The Chicago Bears are finally awakening from hibernation and their offense, led by the No.1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams, are starting to find their feet as we approach the halfway point of the regular season. As we enter week 7, there are two blockbuster trades involving wide receivers – in the worst kept secret in NFL history, Davante Adams rejoins Aaron Rodgers as a New york Jet, and just before publication, news broke that Amari Cooper will be leaving the purgatory of playing with Deshaun Watson and hooking up with a real quarterback, as he heads north to Buffalo to catch passes from Josh Allen. Waiver wires are starting to get a little thin, but there’s still plenty of great options whether you are struggling, or looking to upgrade that roster for the weeks ahead.
Rules for Selection & Order Priority
For a player to be considered to be added, they have to:
- Have an rostered % of 50% or under on ESPN
- Players below are listed by their roster %, not priority. Know your league settings. If there is a high-priority add, you’ll know.
Caleb Williams (CHI) 50.1% rostered
Ok…so technically Caleb Williams doesn’t quite meet our 50% ownership threshold – but at 50.1%, I’m going to let that slide and include him in this week’s waiver pickups. The Chicago Bears rolled into foggy London town for their week six matchup at “home” to the Jacksonville Jaguars – a game I was fortunate enough to be at. As a U.K. native, it’s not often we get treated to the most lucrative of fixtures when the NFL is hosted on this side of the pond…but seeing a young quarterback really starting to come out of his shell and settle in to like as signal caller in the pro leagues, really was a joy. The No.1 overall pick very much looked the part at The Tottenham Hotspur stadium, putting in his best performance of the year by far. Williams had a season-high completion rate, connecting with his pass catchers on 79% of his 29 throws, and although his 226-yards may appear relatively modest…the 4 touchdowns he put up were anything but. Keenan Allen is finally healthy, Cole Kmet once again showed why he is one of the best of the rest at the position, and Chicago finally appears to have figured out the run game – all arrows are pointing up this offense. Don’t expect Williams to be the QB2 every week, but the upside is there – and with his rushing ability, so is a safe floor for fantasy.
Jared Goff (DET) 46.4% rostered
Birthday Boy Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions piled it on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, never taking their feet off the gas for one minute of the blowout 47-9 victory in Arlington. Even with 40 points already on the board early in the fourth-quarter, Head Coach Dan Campbell was still calling passing plays to lead receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to get him into the endzone. This was an annihilation, and a truly embarrassing night for Dak and the ‘Boys…but one that shows us just how efficient Jared Goff can be in the right matchup. Goff turned the big 3-0, dropping a TD on the Dallas defense for every 10-years he’s been on this Earth – his 72% completion rate was slightly down on his perfect 18-of-18 performance in week 5…but 18-of-25 for 315-yards to go along with the trio of scores isn’t too shabby at all. Goff may have been dropped during the Lions’ bye-week – he’s a much better QB that his 46% ownership merits. The Lions get the face off against Minnesota, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Indianapolis in the next six weeks – all of whom rank bottom five against the quarterback position for fantasy – pick him up now and ride him until Thanksgiving.
Also Consider – Sam Darnold (45.5%) & Drake Maye (3.8%) rostered
Tyler Allgeier (ATL) 43.0% rostered
Bijan Robinson may have found the endzone twice in Atlanta’s 38-20 blowout of divisional rivals Carolina, but it was Tyler Allgeier who once again came out on top in the box scores across the major rushing categories. The 3rd-year back out-carried Bijan 18-to-15, putting up 105-yards and a touchdown on his efforts. Robinson is still clearly the leader in this Falcons’ backfield…but like it or not, fantasy managers are going to have to accept that this is far more of a time-share situation than we had expected when the season began in September. Allgeier will continue to be a thorn in the side of all those with Bijan on their rosters and should be added in all formats. He possesses enough stand-alone value to have weekly FLEX appeal, and were Robinson to go down with injury, Allgeier immediately becomes an RB1 for your fantasy team.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. (NYG) 44.7% rostered
In the absence of Devin Singletary, the rookie out of Purdue once again got the start for the Giants, and just like last week – Tyrone Tracy was an RB1 for fantasy football. Tracy didn’t quite match the heroics of his performance in Seattle…far from it – despite seeing three additional carries compared to last week, his Y/A plummeted from 7.2 down to 2.9 – resulting in only 50-yards on the ground in the Giants loss at home to the Bengals. The 24-year old (seriously, he is a 24-year old rookie) salvaged his fantasy day with an additional 50-yards through the air on 6 receptions, as well as his very first touchdown as an NFL pro. Tracy has done enough to earn a significant role in this backfield, even when Singletary returns. The Giants host the Eagles in week 7, and travel to Carolina in week 10…both matchups that Tracy should excel in given the opportunity. If you’re desperate for a start at RB, you could do worse – but if you have the bench spots to allow it, he’s an excellent stash.
