I’m settling back in after a one-week hiatus (not much of a hiatus; I was photographing NASCAR. Shout out to Trash Sandwiches for covering admirably). I come back this week with both good and bad news. The good: The fantasy football season is at roughly the halfway mark before playoffs begin. The bad: The waiver wire in Week 7 is thin. We’ll have to dig and grind, and you might be starting some uncomfortable players, given how many teams are on their off week.
Teams on bye this week: Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans
As always, the players below are rostered in less than 50% of ESPN leagues.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week 7 Pickups (2023)
(Rostership percentages courtesy of ESPN)
Priority Adds
Josh Downs (WR, Indianapolis Colts) | 31.9% Rostered
Trash Sandwiches had Josh Downs here last week and absolutely nailed it. Downs remains a priority add, and even more so now that Gardner Minshew will likely be the starting QB for the remainder of the season. It’s been reported that rookie QB Anthony Richardson may be undergoing season-ending surgery on his shoulder. Downs has had at least 13 Points Per Reception (PPR) fantasy points in three of his last four weeks. The next two games aren’t easy matchups with the Browns and the Saints, but Minshew will keep slinging it, and Downs is a likely beneficiary. Downs is the only priority add for me on the waiver wire in Week 7.
Plug-Ins
Luke Musgrave (TE, Green Bay Packers) | 17.7% Rostered
One of the biggest headlines of the 2023 season to date is that rookie tight ends are producing early and often. Green Bay Packers rookie TE Luke Musgrave seems to be carving out a role and developing excellent chemistry with QB Jordan Love. Musgrave has seen eight and seven targets in two of his last three contests. In the one game where he didn’t see that many targets, he left early with an injury.
The TE position is wonky. Right when we think someone is secure, they lay a goose egg, but I don’t think that happens here. The Packers and Musgrave get the hapless Denver Broncos this Sunday, and the Broncos GIVE IT UP to the tight end position. I’ll spare you the Travis Kelce stat line from last week. But how about two weeks ago with the Jets TEs? The Broncos gave up seven catches for 81 yards. The week before that, Cole Kmet had seven receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns, while fellow Bears TE Robert Tonyan had a couple more receptions. Musgrave is coming off a bye week with the Packers in a prime matchup.
Rashid Shaheed (WR, New Orleans Saints) | 13.6% Rostered
Rashid Shaheed is the definition of a “boom-bust” player in fantasy football. He’s on the field for the Saints for about 50-60% of snaps in every game. When he’s scored a touchdown this season, he’s averaging 18.6 PPR points per game. When Shaheed he doesn’t find the endzone, he’s averaging just 6.8 PPR points per game. The Saints take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at home in Week 7. The Jaguars entered Week 6, giving up the 11th-most fantasy points to the WR position. Then they let Michael Pittman Jr. have nine receptions for 109 yards and gave up a score to Downs in Week 7. Shaheed has room to kick off your week right on “Thursday Night Football,” making him a solid plug-in player from the waiver wire in Week 7.
Latavius Murray (RB, Buffalo Bills) | 6.2% Rostered
What year is it? Right, 2023. Latavius Murray is, in fact, still playing football and is about to see increased opportunities for the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, Bills RB Damien Harris suffered what looked to be a pretty serious injury during “Sunday Night Football,” as he was taken out by ambulance on a stretcher. According to head coach Sean McDermott, Harris thankfully has movement in his arms and legs. With all that said, Latavius Murray saw 12 rush attempts, only two fewer than James Cook on Sunday. The Bills enter a slogfest this week against the New England Patriots as 8.5-point favorites per DraftKings Sportsbook. Murray has a chance to see more cleanup duties as the Bills continue to put the Pats out of contention for the AFC East.
Stashes
Elijah Mitchell & Jordan Mason (RBs, San Francisco 49ers) | 26.1% & 1.4% Rostered
This is a purely speculative transaction and may be moot, depending on the news of Christian McCaffrey’s oblique injury. With that said, it’s worth noting there are a few offenses where the RB just produces almost regardless of the name, and San Francisco is one of them. Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason both saw work after McCaffrey left the game and will likely split duties should he miss time. Either way, I’d take a shot if the news of McCaffrey’s injury is still speculative heading into your waiver wire bids – think 3-5% of your Free Agent Acquisition Budger (FAAB). If there’s something more definitive about McCaffery missing time, you may have to pick your poison on which back you think will benefit most and bump up that FAAB bid.
Rashee Rice (WR, Kansas City Chiefs) | 30.4% Rostered
This is actually my favorite player to feature this week. Rashee Rice heads into Week 7 leading the Kansas City WRs in targets, with 28 this season. This past week, he finally started to look like he might separate himself from the rest of this WR room. I went back to watch Rice’s targets against the Broncos, and he looks like he’s on the same page as Patrick Mahomes. He’s where Mahomes wants him to be and reading coverage as Mahomes intends. Perhaps more importantly, Rice is doing a lot of his damage by gaining yards after the catch. It feels like forever since the Chiefs had someone outside of Travis Kelce that you could depend on week in and week out. I’m starting to believe that Rice is one of those players, and Week 7 could be his breakout game. The Chiefs will take on the Los Angeles Chargers, who are giving up the most fantasy points to the WR position.
Thanks for reading my favorite fantasy football waiver wire Week 7 pickups. Looking for more fantasy football advice? Follow me on Twitter @ThatMattKelley.
*Photo Credit: Dan Powers – USA TODAY Sports*