All the sudden, this waiver period, it seemed a little bit like the delicious glimmer of opportunity, of poetic possibilities, swept fantasy football managers into a bit of sensationalism about this season again. Indeed, there was plenty to be excited about, if you chose to ignore some of the violence that freed up the depth chart slots. I mean, really: A little bit of Omar Cooper Jr., here, a little bit of Jordyn Tyson there. Didn’t get them? You probably got Jaylin Noel. Or Treylon Burks/Antonio Williams. Maybe someone in your league dropped Chris Godwin and you snatched him back up before Baker Mayfield starts for the Bucs on Sunday. Corey Kiner, Samaje Perine, Tyrone Tracy—how’re those for three names you might have tossed to the end of your bench in PPR leagues for receiving production out of the backfield slots? Add in familiar names circling back to fantasy relevancy again—Kyle Pitts, Michael Mayer, C.J. Stroud—and we’ve got ourselves a little chaotic party. And we all know chaos is a ladder. If you’re here, you’re a climber. And week after week after bloody, glorious week, we’ve got a win to summit.
Happy Fantasy Friday once again—hopefully you stuck & moved on your lineup construction and in all other competitive endeavors this past week. I’m no prisoner of the moment, but the Week 7 waiver period of this season may be one we look back on as a fulcrum for championship-winning lineups. There were that many guys to be excited about. How to sort through it all, though? Of course—I’m here with the Five Lists of Five: Week 7 edition. The war mind edition.
For the (somehow) newly-ordained: Soundbite-length blurbs with advanced analysis on my favorite plays of the week. We begin now with my Top five sleeper and upside plays for fantasy football Week 7. Here are my other offerings in this edition:
- Top five must-start RBs for fantasy football Week 7
- Top five must-start WRs for fantasy football Week 7
- Top five streamer plays for fantasy football Week 7
- Top five FLEX plays for fantasy football Week 7
All data provided by Fantasy Points Data Suite 2.0, unless otherwise noted.
Fantasy football Week 7: Top five sleeper/upside plays
Konata Mumpfield, LAR (at Raiders)
The Rams, quite desperately, needs receiver Konata Mumpfield after losing fellow wideout Davante Adams to injured reserve with a hamstring injury. I’m FLEXing Mumpfield in my deeper leagues (and some 12-team leagues where I didn’t get the big waiver names) against Las Vegas, which has conceded 9.2 yards per target to receivers. He ran 47% of the routes last week and now has a chance for considerably more work.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford already looked his way eight times when receiver Puka Nacua missed Week 3. Mumpfield caught four passes for 93 yards, burning Denver for a 48-yard touchdown. He caught three passes on one fourth-quarter drive, though, after managing just one catch for 12 yards the previous week without Nacua. Nacua’s new calf issue limited him Thursday; if he misses Sunday, I’d start Mumpfield in ordinary three-receiver leagues, too.
Jalen Royals, KC (vs. Seahawks)
Jalen Royals played 74% of the snaps and ran routes on 81% of dropbacks last week, joining the Chiefs’ two-receiver sets. He caught two of four targets for 24 yards at a 4.8-yard aDOT. Fellow wideout Rashee Rice missed Wednesday and Thursday with hamstring and knee injuries, while Chiefs receiver Tyquan Thornton remains on injured reserve.
Seattle has suffocated opposing passers, allowing 4.7 yards per attempt and 157 passing yards per game. Royals earned targets on just 15% of his routes, while Kansas City ranks 23rd in pass-play rate. I’m gambling on his substantial playing time with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in a deep PPR league. Rice returning would send Royals straight back to my bench.
Ted Hurst III, TB (at Panthers)
Ted Hurst has averaged 15.3 yards on his 11 catches this season. He drew six targets against Pittsburgh at a 13.0-yard aDOT and caught three for 40 yards while running 56% of the routes. On the Buccaneers’ late tying drive, he twice helped rescue their field-goal chances, including a catch on third-and-17 after a sack.
Carolina has allowed 8.8 yards per target to outside receivers, giving Hurst an appealing opponent for that downfield work. Fellow Bucs wideout Emeka Egbuka missed Wednesday and Thursday with concussion and foot issues and has been ruled out for Sunday’s game; I’d FLEX Hurst in a deep league with some verve, now. Quarterback Baker Mayfield practiced fully with his thumb injury, moving closer to a return. Tampa Bay also activated receiver David Sills, adding competition for the available work.
Christian Kirk, SF (at Falcons)
San Francisco receiver Christian Kirk practiced fully Wednesday and Thursday following his calf injury, while fellow wideouts Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel missed both sessions. Kirk still needs activation from injured reserve. He caught only 28 passes for 239 yards across 13 games with Houston last regular season.
Atlanta has allowed receivers a league-high 14.8 catches per game, although the Falcons have conceded 6.4 yards per target in the slot versus 9.8 outside. Kirk has to earn routes in his first game back; a slot role would bring the tighter matchup. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy has averaged 8.54 yards per attempt across 79 dropbacks against Cover 3 and Cover 1, which Atlanta plays on 59.4% of snaps. If Kirk activates and both starters remain unavailable, I’d use him in a deep PPR league.
Tommy Tremble, CAR (vs. Buccaneers)
Carolina tight end Tommy Tremble cashed in beautifully against Philadelphia, catching touchdowns from 12 and 19 yards. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young completed all four throws to him for 46 yards. Tremble has caught at least three passes in four of five games, and he earned targets on 20% of his routes last week at a 9.3-yard aDOT.
I’m starting Tremble in a deep league against Tampa Bay, with Carolina drawing a favorable +1.9 PPR tight-end matchup. The Panthers sent him into routes on a season-high 48% of dropbacks, edging fellow tight end Darren Waller’s 43%. They still rotate their tight ends and ask Tremble to block, although he earned twice as many targets as Waller against Philadelphia.
