Well, despite our best wishes, Week 6 brought more of the same when it comes to injuries. To make matters so much worse, a whopping six teams are off in Week 7. I have rosters where my entire bench is hurt, on bye, or both, and I know plenty of you can relate. We’ll fight through this midseason adversity together. Here are my favorite picks from the Week 7 Waiver Wire.
Pro Tip: Remember the bye weeks. Because of depth issues, managers may have to drop players that they usually wouldn’t. Last week, the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers were both off, so check for any of their players who should not be available. Also, keep an eye on who your leaguemates drop this week, with the Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, and Houston Texans on bye in Week 7.
Quick Note: All players listed are available in at least 50% of ESPN leagues. While not everyone plays on ESPN, studies show most do. So, if they’re available there, they’re likely available on your Week 7 Waiver Wire. Pick ‘Em Up!
Week 7 Waiver Wire
Quarterbacks
Normally, I don’t advocate blowing FAAB on QBs. There is always plenty to choose from in free agency after waivers, and you should just stream the position. This list will usually be small, but if you’re desperate, this is who I would prioritize this week.
Jordan Love (50% Available)
Love had a terrible Week 5 and then a Week 6 bye, so seeing him on waivers is not surprising. Thankfully, he gets Denver coming out of this bye, and his schedule doesn’t get much tougher for the rest of the season.
Running Backs
Jordan Mason (98% Available)
I hate advocating blowing much FAAB on one-week rentals, but you cannot ignore the San Francisco running game. Mason seems to be operating far ahead of Elijah Mitchell, and if CMC misses time, Mason will be a nice Week 7 play against Minnesota.
Roschon Johnson (58% Available)
Johnson should return from a concussion this week and will take over this backfield. He was averaging seven fantasy points per game as a 1b to Khalil Herbert but should move to the 1a role with Herbert on IR. I don’t expect D’Onta Foreman to cut into Johnson’s passing game work at all, making him especially valuable in PPR formats.
Jaleel McLaughlin (50% Available)
The rookie came back to Earth with the return of Javonte Williams, but he operated ahead of Samaje Perine. With rumors of Denver getting ready to blow this team up, if Williams and/or Perine were to get traded, McLaughlin could have insane value down the stretch.
Kareem Hunt (73% Available)
Hunt only saw five fewer carries than Jerome Ford and more passing game work. Plus, he scored the team’s only rushing TD in Week 6. This backfield is working its way to a 50/50 split, and you can get Hunt for a lot cheaper than people paid for Ford three weeks ago.
Keaontay Ingram (81% Available)
After an Emari Demercado pop week, the work shifted to Ingram in Week 6. Ingram wasn’t bad, but not great either. However, it appears he will dominate the touches for the next three weeks until James Conner returns.
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Wide Receivers
Kendrick Bourne (79% Available)
New England is a mess, but Kendrick Bourne has been the exception. He basically has double the targets of any other WR and has scored the team’s only receiving TDs at the position. It’s still only translating to a WR33 season, but you cannot ignore any player who registers 11 targets in a single week.
Rashee Rice (69% Available)
It hasn’t paid dividends yet, but Rice is the WR1 in Kansas City, and you want a piece of this offense. Plain and simple.
Josh Palmer (50% Available)
Palmer caught four balls for 60 yards while playing hurt on Monday night. He is clearly WAY ahead of Quentin Johnston in the pecking order, and, again, you want a part of this offense.
Josh Downs (67% Available)
Downs is the perfect underneath complement to Michael Pittman, and it looks like Gardner Minshew will be the QB for the rest of this season. This team will throw more, and Downs has 14 targets over the last two games.
Curtis Samuel (71% Available)
Samuel is falling right back into his WR/RB hybrid role and putting up the numbers we hoped to see out of Jahan Dotson. Samuel is averaging over 12 fantasy points per game and is the WR25 on the season.
Tight Ends
Much like QB, I don’t usually recommend blowing any waiver priority or FAAB on a tight end, either. You can generally wait until Wednesday and play the streaming game. However, early in the season, there are sometimes players that should be rostered, and leagues are missing out. These are those players.
Luke Musgrave (82% Available)
The best gift coming off a bye is a matchup with the Denver Broncos. Musgrave has been hit or miss, but the Broncos give up the most points to TEs, and Green Bay should be well-prepared to take advantage of a spiraling team.
Michael Mayer (98% Available)
Mayer could be on the verge of a breakout. He saw more targets in Week 6 than he had all season long and caught five balls for 75 yards. That was good enough for a top-5 week at the position. If you’re desperate and have a deep bench, he’s worth a look.
Be sure you’re following Ryan on Twitter! Also, you can find our Week 7 rankings here and the rest of our Week 7 content here!