Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 7: Top Free Agent Adds Include Rashee Rice, Jameson Williams, Curtis Samuel, more

October 17, 2023

Justin Carter's fantasy football wide receiver waiver wire pickups for Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season. His free agent WRs to add, stream and stash off waivers.

With Week 6 mostly in the rearview, it's time to look ahead to Week 7. There are some good upside wide receivers out there on the waiver wire, so this is a good chance for you to bolster your fantasy lineup.

Below, you'll find some wide receivers that you should be targeting on the fantasy football waiver wire ahead of Week 7. Not all of these waiver wire options are the same. Some players may be better in PPR or deeper leagues, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all comparison. Use your best judgment when deciding which of these players is the right fit for your roster.

Be sure to also check out our Waiver Wire Adds for Week 7 for help at all the skill positions. All players on this list are around 50% rostered or below.

Wide Receiver Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 7

Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs - 45% rostered

In the words of political pundit Dave Wasserman, I've seen enough. I'm ready to declare that the one Chiefs wide receiver worth rostering in fantasy is Rashee Rice, who had four catches for 72 yards this week. He's now had either 50-plus yards or a touchdown in four of KC's six games so far.

I'm not saying Rice is a must-start option, but with six teams on a bye next week, Rice is someone you can plug in if you need a fill-in. Because of the nature of this offense, he's got the highest ceiling of the players on waivers, though he's also got a fairly low floor since Patrick Mahomes could decide to just throw the ball to someone else.

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions - 49% rostered

Jameson Williams made his season debut last week, catching two passes for just two yards. On Sunday against the Buccaneers, we got a chance to see why the Lions spent a first-round pick on him last year.

Williams was only targeted three times, but he caught two of those for 53 yards and a touchdown. Talent-wise, he should wind up as the WR2 on this Lions team. I'd expect his volume to increase going forward.

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts - 33% rostered

Josh Downs continues to play well as the Colts' second receiver. While he had a season-low 21 receiving yards against the Jaguars this week, he caught the first touchdown of his career to make up for it. He was targeted eight times, second on the team to Michael Pittman Jr.

Of his 41 targets this year, 28 have come from Gardner Minshew. While he was getting longer targets from Anthony Richardson, his volume when Minshew is under center makes him an appealing play.

Curtis Samuel, Washington Commanders - 34% rostered

Terry McLaurin's 11 targets led the Commanders on Sunday against the Falcons. The team's other wide receivers combined for just six targets, showcasing how far ahead McLaurin is over everyone else on this team.

Curtis Samuel saw four of those six targets, catching all four for 42 yards and a touchdown. Dyami Brown and Jahan Dotson failed to bring in either of their targets. Samuel has now finished with more receiving yards than Dotson in five of the six games so far. He's the second receiver for the Commanders, and while the role hasn't produced more than 65 yards in a game, he has found the end zone in two straight games.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks - 48% rostered

Rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba had his best game so far on Sunday, catching four of his five targets for 48 yards. It's been a bit of a rough start to Smith-Njigba's rookie campaign, but anyone who watched him in college knows how dynamic he can be. With 11 targets over the past two games, it looks like the Seahawks are working to get him the ball more often. He has a chance to be a really solid fantasy player in the second half of the season, though having D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on the team lowers his ceiling since there are only so many targets to go around.

Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans Saints - 32% rostered

Rashid Shaheed continues to operate right at the edge of fantasy relevance. On Sunday, he was targeted six times, catching two passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. It was the third time this season he's had 60-plus receiving yards in a game. His receiving totals for the other three games? 28, 33, and zero. Shaheed's a matchup-dependent boom-or-bust play, but the booms have been pretty good so far, as he's shown a knack for making some big plays.

Wide Receiver Deeper League Pickups For Week 7

Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots - 17% rostered

Mac Jones continues to struggle for New England. On Sunday, he posted his third consecutive game without a touchdown pass. When he was completing passes, they were mostly going to Kendrick Bourne, who has 10 of Jones' 24 completions. Bourne finished with 89 receiving yards, a season-high.

The Patriots don't have a true WR1, but Bourne's occupied that role this year with some decent results. I really think he can be a valuable fantasy option if either Jones fixes his game or the Patriots make a move at quarterback.

Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers - 0% rostered

Deebo Samuel exited Sunday's loss to the Browns with a shoulder injury. If he misses time, that opens up some additional snaps for Jauan Jennings, who was targeted a season-high four times this week. He caught two of those for 26 yards. If Jennings is elevated to the WR2 role in San Fran, he'll have deep-league appeal because of that projected role, especially if running back Christian McCaffrey, who also exited with an injury, misses time as well. If McCaffrey's out, the Niners will have to throw the ball more, upping Jennings' ceiling.

Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos - 25% rostered

Look, I still believe in Marvin Mims Jr., even if the Broncos seemingly don't at this point. On Thursday, he wasn't targeted a single time in the team's loss to the Chiefs and he played just 12 offensive snaps.

The talent just really pops when you watch Mims. He showed at Oklahoma that he has a knack for making big plays and he's flashed some of that potential with the Broncos. At some point, he's got to get more consistent snaps, right?

D.J. Chark Jr., Carolina Panthers - 14% rostered

D.J. Chark was targeted six times this week, marking the third time in the last four games that he's had at least six targets. His actual production looks pretty hard to predict because this Panthers' offense has struggled a bit, averaging the 10th-fewest yards per game in the league. In a deep league, the volume makes him slightly appealing.

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