You people should certainly know the drill by now: Each week, we highlight the top potential waiver pickups who remain available in at least 50% of Yahoo fantasy football leagues. If you find yourself with roster needs entering Week 7, the names below deserve your attention.
Quarterbacks
Drake Maye, New England Patriots (6%)
The eye-test and box-score agree: Maye had a promising regular season debut for New England. He passed for three scores, led his team in rushing (32 yards) and completed one of Sunday’s prettiest throws:
Maye’s team couldn’t match the Texans drive-for-drive, but there’s no great shame in that. He was outgunned, yet clearly ready for the stage. Maye finished 20-for-33 with 243 passing yards, three TDs, two picks (one ugly, the other tipped) and he was sacked four times. It wasn’t perfect, but it was full of promise.
New England is headed into a matchup at Wembley Stadium against Jacksonville, a sinking ghost ship of a team. The Jaguars entered the week ranked dead-last at defending the pass and they were picked apart by Caleb Williams on Sunday. Maye gets the fantasy green light in his second career start, given the friendly circumstances.
Recommended FAB offer (assuming $100 budget): $5
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (41%)
Herbert didn’t have a particularly impressive day statistically in LA’s win at Denver, but we can confirm that he made a few exceptional throws. His receiving room is a bit undermanned and his coaching staff seems to only reluctantly call passing plays, but there’s not much question about the quality of this guy’s arm. Herbert is headed into a road matchup with Arizona, a vulnerable defense that was just shredded by Jordan Love, so the schedule is about to take a friendly turn. If you’re looking to cover a Week 7 bye, Herbert is an acceptable QB seat-filler.
FAB: $3
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (44%)
Tagovailoa remains on track to return … well, at some point in 2024 — possibly as early as Week 8. So let’s consider getting ahead of next week’s claims. He’s not likely to be a season-saver in fantasy football, but he does happen to be the guy who gets to throw to Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane, which gives him big-game potential in any given week.
If Tua is back when eligible, he’ll return to an appealing matchup with Arizona. Let’s not completely dismiss the second-half potential of the Dolphins offense.
FAB: $3
Additional QB options:
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Matthew Stafford’s fantasy ceiling is limited both by his own relative immobility and the quality of LA’s receiving corps, absent Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. The upcoming matchup with Vegas is inviting, however. He should be a no-cost source for 240 and one score.
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Spencer Rattler wasn’t flawless in Sunday’s loss to the Bucs (2 INT, 5 sacks), but he also didn’t seem overmatched. It certainly didn’t help that he lost Chris Olave to an early concussion. Unfortunately, Rattler has a pair of messy matchups ahead against Denver and the Chargers, so he’s only a desperation play in superflex.
Running backs
Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants (45%)
One week after gaining 130 total yards on 19 touches at Seattle, Tracy gave us another 107 yards and one score against Cincinnati. He functioned as the unchallenged lead back for New York, too, handling 23 touches on Sunday night. It seems clear at this point that Tracy deserves a substantial rest-of-season role, regardless of the health status of Devin Singletary. Veteran Giants beat writers seem to be on board and in agreement on this point. The rookie is a dynamic ball-carrier with serious receiving ability. His experience as a collegiate wideout gives him a path to playing time alongside Singletary, which boosts his outlook.
Let’s please make sure he finds a home in your league this week. It’s difficult to imagine New York not feeding him double-digit weekly touches the rest of the way.
FAB: $22
Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings (27%)
Chandler is of course the understudy to Aaron Jones, who’s still recovering from a hip injury that led to his early exit in Week 5. There’s a very good chance Chandler is about to see a significant workload in a daunting matchup with Detroit, the league’s third ranked run defense. It’s not a perfect setup, but he’s probably headed for a dozen or more touches.
