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Top Waiver Wire Targets for Week 7 Fantasy Football

With Week 6 officially in the books, here are the top players you should be targeting on the Week 7 fantasy football waiver wire.

With Derrick Henry running all over the Bills Monday night and leading the Titans to the upset win, Week 6 is officially in the books. Now is that glorious time of the week when we turn our attention to Week 7 and attack the fantasy football waiver wire.

Here are my top targets with their rostered percentage (via Sleeper) and the percent of your FAAB (Free Agent Acquisition Budget) I’d recommend spending on said player.

Let’s begin!

J.D. McKissic, Washington Football Team (52% rostered, 20% FAAB)

I don’t know if you already know this, but McKissic is currently the RB29 in .5PPR. He’s averaging more points than Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams yet is just around 50% rostered. He should be added just off of the role and performances we’ve seen from him so far this year.

McKissic gets the top spot this week though because Antonio Gibson is dealing with a shin injury that appears to be rather serious. Gibson was in and out of the lineup Sunday against the Chiefs, which opened the door for McKissic to thrive. He led the team in targets, catches, and total yards, finishing with 16 touches for 110 yards.

If Gibson were to straight up miss time, McKissic would instantly be a high-end RB2 given his usage. Even if Gibson continues to play limited snaps, McKissic can clearly turn that into solid fantasy production.

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens (43% rostered, 15% FAAB)

The rookie wide receiver saw his first NFL action Sunday against the Chargers and looked good doing so. Not only did he look good, but the Ravens looked to get him the ball in important situations.

This confidence in a first-year player playing their first game ever is extremely encouraging. Clearly John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson trust what they saw during the preseason from Bateman and know the impact he can add to this offense. Plus, with the Ravens throwing the ball more than they ever have, the Ravens’ receivers suddenly have new found fantasy potential. Bateman is a weekly WR3 with serious upside if this workload persists for him.

Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears (60% rostered, 15% FAAB)

Mooney’s rostered percentage is quite a bit higher than I normally like to include here. I’ve snuck him in because I really want to hit the point home that he is the Bears’ No. 1 wide receiver with Justin Fields under center.

Since Fields took over in Week 3, Mooney has been averaging more targets, catches, yards, and touchdowns than presumed WR1 Allen Robinson. During that span, Mooney has been the WR42 in .5PPR, averaging more points per game than DeVonta Smith, Tyler Boyd, and Odell Beckham.

There’s an obvious connection between Fields and Mooney and it’s led to the second-year receiver leading the team in targets in each of the last three weeks. With games against the Buccaneers, 49ers, and Steelers on the horizon—all with below average pass defenses—this could be your last shot to add Mooney off waivers.

Demetric Felton & D’Ernest Johnson, Cleveland Browns (14%/16% rostered, 10% FAAB)

The Browns’ backfield has become an injury riddled mess. Nick Chubb missed Week 6 with a calf injury and Kareem Hunt left Week 6 with a calf injury that’s expected to sideline him for multiple weeks. This thrusts D’Ernest Johnson and Demetric Felton into the limelight and onto everyone’s top waiver wire lists.

So why are they both low on mine?

For starters, Johnson only really has value if Chubb can’t suit up for Week 7 against the Broncos. This is a Thursday night game so there is potential that the Browns give Chubb the week off again given the quick turn around. Even then, Johnson is really just a streamer then rather than a top waiver target. He’s directly tied to Chubb’s health.

Felton on the other hand feels like the replacement for Hunt’s work in the passing game. Felton has seen almost two targets and two catches every game this season even with Chubb and Hunt healthy. It would make sense that he’d grow into the pass catching back role Hunt’s injury leaves vacant. Again though, Chubb might get in the way.

Back when the Browns first signed Hunt in free agency, he started the year suspended, missing the first nine weeks of the season. During that time, Chubb averaged four targets per game. Once Hunt joined the team, that number dropped to 1.9. With Hunt out again, Chubb could just shoulder the entire offensive load again, greatly diminishing the value of Felton and Johnson.

I’d personally target Felton over Johnson unless we get confirmation that Chubb will miss Week 7. Like I said, the Browns’ backfield is kind of a mess.

Honorable Mentions

Ricky Seals-Jones, Washington (38% rostered) — RSJ played 100% of Washington’s offensive snaps against the Chiefs after playing 99% vs the Saints in Week 5. Filling in for an injured Logan Thomas, RSJ has been great fantasy-wise, seeing 6+ targets in both games and going for at least 41 yards.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (26% rostered) — Tua was back on the scene Sunday and picked the Jaguars apart, throwing for 329 yards and 2 touchdowns. Next he gets to play the Falcons.

Rashaad Penny, Seattle Seahawks (13% rostered) — The Seahawks’ backfield is also an injured mess. Alex Collins looked great filling in for an injured Chris Carson but then left Sunday night’s game with an injury of his own. Penny is set to come off IR this week and given the current state of the backfield, he could see a suddenly sizable workload. He’s a boom-or-bust pick.

 

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