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Michael Florio's deeper-league waiver wire pickups and fantasy football sleepers for Week 7. His top free agent options for 14-team fantasy leagues or deeper.
Week 7 is easily going to be the hardest week so far to field a fantasy football lineup. There are six teams on byes: Bills, Cowboys, Chargers, Jaguars, Steelers and Vikings. There are also a ton of injuries, especially at the running back position, that will make this week challenging to set a lineup.
That is the theme of Week 7 - injuries and byes. But the one positive is that injuries do open up opportunities for others, meaning there are more waiver wire targets. And that's why I'm here, to help you make the right waiver wire pickups for Week 7 that can help you win your matchup.
This week this article will focus on players that you can pick up off waivers in deeper leagues and stream this week. There are still some long-term adds, but we are looking for the immediate future this week!
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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets for Week 7
Carson Wentz doesn’t have the highest ceiling and because of that he is viewed as a boring fantasy option. That means he may still be on the waiver wire in deeper one-QB leagues - forget about it in deep two-QB formats. Wentz does have a safe floor as he has topped 17 fantasy points in all but one game this season. This past week he did so throwing only 20 passes. But, starting in Week 7 the byes hit very hard. Wentz has a favorable upcoming schedule so he will be important as a bye-week replacement. Get ahead of the game and stash him now if you plan on using him one of those weeks.
D'Ernest Johnson and Demetric Felton are both in play this week with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt already ruled out for the Thursday Night game. Johnson is the preferred waiver wire pickup as he is better equipped to handle a larger workload. He has just three carries this season, but that is three more than Felton. He had a game last year where he had 13 carries. Felton’s next carry will be his first as the former receiver has exclusively been used in the passing game. Simply put, Johnson appears to be the Chubb backup, while Felton is the Hunt backup. Chubb will likely be back sooner as Hunt was placed on IR, meaning Felton could remain fantasy relevant longer, but Johnson projects to handle a heavy workload if Chubb sits. Both should be added off the waiver wire in deeper formats. The team also signed John Kelly, but he is a depth piece.
The Ravens lost Latavius Murray late in the third quarter with an ankle injury putting his Week 7 in jeopardy. If he sits Devonta Freeman is the top waiver wire pickup here. In Week 6, he played 31 percent of the snaps, had nine carries and two targets for 53 total yards and a touchdown. He has consistently been the Ravens second RB and his usage feels the safest in this backfield. Ty'Son Williams is the upside play as he is the most explosive runner, but his usage is far from guaranteed. He is also likely already rostered in deep leagues. Le'Veon Bell remains largely available and should be utilized if Murray sits. Last week he played 31 percent of snaps and had eight carries for 18 yards and a touchdown. There is not much juice left, but if you are desperate he can be used. Just hope for a touchdown.
Jerick McKinnon played 28 percent of the snaps with three carries for 10 yards and four targets, catching one for five yards. I know those results aren’t all that impressive, but four targets is still four targets. Volume is what matters, not just fantasy points. McKinnon is purely a deep-league option, but as long as he is playing the secondary RB role for the Chiefs he will bring some upside.
Jaret Patterson only played three percent of the snaps and had one touch in Week 6. But in deep formats you may be desperate. Even if you aren’t, it may be smart to stash a back who is an injury away from a large workload - especially when the starter is already banged up. Antonio Gibson has been battling a shin injury and it has hampered his play. If Gibson was to miss time, Patterson would likely see a heavy workload on the ground, while J.D. McKissic would continue to see all the pass game usage.
Chris Evans played 24 percent of the snaps with four carries and three targets. He finished with three catches, 67 total yards and a touchdown. Samaje Perine was sidelined due to covid, but Evans showed he is a strong pass catcher that would be a nice complement to Joe Mixon. Captain America may not give that role back.
Donovan Peoples-Jones had five catches on eight targets for a team-high 101 yards and two touchdowns. He also led Browns receivers with 78 percent of the snaps. The week prior he finished with five catches for 70 yards. The Browns will soon have Jarvis Landry back which is major competition for targets -- but the Browns are thin on of the offensive side of the ball and DPJ will have a role, especially as a downfield threat. He is a solid bye-week replacement off the waiver wire.
Dante Pettis was called upon after Kadarius Toney left the game. Toney is expected to miss Week 7, and the Giants have already been without Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton. Pettis played 63 percent of the snaps, the second-most among Giants receivers, and saw 11 targets, catching five for 48 yards. That sort of volume is definitely in play in deeper formats. If the Giants are again without their other receivers, Pettis can be started in Week 7.
Van Jefferson is a boom-or-bust option, but given all the receivers on bye this week, he is a hail mary type of play for those in need of replacements. It's a revenge game for Matthew Stafford against the Lions, so the Rams may look to put up a lot of points. Jefferson is the third-most used WR on the Rams and they are not afraid to take shots downfield with him.
Kalif Raymond caught six of his seven targets for 37 yards, good for 9.7 fantasy points. He also has between nine and nineteen fantasy points in three of his last four games. He doesn’t bring the safest floor, as he scored zero fantasy points in Week 5, but the theme of this week is bye week replacements and Raymond has a solid role in this offense.
Dyami Brown would be a replacement option if Curtis Samuel is once again out this week. He saw six targets last week, catching three of them for 30 yards. He doesn’t have the safest floor, but he is explosive and due to that he brings a combination of safe usage and upside.
Nico Collins saw six targets last week, tied for the second most on the Texans. He caught four of them for 44 yards. Collins is not a safe play, but more of an upside one. He is a big-bodied receiver who has some downfield chops and can be a real weapon for the Houston in the red zone. You are hoping for a long catch or a TD if you stream him off the waiver wire.
Kendall Hinton had a season-high five targets in Week 6, catching all of them for 37 yards. He has seen more volume as of late and topped eight fantasy points in two straight games. Look, he is a very deep option, but that is exactly what you are in need of this week. Also for those in a two-QB leagues looking at a waiver wire with no QB options, Hinton has QB eligibility on some sites.
Mo Alie-Cox scored a touchdown in Week 6, his third in the last three weeks. He has scored more than eight fantasy points in three straight games. When you are streaming tight ends off the waiver wire you are hoping for a touchdown, and Alie-Cox has as strong of a chance as any other streamable TE option.
O.J. Howard saw seven targets, the second-most on the Bucs in Week 6. He caught six of them for 49 yards and a touchdown. He is in play as a bye-week replacement again this week if Rob Gronkowski remains out.
Make sure to follow Michael on Twitter, @MichaelFFlorio.
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