Fantasy Football Week 7 Waiver Wire: Deeper League Pickups (QB, RB, WR, TE)

October 14, 2025

Dan's top fantasy football Week 7 waiver wire pickups, sleepers, stashes for deeper leagues for 2025. His waiver targets include Joe Flacco, Tyjae Spears, Harold Fannin Jr., and more.

Week 6 brought us some fantastic fantasy performances from some unexpected places (Rico Dowdle, Kimani Vidal, Kayshon Boutte, and others). Unfortunately, it was also another week marked by significant injuries, particularly at the wide receiver position.

Fantasy managers who have been enjoying hot starts from Puka Nacua, Garrett Wilson, and Emeka Egbuka are now trying to figure out how to replace their production in Week 7 (and potentially beyond). Those injuries, combined with bye weeks from Buffalo and Baltimore, are putting fantasy managers in a position where they need to be active on the waiver wire.

This article will focus on fantasy football players who are at or below a 40% roster rate on Yahoo! -- and can be considered deeper league waiver wire options. We'll cover a few players from the QB, RB, WR, and TE positions. Let's get to it!

Quarterback Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All QBs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less

Jaxson Dart, New York Giants- 32% rostered

Since taking over as the starting quarterback of the New York Giants, rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart is the QB10 in fantasy points per game (20.3). Dart has three straight games with at least 17 points despite averaging just 169.3 passing yards and 1.3 touchdowns per game.

Instead, Dart has been able to utilize his rushing ability to help move the Giants’ offense and provide fantasy points weekly. Dart is averaging 10 attempts and 55.7 rushing yards per game while adding two touchdowns on the ground in his three starts.

JAXSON DART IMPROVISES. ROBINSON YACs. TOUCHDOWN GIANTS 🔥

PHIvsNYG on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/YnuvxJPlhb

— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2025

There will certainly be stumbles on the way, and his matchup in Week 7 against the Broncos could be problematic, but Dart has been performing at a high level to start his career and has provided the rushing production that we crave in fantasy.

Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals- 8% rostered

Joe Flacco has re-emerged as a viable fantasy quarterback thanks to being traded to the Cincinnati Bengals. Flacco posted a top 15 week in his first game with the Bengals (18.7 points) on a short week of preparation, throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions.

Joe Flacco and Ja'Marr Chase building that connection 🎯

CINvsGB on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/I7bTdjF8uj

— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025

The veteran quarterback has three games with 45 passing attempts in 2025. He has five games with at least 34 attempts. The Cincinnati Bengals are the perfect storm for a veteran quarterback who isn’t afraid to push the ball down the field. They have one of the worst defenses in the NFL and have pass catchers who can create big plays after the catch.

The Bengals have plenty of matchups on the horizon against teams with questionable secondaries. If Flacco can hold up behind a bad offensive line, he has the potential to be a solid QB2 with the passing volume to be a low-end QB1.

Running Back Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All RBs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less

Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans- 24% rostered

It didn’t take long for Tyjae Spears to see his role grow enough to be on our fantasy radar. Spears missed the first four games of the season on the injured reserve but returned in Week 5. In that game, he had a modest role with four carries for 14 yards on a 25.4% snap share.

Spears saw a significant increase across the board in his second game. His share of snaps jumped to 59%. He also saw increases in his opportunities, racking up five carries for 31 yards and four receptions (on four targets) for 19 yards.

The Titans' offense is likely to see a shakeup now that the team has fired Brian Callahan, which could lead to getting more touches for younger players like Spears going forward. Tennessee came into the season expecting him to command a significant role in the backfield before he suffered a high-ankle sprain.

At worst, we know the Titans are a bad football team that will be in consistent negative game scripts, and Spears is an excellent pass catcher out of the backfield.

Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers- 30% rostered

There was a lot of debate heading into Week 6 about which running back, Vidal or Hassan Haskins, would emerge as the back to roster in fantasy after Omarion Hampton was placed on the injured reserve.

After one week, the nod goes to Vidal.

The second-year running back played 68.3% of the Chargers’ snaps in Week 6, handling 18 carries for 124 yards and adding three receptions (on four targets) for 14 yards and a touchdown. Vidal scored 22.8 PPR fantasy points, which was good for a top-seven positional finish in Week 6.

