Week 6 has already been an exciting and dramatic weekend, with the Bills vs. Falcons and Bears vs. Commanders still to play on Monday Night Football. As always, the fantasy football landscape shifts each week for a variety of reasons, including injuries and coaching decisions. Staying on top of the emerging waiver wire options is critical to success in season-long leagues. After a full Sunday of drama, let’s take a look at some of the emerging options to watch for as you start looking at waiver wire pickups for Week 7.
Throughout the week, DK Network will have you covered with potential pickups and strong plays for Week 7 and the rest of the season. Be sure to stay tuned to the outstanding coverage from the whole team. This post is designed to be an early look at some of the names to keep an eye on coming out of Week 6.
Another key factor to keep a close eye on every week is new injuries. Here are some new situations to monitor moving forward:
Players with new injuries from Week 6 to watch:
- RB Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
- RB Emari Demercado, Arizona Cardinals
- WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
- WR Garrett Wilson, New York Jets
- WR Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
- WR Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans
- WR Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
- TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
- TE Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
With those injuries in mind, here are some of my early names to watch if you’re shopping on the Week 7 waiver wire.
WR Tez Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I’ve already hit on Kayshon Boutte (26.3 FPTS) in my waiver wire pickups earlier this year, and I also mentioned Wan’Dale Robinson (20.4 FPTS) as a strong pickup. If either of them are on waiver wires, they’re worth a look along with Josh Downs (16.2 FPTS) and even Zay Jones (12.9 FPTS) in deep leagues.
The option that could be the biggest impact moving forward, though, is undrafted rookie Tez Johnson of the Buccaneers. I wrote up Johnson as a standalone fantasy football sleeper last week, and I also included him in my top WR sleepers for Week 6.
The former Oregon Duck had a memorable first NFL touchdown on Sunday against the 49ers, and capped it with a celebration he debuted in the preseason.
He finished with one catch on three targets with that 45-yard touchdown. Last week against Seattle, he had four catches on four targets for 59 yards, and he has been working his way into a larger snap share over the last few weeks.
The Buccaneers may need Johnson to continue making big plays since so many of their pass-catchers are battling injuries. Emeka Egbuka (4.4 FPTS) left this week with a hamstring injury and wasn’t able to return. Mike Evans (hamstring), Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula), Jalen McMillan (neck) and Bucky Irving (shoulder) were all already out, which could leave Johnson as one of the team’s top targets in the coming weeks.
Cade Otton (10.1 FPTS), Kameron Johnson (16.4 FPTS) and even Sterling Shepard (7.1 FPTS) could all be in the mix as well, but Tez Johnson brings plenty of big-play ability and can be schemed into space very nicely in the Buccaneers’ offense.
He’s still a bit of a long shot with uncertain opportunity at this point, but he makes a great speculative add with so many injuries.
RB Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers
Before Sunday’s game, news was circulating that Hassan Haskins (3.3 FPTS) was expected to be the Chargers’ primary running back, and that the Chargers expect Omarion Hampton (ankle) to miss more than the four-week minimum on the IR.
At least for this week, though, it wasn’t Haskins who carried the load. Kimani Vidal (25.8 FPTS) stepped up with one of the biggest games of any running back on the board. Vidal played 70% of the Chargers’ snaps and had 18 carries for 124 rushing, and three catches for 14 receiving yards and this touchdown.
Haskins finished with 28% of snaps and six carries for 14 yards along with a nine-yard catch.
Haskins and Vidal will likely continue to share time, but Vidal showed he can be the “hot hand” and carry the workload for the run-heavy Chargers’ attack. He opened a lot of eyes and drew a lot of praise with his big game, giving him a very high ceiling moving forward.
The Chargers could bring in a more established running back at the trade deadline, but if they do not, Vidal should be usable in most fantasy formats for upcoming matchups. Los Angeles is home against the Colts and Vikings the next two weeks before a cushy road matchup in Tennessee. It faces the Steelers and Jaguars before its Week 12 bye. Lots can change in the backfield rotations from week-to-week, but for now, Vidal is the running back to grab if you’re looking for lightning in a bottle.
Other running backs who had big weeks from low ownership and could make sense going forward include Zonovan “Bam” Knight (12.4 FPTS), Tyjae Spears (9.0 FPTS) and Sean Tucker (8.5 FPTS).
QB Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
I highlighted rookie Jaxson Dart (23.6 FPTS) when he took over as the Giants QB, but he still deserves this spot again after leading the Giants to a huge win over the Eagles on Thursday. He makes a great fill-in option with a high ceiling in New York’s offense.
Dart threw for 125 yards and a touchdown on Thursday night, completing 17-of-25 passes and playing turnover-free football against a tough Eagles defense. He added 58 rushing yards and a touchdown scamper, and showed he can still put up a huge night even without a ton of attempts or a furious rally.
Dart’s rushing potential gives him a high floor and a high ceiling, and it makes him a strong fill-in if your main QB has a bye.
He has two total touchdowns in each of his three starts with over 50 rushing yards in each game as well. He did have three turnovers in his loss to the Saints, reminding everyone there will be ups and downs with any rookie quarterback.
Dart’s bye is still not until Week 14. He has a tough schedule moving forward with matchups against the Broncos, Eagles, 49ers, Bears, Packers and Lions. If you need a replacement or a bye-week fill-in or even just a strong second-QB option, the rookie has shown a ton of upside in his three starts this year.
TE Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Tight end continues to be loaded with fantasy football sleeper potential, and this week, it was Michael Mayer (16 FPTS) who came up big as a bargain play.
He returned from a concussion that cost him two weeks, and he stepped into a big workload while Brock Bowers (knee) missed another game. Mayer caught five of his seven targets for 50 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders’ 20-10 win over the Titans.
Before Week 6’s game, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Bowers (knee) is “unlikely” to play in Week 7 against the Chiefs. If you need a one-week fill-in Mayer is a great option to snag since he’s almost universally available.
If you’re looking for long-term solutions from the waiver wire, Harold Fannin Jr. (15.1 FPTS) is a great grab if he was dropped in your league, especially with David Njoku now dealing with an injury. Oronde Gadsden II (11 FPTS) and Tanner Hudson (11 FPTS) also had strong games. Hudson could get more work if Mike Gesicki is out, and Gadsden is a rookie that has flashed good upside even though he hasn’t been consistent yet.
Patriots DST
The Patriots DST (5 FPTS) had a pair of sacks and a takeaway while holding the Saints to 19 points in their Week 6 victory. They have allowed an average of 20 points per game, while racking up 13 sacks and seven takeaways.
The main reason they’re a great grab from the waiver wire in Week 7, though, is that the Patriots have a great stretch of favorable matchups on the horizon. They take on the Titans next week, followed by the Browns, Falcons, Buccaneers, Jets Bengals and Giants. Five of those seven matchups are in the top 10 matchups for DST, so they can be a good streaming option for multiple weeks.
If someone already has New England, other solid streamers to consider from the waiver wire in Week 7 include the Panthers (vs. NYJ), the Steelers (vs. PIT), and the Dolphins (vs. CLE).
