Adam Strangis NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire
It may not have been a huge injury-filled weekend but there were plenty of running backs either lost or potentially lost for the near future. We also have another four teams on bye weeks, so rosters could be a little thinner this week than normal. That’s where the NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire comes in and we do have some options at every position this week and only most of them are Eagles.
*Note* The ownership referenced will be based on Yahoo and if this needs updated after Monday and Tuesday Night Football, it certainly will be before your waivers run.
Teams on a Bye – Colts, Vikings, Jaguars, Broncos
Quarterback
Justin Herbert, Chargers – 54% rostered
We’ve talked about Herbert enough that we don’t need to go into massive detail. Quarterback is a deep position but Herbert doesn’t deserve to be a free agent in this many leagues. He’s racked up nine passing touchdowns with one rushing in four games, compared to just three interceptions. He’s proven at every turn that the stage isn’t too big, capping his young career with a four touchdown game on Monday Night Football. The fact it came almost all without number one receiver Keenan Allen just made it even more impressive. With his bye week behind him, Herbert needs to be nearly universally rostered.
Ryan Tannehill, Titans – 54% rostered
Alright so I’m cheating a little bit because the roster percent is actually from ESPN, not Yahoo. Still, Tannehill is under 70% on Yahoo and this is just ludicrous. Listen, I still can’t believe Tannehill has been this incredible since taking over. It defies anything we saw in Miami. However, in the 15 games as the Titans starter, Tannehill has 40 total touchdowns. That’s…insane. He now has 13 passing touchdowns alone and only two interceptions this season. Pittsburgh’s defense can be tough, but with the amount they blitz they can give up big plays as well. Tannehill is a top-flight fantasy option and needs to be treated as such.
Honorable Mention
Carson Wentz, Eagles – He’s a little more rostered than our normal targets but even with a horribly banged up offense around him, he’s the QB9. Wentz has been better than Joe Burrow, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Jared Goff….you get the picture here. He’s leading the league in interceptions but is still a top-10 option. The hate has gone a touch too far and his next three games are the Giants twice and the Cowboys.
Teddy Bridgewater, Panthers – Teddy B had a floor game in a very tough matchup this past week, but don’t let that deter you. He’s got the Saints this week and Atlanta again after that.
Andy Dalton, Cowboys – This is the most talented offense Dalton has been at the helm of in years. The defense for the Cowboys is still really bad and by default, Dalton will have to produce some numbers.
Running Backs
*Update*
Jerick McKinnon/JaMycal Hasty, 49ers
The 49ers backfield is all sorts of beat up right now. Jeff Wilson was inactive Sunday night with a calf injury, Tevin Coleman is still on IR and then Raheem Mostert left with an injury. Mostert is headed for the IR, so San Francisco is getting thin. What was interesting is Hasty actually closed the game Sunday night and drew some praise from Coach Kyle Shanahan.
When Mostert missed earlier, McKinnon was the workhorse but he’s over 70% rostered in Yahoo leagues. Hasty is well worth a pickup since San Francisco is 10th in rushing yards per game despite being 17th in attempts. If the backfield is just down to McKinnon and Hasty, there could be enough fantasy goodness to go around.
Justin Jackson, Chargers – 46% rostered
Many folks will have Boston Scott as their lead pickup and I can’t argue that in the short-term. In the longer-term, Jackson might be more valuable. He out-snapped rookie Joshua Kelley and badly out-produced him on Monday night with 20 touches and 94 total yards. I may have overestimated the role Kelley would have and Jackson was likely slated to be the backup if not for injury. With Austin Ekeler not being that close to returning, Jackson could be a low-end RB2/flex option until he gets back and will be forgotten on NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire.
Boston Scott, Eagles – 14% rostered
Starter Miles Sanders might just miss one game. The Eagles play Thursday night against the Giants and Scott is going to be the main back. New York has let up over 800 total yards to the running back position and are tied for the sixth-most receptions allowed. You should view Scott as a top-20 option as long as he has the job, and there’s not a guarantee that Sanders returns after the mini-bye week. No team gets hit with injuries quite like Philly.
