Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups
By Michael Visconti October 17th, 2016
Another week in the books! A look ahead at Week 7 we only have two teams on bye: Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers. Wow, two totally different mindsets for these two teams. Probably the opposite of what we though heading in to Week 1. This is the NFL.
Here is another one for you: Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers, Carson Palmer, Russel Wilson, Blake Bortles, and Eli Manning are all outside of the Top 12 in fantasy scoring through 6 weeks. Sure some of these guys have been through their bye weeks, but some of these guys are outside of the Top 20! Really doesn’t make you feel any better. All signs were pointing to Matt Ryan on the decline and in a system not conducive for QB fantasy stats yet he is the #1 QB in fantasy football so far.
It’s still early and if you are stuck with one of these guys as your starting QB, deep breath. It is only Week 7. On the other hand, it’s Week 7 and you better panic! Well at least get on the wire and fix your roster.
Quarterbacks
Brian Hoyer CHI – Another great outing for Brian Hoyer. Hoyer has been fortunate enough to play the Lions, Colts and Jaguars. That is a trifecta of garbage NFL secondaries, but still he made the most of the opportunity by putting up great numbers.
Colin Kaepernick SF – A lot of buzz around this guy, off the field buzz, but still. He looked pretty good considering this was his first game back and the wind was swirling around the field. He is as athletic as he always was, but now has an offensive system that is the closest to the University of Reno offense. The poor defensive play and lack of offensive weapons is actually a good thing for fantasy stats. It will keep Kaep running around the field and they will be playing a lot of catch up.
Sam Bradford MIN – Not exactly Favre going back to Lambeau with the Vikings, but next week Bradford goes to Philadelphia. This should be fun to watch. Fresh off the bye. Do you think he worked on something with his guys during the break? He looks great and I expect him to have some great games down the stretch.
Watch List – Josh McCown CLE, Tony Romo DAL, Joe Flacco BAL, Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ
Running Backs
Jay Ajayi MIA – Jay was dropped in a lot of leagues after Gase was dicking around with 3-4 different options. It looks like that won’t happen again. Now I see why he was so pissed when they announced Arian Foster the RB1 before Week 1. The rap on Ajayi is he is not build for the long haul and he will break down, but ride him while he is hot.
Devontae Booker DEN – He will not over take CJ Anderson anytime soon, but he has been out producing CJ in yards per carry over the last 5 weeks. His role will increase if this trend continues. Other than that you will need an injury to occur for this to have a huge payoff. He is worth a bench stash in most formats.
Spencer Ware KC – I found him on the wire in a couple of 12 team leagues telling me that people are believing that Charles will completely take over this offense. Not so fast. They will ease Charles back in, but Ware gets the hard yards. He rushed 24 times for 131 yards. Not bad. His role will probably slow down a bit, but Reid will not take him off the field. He is the Kansas City running back for the foreseeable future.
Watch List –Dion Lewis NE, James White NE, Alfred Morris DAL, Zach Zenner DET, Mike Gillislee BUF
Wide Receiver
Cameron Meredith CHI – Led the league in Week 6 with 15 targets. As long as Hoyer is the starter this guy will produce. Pick him up if he is still on your wire in any format including 8 team leagues that only start 2 WR’s.
Adam Thielen MIN – Maybe he was overlooked because of the bye week, but let this be your reminder. Bradford and Thielen have a connection. When Diggs returns he will not have as many targets, but Bradford is building a relationship with this guy.
Kenny Britt LA – We always knew Kenny had the talent it was the QB play that has held him back. Case Keenum has looked OK the last couple of weeks. Britt is a big bodied receiver and as long as he continues to get the targets he will have some good numbers. He is definitely worth a pickup and is available in a ton of leagues after a really slow LA start.
Ty Montgomery GB – The Stanford alum had 12 targets after Davante Adams left with a possible concussion. The big news is Ty caught 10 of those 12 targets. That is something Adams could never do. Look for Ty to start taking some snaps away from Adams.
Pierre Garcon WAS – In the absence of Jordan Reed Garcon out targeted every Washington pass catcher with 11 total targets. It could change next week, I still like Crowder long term this year, but he is getting some volume.
Torrey Smith SF – This is like the one familiar face for Kaep. He greatly under threw the one long TD that Torrey caught, but with this offense trailing in most games I would expect this connection to continue.
Watch List – Ricardo Louis CLE, Cordarelle Patterson MIN, Nelson Agholor PHI, Chris Conley KC, Robert Woods BUF, Breshad Perriman BAL, Anquan Boldin DET
Tight End
Ladarius Green PIT – Green said that he hopes to be able to play when he is eligible to return in Week 7. Longshot here, but if he can get on the field and stay healthy he would be amazing in this offense. He should be available now and is worth a 2-week stash to see if he makes it back.
Vernon Davis WAS – Niles Paul did not get a target in Week 6 while VD got 4 targets. Not necessarily inspiring, but he is the fill-in for Reed while Reed is out. VD is capable of streaking an out like a wide receiver and could have a couple of big games should Reed be out for multiple weeks.
Watch List – Larry Donnel NYG, Austin Seferian-Jenkins NYJ, Lance Kendricks LA, Charles Clay BUF