Welcome to the Fantasy Football Week 7 Waiver Wire: Start, Stash, Stream, where we break down the fantasy football free-agent landscape and give you the best picks for the short and long haul.
Let’s look back at Week 6 and see our future prospects for the fantasy football Week 7 waiver wire.
Note: Roster % based on Yahoo and should hover around 50% or less
WEEK 7 WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
START
- Sterling Shepard, WR New York Giants (52% rostered)
- JD McKissic, RB Washington Football Team (42%)
- Darnell Mooney, WR Chicago Bears (44%)
- Ricky Seals-Jones, TE Washington Football Team (29%)
- Tim Patrick, WR Denver Broncos (35%)
After returning from injury, Sterling Shepard went right back to his WR1 role, totaling 10 receptions for 76 yards on 14 targets. The Giants’ laundry list of pass-catcher injuries cemented Shepard at the top of the target totem pole. Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton can’t stay on the field, while Kadarius Toney injured his ankle this week. Shepard should be a lineup mainstay if healthy.
JD McKissic has been a factor in PPR leagues for years now, but he could be in line for an expanded role while Antonio Gibson is dealing with a shin injury. Gibson hasn’t been given the CMC-lite role in Washington this year, as McKissic has maintained his role in the passing game and two-minute offense. He only had two less carries than Gibson and led the team with eight catches for 65 yards in Week 6.
Darnell Mooney has basically become the Bears WR1 over Allen Robinson. Justin Fields has found his favorite target and Mooney possesses big play and touchdown upside. Mooney went for 5-41-1 on eight targets this week and should continue his success against an injured and struggling Bucs secondary next.
Ricky Seals-Jones has taken on a more significant role with Logan Thomas hitting the IR. The former college receiver caught a touchdown and finished with four receptions for 58 yards on six targets in Week 5. RSJ is running a route on a high volume of dropbacks for the offense close to mirroring his old college days. The increased role in the offense and talent level makes him extremely valuable for a team often playing from behind.
Tim Patrick, a staple of our weekly waiver wire article, is a rock-solid WR3/Flex option who has a knack for finding the end zone. While Jerry Jeudy is set to return soon, Patrick will still be the team’s WR3 and prime red zone threat. He should be rostered in 50%> of leagues by now.
STASH
- Rashod Bateman, WR Baltimore Ravens (28% rostered)
- Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR Detroit Lions (24%)
- TY Hilton, WR Indianapolis Colts (39%)
- Rhamondre Stevenson, RB New England Patriots (11%)
- Rashaad Penny, RB Seattle Seahawks (9%)
- Christian Kirk, WR Arizona Cardinals (44%)
- AJ Green, WR Arizona Cardinals (44%)
- KJ Osborn, WR Minnesota Vikings (8%)
- Pat Freirmuth, TE Pittsburgh Steelers (6%)
- Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR Cleveland Browns (1%)
- Chris Evans, RB Cincinnati Bengals (4%)
Rashod Bateman garnered a large portion of the Ravens’ target share during his NFL debut. Although his six targets only had four catches for 29 yards, he tied for the team-lead in targets with Mark Andrews. When Bateman was out, Marquise Brown was basically the lone valuable WR getting noteworthy action. Now, it appears Bateman may have a decisive role in the offense with the potential to overshadow Hollywood at times.
Head coach Dan Campbell previously said that the team wanted to get Amon-Ra St. Brown the ball more in the teams offense. The Lions lack quality pass catchers from the receiver spot so the rookie has little competition outside of TJ Hockenson. St Brown had seven targets last week and caught five of those for just 26 yards. Tough production there, but the target numbers and share are there for a guy on a struggling team that has yet to play with a lead this year.
TY Hilton made his season debut this week and made the most of his role in the Colts’ limited passing game. Hilton finished with four catches for 80 yards on four targets — all of which were team-highs. His deep ball presence should actually match well with Wentz, who likes to chuck it up there, so this could play out nicely for Hilton on a team lacking play makers.
Rookie Rhamondre Stevenson has finally worked his way out of the Belichick dog house and he has taken advantage of injuries and other struggles. Stevenson rushed in a score after Damien Harris went to the sideline with yet another injury. Stevenson was also a factor in the receiving game, which is still a role that’s available due to the James White injury. The door is open for Stevenson to carve out a legitimate spot in this offense.
Chris Carson is out for the foreseeable future and Alex Collins is now banged up, meaning Rashaad Penny’s return from the IR might be happening at the most opportune time. The former first-round pick can’t stay healthy, but he could be the Seahawks only true starting back until further notice.
Not to discredit DeAndre Hopkins here, but his days of owning an immense target share of the Cardinals offense are long over. Christian Kirk led the team this week with eight targets going for 5-75-1 on the day. He has a high ceiling thanks to his explosive playmaking ability but he could also disappear any given week. He suits better as a stash to play when chasing upside in plus matchups.
Somewhat opposite of Kirk, AJ Green has a limited ceiling due to his age and declining skill-set while boasting a relatively high weekly floor. Green has received sixish targets in nearly every game and catches almost all of them. With a touchdown in every other game, Green still has value in this high-scoring offense thanks to a consistent target share.
In an offense that generally has a high volume of yardage, even a WR3 in KJ Osborn can find value. We know Jefferson and Thielen will get theirs, as the two combined for 27 targets during Week 6. However, Osborn’s 6-78-1 on seven targets is very good work for a team’s WR3.
The Eric Ebron days are coming to a close in Pittsburgh as young gun Pat Freiermuth is starting to work his way up the Steelers totem pole. Ebron is old and JuJu Smith-Schuster is lost for the year to a shoulder injury. Diontae Johnson will always be the alpha WR1 and Claypool is a very good WR2, but the tight end has always been valuable in a Big Ben offense and this rookie can play.
With Jarvis Landry shelved, Donovan Peoples-Jones stepped up this week going 4-101-2 on five targets. One of those receptions was a 57 yard Hail Mary to end the half, but it still would have been a solid day for the young receiver. The Browns passing game has never been much of a serious fantasy threat, but with Landry out and Odell Beckham Jr. unable to maintain chemistry with Baker Mayfield, DPJ has a chance to step up.
Samaje Perine landing on the COVID-19 list promoted rookie Chris Evans to the RB2 this week. He only had seven touches this week (scored a receiving touchdown), but with Mixon’s injury history and Evans’ skill-set, he could make for a valuable handcuff at the end of your bench.
STREAM
- D’Ernest Johnson, RB Cleveland Browns (3% rostered)
- Demetric Felton, RB Cleveland Browns (9% rostered)
- Jameis Winston, QB New Orleans Saints (36% rostered)
- Tua Tagovailoa, QB Miami Dolphins (16% rostered)
The injuries to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are brutal to the Browns’ offense. Hunt is likely to be out multiple weeks with his injury, while Chubb’s is more unknown at the moment. D’Ernest Johnson is likely to be the ‘bell cow’ (if you want to call it that) who will get the majority of the early-down touches. He obviously won’t be as valuable as Nick Chubb, but a near guarantee of 10 to 15 touches should be reasonable for a guy available off the waiver wire.
As noted above, the Browns have a short turnaround playing on Thursday night this week, likely leaving both running backs likely out. While Demetric Felton likely won’t get the most carries this week, he has fantasy value thanks to his pass-catching ability.
Jameis Winston returns from a bye to face a struggling Seahawks secondary.
Tua Tagovailoa returned from his injury and casually threw for 329 yards and 2 scores. Granted it was against the Jaguars, but he gets the Falcons next who aren’t anything to shake a stick at either.
