Staying active on the waiver wire is an important way for season-long fantasy owners to improve their teams and get an edge on the competition. Shifts in opportunities for players due to injuries or performance cause value spikes that owners can take advantage of to fill in roster holes to build a championship lineup.
Each week, we will discuss waiver wire targets at each position to consider for both the week ahead and the rest of the fantasy season.
Week 7 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds
* Current roster % in home leagues is noted in parentheses (from Sleeper)
Caleb Williams, QB (Chicago Bears) (67%)
Even with a bye week coming up for the Bears, Caleb Williams has played well enough for fantasy owners to consider picking him up a week before he takes on two juicy fantasy matchups in the Commanders and Cardinals.
Williams notched his second top-5 fantasy quarterback week in a row against the Jaguars with four touchdown passes and 226 yards. He continues to add value on the ground, with 90 rushing yards over the last two weeks.
Keenan Allen stepping up is a big boost for this offense as a veteran safety blanket for the rookie quarterback. He caught two touchdowns on Sunday. The Commanders allow the 25th-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, and the Cardinals are even worse at 28th. If Williams continues to improve, this may be the last opportunity to pick him up before his value skyrockets.
Looking for more fantasy football content? Make sure to check out Sean Koerner’s and Chris Raybon’s weekly fantasy football rankings by subscribing to FantasyLabs’ 2024 fantasy football kit to see how other waiver wire candidates look this week.
Sean Tucker, RB (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) (1%)
This could easily be a one-week blip on the radar, but Sean Tucker was too impressive on Sunday in his increased workload to ignore his potential upside. The second-year tailback saw 17 touches against the Saints with starter Rachaad White out of the lineup as Tucker split time with rookie Bucky Irving.
Tucker finished with the top running back performance for the week in fantasy football with 14 carries for 136 yards and three catches for 56 yards with two total touchdowns. The Buccaneers likely won’t top 50 points on a regular basis, but Tucker provided some needed explosiveness out of the backfield.
He has as many touches on Sunday as he had in his entire 2023 season. White could be back for the team’s next game, but Tucker may be worth a stash in deeper leagues as coach Todd Bowles says he’s earned an increased opportunity share based on performance.
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Bub Means, WR (New Orleans Saints) (1%)
Losing Chris Olave to a concussion is a massive loss for the New Orleans Saints team without an obvious number two option. Rookie Bub Means stepped up on Sunday in Olave’s absence to catch five passes for 45 yards and a score.
With just one target through the team’s first five games, Means saw a career-high 71% of snaps against Tampa Bay as the Saints tried to hang in Spencer Rattler starting in a shootout.
The Saints are on a short week as they face Denver on Thursday night. Though not ruled out yet, it is quite possible Olave will miss this week, bumping up Means as a viable fantasy option whether Derek Carr or Rattler is in the huddle. It’s doubtful that Patrick Surtain II would focus on Means as a primary passing target, which could lead to opportunities away from the Broncos’ superstar cornerback.
Evan Engram, TE (New York Jets) (76%)
The tight end waiver wire is a fantasy wasteland. If Evan Engram is available in your league, he is easily the number one priority to grab for teams needing help at the position.
After returning from injury this past week in London, Engram caught all 10 targets from Trevor Lawrence for 102 yards. The targets are encouraging, as the Jaguars seem to be on a downslide and will likely end up in plenty of negative game scripts.
Engram finished in the top 10 for fantasy tight ends in five of the last six weeks in 2023. His performance on Sunday looks similar to the target numbers he was seeing down the stretch and there are very few tight ends with consistent target share across the league.
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Washington Commanders, D/ST (14%)
The Commanders defense has struggled through much of the season, but a quick reprieve may be coming their way this week with a matchup at home with the hapless Carolina Panthers. They are a streaming defense candidate for fantasy owners to consider.
Washington has three negative fantasy point results through six weeks this season, but those came against strong offenses in Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, and Baltimore. Before the Baltimore game, the Commanders’ defense notched 11 total sacks and a pair of turnovers against the Browns and Cardinals in two straight double-digit fantasy point weeks.
The Panthers rank 28th in points scored at 17.2 per game and have issues protecting Andy Dalton at times. The “Red Rifle” has thrown four interceptions over the last three weeks and failed to top 221 passing yards in that span.
