Week 6 is in the rearview mirror. Now, it’s Week 7, but it can pay to look ahead to Week 8 and beyond to consider the players currently on waivers you might stash. Go ahead and grab them now rather than having an all-out waiver-wire war with your fellow league mates in a few days’ time.
This column will take a look ahead each week at players rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues, but with bye weeks in full effect, we might consider a few just above that range.
Week 6 is in the rearview mirror. Now, it’s Week 7, but it can pay to look ahead to Week 8 and beyond to consider the players currently on waivers you might stash. Go ahead and grab them now rather than having an all-out waiver-wire war with your fellow league mates in a few days’ time.
This column will take a look ahead each week at players rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues, but with bye weeks in full effect, we might consider a few just above that range.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes
It’s unlikely that we will see the best of Kyler Murray upon his return from an ACL injury, as he’ll be entering the season with little practice time in a new scheme for the first time in his NFL career. However, Murray has been at his best when creating outside of structure, and in this rebuilding Cardinals offense, that might continue to be a theme. and it’s also possible that we see a better version of Kyler Murray now that he’s free from Kliff Kingsbury’s horizontal air-raid scheme. Rostering Murray will cost you very little right now, and if he hits in a meaningful way, it’s nothing but upside.
With Devon Achane still on injured reserve, it provides an opportunity for Jeff Wilson Jr, who is returning from his own spell on the sidelines. Raheem Mostert has started fantastically this season, but let us not forget he’s 31 years old and four years senior to Wilson Jr. In 2022, Wilson Jr. was the more explosive player of the two, with a big run rate of 7.5 percent compared to Mostert’s 4.8 percent, and the team preferred him in the red zone, giving Wilson 26 touches there compared to Mostert’s 17. If Mostert should falter at all, this could swing back in favor of Wilson at some point.
We’re only seven weeks into Zach Charbonnet’s NFL career, and it’s not been helpful for fantasy football, with Charbonnet, the rookie running back nine, accumulating fewer touches than undrafted free agent Jaleel McLaughlin. Charbonnet has found his opportunities limited because Kenneth Walker is playing even better than in his rookie year, and thus far, the team hasn’t needed to reduce Walker’s touches. However, if the opportunity arises, then Charbonnet is an excellent player to have rostered, excelling in the passing game and on short yardage plays.
Week 6 saw Jaxon Smith-Njigba set a season-high in snaps with 71 percent, which coincided with the Seahawks playing 76 percent 11-personnel, also a season-high. With the return of left tackle Charles Cross, the team no longer needs to rely on tight ends to help out with as much blocking work to keep Geno Smith safe. It’s also worth mentioning that Smith-Njigba started the season with his wrist in a cast and is now finally healthy. This week, the Seahawks play the Cardinals, who hemorrhage points to slot receivers, allowing the third-most per game to the position, an area that Smith-Njigba excels in. If you don’t pick him up now, it might be too late next week.
The Commanders play the Giants in Week 7, who are one of the blitz-happiest teams in the NFL; with Wink Martindale rarely moving from a scheme he believes is the best way to apply pressure to a quarterback and against a sack-attracting-fiend like Sam Howell, it may well be. When the defense blitzes, it forces quarterbacks to get the ball out quickly, and often, we see blitz-beating plays that involve players near the line of scrimmage, which leads perfectly into the Commanders WR2, Curtis Samuel. Over the last two weeks, Samuel has seen 11 targets to Dotson’s six, and opening it up to the last three weeks, Samuel is the PPR WR11, compared to Dotson, who is the PPR WR69 in that spell. At some point, some respect needs to be shown for what Samuel is doing.
It would be easier to have real faith in Michael Mayer if Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t set to miss this week, at least, with a back injury, but Mayer is starting to ramp up in his rookie season as he saw his Week 6 route participation jump to 67 percent, a massive increase from his previous high of 46 percent. Mayer is more of a traditional tight end than Sam LaPorta or Dalton Kincaid, but that should help him stay on the field consistently if the Raiders are starting to trust him going forward.
Packers – 23% Rostered
The Packers have been averaging 3.0 sacks per game and, according to ProFootbal Reference, are hurrying the quarterback at the sixth-highest rate, which suggests more sacks could be coming. Over the next three weeks, the Packers play the Broncos, Vikings, and Rams, all of whom could allow reasonable days to opposing defenses. It’s worth picking the Packer’s defense up to play the Broncos at a minimum.
Minnesota Vikings – 8% Rostered
The Vikings’ defense is playing better than expected, ranking 15th in FTN.com’s DVOA metric and totaling 18 sacks so far. In the coming weeks, after a tough matchup with the Niners, the Vikings go on to play the Packers, Falcons, Broncos, Saints, and Bears. After such an appealing schedule, one imagines they’ll be higher up in fantasy points scored per game than they currently are.
