Waiver Wire Rankings: Who Should You Pick Up in Week 7?

Week 6 was a little crazy, right? How about 0 catches for Jimmy Graham, Dez Bryant finishing outside the top 50 fantasy WRs and Thad Lewis scoring more fantasy points than Peyton Manning? Chances are more than a few of you are feeling like Rob Ryan did after Tom Brady’s late-game heroics.

If you’re shaking your head in despair, the best way to get back on track is to nail your waiver wire pickups. To help out in that regard, here are this week’s consensus waiver wire rankings from our Featured Pros.

Featured Pros

Nick Raducanu (FantasyTrade411)

Zach Greubel (Gridiron Experts)

Rich Hribar (XN Sports)

Raphael Rabe (RotoBaller)

Sean Morris (Bruno Boys)

Waiver Wire Rankings (Standard Scoring)*

*List comprised of players with at least 50% availability in Yahoo! leagues

Week 7 Waiver Wire Advice

We also asked each expert to share some specific tips for this week’s waiver wire. Here are the experts’ suggestions on who you should target in week 7.

Q1: Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.

Nick Raducanu – FantasyTrade411

I can’t believe I’m writing about Brandon Jacobs as a good waiver wire target in 2013 (will it be Larry Johnson next week?), but here we are. Jacobs did face a depleted Bears line last week, but it’s also hard to ignore his 4.8 yards per carry and two touchdowns on 22 carries (which was tied for fourth in the league this week). I’m still dubious because of who we’re talking about here, but running backs have been tough to come by this season and Jacobs has a NICE schedule coming up (Minnesota, Philadelphia, Oakland, Green Bay, Dallas, Washington). I know it sounds crazy, but Jacobs could end up being a great add if David Wilson stays out for a while (or all season).

Raphael Rabe – RotoBaller

After going bonkers this past week (Week 6) against San Francisco’s allegedly stout rush defense, it is safe to say that rookie Andre Ellington is ready to take the reins as one of the NFL’s brightest young offensive stars. He may not have the body type to carry a full-time workload, but getting 7-10 carries and 4-5 catches per week can yield some extremely productive results, as we’ve been seeing for the past couple of weeks. We only expect things to get better for Mr. Ellington, as the 2013 season progresses and Rashard Mendenhall’s career continues to wind down due to injury and ineffectiveness. Ellington is a must-add off the waiver wire and a definite trade target in all league formats as a solid weekly flex option.

He may not be the athletic freak that Julio Jones is, but opportunity is 90% of the battle in the NFL and Harry Douglas just saw a boatload of it heading his way when his teammate snapped a screw in his surgically-repaired foot last week. We don’t think you necessarily need to go breaking the bank on the possession-style receiver to claim him off the waiver wire, but Atlanta is clearly a pass-heavy offense that will rely on someone to step up, and with Roddy White still hobbled, Harry Douglas is most likely going to be Matt Ryan’s favorite new target monster.

Zach Greubel – Gridiron Experts

Zac Stacy proved in Week 6 against the Texans that he’s the clear-cut starting running back for St. Louis. While the remaining schedule isn’t the most favorable for Stacy, the volume of touches alone bodes well for his future value. He should be considered at least a flex option from this point on.

Obviously we don’t know the full extent of DeMarco Murray’s injury, but he’s expected to be out at least for Week 7. Lance Dunbar, assuming his hamstring is good to go, should see the majority of carries as the Cowboys’ No. 2 running back. If Murray misses an extended period of time, Dunbar could be a nice steal off the waiver wire and would be in the Top 5 in my list.

Sean Morris – Bruno Boys

This week is the week of the waiver wire running back. Brandon Jacob’s TNF renaissance was impressive to say the least. In a game where the entire New York offense struggled, Jacobs thrived, pounding his way to 114 total yards and two touchdowns. He looked great and will be a popular add this week but Andre Brown, who could return as early as Week 10, may be an even better long term add. Andre Ellington is also a nice pickup especially in PPR formats after proving he’s the next in a long line of productive recent NFL change of pace scatbacks.

Rich Hribar – XN Sports

Andre Ellington has more fantasy points (47.6) than starter Rashard Mendenhall (42.5) and has already begun nearly splitting snaps down the middle with him over the past two weeks  Despite only playing on eight offensive snaps in week one, Ellington has more total yards (356) than Mendy (325) on 46 fewer touches for the season. He has topped 50 total yards in every game since week one while going over 80 total yards in the past two weeks.

Q2: Nick Foles will likely be a popular add (again) this week. If he starts in week 7 (vs. DAL), what comparable QBs would you rate him above?

Nick Raducanu – FantasyTrade411

With Michael Vick injured, Foles was surprisingly fantasy’s second-best quarterback in Week 6. And as long as Vick stays out, Foles may very well be a Top 10-12 option this week against a Cowboys’ defense that is allowing the most fantasy points per week to quarterbacks. In terms of Week 7 comparable quarterbacks, I’d start him over Tom Brady at the Jets, Matthew Stafford against the Bengals, and Russell Wilson at Arizona.

Rich Hribar – XN Sports

Foles is coming off a 30 point passing performance against a defense that had yet to allow an opposing quarterback to top 17 points in any game this season. This week he gets the Cowboys, who have surrendered 20 or more points to four of the six quarterbacks they have faced. Chip Kelly has thrown the ball at least 25 times in every game this season and Foles is completing 67 percent of his throws. He already has more passing touchdowns (six) than Michael Vick had (five) on 72 fewer attempts. I’ll have him slotted as low QB1 option this upcoming week, ahead of players like Kaepernick, Stafford, Wilson and Bradford.

Zach Greubel – Gridiron Experts

If Nick Foles can throw for just under 300 yards and three touchdowns against the Buccaneers, he can do that and more against the Cowboys at home this week. In Week 7, I’m ranking Foles ahead of guys like Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger. I might even consider starting him over Colin Kaepernick.

Sean Morris – Bruno Boys

Nick Foles was dominant again last week and he has to be taken seriously as a fantasy option as long as Michael Vick remains out. Given Philadelphia’s plethora of offensive weapons and an outstanding matchup against the porous Dallas secondary, Foles is a borderline QB1 this week. If Darrelle Revis and a solid Tampa Bay defense didn’t phase Foles it’s hard to believe Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick will. He can be safely started ahead of guys like Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Sam Bradford and even Matt Stafford this week

Raphael Rabe – RotoBaller

Nick Foles has shown tremendous accuracy and discipline since coming in for the injured Mike Vick two games ago. A “Bus Driver” he certainly is not! This kid can chuck the deep ball and is fearless in his decision-making. It’s no wonder the Eagles were rumored to be parting ways with Vick if they hadn’t gotten Chip Kelly, because they certainly knew what kind of talent they had in Foles (even if fantasy owners didn’t). He gets the pleasurable task of facing the Cowboys very junky defense heading into Week 7, and we definitely like him better than some other bland and very uninspiring options like Sam Bradford (@ CAR), Alex Smith (vs. HOU), Joe Flacco (@ PIT) and even your beloved Russell Wilson (@ ARI). This guy Foles is the real deal folks, so don’t be surprised when he is the full-time starter in Philadelphia to open up the 2014 season.

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Thanks to this week’s Featured Pros for sharing their advice! Best of luck to everyone with your week 7 waiver wire decisions.