Gio Bernard, Bengals – 6% rostered
This is somewhat speculative at this point, since we don’t know the extent of a possible Joe Mixon injury. He left the game Sunday only to come back, but then leave again. If Mixon misses any time, Bernard is going to step into a pretty big workload. Among running backs with six games played, Mixon leads in carries overall and has 17 rush attempts in the red zone. Gio and Mixon have combined for about 18.9% of the targets in this offense. The matchups coming up aren’t spectacular with Cleveland and Tennessee, but the volume is hard to come by off of waivers.
Honorable Mention
Gus Edwards/J.K. Dobbins, Ravens – Mark Ingram left early with an ankle injury but there’s a few factors working against these two. First, these two still split work and snaps. That’s not too much of an issue, but now the Ravens are on a bye so Ingram has more time to get healthy. I would like Dobbins slightly better since he’s had some work in the passing game, but they are lower priority.
J.D. McKissic, Washington – He’s only viable in deep PPR leagues, but has the Cowboys next week. They should be chasing points and Washington refuses to let Antonio Gibson loose. McKissic has at least six targets in three straight weeks and isn’t going anywhere.
Wide Receiver
Chase Claypool, Steelers – 47% rostered
How is Claypool under 50%?? Get him on your roster if he’s still out there.
Travis Fulgham, Eagles – 31% rostered
I was hesitant last week but can’t hold out any longer. Fulgham now has a touchdown in three straight weeks, and at least 57 yards in all three games as well. He’s realistically the number one option in this offense, even if some players return for Thursday. Since Week 4, Fulgham has earned a 26% target share, 29.3% of the air yards, five RZ targets and four EZ targets. That’s a number one receiver in just about any offense.
Tim Patrick, Broncos – 18% rostered
Has there been a quieter fantasy receiver the past three weeks than Patrick? He has scored a touchdown in two of the three games, has at least four receptions and has over 100 yards in two of the three contests as well. The next three weeks look pretty appetizing as well. He plays Kansas City and likely chasing points, then gets the Chargers and Falcons after that. Even with Noah Fant potentially coming back, Patrick has proved to be a very important part of the offense.
Henry Ruggs, Raiders – 47% rostered
This one might be under the radar for NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire. Ruggs is coming off a bye week but he’s primed to have a pretty big rest of the season. He missed parts of Week 1 and was still targeted five times. He got back into the lineup before the bye and was only targeted three times, but took two receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown. Ruggs is going to have some volatility to his game, but with the role he’s playing (21.5 aDOT), the targets are crazy high in value. He could single-handedly win a couple weeks the rest of the way.
Honorable Mention
Mike Williams, Chargers – It remains to be seen if he can repeat with Keenan Allen in the lineup, but it’s well worth finding out. Even if you keep Williams on the bench for the next game, his ceiling is sky high and Herbert is slinging the ball right now.
Tee Higgins, Bengals – Higgins has recorded a touchdown or at least 62 receiving yards in four straight games and has 32 targets over that span. The Bengals are one of the highest-volume offenses in football and it doesn’t look like Higgins is slowing down.
Tight Ends
Dallas Goedert, Eagles – 41% rostered
I totally understand why Goedert is this low since he’s been out since Week 4 but he’s due to come off the IR this week and it couldn’t come at a better time. Zach Ertz is headed to IR with an ankle injury so that means Goedert is going to be right with Travis Fulgham as the number one option in this offense. You’re not missing big name tight ends on bye this week, but Goedert is likely a top-eight option at the position given health moving forward.
Honorable Mention
Trey Burton, Colts – He’s going into the bye week so it’s hard to chase him in a big way. Still, Burton did score twice this past week to burst onto the scene. He still split snaps and targets with Jack Doyle but Burton is still set to be a relatively featured piece in the offense.
Anthony Firkser, Titans – Jonnu Smith left the game early with an injury, so we might be missing him this week. Firkser stepped right in and didn’t miss a beat. He rolled up eight receptions and a touchdown and the Titans offense is really rolling in a major way right now.
D/ST
Philadelphia, 31% rostered
Continuing the Philly-themed waiver week, the Eagles can get to the QB with 18 sacks so far and face off against division rival Daniel Jones. He’s always good for a turnover or two, and with Philly’s pass rush on a short week the mistakes could easily come in waves Thursday.
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