Chandler isn’t necessarily the most inventive runner in the game and he does not possess Jones’ versatility or upside. But he’s a burner with 4.38 speed stepping into a substantial role. If Jones misses additional time moving forward beyond Week 7, the schedule really opens up in an appealing way (at LAR, IND, at JAC).
FAB: $12
Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers (11%)
Vidal’s first NFL touch went about as well as it possibly could:
Let’s hope someone retrieved that well-spiked ball for the rookie.
Vidal was a heavily hyped sixth-round pick out of Troy, where he led the country in carries (297) while rushing for 1661 yards and 14 scores. As you can see in that wheel route above, he’s a pretty fair receiving weapon, too.
The Chargers kept Vidal holstered through the season’s first four games, but they were forced to activate him after Gus Edwards landed on IR. He delivered 51 total yards on six touches against Denver on Sunday and is now looking flex-worthy at Arizona in the week ahead. He’s not an immediate threat to J.K. Dobbins, but he’s a fun supporting player in a run-committed offense.
FAB: $11
Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1%)
Bucky Irving delivered the huge day we all expected in Week 6 against New Orleans (105 total yards, TD) and yet he wasn’t even close to finishing as his team’s most productive back. Tucker handled 17 touches against the Saints (one more than Irving), converting them into an outrageous 192 yards and two scores.
Irving still gave us the run of the day, per his usual, but Tucker was excellent as well.
We’re only a year removed from Tucker being a high-buzz rookie coming off a promising collegiate career at Syracuse. He and Irving both offer receiving ability along with rushing aptitude. Going forward, whenever Rachaad White returns from his foot malfunction, it’s possible (perhaps likely) that the Bucs backfield will be a three-headed committee. Unfortunately, the upcoming matchup with Baltimore limits the appeal of every Tampa Bay running back. This is not an all-in FAB situation.
FAB: $9
Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers (3%)
If you remember anything about this year’s scouting combine, it’s probably the fact that Guerendo tested like a superhero. At 6-foot-0 and 220 pounds, he ran the 40 in 4.33 seconds, his vertical leap was 41.5 inches and his 3-cone was 6.94. That’s just mutant-level stuff, basically.
Guerendo picked up a hamstring injury during the summer, which dulled the camp buzz, but he was plenty explosive when we finally got to see him in the preseason. He could be looking at an uptick in usage against the Chiefs if Jordan Mason is at all limited by the shoulder injury he suffered on Thursday. For what it’s worth, Guerendo led the Niners in carries (10) and rushing yards (99) in the win at Seattle. He did most of his damage on a 75-yard breakaway, but that was certainly not his only notable run.
Guerendo definitely appears to have a few gears that are not available to Patrick Taylor Jr. He’s a priority this week with Mason uncertain (but maybe not seriously dinged).
FAB: $7
Various other RB adds:
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Tyler Allgeier is at least as capable as any of the backs discussed above, but he happens to share a backfield with one of the most exciting runners in the NFL. He won’t often see the sort of volume that came his way at Carolina (18 carries), but he’s a quality back — a severe challenge to tackle — who’s earned a substantial rotational role.
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We’ll remind you that rookie Blake Corum served as the Rams’ second string back in Week 5, ahead of the team’s bye. He didn’t make much fantasy noise, but he managed to convert six touches into 33 scrimmage yards and didn’t embarrass himself. He’s now one injury away from one of the more valuable roles in our game.
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It’s simply a failure of fantasy messaging that Braelon Allen is still eligible for the pickups feature. He’s a rookie runner of unusual size who’s carved out a significant role in the Jets backfield behind Breece Hall. Allen is simply one of the most valuable supporting backs in our game. Go get him.
Wide receivers and tight ends
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kansas City Chiefs (32%)
Well, you all had a chance to beat the rush on JuJu and simply add him ahead of his bye, but most of you elected not to do it. Alas. He won’t be quite as affordable on the wire this week.
