Welcome to the Fantasy Football Week 7 Waiver Wire pickups, where we give you the players to start immediately, stash at the end of your bench, and stream for a week or two.
Let’s look back at Week 7 and dissect the top prospects for the Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire.
Week 8 Bye Weeks: None
Note: Roster % based on Yahoo leagues and should have roughly 50% ownership
WEEK 8 WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
START
- Josh Downs, WR Indianapolis Colts (36%)
- Darrell Henderson, RB Los Angeles Rams (24%)
- Dalton Kincaid, TE Buffalo Bills (42%)
- Kendrick Bourne, WR New England Patriots (26%)
Josh Downs has back-to-back games with a score, and he’s firmly the Colts’ WR2 moving forward. He led the team in targets this week, and he’s fared much better with Gardner Minshew at quarterback than with Anthony Richardson. Luckily for Downs, the ‘stashe will be under center for the rest of the season.
With Kyren Williams landing on the IR, the Rams turned to veteran Darrell Henderson fresh off the couch. Henderson has previous experience in McVay’s offense, and he was the lead back over Cam Akers last season for the first quarter of the season. Henderson got 57% of the snaps and was given 18 carries over Royce Freeman, pushing one in for a score. Henderson should have value for at least the next three games the Rams play and appears to be the guy McVay will trust in that timespan. He’ll also be a dependable handcuff when Kyren returns.
The Buffalo Bills need a second pass-catcher to step up alongside Stefon Diggs. Luckily, Dalton Kincaid woke up from a six-week slumber to record eight catches for 75 yards against the Patriots. Kincaid can be a mismatch in the slot and once he builds a rapport with Josh Allen, he could put up massive numbers in this offense. Plus, Dawson Knox underwent wrist surgery and is out indefinitely. It took seven weeks, but it’s Kincaid’s time to shine.
As the Patriots offense shows life again, Kendrick Bourne continues to shine in the receiving game. It’s obvious he and Mac Jones have great chemistry, and his target share continues to grow with limited surrounding talent around him. If New England wants to keep any momentum going, they’ll keep feeding Bourne, who has double-digit points in back-to-back games.
STASH
- Kyler Murray, QB Arizona Cardinals (43%)
- Devin Singletary, RB Houston Texans (15%)
- Joshua Kelley, RB Los Angeles Chargers (21%)
- Odell Beckham Jr, WR Baltimore Ravens (27%)
- Ezekiel Elliott, RB New England Patriots (46%)
- Taysom Hill, QB/TE New Orleans Saints (9%)
- Mecole Hardman, WR Kansas City Chiefs (17%)
- Gerald Everett, TE Los Angeles Chargers (25%)
- Quentin Johnston, WR Los Angeles Chargers (20%)
- Demario Douglas, WR New England Patriots (0%)
- Michael Mayer, TE Las Vegas Raiders (28%)
- Trey McBride, TE Arizona Cardinals (2%)
- Marvin Mims, WR Denver Broncos (19%)
- Jaylin Hyatt, WR New York Giants (5%)
In case you forgot about him, Kyler Murray returned to practice last week, and his clock is now ticking to return to action. It looks like it could be either Week 9 or Week 10 when we see Murray back in the fold, but regardless, the return is creeping back, and Murray puts up 20 fantasy points in his sleep.
He was on bye this week, so chatter around Devin Singletary will be low. In the Texans’ last game, he out-snapped Dameon Pierce and was also more productive. There’s a real chance Singletary will take over this backfield. We told you to stash him last week, and if you were a loyal member of the wolfpack, he would’ve already been on your roster.
Following the Week 1 splurge, Joshua Kelley was underwhelmed in his lead role while Austin Ekeler recovered from injury. Naturally, once he returned to RB2, Kelley looked good again, showing there’s some value to him deep in there. Just on the potential value of a RB1 role in LA, Kelley is a great stash, especially for Ekeler managers.
Posting his highest snap rate since Week 1, Odell Beckham Jr had his best game of the season as the Ravens’ passing game flourished. His 49 yards and five receptions on seven targets were productive and a possible sign of the pieces coming together under Todd Monken.
