Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 7 (Fantasy Football)

Managing a fantasy football team is an emotional roller coaster! One week you’re down in the dumps and littered with injuries, but the next week you’re riding high after destroying your matchup. It’s a week-to-week life but making sure to continually be reworking your roster through the waiver wire is the key to getting a seat at the table come playoff time! The dude Joe Beldner is honeymooning this week so I’m back to mull through the add/drop decisions for another important week!

We got only a brief rest from the heavy bye weeks, but Week 7 is going to hit rosters hard with six teams – the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, and Houston Texans – off this week! Let’s take a look at the best way to fill those holes left by injury or to add to the depth you’ve already built!

• Complete Waiver Wire Rankings
• Weekly Waivers Episode of The Fantasy Footballers Podcast

Running Backs

Jordan Mason, RB – San Francisco 49ers

How often do fantasy managers get the chance to grab an RB on one of the best offenses in football this deep into the season? That’s exactly the opportunity that we’re getting with Jordan Mason after Christian McCaffrey left the 49ers Week 6 loss to injury. Mason is relatively unknown in fantasy relevance but made the most of his opportunity last week finishing as the RB25 on just 24% of snaps. The best thing about Mason as a waiver wire warrior this week is his mass availability, currently available in 96% of leagues.

There will be arguments made for Elijah Mitchell to be the main pickup for San Francisco, but Mason saw more snaps than Mitchell after CMC left the game and he doesn’t have the injury history that Mitchell is well known for. In fact, Mason has already registered a top-24 finish this season against Dallas in Week 5 as the RB13. With lots of injuries to RBs already this season, there will be plenty of fantasy managers going hard in the paint for Mason, so be prepared to open up the FAAB wallets if you want in.

Ballers Recommended FAAB: 10-25%

Zach Evans, RB – Los Angeles Rams

Another opportunity knocks for fantasy managers to invest in a last man standing in an RB room with Zach Evans. Evans was the Rams’ sixth-round pick in 2023 after a pretty underwhelming collegiate career as a five-star high school recruit. Still, Evans could have the physical tools to excel in a good running attack for the Rams if given the opportunity, despite his low return in Week 6.

There is a bit more risk to grabbing Evans since the Rams could look to add a veteran who could come in and take the temporary workload. If Evans is the guy for a few weeks in L.A., playing the Steelers and Packers in two of the Rams’ next three games could be enough to put Evans in regular flex play as long as he’s the only RB available.

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Ballers Recommended FAAB: 0-25%

Craig Reynolds, RB – Detroit Lions

Luckily for fantasy managers, we have seen this song and dance already with the Lions and Craig Reynolds. Reynolds was called into duty in Week 5 as the lead RB for Detroit and finished as the RB19 against the Panthers. In fact, with Jahmyr Gibbs missing the last two games, Reynolds has seen 19 opportunities and was on the field for 61% of snaps against the Buccaneers last week. The Lions’ offense thrives on running the ball, so even if Gibbs returns this week, it’s likely that Reynolds could see the lead back role that David Montgomery has held with Gibbs continuing to be a change-of-pace play.

Ballers Recommended FAAB: 10-25%

• Complete Waiver Wire Rankings

Wide Receivers

Rashee Rice, WR – Kansas City Chiefs

Back-to-back strong finishes for rookie Rashee Rice may make this the last week that the Chiefs’ WR is widely available on waivers. Rice has continued to be inconsistent with how much he’s getting on the field for Kansas City, but he’s really made the most of his opportunities finishing as the WR23 and WR34 in the last two weeks. While being a WR3 isn’t necessarily the best argument for getting him into your fantasy lineups, Rice did see a career-high in receiving yards against the Broncos and was finally a decent play without getting into the end zone.

What’s exciting about having someone in the Chiefs’ offense is their upcoming schedule against the Chargers, Broncos, and Dolphins. Each matchup over the next three weeks for Rice ranks in the bottom half of the league against fantasy WRs. This may be your last chance to get in on Rice before he takes a big step forward down the stretch of the season.

Ballers Recommended FAAB: 0-10%

Josh Downs, WR – Indianapolis Colts

Speaking of the last week on the Waivers list, Josh Downs is probably in that same boat. Downs has seen 14 targets over the last two weeks and has finished inside the top-30 WR both times. The newest development for the Colts is the news that QB Anthony Richardson may not be returning at all this season, so Gardner Minshew could be the starter for the rest of the year, which could be good news for Downs. In games that Minshew has been the starter, Downs has seen 49% of his targets. The Week 7 matchup isn’t ideal for Downs so he may not be a flex option this week, but he needs to be rostered going forward.

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Ballers Recommended FAAB: 0-10%

Wan’Dale Robinson, WR – New York Giants

It’s been a long while since we’ve seen Wan’Dale Robinson fully involved in the Giants’ offense, but he seemed to have found his mark again in Week 6. Robinson saw a team-leading eight targets for a season-high 62 yards. The Giants’ offense is still struggling to find a receiving threat that can help open up the offense. Robinson is fairly widely available and has a nice matchup against Washington in Week 7, so he could be worth the roster spot to see what else develops.

Ballers Recommended FAAB: 0-5%

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Tight Ends

Michael Mayer, TE – Las Vegas Raiders

A lot has been made about this rookie TE class already this season, but we may just now be seeing one of the best in the group emerge into fantasy relevance in Michael Mayer. Over the last two weeks, Mayer has seen nine targets for 114 yards and finished as the TE5 in Week 6 without getting into the end zone. The Raiders have nice matchups over the next two weeks against the Bears and Lions where Mayer could continue to excel and get worked into the passing game, so he’s worth holding onto to see if he can develop into the elite pass-catching TE he was dubbed as coming out of college.

Ballers Recommended FAAB: 0-0%

Jonnu Smith, TE – Atlanta Falcons

Not necessarily the TE you’d think about wanting on your fantasy roster in Atlanta, but Jonnu Smith has been a consistent fantasy threat so far this year and is currently the TE9. Smith has finished as the TE3 and TE4 in two of the last three weeks and is averaging six targets per game since Week 2. What’s more encouraging is the Falcons are continuing to throw the ball more, averaging 42 passing attempts over the last two weeks. It may not be the sexiest name to add to your fantasy roster, but pickers can’t be choosers in the wasteland that is fantasy football TEs. 

Ballers Recommended FAAB: 0-10%

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• Complete Waiver Wire Rankings

Quarterbacks

Team DEF/ST

• Complete Waiver Wire Rankings
• Weekly Waivers Episode of The Fantasy Footballers Podcast