Smith-Schuster is headed for a serious bump in usage for KC over the remainder of the season, as long as he can remain healthy. Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice are both on IR and done for the year, and no other player in this team’s receiving room can be trusted, aside from Travis Kelce.
JuJu played a season-high 67% of the snaps in the Week 5 win over the Saints, catching seven balls for 130 yards on eight chances. He’s hardly a lock to repeat those numbers in any given week, but there’s no question he’ll be a busy dude. Smith-Schuster is the clear priority at his position at the moment and should be viewed as a viable weekly starter in 10-team leagues.
FAB: $24
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts (48%)
It’s wild that Downs remains unattached in a majority of Yahoo leagues, but here we are. He’s a technician, a quick separator, much more than a short-range specialist:
Downs has delivered three consecutive double-digit fantasy totals while looking suspiciously like the true WR1 in Indy. It remains to be seen if he can sustain the consistent production when Anthony Richardson is back at the controls of the team’s offense, but he’s simply too good to leave on the wire.
FAB: $15
Demario Douglas, Dallas Cowboys (7%)
Douglas has seen nine targets in each of his last two games, and in three of his last four. On Sunday, he made a late house call against Houston, his first score of the season:
Drake Maye’s ascension to the starting QB role is pretty clearly a rising tide for New England’s offense. We can certainly expect the team’s primary slot receiver to benefit. Douglas and the Pats are headed to London to face the smoldering ruins of Jacksonville’s defense, so it’s a fantastic time to give him a test drive.
FAB: $6
Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles Rams (13%)
Atwell has been among the biggest statistical beneficiaries of the dreadful injury situation in LA’s receiving room, having averaged 77.7 yards per game over his last three. He went into the Rams’ bye coming off a 6-catch, 10-target game, so volume hasn’t been a concern.
If Cooper Kupp isn’t quite ready to return for the upcoming matchup with the Raiders, we should consider Atwell a high-ceiling receiver with a decent floor. He remains one of the NFL’s premier burners, and he’s tied to a quarterback capable of absurd throws.
FAB: $6
Additional WRs and TEs to consider:
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Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs combined for 117 yards and three TDs against Arizona in their respective returns from injury and irritability. Both receivers should be rostered in 12-team leagues, although neither is a locked-in starter, given the depth in Green Bay’s receiving room. On Sunday, Jordan Love completed 22 passes to nine different receivers, eight of whom finished with three catches or fewer.
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We really got the full Gabe Davis experience on Sunday, as he caught two touchdowns, dropped two others and committed a silly penalty. He hadn’t been much of a fantasy factor for Jacksonville prior to Week 6, so let’s not get too aggressive in pursuit of his services during this waiver period.
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Rashod Bateman has delivered 129 receiving yards over the past two weeks and he’s made house calls in two of his last four. Baltimore’s offense is humming, too, which puts Bateman back on the radar, at least in deeper leagues.
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Noah Fant hauled in all six of his targets on Thursday night, finishing with 63 yards while playing nearly 70% of the snaps, per his usual. He’s obviously not at the top of his team’s receiving hierarchy, but he does have a consistent weekly role in a high-volume passing game.
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Cade Otton found the end-zone on Sunday, as did pretty much every other Bucs skill player. Otton has seen 27 targets over his last four games and he’s tied to a quarterback who (shockingly) leads the NFL in passing touchdowns. Tight end has been a brutal position to fill in fantasy this season, making Otton an entirely respectable add.
Defense
Washington Commanders (4%)
We will not make any effort to argue that Washington’s defense is a particularly solid group in reality, but this unit is nonetheless appealing as a single-use streaming option in fantasy. The Commanders have a date ahead with Carolina, which will presumably involve a fair number of Andy Dalton pass attempts. As a good general rule when streaming D/STs, we simply want to chase projected dropbacks; the things that drive fantasy scoring at this spot are sacks, takeaways and the occasional TD. In all likelihood, Dalton is headed for another 35-40 attempt game.
FAB: $1