Kimani Vidal (LAC) 2.3% rostered
It is time! I drafted Kimani Vidal everywhere in the off-season, only for Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins to run all over my hopes and dreams in the opening two weeks, keeping Vidal firmly on the bench through the Chargers’s week 5 bye. Now that I have dropped him everywhere…Vidal got his shot. Gus Edwards has unfortunately landed on the IR with an ankle injury and will be out until at least week 10 meaning the rookie out of Troy is next in line to play the backup/change of pace role in Greg Roman’s run-first (and second, and third) offense behind J.K. Dobbins. Vidal only received six opportunities in his debut as the Chargers ran out 23-16 over the Broncos…but he impressed when given the chance – no more so than on his very first touch – which he housed for a 38-yard score after a dump off from Justin Herbert. Vidal is a hold and hope right now – but as we approach the halfway point of the fantasy season, we are living in hope at this point.
Also Consider – Tank Bigsby (44.1%), Alexander Mattison (35.6%), Trey Benson (20.0%), Sean Tucker (1.0%) & Isaac Guerendo (0.9%) rostered
Christian Watson/ Romeo Doubs (GB) 44.6%/ 29.6% rostered
Pick your poison – in one hand we have the often injured, and uber talented third-year receiver Christian Watson – and in the other, squeeky wheel, and recently suspended by the team, Romeo Doubs. Both men outperformed de-factor WR1 for Green Bay – Jayden Reed – on Sunday, with Doubs finishing the week as the WR8, and Watson not far behind as the WR17. It was the returning Watson who led the Packers in receiving yards, hauling in 3-of-4 targets for 68-yards – whilst Doubs, who also had 3 catches, could only rack up 20 receiving yards…he did however have two touchdowns to Watson’s one. All Packers’ pass-catchers outside of Jayden Reed are going to be hard to trust on a consistent basis, but with Jordan Love averaging over 280 passing yards and 3 touchdowns per game – everyone in this receiving room has fantasy value (well, maybe not Dontayvion Wicks). Personally, I prefer the wideout with the highest pedigree, and that’s 2nd round draft pick Christian Watson. We’ve seen Watson finish as a WR1 for fantasy several times in his career…he just needs to stay healthy! Green Bay plays the 31st and 32nd ranked passing defenses in Jacksonville and Detroit back-to-back after hosting Houston and Lambeau – there should be plenty of opportunities to go around for all Packers receivers over the next few weeks.
Xaver Legette (CAR) 28.9% rostered
Diontae Johnson continues to be Andy Dalton’s go-to receiver in Carolina, but don’t sleep on the rookie Legette as the season progresses. The 23-year old former USC Gamecock recorded his second touchdown in the National Football League in the Panther’s blowout loss to Atlanta on Sunday, grabbing 3-of-4 targets for 23-yards and the aforementioned score. Better days are ahead for Legette – there are rumours surrounding Diontae and a possible trade out of Charlotte, but even if Johnson were to remain a Panther, it won’t be long before Legette seriously cuts into the former Steeler’s targets on a week-to-week basis. Carolina head to the capital to play a very generous Commanders pass defense in week 7, before heading west to Mile High for a matchup with the clinical Denver D. Johnston will likely receive the Patrick Surtain treatment in that one, giving Legette the opportunity to have a pair of very usable fantasy games to see out October.
Also Consider – Josh Downs (49.2%), Gabe Davis (26.0%), DeMario Douglas (21.1%) & Michael Wilson (14.2%) rostered.
Cole Kmet (CHI) 54.5% rostered
Much like his quarterback, Cole Kmet is technically just over our threshold of 50% ownership…but with tight end being a barren wasteland of fantasy sadness, it seems like we have to bring his name up just in case. Kmet finished as a top-2 TE for the second time this season following his clinical performance in North London at the weekend. The fifth-year veteran hauled in all five of his targets from Caleb Williams for 70-yards and two touchdowns…giving Kmet the TE1 spot on the week. The Notre Dame product has a 90% catch rate on the season so far, and currently sits as the overall TE3 in Half-PPR formats. He is the only tight end not named Kittle or Bowers to be averaging double-digit fantasy points over the first six weeks – if Kmet is available in your league and you don’t have the starting TE for the 49ers or Raiders, he’s a must add.
Taysom Hill (NO) 22.9% rostered
Here we go again. Listen, I don’t like it either, but there’s no denying Taysom Hill is a potential game-breaker at the tight end position. Hill has missed the Saints’ last two contests with a rib injury but should be in consideration for the visit of Denver in week 7…and boy will they need him against that defense. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler performed admirably in his NFL debut in the blowout loss to Tampa Bay – the heavy defeat certainly wasn’t on the shoulders of the rookie…but Hill gives this team an X-Factor that literally no other player in the league can provide. There exists a real possibility Hill can put up a stat-line of 1 catch for 1 yard and finish as the TE30, or come out and rush for 20+ yards and two touchdowns to end the week as the TE1 – after all, that’s exactly what he’s done in his previous two outings. If you have absolutely nothing at TE, pick him up and hope he has one of those games against the Broncos.
Also Consider – Cade Otton (24.0%) & Erick All Jr. (2.8%) rostered
There you have it! Any questions, or want some more specific help for your league on who to drop, just reach out. Reach out on social media, you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Or jump into our Discord server. And checkout out rankings for each Week.