Ezekiel Elliott is the Patriots’ clear RB2, but he’s getting good goal-line usage, making him a relevant fantasy option for those who need running back help. New England has a favorable schedule coming up, so goal-line opportunities should increase for Elliott and the Patriots’ offense over the next few weeks.
With injuries piling up and inconsistency running rampant at the tight end spot, Taysom Hill could be a life savior. Not only can he run the Wildcat, but Derek Carr is actually hitting him down the seam. The frustrating Swiss Army Knife can truly do it all — even though it’s painful to admit.
Mecole Hardman didn’t do much in his return to Kansas City, yet Patrick Mahomes trusts him, and the Chiefs’ receiver depth chart is wide open. With the juicy WR1 spot available for the taking, let’s throw Hardman’s hat in the circle among the likes of Rashee Rice and friends.
Displaying his red zone prowess, make it two games in a row now with a touchdown for Gerald Everett. We’re still hesitant to start him based on his sub-50% snap share and running a route on only 25% of dropbacks. However, he could be the big body that the Chargers are missing with Mike Williams out for the season — not the guy we are about to highlight below.
The results aren’t there yet, but rookie Quentin Johnston had a season-high snap count this week. He’s clearly the WR3 and finds himself low on the target totem pole. But the rookie has massive talent upside attached to an elite QB.
Like Kendrick Bourne, a Patriots receiver who turns heads and offers some signs of life is rookie Demario Douglas. He’s getting more work with JuJu sidelined and DeVante Parker trending down, but Douglas’ speed and playmaking abilities jump off the screen, which can’t be said about many Patriots weapons. His six targets were his highest since Week 1’s loss to the Eagles.
The production wasn’t really there, having to deal with Brian Hoyer and Aidan O’Connell, but we like to see Michael Mayer out there at a high clip. It’s a slight drop from last week, but playing 71% of the snaps is still significant. Hopefully, the results start matching up with the usage once Jimmy G returns.
Another week over 50% of the snaps and finally crossing 50% of routes run, the Cardinals are finally utilizing tight end Trey McBride in its offense. McBride tied Marquise Brown for the team lead with six targets this week and appears to be taking the Arizona TE crown from Ertz moving forward.
Just on talent alone, Marvin Mims is worth a stash. He’s hovering in the 25-30% snap share, but Sean Payton keeps saying he wants to use Mims more. If Jeudy gets traded, Mims’ stock will skyrocket.
The rookie out of Tennessee has become the Giants’ WR2, despite losing some playing time this week to Isaiah Hodgins. Jaylin Hyatt trailed only Darren Waller in targets, so he offers some upside if this offense can establish any passing attack threat.
STREAM
- Emari Demercado, RB Arizona Cardinals (14%)
- Gardner Minshew, QB Indianapolis Colts (8%)
- Pierre Strong, RB Cleveland Browns (1%)
- Royce Freeman, RB Los Angeles Rams (29%)
The pendulum swung back in favor of Emari Demercado this week as he was the clear lead back in Arizona. Keontay Ingram was demoted to special teams work as Demercado handled 80% of snaps and carried the ball 13 times for 58 yards. His receiving game work gives him an excellent bump in value moving forward, while James Conner remains on IR for another two games.
The thing with Gardner Minshew is that he’s gonna leave it all out there on the field –whether it’s 50 passing attempts a game or scrambling like a madman into the end zone. He’ll start against the Saints this week and be a wild ride for those who want to hop on.
Jerome Ford is out a week or two with an ankle sprain, opening the doors for Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong. The former Patriots draft pick saw a season-high snap count last week (most coming once Ford exited) with a 31% snap share. He had the fastest 40-yard dash time (4.37) for a running back in his class, making him an intriguing streamer for those RB-needy squads.
While Henderson got lead back duties, Royce Freeman was taken off the practice squad and given 12 carries and 46% of the snaps. There are three more weeks until Kyren Williams returns, so Freeman can be an emergency plug-and-play in LA.
