From San Diego, greetings! Another NFL season is over, and this week’s waiver-wire column identifies a few guys that are a must-have, particularly as injuries pile up and bye weeks begin to wear them down.
Here are my top 16 waiver wire choices for Week 7, in no certain order. To be eligible for my column, a player must be rostered in fewer than 60% of ESPN leagues. That is the only criterion I have set for this.
1. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers, who has a 13.7% rating: Against a highly ranked Cleveland Browns defense, Rodgers completed 70 percent of his passes for 235 yards and two scores, earning 17.5 fantasy points. In Pittsburgh, the future Hall of Famer continues to play at a respectable level, although few anticipated him to post stats like that. The Bengals, who have given up the second-most passing yards and fourth-most throwing touchdowns this season, present Rodgers with an opportunity to improve on that success on Thursday.
2. Seattle Seahawks’ Sam Darnold, who has a 23% rating: Darnold has been outstanding since Week 2, throwing for just under 1,400 yards (1,391) and 11 touchdowns. With his current ranking of QB12, he has shown to be a dependable fantasy option and is worth adding if you want depth at the position. He will have a difficult game against Houston in Week 7, though, as they are one of just two teams this season with more interceptions than passing touchdowns allowed and have given up the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. It’s dangerous to start him this week, but based on his performance thus far, more leagues should consider rostering him.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, who has a 37.2% roster: Lawrence is currently ranked as the season’s 14th quarterback after scoring 26.24 and 19.22 fantasy points in Weeks 5 and 6. Although he hasn’t been flawless, the fifth-year quarterback has made noticeable strides in recent weeks. Like Darnold, Lawrence will have a difficult game against the Rams in Week 7, a defense that has tied for the fourth-most sacks in the league with 19 and given up the sixth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks.
4. Los Angeles Chargers’ Kimani Vidal, who is ranked 27%: I apologize if you started Hassan Haskins this past weekend after removing him from the waiver wire last week. Only head coach Jim Harbaugh understood who would be given the greater workload between Haskins and Vidal. With 18 rushes for 124 yards (an average of little under seven yards per run), Vidal played 67 percent of the snaps while Haskins played 31 percent. In addition, he scored a touchdown out of the backfield and collected three catches for 14 yards. Vidal ought to be your top waiver target this week if he’s still available.
5. Arizona Cardinals’ Zonovan “Bam” Knight, who has a 5.6% rating: During Sunday’s game against the Colts, Knight was tagged as the lead back, surpassing teammate Michael Carter. He finished with 11 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown, one grab for 20 yards, and more plays (51% to 44%). Knight is anticipated to stay in the lead back position until Trey Benson rejoins the team. The Packers, who have given up the fewest fantasy points to running backs this season, will be a tough opponent this week. Nevertheless, with the few choices available at this stage of the season, Knight ought definitely be added to lineups.
6. Sean Tucker – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Rostered: 7.8%: Tucker is definitely worth a try in deeper leagues, but I won’t tell you that you should rush to add him to your roster. Tucker is just one snap away from taking on a significant role in a top-tier Buccaneers offense, as Rachaad White is filling in as the lead-back while Bucky Irving is out. He played 23 percent of the snaps and scored his first running touchdown last week, further solidifying his role.
7. New England Patriots’ Kayshon Boutte – Rostered: 7%: Boutte logged his best fantasy outing of the season, posting 26.3 fantasy points and finishing as the WR4 for the week. Having been on the field for 72 percent of snaps this year, Boutte’s fantasy production appears to be trending upward with Drake Maye in the midst of a breakout campaign. Heading into Week 7, he owns a line of 18 receptions for 301 yards and three touchdowns on 23 targets. If you’re dealing with bye-week troubles, Boutte is a solid waiver-wire pickup.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tez Johnson, who has a 0.8% roster: Given that the Bucs might be without Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Emeka Egbuka in Week 7, Johnson is expected to put in more work. The rookie only caught one pass on three targets last week, but it was a 45-yard score. Given that he played 72% of the snaps in the previous game, it’s also hopeful that he might play an even larger part this week. Johnson is a wise addition for Week 7 if you have any Tampa Bay receivers on your squad.
9. San Francisco 49ers’ Kendrick Bourne, who has a 37.6% roster: Put an end to your current task and submit a claim if Bourne is still available in your league. The wide receiver has demonstrated that he deserves a bigger part in the Niners’ offense and has made the most of his starting position. Since Week 5, he has hauled in 15 catches for 284 yards, averaging 21.3 yards per grab. In Week 6, he snagged five of nine targets for 142 yards.
10. Indianapolis Colts player Josh Downs, ranked 41.5%: Over the last two weeks, Downs’ volume has increased, as he has recorded double-digit touches in each games. Downs has been able to participate more because Colts quarterback Daniel Jones has been able to open up the offense. He had his best game of the season last Sunday against the Cardinals, hauling in six passes for 42 yards and a touchdown on seven targets. He had six receptions for 54 yards on eight targets the week before. Downs should continue to have decent fantasy statistics and be a roster-worthy option as long as the Colts offense maintains this upward trend.
11. Atlanta Falcons player Darnell Mooney, ranked 43.1%: Mooney might make a comeback to the starting lineup on Sunday against the Niners after missing Monday night’s game. Since his early withdrawal due to a hamstring injury in Week 4, he has been absent. Mooney should be added if he makes a comeback and is available in your league. He is a WR2 producer who gives Michael Penix a high boom-ceiling as the Falcons’ deep home run threat.
12. New York Jets’ Mason Taylor, who has a 35.2% roster: Taylor’s high target share with quarterback Justin Fields was the reason I suggested adding him in my waiver wire column last week. The Jets offense as a whole failed, but his performance was poor. Given that the Panthers and Bengals are the two worst teams at defending tight ends, his next two games should be considerably more favorable, particularly if wide receiver Garrett Wilson misses
13. Las Vegas Raiders’ Michael Mayer, who has a 3.1% roster: Brock Bowers missed last week’s game because of a knee injury, so Mayer performed well against the Titans. He became the team’s TE1 after catching five of seven targets for 50 yards and a touchdown. Bowers’ availability for the Week 7 game against the Chiefs is presently unknown. If not, Mayer is a good choice for streaming.
14. Cleveland Browns’ Harold Fannin Jr., Rostered: 29.1%: I suggested starting David Njoku over Fannin in my Week 7 Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em column. Fannin took over after Njoku was pulled out due to a knee injury, even though he was getting more targets than the youngster early in the game. Fannin finished with 81 yards from seven catches on ten targets. He must start against the Dolphins, who have given up the third-most yards and seventh-most fantasy points to tight ends, if he is selected as the starting quarterback for Week 7.
15. D/ST Rostered with the Kansas City Chiefs: 13.2%: The Chiefs should be your top choice if you’re seeking to stream a defense this week versus the Raiders. This season, Las Vegas has given up the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses. Given that Geno Smith leads the league in interceptions (10), Kansas City is probably going to produce sacks and turnovers.
16. Panthers D/ST: 0.9% on the roster: The Panthers defense is my sly streaming choice for Week 7. They usually perform poorly, but since Garrett Wilson is probably out of the Jets’ lineup, this is their opportunity to excel. The Jets give up nine fantasy points per game on average to opposition defenses. With 25, they are tied with the Titans for the most sacks permitted.
