Top Players to Add in Week 7
A great draft can make a great team, but leagues are won on the waiver wire. Injuries happen, top draft picks become busts, and no names become household names. Successfully navigating the waiver wire will lead to a winning season.
As a reminder, we’ll be covering Waivers every Tuesday morning right here on football.pitcherlist.com. You can also catch our Waiver Wire show with Brian Hartman (aka @TooMuch_Brian) on the Waiver podcast every Tuesday morning and the Start/Sit podcast every Thursday morning, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Here are my top five targets, as well as some honorable mentions, to help you win through the wire this week.
An important thing to consider: this article focuses on players who are rostered in 50% or fewer of leagues. There could be players rostered in over 50% of leagues that are available in your league. Be vigilant; watch your league’s Free Agency pool and look for players who were given up on too early.
1. Harold Fannin Jr. – A popular waiver wire add after posting 7 receptions for 63 yards on 9 targets in his career debut, Harold Fannin Jr. finds his way back into this column after posting season highs in yards (81), targets (10), and tying his season high with seven receptions in Week 6 against the Steelers. Importantly, David Njoku was injured in this contest, leading to Fannin playing a higher percentage of snaps in the second half, when he gained most of his production. In the fourth quarter, Fannin played 30 of 35 snaps, so if Njoku misses any time, we can expect Fannin to be heavily involved in the Browns’ passing game. Fannin has seen at least four targets in every game so far this season and now gets a matchup against the Dolphins, who allow the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends. Fannin is my top TE add for the week.
2. Kimani Vidal – For the second straight week, we had a murky backfield situation out west to monitor, with Week 6’s debate being between Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal as the back to roster following Omarion Hampton‘s departure. At least for this week, it appears that Vidal is the back to roster as long as Hampton is out – if the Chargers don’t make a trade for another running back, of course. Vidal carved up the pitiful Dolphins run defense, rushing for 124 yards on 18 carries and scoring a receiving touchdown on one of his three receptions (14 yards). Vidal out-snapped Haskins 43 to 20 and also ran 24 routes compared to Haskins’ eight. Vidal is clearly the running back to roster, but use caution in treating him as an every-week starter after this performance against Miami. Next week’s contest is a tougher battle against the Colts, who allow the eighth-fewest points to opposing RBs. Still, if Vidal is on your waivers, he’s the top RB to target.
3./4. Tez Johnson and Sterling Shepard – The next two adds are both beneficiaries of the depleted receiving corps in Tampa Bay. Tez Johnson and Sterling Shepard are essentially the two men left standing after Emeka Egbuka left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. Egbuka is expected to miss some time, while both Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin are expected to miss Week 7’s mouth-watering matchup against the Detroit secondary. While Mike Evans may practice in some capacity this week, it’s unlikely he would receive a full workload after missing a few weeks with a hamstring injury of his own. Johnson made his rounds on social media last week with a fantastic fingertip catch and even more entertaining post-game interview. He profiles as the boom-bust ceiling option, while Shepard should profile as a safer floor option operating more out of the slot. Both are viable plays against a Detroit secondary that allows 31 points per game to wide receivers.
5. Bam Knight – Our fifth add is mostly for deep leagues looking for another body to fill a running back spot. Bam Knight was one of Sunday’s most surprising storylines, as he was announced as the starter Sunday morning after Michael Carter filled in admirably as the lead back a week earlier. While Carter got the game’s first snaps, Knight played the most snaps (37 to Carter’s 32) and had the most carries (11 to 9), including an uber-valuable goal-line carry that resulted in a score. Carter still mixed in plenty, especially as a third-down back (he ran the most routes of the group with 20), so both backs have some FLEX viability ahead of Week 7’s date with a tough Packers run defense. While he’s not necessarily a recommended start against this tough defense, he’s worth a spot on your roster as long as Trey Benson remains sidelined.
Others Receiving Votes
Kayshon Boutte, NE (7% ESPN, 9% Yahoo) – One of Week 1’s waiver wire darlings showed up again after a few quiet weeks, hauling in 5 receptions for 93 yards and a pair of scores. Kayshon Boutte led the Patriots in snaps and targets as well and is locked in to the starting X-receiver role, which is valuable for Drake Maye‘s ascending offense, even with Stefon Diggs showing some rapport with the young QB. Boutte is worth an add in most leagues and is a viable bye week fill-in type of player as long as you recognize he’s going to have some ups and downs with how much Mike Vrabel likes to spread the ball around in this offense.
Jaxson Dart, NYG (35% ESPN, 32% Yahoo) – Jaxson Dart gave Giants fans an exciting win at home over the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football, once again showing off his legs that give him a safe fantasy floor. He should be a fine starting option most weeks, but against the Denver Broncos in Week 7? Yeah, he’s probably not cracking your single-QB lineups, but he should be picked up and stored for future weeks if you have the roster space.
Cade Otton, TB (9% ESPN, 12% Yahoo) – Everything stated about Johnson and Shepard above rings true for Cade Otton, who has 9 receptions for 132 yards across his past two weeks. With all the injuries on the Bucs’ offense, Otton is getting more looks, and he has shown to be a viable tight end option when given the opportunity in seasons past. He’s worth an add for those of you in a bind at TE.
Defense Wins Championships
The Seattle Seahawks (49%) just sneak under our 50% threshold and get to face the Texans’ porous offensive line this week. Aside from their shootout with Tampa Bay, this defense has scored at least eight fantasy points in every single week. This matchup at home should be another great chance for the Seahawks to deliver a solid defensive fantasy week.
Don’t look now, but the Chicago Bears (9%) have also been a solid fantasy defense this season, scoring at least nine points in four of five weeks. They now get to play host to Spencer Rattler and the dysfunctional New Orleans Saints. Yes please.
Image by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurt_player02 on Instagram & Threads @kuwasemiller.bksy.social on BlueSky)