This past week was the second week of major WR injuries to
Randall Cobb (out 6-8 weeks),
James Jones (PCL sprain - might be in/out next week),
Cecil Shorts (AC joint injury - no time table at this time of writing), and
Julio Jones (done for season). This doesn't include the other WRs who are battling injuries, like
Calvin Johnson,
Larry Fitzgerald,
Danny Amendola (again!) and Stevie Johnson. I imagine if you are reading this article that you might be one of those unlucky fantasy managers who owns one of these players.
This week, I hope to provide you both short- and long-term options to help fill in the gaps via waivers. Keep in mind that I have strict rules I'm using this year (see at the bottom of this article). If I were in your shoes, I'd first look at the list on the bottom of this article before picking up any of this week's waiver recommendations. This week, I will speculate on two players (Randle and Boykin), as I don't have a lot of rigorous "data" to back those recommendations. But those are both low-risk high-reward guys for leagues with deep benches, which in and of itself makes them worthy of some consideration.
For defensive recommendations, I will continue to use streaming and matchup choices. Again, this is a strategy I mentioned last week in case you missed that article. In a nutshell, the recommendations are just for Week Seven-- I won't vouch for them beyond the very short term.
NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire – Wide Receivers
BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues (12+ teams Standard, PPR)
ANALYSIS: As the Giants continue to stink it up, the trade rumors begin to swirl about what will happen with
Hakeem Nicks. If they move Nicks, Randle's value will rise substantially. This recommendation is very much based on speculation, but I have a good hunch on this. Acclaimed ESPN reporter Adam Schefter recently noted that the Giants aren't shopping Nicks, but they are "listening." Since Nicks is on the last year of his contract, this would be an ideal situation for the Giants to consider getting value out of him IF they don't intend to resign him. If the Giants struggle again this week, I expect Nicks be traded before the October 29th deadline. When that happens, expect Randle to take his spot. If you are looking for a great option to consider trading for or picking up, Randle could be a gem for your team in very short order. Because even outside of speculation, he's had solid production over the last two weeks: 18 targets, 171 yards and three TDs. These are great numbers because the Giants continue to play from behind. If their defense continues to be terrible, Randle will still have value, but that value improves exponentially if Nicks gets shipped out of town.
BALLER MOVE: Add in Deeper Leagues (12+ teams PPR)
ANALYSIS: When
Nate Burleson went down to injury, the speculation began that
Ryan Broyles would be the beneficiary, but that hasn't quite panned out as anticipated. Instead,
Kris Durham has taken over the role. In the past two weeks, Durham's had 21 targets, 11 catches, 113 yards and a TD.
Matthew Stafford has utilized Durham's height (6' 6") and he had this to say about Durham after the game: "Durham is going to be in the right spot and he's going to make plays. The more he plays, the more confidence he gets." I don't know about you, but to me that's a sign that Stafford is building trust with Durham. If you're in a PPR league, I would give Durham some serious thought if he continues to get looks like he did this past week.
BALLER MOVE: Continue Monitoring (12 teams or less), Add in Deeper Leagues (12+ teams)
ANALYSIS: As stated above, Green Bay is facing some WR depth issues with
Randall Cobb and potentially
James Jones out. The next man up at Green Bay is
Jarrett Boykin. He saw immediate action and targets (six) this past week, but clearly was rusty/nervous as he had two drops. Depending on what the status is with
James Jones, I expect that Boykin will get reps and targets. One of the keys to WR waiver wire pickups is the QB of the player's team-- a good QB substantially improves the value of any waiver WR. In this case with
Aaron Rodgers at the helm, it's a no-brainer to take a look at Boykin as an option, especially in deep leagues or those with deep benches. If you are in a smaller league or don't have a deep bench, keep an eye on Boykin. If Jones is out for an extended period, Boykin's value will certainly rise, as will that of
Jermichael Finley.
ANALYSIS: Last week, I mentioned that the San Francisco WRs have been struggling. The good news is that they have reinforcements coming in soon in
Mario Manningham and
Michael Crabtree. This year, Manningham has been out due to an ACL injury. Coach Harbaugh has indicated that Manningham will start practicing as he continues his recovery. At this time its difficult to know when Manningham will return or how much he will contribute, but I can't imagine he'd be any worse than the current starting WRs on the 49ers. If you are looking for a WR waiver option on the bye week or due to injury I'd put Manningham on your 'watchlist'.
NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire - Defense
Defense No Brainer Starts: Kansas City (vs Hou - continue their amazing season), Seattle (vs Arizona), New England (vs Jets)
MIN, DEF - Waiver Wire Pickup
BALLER MOVE: Add in Standard Leagues (10+ teams)
ANALYSIS: Eli Manning is having a terrible season. His offensive line cannot protect him and he is throwing interceptions at an epic pace (15 so far). I expect the trend to continue this week with Minnesota. Unless Manning decides to stop pressing this week (which doesn't seem likely), I would happily stream the Vikings this week.
GB, DEF - Waiver Wire Pickup
BALLER MOVE: Add in Standard Leagues (14+ teams)
ANALYSIS: This week, the Packers will be facing a Browns team that has surprised this season. However, Brandon Weeden is back at the QB helm, he and threw two picks that cost him the game last week. I expect that OC Norv Turner will stress at practice this week to keep the turnovers out of the mix. But Weeden has it ingrained in his DNA (17 interceptions last year), and I expect the Packers defense will pressure Weeden to make a mistake.
DeMeco Ryans , IDP - LB, PHI - Waiver Wire Pickup
BALLER MOVE: Add in Standard Leagues (12+ teams IDP Leagues)
ANALYSIS: In Week Five, DeMeco Ryans had a terrible game against the Giants. But in Week Six, he responded with his best game of the season-- 12 solo tackles. On the season, Ryans has 40 tackles, 11 assists, and a sack, which averages to nearly 7.0 points/week. Ryans is a nice option if you are looking for a bye-week fill-in or a consistent IDP, which is a hard thing to find.
My Guidelines
1. I will not repeat waiver selections. All mentioned players prior to week 4 will apply to the current waiver options and going forward.
2. I will only recommend players that are lower than 25% ownership in Yahoo! or ESPN leagues.
Players I recommend beyond rules (above 25% ownership or previously recommended). Add these WR players immediately if they are available in your leagues (in priority order):
Josh Gordon, WR, CLE; Justin Blackmon, WR, JAC; Vincent Brown, WR, SD; Keenan Allen, WR, SD; Percy Harvin, WR, SEA; Golden Tate, WR, SEA; Emmanuel Sanders, WR, PIT; Kenbrell Thompkins, WR, NE; DeAndre Hopkins, WR, HOU; Michael Crabtree, WR, SF; Marlon Brown, WR, BAL; Robert Woods, WR, BUF
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In case you missed them, here are some other RotoBaller week 7 waiver wire articles. Let's win some leagues!
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As always, you can find all of our weekly waiver wire recommendations on our famous waiver wire pickups list. And if you haven't joined the best and largest fantasy football chat room community on the web, check out the RotoBaller.com Fantasy Football chat room for live fantasy advice, sit/start questions, and more.
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Rueben Randle, WR, NYG - Waiver Wire Pickup
