My youngest daughter like football. I used to like to ask her fantasy advice because the answer was always “Tom Brady”. I would say things like hey Emily who should I draft at running back for my fantasy team, her response would be “Tom Brady, you know I have no idea who plays running back on any teams dad”. It was fun, we would laugh.
I wish I took her advice and drafter Tom this season, I didn’t. Instead, I have multiple teams where all you see next to names are letters like “IR” and “O”, followed by a projection of 0.00. You may have a team like this as well. It makes fantasy not so much fun. The good news is, lots of other people have teams like this too, they may or may not have waived players they should have held onto.
With that said and Week 7 having so many teams on bye I would scour the waiver wire to see how many players that are actually useful but were on bye got dropped. Guys like Kirk Cousins, Cole Beasley (mentioned in here), and Marvin Jones Jr. are guys I have seen on waivers for instance because some teams made tough decisions to make room. I would actively take a look before just running and adding Kenneth Gainwell, he is the top add this week, as there may be some other players you might need out there.
NOTE: If you are new around here this column refers to players rostered in under 50% of Yahoo, ESPN, and Sleeper leagues.
Quarterbacks
Tua Tagovailoa
Against the Jags in Week 6 Tua had 329 yards and 2 touchdowns passing. He followed that up in Week 7 with 291 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Bills are up next and they are tough but he will be throwing, a lot. Tua has been someone the Undroppables have been talking about all offseason, he is producing in fantasy now.
48% rostered on Yahoo
43% rostered on ESPN
38% rostered on Sleeper
15% Free Agent Budget
Carson Wentz
Wentz has passed for 2 touchdowns in each of the last 4 games. In Week 8, the Colts are going up against the Titans and the friendliest defense to quarterbacks in fantasy. Week 8 looks like a nice time to play Wentz and Pittman. I may be getting prematurely excited.
28% rostered on Yahoo
22% rostered on ESPN
26% rostered on Sleeper
10% Free Agent Budget
Daniel Jones
The Chiefs are up next, I don’t know if I need to say much else. They give up the second most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Jones has been doing it in the air and running. He looks like a good bye week fill-in.
28% rostered on Yahoo
28% rostered on ESPN
18% rostered on Sleeper
5% Free Agent Budget
Other quarterbacks to consider: Teddy Bridgewater
Running Backs
Kenneth Gainwell
In Week 7, Gainwell had 4 receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown receiving and another 20 yards rushing in relief of Miles Sanders. We do not know the extent yet of Sanders’ injury. What we do know is the Lions and the Chargers are up the next two weeks and both teams are amongst the best for running back to score fantasy points against.
21% rostered on Yahoo
26% on ESPN
38% on Sleeper
20% Free Agent Budget
Brandon Bolden
I thought it would be Stevenson last week. This week Bolden once again got the vast majority of the passing work out of the backfield. Bolden had 7 targets and got 6 receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. His 7 targets were tied for the most by a Patriot player in Week 7.
6% rostered on Yahoo
5% on ESPN
10% on Sleeper
3% Free Agent Budget
Other running backs to consider: Devonta Freeman, Samaje Perine, Ty Johnson
Wide Receivers
Cole Beasley
I am breaking the rules here as he is rostered in 53% of Yahoo leagues. Tight end Dawson Knox was injured in Week 6 and is now out for a minimum of 3 weeks. Knox has been eating into Beasley’s targets. In Week 7, Beasley had 7 receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown. Miami is up in Week 8.
56% rostered on Yahoo
57% on ESPN
64% on Sleeper
15% Free Agent Budget
Allen Lazard
Lazard numbers for the last 2 games are. 11 targets 8 receptions 87 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had a 17% target share in Week 7. It looks like he has solidified his role as the second receiver for the Packers.
4% rostered on Yahoo
5% on ESPN
1% on Sleeper
8% Free Agent Budget
Rashod Bateman
He is on a bye in Week 8, but he has seen 6 targets in each of the last 2 games. In Week 7, he took his 6 targets and turned those into 3 receptions for 80 yards. The next 6 weeks are an amazingly friendly schedule for the Ravens and Bateman. I would add and hold.
32% rostered on Yahoo
19% on ESPN
52% on Sleeper
15% Free Agent Budget
Other wide receivers to consider: Kalif Raymond, Kendrick Bourne, Russell Gage
Tight Ends
C.J. Uzomah
I know he seems to do this to us every year, a great game or two then vanishes. But we can’t ignore him anymore in 2021. He has 5 touchdowns in the last 4 games. Next up for him are the Jets and their bottom 10 defense against tight ends.
19% rostered on Yahoo
10% on ESPN
15% rostered on Sleeper
12% Free Agent Budget
Mo Alie-Cox
His volume pretty much sucks, but he has scored 4 touchdowns in the last 4 weeks. If you are desperate you could do worse. Wentz looks for him in the red zone and the schedule is pretty nice the 6 weeks leading up to the bye.
19% rostered on Yahoo
13% on ESPN
18% rostered on Sleeper
8% Free Agent Budget
Other tight ends to consider: Absolutely nothing else to see here. Seriously this position is going to be rough this week if you are needy.
Thanks for checking out our waiver wire column. For more great content from the Undroppables, follow us on Twitter, follow @MikeReedyFF for more great content, and visit back soon for Mike’s weekly Money Makers and Heart Breakers
