Ladies and gentlemen, we’re entering Week 7, with just two teams on bye this week: the Bears and Cowboys. While these teams get to rest up and lick their wounds — looking at you, Dallas — we do not have that luxury as fantasy managers. If anything, we need to dig deep and find those fantasy assets to help us during these lean weeks on the waiver wire. That’s what we’re here for today, as we’ll get you set up for success heading into Week 7’s action.
Note:All rostership percentages use Sleeper for this Week 7 Waiver Wire (2024) article.
Quarterback:
Drake Maye – Sleeper Roster – 14%
The thesis for Drake Maye was evident in Week 6; he scrambled, he threw a beautiful deep ball, he made mistakes, but he was FUN. Many are saying “fun” doesn’t get you fantasy points, and while that is the case (for now), the scrambling, the touchdowns, and everything else that comes with that does. Maye scored more fantasy points than Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, and C.J. Stroud this week.
Maye threw for three touchdowns, rushed for 38 yards, and made the Patriots’ offense look clinically alive for the first time since the Reagan administration. Maye’s 13% scramble rate (second among quarterbacks in Week 6) gives confirmation to clear rushing upside, and he needs to be added in all formats as this quarterback profile won’t last long on waivers.
Trevor Lawrence – Sleeper Roster – 45%
Lawrence has been solid, not spectacular in recent weeks, as he finally crested the vaunted 14.8-fantasy point barrier in Week 5 with a 22.2-point performance against the Colts. In the first week of the Jacksonville “London Excursion”, Lawrence passed for two touchdowns for the third straight week with a modest 234 yards passing against a solid Bears defense.
He’ll get the Patriots in the Jaguars’ second London game, where C.J. Stroud was efficient and had three touchdown passes after the opening drive of the second half. The Jags’ passing game has been a bit better in the past two weeks and should be a fruitful matchup for Lawrence to continue putting up fantasy points.
Bo Nix – Sleeper Roster – 20%
Don’t look now, but Bo Nix has two straight QB8 or better games under his belt, and they’ve come in the last two weeks. Nix threw for just 216 yards and two touchdowns, but added 61 rushing yards to boost his floor.
Any quarterback with a rushing floor becomes at least moderately viable in fantasy, and he gets a nice pair of matchups against the Saints and Panthers. If byes or quarterback injuries are weighing you down, Nix is not a bad option to fill the gap.
Running Back:
Isaac Guerendo – Sleeper Roster – 5%
Jordan Mason left Thursday Night Football’s game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6 with a shoulder injury and Isaac Guerendo came in to put up 99 yards rushing plus a nine-yard reception on two targets. As has been the case with running backs in the Kyle Shanahan, they’re easy to stash on benches because they get opportunities to produce and most of the time, they do.
Even if Mason returns for the 49ers’ Week 7 showdown at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, Guerendo should be a solid bench stash or at best, a deep flex option. If Mason is out, Guerendo becomes a perfectly capable RB2 with big-time upside.
Ty Chandler – Sleeper Roster – 35%
Ty Chandler and the Minnesota Vikings were on bye in Week 6, so anybody needing running backs may have left him on waivers because he didn’t play a game last week. Chandler should be rostered in more than 35% of leagues, as he’s one of the better contingency backs in the league with a modicum of standalone value.
Aaron Jones left in Week 5’s London game with a hip injury, so it remains to be seen what the status of that injury is. If Jones is healthy enough to play in their big divisional showdown with the Lions, Chandler is a deep-league flex. If Jones does miss this game, Chandler becomes an instant low-end RB2 with upside.
Kimani VIdal – Sleeper Roster – 16%
After four weeks of waiting, the Chargers finally unleashed Kimani Vidal on the world and on his very first touch in the NFL, Vidal ran a wheel route down the near sideline and caught a 38-yard catch and run for a touchdown. Vidal would add another catch to make it two receptions for 40 yards, a touchdown, and four rushes for 11 yards.
While the stat line isn’t very encouraging, it’s telling that after the Chargers bye and Gus Edwards’ disappointment and placement on injured reserve, head coach Jim Harbaugh wanted to add a spark to his running back room with the rookie Vidal. With only 26% of routes per dropback and 24% snaps, he’s not threatening J.K. Dobbins anytime soon, but he can be a usable piece in this offense that loves to run the ball. Vidal is the contingency back if something happens to Dobbins, but at least we have one data point that Vidal is opportunistic and explosive.
Wide Receiver:
JuJu Smith-Schuster – Sleeper Roster – 33%
While the Chiefs were on bye, people may have forgotten about JuJu Smith-Schuster since the Chiefs were off in Week 7. If he wasn’t picked up by a team because he wasn’t playing in Week 6, go get him, as Smith-Schuster is a gift-wrapped WR3 that catches balls from some guy named Patrick Mahomes.
The only knock is that in Week 5, Smith-Schuster only ran routes on 66% of dropbacks, but that number should come up as he’s one of the only non-Kelce wide receivers that has earned targets consistently in his career. After a 7-130 showing in Week 5, Smith-Schuster has earned himself a place in the Chiefs’ target tree as “we have Rashee Rice at home”, but in fantasy, that’s good enough to be a startable WR3 or flex option every week.
Xavier Legette – Sleeper Roster – 42%
After leaving with a shoulder sprain in Week 5, Legette played the full game in Week 6, salvaging his day with a touchdown. The Panthers’ passing game is a bit touch and go, but Legette is the best option they have as the second fiddle to Diontae Johnson. Johnson will see the most attention in the passing game, so this past April’s first-round pick has plenty of opportunity waiting for him.
