IDP Waiver Wire Targets for Week 7 (2021)

October 19, 2021 Nate Marcum

With Week 6 in the books, it’s time to turn our attention to Week 7. I, for one, will be glad once these BYE weeks are long gone, but here we are! As the BYE weeks wreck our lineups, and the options become even thinner on the IDP Waiver Wire, I will do my best to dig even deeper and find those weekly replacements to keep us from skipping a beat!

While many of us are scrambling to find replacements for our studs, I highly suggest you pay attention to who is being dropped in your league. I anticipate the waiver wire being restocked with some very good names due to necessity.

Week 7 BYES: Bills, Steelers, Cowboys, Jaguars, Chargers, Vikings

Join me, if you will, and let’s take a look at the week that was, as well as the upcoming IDP Waiver Wire gems for Week 7!

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Hits and Misses from Week 6

Everson Griffen-Disappointing 3 point performance. Positive is that he was still Top 12 in pressures and hurries.

Josh Allen-Solid 15 point week. Tallied a .5 sack and 7 tackles. Top 7 in pressures and hurries.

David Long-Monster Week 6 for Long. Finished as a fringe LB1 with 23 points.

JOK-Very solid 16 points. Unfortunately is expected to land on IR.

Drue Tranquill-DNP. Kyzir White filled in and was a beast!

Kevin Minter-Swing and a miss with only 6 points. To be fair, everybody on TB underperformed.

Taron Johnson-Disappointing 10 points. Had a good game in the slot, just wasn’t credited with any PD’s

Jalen Thompson-Disappointing 11 points. Played fewer snaps in the box, but still was tied for the team lead in tackles.

Defensive Line

Jonathan Greenard–Houston Texans

The 2nd year player out of Florida has been turning a lot of heads in Houston. Let’s hope it continues to grab the attention of Lovie Smith and leads to even more snaps moving forward. Greenard saw his largest percentage of snaps (56%), which led to 6 tackles and 2 sacks with a 28% pressure rate. The rotation and limited snaps are concerning, but his overall production since Week 3 (4 sacks, 1 FF) is optimistic going forward.

Josh Sweat-Philadelphia Eagles

The snap percentage for Josh Sweat has now eclipsed 70% for the 2nd straight week, and I have felt strongly that Sweat can be a DL2 in fantasy if given the opportunity. Just last year he totaled 6 sacks in under 40% of the teams’ snaps.

So far on the season, Sweat only has 1.5 sacks, but this is the week that we can expect some quality pass rushes and a good opportunity for some sack production. The Eagles’ opponent this week is the Las Vegas Raiders, and their 22nd ranked O-Line in pressures over the past 2 weeks. First-round bust, Alex Leatherwood, has been moved to RG, which is likely to result in a mismatch against Javon Hargraves. Look for Sweat to take advantage of the outside rush when attention is paid to the rush up the middle.

Linebacker

Anthony Walker-Cleveland Browns

I feel that I am to blame partially for the JOK injury, seeing as I have written up a player or two per week who got bit by the injury bug. With the loss to JOK, Anthony Walker will see an increase in snaps.

In his three weeks’ worth of action in 2021, Walker has a combined 25 tackles and a 13.6% tackle rate. Walker combined for 14 tackles and an INT during Darius Leonards’ absence in 2020.

Anthony Walker and the Browns will host the Denver Broncos, and their moderately generous offense towards opposing LB. It’s hard to envision a 91% snap share like JOK was seeing, but I do expect Walker to lead the LB room in snaps. Walker posted nearly three straight 100+ tackle seasons in Indy, so the volume potential is there.

Justin Strnad-Denver Broncos

The Broncos suffered a huge blow in Week 6 as Anthony Johnson suffered a torn pectoral muscle. Immediately after the injury, Micah Kiser filled in for Johnson. While Kiser took over the snaps, it was Strnad that played the highest percentage of snaps (80%).

Strnad gets the Cleveland Browns in Week 7. The Browns have allowed the most points to linebackers and this week is no different. With the Browns decimated by injuries, it wouldn’t shock me to see Strnad blitz a little more and be potentially disruptive in coverage.

Derrick Barnes-Detroit Lions

It appears that we are at the stage in the season where the rookie LB are starting to see the field more often. Barnes has now played in 40% or more of the snaps in back-to-back weeks. With the increase in snaps has come an increase in production. Barnes led all Lions in tackles with 9 (6 solo-3 assists) and chipped in a PD for good measure.

The Lions will face the Rams in Week 7, and needless to say, Barnes should be on the field a lot!

Defensive Back

Juan Thornhill-Kansas City Chiefs

As you may know, I am a Chiefs fan, and this recommendation is one of my favorite of the year. Finally, Spags has released Thornhill from whatever doghouse he was in and relegated Sorenson back to the bench. Thornhill was flying all over the field and showed how dangerous he can be in coverage and running downhill!

This weeks’ matchup against the Titans is one that is sure to feature a lot of Derrick Henry. Spags has a history of moving his FS closer to the box against run-heavy teams, and in return can provide a solid tackle floor. Give me the Safety on a team that can put up points and a favorable schedule for the next month.

Happy Birthday, Juan!

Kyle Dugger-New England Patriots

The New England Patriots know what they have in Kyle Dugger, and it’s about time fantasy managers know just how dangerous of a player he can be. Currently, Dugger is 3rd among Safeties in snaps in the box, which has translated to a league-leading 15 Stops (STOP: Defensive Stops – tackles that constitute a “failure” for the offense). If we dig a bit deeper, Dugger also has the lowest average depth of tackle at 2.2 among Safeties with at least 75 snaps on rushing plays.

In addition to the fantastic run-stopping ability, Dugger recorded his first INT of the season. His mediocre coverage skills will pay dividends as teams will also target him when he is in deep coverage.

Thank You all for reading! I hope this group of waiver wire gems strike gold! As always, if you have any questions, you can find me on Twitter @natemarcum.

About Nate Marcum 137 Articles
Director of IDP Content. 2021 Top 5 IDP Ranker per FantasyPros ECR. 20+ year Fantasy Baseball/Football addict. Addiction manifested into obsession, which drove me to writing/podcasting. Obsession is still present, but now it’s directed at helping others around me get better!
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