Fantasy Football: Week 7 Waiver Wire Targets
By Pat Pitts
In a week where we did not think football would be played, all 12 games went off as scheduled on Sunday along with the two Monday night contests. These games brought out some unlikely heroes, so without further ado, here are the unlikely stars that are worth snagging on the waiver wire this week.
BYE WEEKS: Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins
Quarterbacks
Ryan Tannehill (Rostered in 54% of ESPN leagues and 74% of Yahoo leagues)
Tannehill has only finished with below 20 fantasy points in two games this season and is currently the QB8 according to ESPN and QB 11 according to Yahoo. So, nearly half of ESPN leagues are not rostering a Top-10 QB?
In Tannehill's remaining 11 games, only three of his matchups are negative matchups on paper. His use of the Play action has not only made the Titans’ offense dominant, it has made Tannehill into a top-tier starter for fantasy managers. Tannehill has had his Bye week already and should be locked into lineups for the rest of the season.
Carson Wentz (Rostered in 50% of ESPN leagues and 59% of Yahoo leagues)
On the last episode of 4th and Goal, I went on a rant about how I believe the Eagles are done for the season. However, they showed some promise against Baltimore in Week 6.
After finishing with 28 points on Sunday against the Ravens, Wentz looks ahead against his fellow rivals in the NFC East. These games are going to be shootouts. Wentz is the QB12 according to ESPN and has had over 20 in two of his last three games. Wentz is a streamable option for this week.
Joe Burrow (Rostered in 49% of ESPN leagues and 61% of Yahoo leagues)
Burrow has established himself as a fantasy starter this year with his three 20+ point finishes. He faces a Cleveland team this week that he has already put up 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns against. Burrow is a starting QB for me this week and should look "the part" again.
Tua Tagovailoa (Rostered 6% of ESPN leagues and 7% of Yahoo leagues)
The Dolphins have declared that it is indeed Tua Time. He's a speculative add in all formats as the Dolphins hit their Bye week and get Tagovailoa ready to run the offense.
Running Backs
Boston Scott (Rostered in 2% of ESPN leagues and 16% of Yahoo leagues)
Miles Sanders is expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a knee injury, so iff you want to snag Scott as a handcuff to Sanders for the rest of the season, by all means, do so. However, Scott could be a boom play against a bad Giants defense on Thursday night and then has ten days to prepare for a bad Cowboys defense before the Eagles Bye week. Scott should only be added in PPR formats.
Gus Edwards (Rostered in 1% of ESPN leagues and 3% of Yahoo leagues)
Edwards received most of the carries after Ingram’s injury and even found the endzone. I expect Gus to be used a lot more after the bye week, but snag him now because a lot of owners will not pick him up because he is on bye. Be the snake.
Jamychal Hasty (Rostered in less than 1% of ESPN leagues and 1% of Yahoo leagues)
Raheem Mostert is headed to IR and most of your leagues are already rostering Jet McKinnon. If McKinnon is still available, snag him, but Hasty was more involved in the offense and seems like a low-risk, high-reward pickup for the next two or three weeks.
Adrian Peterson (Rostered in 69% of ESPN leagues and 64% of Yahoo leagues)
Although it might be D'Andre Swift's backfield moving forward, the Lions used Adrian Peterson a startable chunk of time for fantasy purposes. You can do worse for your RB2/FLEX in Week 7 than AP.
Wide Receivers
Keelan Cole Sr. (Rostered in 14% of ESPN leagues and 29% of Yahoo leagues)
Finishing Week 6 with six catches for 146 yards, DJ Chark dealing with an injury the past few weeks, and seeming to have the trust of Gardner Minshew, Cole's stock is rising. Cole is a point chasing add this week, but it could pay off, especially if Chark ends up missing any time with his injury.
Travis Fulgham (Rostered in 47% of ESPN leagues and 46% of Yahoo leagues)
In each of his three games played, Fulgham has not finished under ten points. Despite the Eagles loss on Sunday, Fulgham still caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles have zero healthy WRs outside of Fulgham and Greg Ward, and play Thursday night in a must win game against the Giants awful defense. As of right now, I would say that Fulgham is the WR1 over Ward when it comes to fantasy and looks like a legit WR.
Zach Pascal (Rostered in 3% of ESPN leagues and 5% of Yahoo leagues)
Pascal has been on the verge of a breakout since he was signed by the Colts in 2018. I predict that he will have a larger role in the offense moving forward after the Colts' Bye week. Snag and store him on your bench for future Bye weeks or potential COVID-19 breakouts.
Tight Ends
Anthony Firkser (Rostered in <1% of ESPN leagues and 1% of Yahoo leagues)
Jonnu Smith left the Titans Week 6 game with an ankle injury which gave Firkser the opportunity he needed to break out for fantasy players across the nation to see. He caught eight passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown actually came before Smith’s injury. Tight End is the trickiest position in fantasy due to its dependency of a player’s situation. Firkser is in a great streaming situation with Smith potentially being out against the Steelers. Grab him before it is too late.
Darren Fells (Rostered in 3% of ESPN leagues and 6% of Yahoo leagues)
A team that is shopping all of their WRs and a Tight End that has registered over 50 yards and a touchdown in back to back weeks. Darren Fells is a MUST add in all formats.
Rob Gronkowski (Rostered in 64% of ESPN leagues and 62% of Yahoo leagues)
I would add Gronkowski if you need a boom play for the week as the Buccaneers face the Raiders in Week 7 on Sunday Night Football. The Raiders have not played well against TEs all season and since O.J. Howard's season ending injury, Gronkowski has played well and been targeted more in the passing game. Expect Gronk to be more involved as the weeks go by.
As always, may the waiver odds be ever in your favor as we approach the halfway mark of the fantasy season!