Fantasy Football Week 7 Waiver Wire Advice
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.
Quarterbacks
Baker Mayfield, Browns (42% Owned): It appears that the fantasy community has arrived at the right QBs that deserve to be owned, so this is strictly a streaming possibility. Mayfield has oscillated between decent and very shaky since taking the job, but his attempts are valuable, as is his rushing ability. While his rushing attempts aren’t what you’d think, he has the talent to make big plays on the ground, and he did pick up 23 rushing yards just two weeks ago. He has thrown the ball 40+ times in three straight games, and if he is allowed to air it out at that rate in Week 7 vs. the Buccaneers’ putrid defense, he’s in line for 300+ yards and a few touchdowns.
Running Backs
Frank Gore, Dolphins (10% Owned): Gore leads a fairly weak pack at RB this week. None of the players I’ll list here are “must adds,” except for certain handcuffs who should be owned by the owners of the other halves of those committees. Gore is in that camp – HELLO! Kenyan Drake owners – but he’s also become a useful guy in deep leagues apart from his value as Drake’s handcuff. Gore set season-highs last week in carries (15) and yards (101) while also scoring a touchdown. He’s posted double-digit carries for three straight weeks, and a nearly apocalyptic goal-line fumble in overtime by Drake likely means Gore will see most of or all of the goal line work for the forseeable future. Gore is downright startable for owners dealing with a glut of bye weeks, and he has a cake matchup this week vs. Detroit.
Peyton Barber, Buccaneers (38% Owned): Barber has been dreadful all year, and most fantasy owners moved on with the expectation that rookie Ronald Jones would be getting his shot coming out of the bye. Nope! Barber not only received 18 carries, he put up a season-best 82 yards and inexplicably chipped in 24 receiving yards AND a receiving TD. That sucked for anyone who gambled on Jones in the cushy Falcons matchup, and means that going forward you can’t use Jones. Barber’s upcoming slate – Cleveland, at Cincinnati, at Carolina – isn’t exactly inviting. Barber is an okay depth guy, but a starting RB should always be owned by someone.
LeGarrette Blount, Lions (12% Owned): Blount remains here, because Kerryon Johnson owners haven’t wised up. If Johnson gets injured, Blount is an extremely start-worthy RB2 who will get all goal line work. As is, he still steals carries from Johnson, having received double-digit carries twice in the last three weeks and scoring two touchdowns in Week 5.
C.J. Anderson, Panthers (19% Owned): Anderson becomes very valuable in the event of an injury to Christian McCaffery, whose high usage is a major injury risk.
Latavius Murray, Vikings (49% Owned): Murray took advantage of Dalvin Cook’s absence and tore apart a terrible Cardinals defense to the tune of 155 yards and a touchdown. Murray’s value is completely tied to Cook’s health. If Cook is out, Murray is a solid start in any matchup, and a must-start in easy matchups. Once Cook is back in full, though, non-Cook owners can safely drop him. The better idea though is to try and deal him to the Cook owner for whatever you can get, or take advantage of the Cook owner while Cook remains on the sideline.
Mike Davis, Seahawks (35% Owned): Davis is Chris Carson insurance. Should Carson get hurt, Davis is currently the trusted bellcow. I won’t be fooled by Rashaad Penny’s nine, mostly garbage time touches.
Wide Receivers
Chris Godwin, Buccaneers (44% Owned): Godwin’s wet fart of a game vs. the Bears was, indeed, a fluke. He returned to form last week, catching a touchdown pass for the fourth time in five games. The Bucs’ upcoming slate isn’t particularly soft, but Godwin is talented, big, and playing in an offense that definitely can’t focus on him. While teams scheme to stop Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson from torching them deep, Godwin is left to work against lesser DBs. He also benefits from defenses plotting to stop Evans, and Tampa Bay’s two tight ends (Cameron Brate, O.J. Howard) in the red zone. He’s in an ideal situation to thrive at WR2 levels.
Keke Coutee, Texans (47% Owned): Coutee hasn’t been the same since his 15-target explosion with Will Fuller hurt two weeks ago, but he remains involved in a decent passing attack, and is a big play threat thanks to QB Deshaun Watson’s ability to scramble and bomb it on broken plays. Coutee is great in three-WR leagues, or deep leagues in general.
Christian Kirk, Cardinals (14% Owned): Kirk continued to build his rapport with fellow rookie Josh Rosen, earning seven targets and turning it into six catches for 77 yards. This performance builds on a three-catch game last week in which he found the end zone. Whether Larry Fitzgerald is hurt, old or both, he’s no longer the reliable target hound he used to be. They drafted Kirk in the second round for a reason, and he’s paying early dividends.
Courtland Sutton, Broncos (14% Owned): Sutton’s upside remains limited because of the presence of Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, as well as the shaky play of QB Case Keenum. Still, he’s a physical beast who has topped 50 yards twice in three games and averages nearly 17 yards per reception. He’s more of an emergency/bye week type play, but there’s potential for him to become more reliable as the season wears on. Sutton is someone for teams with good records that can afford to wait on a big talent.
Taylor Gabriel, Bears (22% Owned): Gabriel is looking like this year’s Marquise Goodwin. His speed makes him a major big play threat, and he can get himself open so the poor accuracy of Mitch Trubisky won’t always sink him. He’s posted back-to-back games with more than 100 receiving yards, and he scored twice vs. the Buccaneers in Week 4. Gabriel has also already passed his bye week, so you get him rest of season. There will be games in which he’s stifled, but his ability to explode makes him an intriguing FLEX, especially in great matchups like his upcoming game vs. the Patriots.
Tight Ends
C.J. Uzomah, Bengals (33% Owned): The Bengals passing offense is pretty potent this year, and Uzomah is the clear tight end for Andy Dalton, who makes good use of the position. He saw seven targets last week, catching six for 54 yards. It seems like most worthwhile TEs are owned, except for Uzomah, who is a safe start for most weeks.