When it comes to fantasy football, injuries can be detrimental to the season-long success of your fantasy squad and can leave you scrambling for plug-in starters, especially after another action-packed, injury-riddled week of football. Keep in mind that bye weeks are in full effect now (CAR, CIN, DAL, NYJ, TEN). This is why you will need to work the fantasy football waiver wire to grab high-upside players to help fill these empty roster spots and reduce that Sunday morning pre-kickoff panic.
If you’re looking to do just that, here are the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 7 that could help push your fantasy team in the right direction.
All players must be owned in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues to be included in the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups weekly column. All ownerships for waiver wire players will be provided and will reflect that of Tuesday morning.
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QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Sam Howell Fantasy Ownership (19.1%)
Sam Howell remains a top fantasy football streaming option each week but, at this point, he deserves some starter nods. He leads the league in dropbacks, ranks fifth in total pass attempts and has finished as a top-14 fantasy football quarterback in five of six games thus far. Howell has turned the ball over just once in the past three games and has seemed to adjust to the NFL game flow better and better as the weeks go by.
Luckily for Howell and the Commanders’ offense, they get to face the New York Giants defense twice across the next five games, who rank 28th in defensive DVOA (10.9%) this season. His other opponents include the Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, who all rank inside the top half of the league in defensive DVOA, however. Regardless, Sam Howell is a top fantasy football waiver wire pickup for NFL Week 7.
Desmond Ridder Fantasy Ownership (5.2%)
What a time to be alive! Desmond Ridder is officially viable in fantasy football after putting together back-to-back 300-yard performances. Ridder’s fantasy value usually came from his legs and redzone touchdown upside but given how many weapons he has scattered throughout the offense at this point, he’s finally starting to adjust.
I don’t want to jinx anything but it really feels like Falcons HC Arthur Smith is open to changing his philosophy of running the ball nonstop and allowing Ridder to develop some chemistry with his pass-catchers. Atlanta just acquired Van Jefferson from the Los Angeles Rams and has involved both Kyle Pitts and Drake London quite heavily in the last two weeks. At just five percent ownership, Ridder is available in nearly all leagues and has finished as a top-10 fantasy QB three times this season.
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Roschon Johnson Fantasy Ownership (41.8%)
One of my top Week 7 fantasy football waiver wire pickups is Roschon Johnson simply because D’Onta Foreman was not the answer last week for this Bears’ rushing attack moving forward. He was sidelined with a concussion last week but should be able to clear protocol this week and be the RB1 moving forward until Khalil Herbert is back from injury.
The Bears’ running back room is filled and hard to gauge at the same time but Johnson’s 4.9 yards per carry average and involvement in the passing game (12 targets) are enough for me to believe he will receive all the opportunities to find his footing in the NFL, especially with Justin Fields sidelined with an injured thumb. If he does get the nod and you’re in need of a plug-in starter because of bye weeks, the Raiders defense is allowing the 12th-most rushing yards per game (121.7).
Elijah Mitchell Fantasy Ownership (26.4%)
I personally want nothing to do with the San Francisco backfield because HC Kyle Shanahan is notorious for using multiple running backs and not committing to one (unless it’s Christian McCaffrey, of course). With McCaffrey dealing with an oblique injury, the chances of Elijah Mitchell or Jordan Mason (1.5%) carving out consistent roles in the exciting 49ers offensive scheme are high.
It’s up to you whether you’d prefer Mitchell or Mason but, either way, you will end up with a headache. Mitchell normally operates as the RB2 behind McCaffrey but Mason was more productive in the limited action and will likely receive the bulk of the redzone carries due to his running style. Both players’ ownerships are low at the moment and if McCaffrey misses time, boom, you have a running back in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. It’s either going to be the best feeling in the world or the worst.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Josh Downs Fantasy Ownership (32.7%)
I still believe that Gardner Minshew can facilitate the Colts offense well enough that the pass-catchers can benefit in fantasy football moving forward. Josh Downs saw his fantasy ownership rise over 20 percent from Weeks 5-6 because of his growing role in the offense. Through six games, Downs ranks second in receptions, targets and receiving yards only behind Michael Pittman Jr.
While he was unable to repeat his strong Week 5 performance, he found the endzone for the first time in his career last week and could see himself in an even bigger role with Alec Pierce picking up an injury. The Colts’ receiving core is already thin enough but Downs dominates the slot snaps and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Rashee Rice Fantasy Ownership (30.4%)
Do the Chiefs finally have a WR1 that Patrick Mahomes can trust? It feels like it, but not just yet. Rashee Rice has propelled himself ahead at this point, leading all Chiefs’ receivers in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. He has posted double-digit fantasy points in 4-of-6 games so far and posted his highest yardage total of the season last week. Much like Downs’ situation in Indianapolis, Justin Watson picked up an injury and that’ll just open up more opportunities for Rice to cement himself even more as the WR1, making him a solid fantasy football waiver wire pickup.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Jonnu Smith Fantasy Ownership (14.8%)
It’s comical that Kyle Pitts‘ backup tight end is thriving in the Falcons’ offense right now, but we are talking about Jonnu Smith here. In PPR formats, he’s been very consistent at the tight end position –– seeing at least five targets and catching at least four of them in every game since Week 2. Smith found the endzone for the first time last week against the Commanders, something that hopefully becomes a regular occurrence, especially if Ridder can keep throwing the ball downfield.
I often say the tight end position is a wasteland but with injuries and bye weeks, the waiver wire is looking very thin and volume is a good place to start when considering who’s worth rostering or not. The Falcons have some tough tight end matchups approaching soon but two-TE formations are prevalent in an Arthur Smith-led offense. I’d bank on opposing defenses being more concerned with guarding Pitts than Smith, who’s more than likely wide-open underneath for easy fantasy points.