Kimani Vidal - Week 6 - Every Touch https://t.co/0AO0NWmMuo pic.twitter.com/OxbopS58R6

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 13, 2025

At the very least, Vidal has earned another week to operate as the lead back in the Chargers offense. He is likely going to split the backfield with Haskins for as long as Hampton is out, but that can still make him an impactful player in fantasy. The most recent reports suggest that Hampton will miss more than the required four weeks with his injury, which gives Vidal long-term appeal as well.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All WRs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less

Sterling Shepard (5%) and Tez Johnson (1%), Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers' offense continues to suffer injuries at skill positions. Tampa Bay came into Week 6 without Mike Evans (hamstring), Chris Godwin (fibula), and Bucky Irving (shoulder). Then the team lost its highly productive rookie (Egbuka) to a hamstring injury during the team’s 30-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Evans can return in Week 7, but the Buccaneers have already confirmed that Godwin is unlikely to play, and Egbuka seems to be trending towards a multi-week absence as well. Somebody has to catch passes for the Buccaneers in Week 7.

Based on box scores, Kameron Johnson (four receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown) could emerge as a popular name. But the players with more upside are veteran Sterling Shepard and rookie Tez Johnson.

Shepard has been the most consistent option in Tampa Bay’s passing attack this season, logging an average 59.8% snap share with 4.5 targets, 3.2 receptions, and 40.3 receiving yards per game with one touchdown in five games.

However, Johnson has made the most of his increasing opportunities in the last two weeks. The 2025 seventh-round pick has seven targets, five receptions, 104 yards, and one touchdown, and has emerged as a viable deep threat for the Buccaneers’ offense.

TEZ JOHNSON TD! WHAT A CATCH AND WHAT A FLIP

SFvsTB on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/UtKZZW6YXw

— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025

Both Shepard (higher floor) and Johnson (boom-or-bust with a higher ceiling) can offer something to fantasy managers in Week 7 and potentially beyond. Both are worth adding on waivers, even if Evans does return.

Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears- 11% rostered

Historically, we see rookie production increase after the bye week. That should be good news for Chicago’s 2025 second-round pick, Luther Burden III.

In Chicago’s first four games, Burden averaged a 25.2% snap share. He had one game (Week 3) where he flashed his playmaking ability (three receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown), but for the most part, he has been a situational player buried on the depth chart behind Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore, and Olamide Zaccheaus.

However, the rookie led Chicago's receiver group in receiving against the Washington Commanders last week, tallying four receptions for 51 yards despite playing a similar snap share (23%). Moore was injured during the game (and left the stadium in an ambulance) with an unknown injury. That could also lead to a bigger role for the 2025 second-round pick.

Burden is a dynamic weapon who consistently flashed the ability to make plays after the catch in college and the preseason. He could very well become part of Chicago’s passing attack now that the team has had time to self-scout with an early bye week.

Tight End Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All TEs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns- 26% rostered

Harold Fannin Jr. had been a consistent presence in Cleveland’s passing attack the first five weeks of the season (5.6 targets, 4.2 receptions, and 34.6 receiving yards), but had struggled to truly emerge while splitting targets with David Njoku.

However, the veteran tight end suffered a knee injury during Week 6’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, giving Fannin an opportunity to increase his standing in the passing attack. As a result, the rookie tight end set season-highs in targets (10), receptions (7), and receiving yards (81).

There haven’t been any updates on Njoku’s health, and it’s possible he does not miss any time. However, if he does, Fannin is set up for big production at the tight end position. The rookie has already shown an excellent connection with Dillon Gabriel (14 targets, 11 receptions, 94 receiving yards, and one touchdown) in two games.

AJ Barner, Seattle Seahawks- 15% rostered

It is time to start paying attention to AJ Barner for fantasy football. Over the last three weeks, Barner has caught all 13 of his targets for 156 yards and three touchdowns. He has scored at least 10 fantasy points in all three games during this stretch and ranks as the TE6 in PPR scoring (15.5).

During that time, Barner has been the TE3 in yards per route run (2.84) and the TE7 in receiving yards (156) despite running a route on just 59.1% of the Seahawks’ dropbacks. He is also the TE12 in targets per route run (0.24) during this span.

Barner isn’t running a lot of routes, but he is being targeted when he’s part of the passing progression. That is enough to put him on the fantasy radar going forward.

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