Week 7 waiver wire pickups and players to stream

Another week of devastating injuries leads us straight to the waiver wire. Whether you had CMC, Justin Fields, or Deebo Samuel, there will be players to replace from every position. Add in the fact that we have six byes this week and it will look like the Battle of Helm’s Deep trying to acquire the players you want. Let’s see below who can step in and step up for your fantasy squads! 

Week 7 players to add

Pickup of the week – Jordan Mason/Elijah Mitchell (RB, SF)

With the news of Christian McCaffery getting banged up, Jordan Mason becomes a very intriguing fantasy piece. He looked very good during his TD run last weekend and seemed to be outplaying Elijah Mitchell. If CMC misses time, Mason is a must-start RB; the 49ers have the top rushing offense outside of Miami and seem to make whoever lines up in the backfield a star.

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Throw Mason into your lineups and watch him wear down a soft Vikings defense. Mitchell should also be owned in all leagues, as this will be a split, but Mason, to me, has looked like the better rusher this year.

Week 7 waiver wire: Quarterbacks

Top pick – Jared Goff: Goff continues to impress, this time even on the road! He has a tougher test this week, going to Baltimore to take on a tough Ravens defense. Without David Montgomery, expect Goff to shoulder most of the load, which should lead to even more fantasy production from the former Cal Bear.  

Next – Sam Howell: Howell has been good for fantasy in 4 of his last 5 games, including the past three weeks. The Giants’ defense looked good last weekend but has a beatable secondary. Howell is a good streamer this week.

Stash – Deshaun Watson: Watson dropped in many leagues recently due to his current injury. If Deshaun can get back soon, he has a really nice schedule for the next three weeks. Even if he’s out again this week, stash him to see if he can return healthy soon. 

Check to see if available – With his top two running backs down and Cooper Kupp at full health, this seems to be the time for Matthew Stafford to take off. Derek Carr is still a little banged up but is starting to produce at his normal levels; Kamara being back has helped. 

Week 7 waiver wire: Running backs

Top pick – Craig Reynolds: David Montgomery went down last week with a rib injury that should force him to miss some time. With Gibbs also returning from an injury, we can slot Reynolds in as the next man up in the Lions’ backfield. Unfortunately for him, the Lions get the Ravens this week, who have a stout defense against the run, but the Lions rushing attack is so good that Reynolds is a solid flex play if Montgomery is out. 

Next – Zach Evans: He looks to take over the Rams backfield with Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers hurt. He is a good add until Kyren is back. He gets a nice matchup against the Steelers, too, which can lead to some nice opportunities. Royce Freeman should also work into the committee and is worth an add.

Stash – Salvon Ahmed/Jeff Wilson: I’m not sure how good Ahmed is a player but he’s in the best situation in the league for running backs. He shares a running back room with 3 of the most injury-prone running backs in the league; he is a must-add to your bench and an emergency start if needed, as he is getting the garbage time work (which for the Dolphins is still fantasy gold). At this point, if you want any and every Dolphins running back you can find on your roster, add Ahmed as a high-level lottery ticket. 

We will keep Jeff here one more week, as the Dolphins clearly have the best fantasy offense in the league. Jeff Wilson can be a league winner if given the opportunity. He can also be stashed on the IR still, which is valuable for roster construction. 

Check to see if available/others of note – Roschon Johnson might have been dropped since he was hurt but should be back from a concussion this week. Chuba Hubbard once again outsnapped Miles Sanders, worth adding. Kareem Hunt seems to have worked his way into a committee and is worth an add to see if his workload increases. 

Week 7 waiver wire: Wide receivers

Top pick – K.J. Osborn/Rashee Rice: Putting a 2 for 1 here of last week’s top WR pickups as they are still not rostered in enough leagues. K.J. should be owned in all leagues until Justin Jefferson returns, as the Vikings only want to attack through the air. Rice continues to see better targets as the weeks go along, and Mahomes and Reid clearly have confidence in him. Grab these two as solid flex options with TD upside. 

Next – Wan’Dale Robinson: Wan’Dale continues to prove he is the best Giants WR and best pass catcher outside of Darren Waller. While TDs are hard to come by for the G-Men Wan’Dale will get enough catches to make you happy, he gets a big boost if you are in a PPR league. 

Stash – Tank Dell: should be back from his concussion injury after his week 7 bye. Before his injury, Tank was a solid flex play, and with CJ Stroud still playing well, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to doubt it continues. 

Check to see if available/others of note – Josh Downs has a nice rapport going with Gardner Minshew; he’s worth rostering as Minshew is the starter with Anthony Richardson out for the year now. If Amon-Ra St. Brown is out for the Lions again, then Jameson Williams will become a sneaky start; he had a nice touchdown catch last week and, hopefully, will see more targets from Goff. 

Week 7 waiver wire: Tight ends

Top pick – Dalton Schultz: Schultz made our “others” section last week, but this week gets top billing. He and CJ Stroud seem to have found a rhythm these last three weeks, with a TD in each game, plus 10 and 7 targets the past two weeks.

Next – Michael Mayer: Mayer has recently gotten involved a lot more in the offense having 3 targets two weeks ago and a career-high 6 targets this past week. While the QB situation is hazy right now in Vegas, it appears that no matter who the QB is, they want to make their 2nd round rookie a bigger part of the offense. With teams putting all the focus on Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers, a new receiving threat needs to emerge, and that appears to be Mayer.

Stash – Dalton Kincaid: With Kincaid still out nursing a concussion injury, he finds himself back in our stash section. The Bills offense seems to be missing something, and maybe that something is Kincaid. Hopefully, Kincaid can get healthy and back out there soon, his replacement, Quintin Morris, caught a touchdown showing Buffalo is getting their TEs involved.

Check to see if available/others of note –Jonnu Smith got his first TD of the year and officially looks like someone to roster in fantasy. Logan Thomas had a very disappointing game last week but gets to play the Giants this week, which is usually a good thing for TEs 

Week 7 waiver wire: Defense/Special teams

Top pick – Commanders D/ST: The Giants battled hard on Sunday Night Football but that was mostly due to their defense’s stellar play; their offense left some things to be desired. The Commanders’ D-line against this beat-up Giants offensive line (they are down to their 3rd LT, who was on his couch last week out of the league) should be a massive mismatch. Grab the Commanders as the streaming defense of the week.

Next – Raiders D/ST: It was already nice going against the Bears offense before but now they are down to a backup rookie QB who will be making his first start this week. I can already see Maxx Crosby’s mouth foaming now. 

Stash – Chargers D/ST – Looking ahead, you can see the Chargers get the Bears in Week 8, which has the best match-up for fantasy defenses this year. I expect the backup to be still playing but even if Justin Fields is back, he won’t be 100% which can lead to turnovers. If you have room on your bench, stash the Chargers, who are on bye this week.

Check to see if available – Texans D/ST: they are on bye this week, so they should be dropped but come out of the bye week facing the Panthers; great spot start.  

Week 7 waiver wire: Kicker

Top pick – Jake Elliot: Always my favorite kicker

Stash – Don’t ever stash a kicker, ever. 

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