Legette ran routes on 78% of Andy Dalton’s dropbacks last week and with matchups against the Commanders, the Broncos (with Patrick Surtain likely to shadow Johnson), and the Saints up next, Legette is an easy upside flex for fantasy managers moving forward.
Noah Brown – Sleeper Roster – 3%
The never-ending search for the Commanders’ second pass-catcher continues, but with Zach Ertz being the current placeholder, Noah Brown may be on the way to snatch that role from him. After Brown missed Week 5, he came back with a vengeance in Week 6 to tie for the lead in targets (8) with Terry McLaurin, put up the second-most receiving yards (58), and tie for second on the team in receptions (4).
Brown also added 35% of the air yards for the Commanders and 24% targets share on 63% routesin Week 6. While Washington does use several depth receivers, there’s a large sample of routes on Dyami Brown (career 1.07 yards per route run, 12.5% targets per route run) and Olamide Zaccheaus (career 1.22 YPRR, 13.7% TPRR) that shows they aren’t efficient and haven’t been target earners in their career. Brown’s numbers (1.45 YPRR, 17% TPRR) are a bit better and has earned targets last season with Houston following the Tank Dell season-ending injurty. Brown is an under-the-radar add in deeper leagues but could have some PPR upside as a quality target earner outside of McLaurin. Jayden Daniels can’t always pass to McLaurin, so a consistent second target is dire for the Commanders.
Tight End:
Noah Fant – Sleeper Roster – 20%
Sticking with the Noahs, Noah Fant feels like an old pair of shoes amongst the cadre of streaming tight ends, as he’s a relatively comfortable option outside of the elites and usual suspects at the position. He’s part of a Seahawks offense that is growing by the week and is probably closer to arbitrage Dalton Schultz or Cole Kmet, meaning he’s a tight end that relies solely on touchdown equity with two or three solid wide receiver options ahead of him. Funny thing is that he has zero touchdowns, but has two top-10 finishes in fantasy because of the strength of their offense.
With Fant behind in the Seahawks’ pecking order, targets may be at a premium, but the Seahawks are going to pass the ball upwards of 50+ times, it’s going to spread out the targets to secondary players like Fant. He’s an excellent bye week bandage who will get a date with the Falcons in Atlanta in Week 7. Fant should be his usual streaming self in this matchup that could shoot out as both offenses have been producing as of late.
Cade Otton – Sleeper Roster – 42%
Because the group of streaming tight ends are so gross, it’s our solemn vow to include Cade Otton in any tight end waiver column. Otton earned another six targets in Week 6 and while the two-catch, 15-yard stat line wasn’t very inspiring, the touchdown he caught certainly helped to save his week for fantasy managers.
Otton’s appeal is the sheer volume of routes he runs for the Buccaneers as the only tight end worth a damn on the receiving end of things. He’s not sexy, he’s not very flashy, but he’s on the field a ton and he’s solidly productive as a streamer.
Ja’Tavion Sanders – Sleeper Roster – 6%
With Tommy Tremble (concussion) out for Week 6, Ja’Tavion Sanders took the Panthers’ tight end role for himself even with Ian Thomas returning off of injured reserve. Sanders ran routes on 75% of Andy Dalton’s dropbacks and earned seven targets and a 5-catch, 49-yard line on the afternoon.
Sanders put up a solid 1.63 YPRR plus a 23% TPRR as he finished as TE13 on the week. This role is growing for Sanders as he’s earned 12 targets in his last two games. We can’t discredit any tight end production, ESPECIALLY from a rookie. He’s a solid streaming tight end whose role could continue to grow week by week.
D/ST:
Buffalo Bills – Sleeper Roster – 48%
The Bills have been up and down as a fantasy defense with top-six finishes at D/ST against the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars, but struggling against solid offensive teams like the Cardinals, Ravens, and Texans. Luckily, the Bills get a cure-all in Week 7.
Will Levis and his traveling interception circus comes to Highmark Stadium as the Bills should be fired up as a top-five defensive unit for Week 7. They have interceptions in four of six games and should make that five of seven games as a solid streaming defense.
Cincinnati Bengals – Sleeper Roster – 9%
With just two top-12 finishes in six games, the Bengals D/ST has been rather uninspiring with just eight sacks total on the season. The Bengals are up against it with a 1-5 record but will travel to Cleveland to face the Browns, who have been a gift for opposing defenses.
Deshaun Watson has been generationally bad as a quarterback and with head coach Kevin Stefanski unwilling (by his choice or not) to make a change, the Bengals should tee off on Watson and force some turnovers as a top-eight unit in Week 7.
Los Angeles Rams – Sleeper Roster – 2%
The Rams were off in Week 6 but are well-rested after their best fantasy performance all season against the Packers where they scored 10 points and finished DST10 in Week 5.
Los Angeles will stay home to face the gutted Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Aidan O’Connell, so the Rams have an awesome matchup on tap where they should be able to exploit the lack of talent left on the Raiders. At worst, the Rams are a top-12 option and definitely a startable one this week as a streamer.
Thanks for reading my Waiver Wire for Week 7 (2024) article! Tune in next week for your Week 8 Waiver Wire! Make sure to tune in every Tuesday night at 8PM EST for the Fantasy In Frames Waiver Wire show!
Catch all my other articles over on X at @ktompkinsii.
