Considering the injury report as you address the Week 7 fantasy waiver wire

Week 6 NFL Sunday is officially a wrap! We still have the Bills vs. Titans on Monday Night Football, but in the meantime, it’s time to start considering your fantasy football waiver wire options. The Week 7 waiver wire can make or break you, especially with six teams off on bye weeks.

As with every week in the NFL, key skill position players are going to go down with an injury. Some may step right back onto the field soon while others will miss time. When one guy goes, an opportunity opens up for someone else to fill the gap.

Below is a rundown of notable skill position injuries, and who stands to benefit as you consider what to do with your waiver wire priority. We’ll offer updates on each injury as new information comes along this week.

Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington Football Team

Gibson has spent a good chunk of the season playing through a shin injury and that finally caught up with him in Washington’s 31-13 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. The dynamic tailback aggravated the injury in the contest and left the game multiple times, finishing with 10 carries for 44 yards and a fumble.

In the event of missed time from Gibson, backup J.D. McKissic once again becomes a must-have waiver wire pickup this week ahead of their trip to Green Bay. He’s been having a productive year even with Gibson in the lineup and proved that again in Sunday’s loss. He led the team in rushing with 45 yards off eight carries and led the team in receiving as well, hauling in eight of 10 targets for 65 yards. McKissic is rostered in just 46% of ESPN leagues and 41% of Yahoo leagues.

Kadarius Toney, WR, New York Giants

The Giants’ offense has taken a brutal beating over the past few weeks and had yet another key skill player go down when rookie receiver Kadarius Toney rolled his ankle in their 38-11 loss to the Rams on Sunday. It was a shame considering that he was just getting warmed up, catching three passes for 36 yards before exiting the ballgame

With Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton banged up as well, there’s potential opportunity for Dante Pettis to get some looks should the team not send him back to the practice squad ahead of their game against the Panthers next Sunday. Pettis caught five of 11 targets in the loss and isn’t rostered in any leagues on both ESPN and Yahoo.

T.Y. Hilton/Parris Campbell, WR, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts activated Hilton off injured reserve before the game after he completed rehab from a neck injury. He led the team with four receptions for 80 yards but then left in the second half with a quad injury.

Campbell caught a 51-yard bomb from Carson Wentz for a touchdown in the Colts’ 31-3 blowout win over the Texans on Sunday. He unfortunately left shortly afterwards with a foot injury, with that being his lone contribution to the win.

Should Campbell and/or Hilton be out of commission for next Sunday night’s matchup with the 49ers, that gives all the more reason to pick up Zach Pascal off the waiver wire. Pascal only commanded a single target on Sunday as most of the looks went towards the way of the returning T.Y. Hilton. However, Pascal still has the second most targets on the team this season with 29, along with three touchdowns to boot. He’s someone still available in the overwhelming majority of leagues, being rostered in just 12% of ESPN’s and 11% of Yahoo’s.

Kareem Hunt, RB, Cleveland Browns

The Browns’ offense keeps taking blows and as if it wasn’t bad enough that Nick Chubb sat out of Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals with a calf injury, Kareem Hunt might now be out with a calf injury of his own. Hunt went down with the injury in the second half, leaving the Baker Mayfield-led offense few options to lean on in their running department down the stretch.

Should Hunt and Chubb miss more time, the Browns and some fantasy managers alike will turn to backups Demetric Felton and D’Ernest Johnson to fill in as stop gaps. Felton caught a touchdown in their Week 2 victory over the Texans while Johnson has been used sporadically over the past few seasons. Both are on less than 1% of rosters on both Yahoo and ESPN, so you’ll be able to easily find them this week.

AJ Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans

Brown has yet to suit up this week as his Titans face the Bills on Monday Night Football. However, there is already questions over his health as he was declared questionable with an illness on Sunday. Brown was already heading into the primetime matchup hobbled, as he’s been dealing with an injured hamstring for most of the season. This injury just piles onto that.

If Brown misses more time due to injury/illness, Chester Rogers becomes a primary option for fantasy managers to look too as a replacement. Rogers is the 66th ranked receiver in fantasy this season, catching 13 of 20 targets for 179 yards and a touchdown through five games. He’s surprisingly still rostered on only 2% of Yahoo leagues and 1% of ESPN leagues, so those interested can definitely find him.

Latavius Murray, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Another week, another Ravens running back injury. Murray had nine rushes for 44 yards and a score, and 12 receiving yards on two receptions. He left with an ankle injury in the second half, leaving Devonta Freeman and Le’Veon Bell as the two lead backs. Freeman finished the day with nine rushes for 53 yards and a score and Bell finished with 18 rushing yards and a score on eight attempts.

Ty’Son Williams was inactive and if Murray misses time, Williams would likely be active next week. That being said, it’s a roll of the dice starting any single one of the Ravens backs in fantasy football.