big games moving forward.
Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Roster Percentage: 5%
Coming into this years draft we had Michael Mayer as the second best tight end on the board. While other rookies have seen full time roles right out of the gate, Mayer was not one of them. His role grew in Week 6 playing 81% of the Raiders snaps. He caught 5-of-6 targets for 75 yards. What holds me back from moving Mayer further up this list is the question of who will be starting at QB this week after Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a back injury. A cushy match-up against the Bears in Week 7 could lead to another productive week for Mayer.
Others to Consider: Taysom Hill (7%)
DEFENSE
Cleveland @ IND
Washington @ NYG
Los Angeles vs PIT
Las Vegas @ CHI
*Roster percentages based on Yahoo
