The Week 7 waiver wire isn’t overly exciting at the wide receiver position. It mostly consists of guys worth picking up to see what happens, but no one that projects to be an immediate starter for fantasy football managers. Here are a couple of potential WR targets on the wire this week.
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Top WR Waiver Wire Targets in Week 7
More Waiver Wire Targets: TEs | RBs | QBs
Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs (45% Rostered)
Rashee Rice’s roster percentage is getting up there, but it hasn’t quite crested 50% just yet. I am confident he won’t be eligible for this list next week, though.
After getting talked up by Matt Nagy earlier in the week, Rice’s usage did, in fact, increase on Thursday night. His snap share still didn’t hit 50%, but he ran 22 routes, just one fewer than Skyy Moore. Marquez Valdes-Scantling ran the most routes, but he’s just there to clear out the defense and rarely ever gets the ball.
MORE: Early Week 7 WR Fantasy Rankings
The Chiefs have one of the saddest group of wide receivers I’ve ever seen in my 25+ years watching football. Rice is the only one with even a modicum of NFL-level talent, and it’s been on full display over the past couple of weeks.
Rice’s targets-per-route-run rate is easily the highest on the team. He commands targets because he’s just better than every other non-Travis Kelce pass catcher. Rice is teetering on the edge of being an every-week WR3. If he’s still out there in your league, pick him up.
FAAB Recommendation: 8-15%
Curtis Samuel, Washington Commanders (34% Rostered)
This week’s four targets marked a three-week low for Curtis Samuel. But he caught all four of them for 42 yards and his third touchdown in as many weeks.
Samuel now has double-digit fantasy points in four of six games this season. I would go so far as to call him a legitimate weekly WR3. He’s not rostered in enough leagues.
FAAB Recommendation: 5-10%
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts (33% Rostered)
Josh Downs’ role in this offense continues to grow. He’s now seen 14 targets over the past two weeks and has scored 13+ fantasy points in three of his last four games.
Alec Pierce went down with an injury this week. Downs is already vastly superior to Pierce, but the latter’s absence would mean Downs likely plays in two-receiver sets.
Downs is not a threat to Michael Pittman Jr.’s WR1 status, but with Gardner Minshew II potentially starting for the remainder of the season, he could be a fantasy WR3 over the second half.
FAAB Recommendation: 10-15%
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals (48% Rostered)
Tyler Boyd had a classic Tyler Boyd game. He turned seven targets into seven catches for a mere 38 yards. Yet, he’s now seen at least seven targets in five straight games.
Boyd happened to score in this one, which makes his line look great. If he doesn’t score, it’s an unexciting 10 fantasy points. Nevertheless, you could do worse than Boyd’s floor of 6-8 points.
It’s worth noting, however, that the Cincinnati Bengals are on bye next week.
FAAB Recommendation: 0-5%
Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots (17% Rostered)
We play this game with Kendrick Bourne two or three times a year. Every once in a while, he comes up with a big game.
In Week 1, he caught six passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Then, he disappeared for a month.
This past week, Bourne caught 10 passes for 89 yards.
Don’t fall for it. Bourne is not worth picking up.
FAAB Recommendation: 0%
Which WRs Should You Roster in Fantasy Football?
Should You Roster Josh Downs or Jahan Dotson?
Jahan Dotson was one of the most popular breakout candidates this season. He had a solid rookie season, and we know sophomore wide receivers are historically good bets in fantasy football.
As any gambler knows, a good bet is never a guarantee. Dotson was a huge whiff this season. For those of you who haven’t read my weekly cut list yet, well…spoiler alert.
MORE: PFN Consensus Rankings
There’s really no defending Dotson anymore. He hasn’t topped 40 receiving yards all season, and he’s averaging just 23.3 receiving yards per game. Last week, he saw just a single target, which he dropped.
Dotson doesn’t belong on fantasy rosters anymore. Based on that fact alone, Downs is the clear answer here. Fantasy managers should have no reservations about putting in a claim to add Downs and drop Dotson.
Should You Roster Curtis Samuel or Jerry Jeudy?
Another spoiler alert for the cut list…Jerry Jeudy is not on it. But he’s one week away. If he doesn’t show me something this week, it’s time to cut bait.
I never liked Jeudy as a prospect. I thought he was merely mediocre, and that looked like a good take for most of the start of his career.
Then, last year happened. Down the stretch, Jeudy looked like a superstar, which had fantasy managers very optimistic about him entering this season.
Had a preseason hamstring injury not depressed Jeudy’s ADP, he might be considered one of the biggest busts of the season.
Through five games, Jeudy hasn’t caught a touchdown. He’s yet to see more than seven targets in a game, and he’s topped 52 receiving yards just once.
Perhaps the biggest indictment on Jeudy is how he got clowned on national television by Steve Smith and responded by catching all of three passes for 14 yards. Where’s the motivation?
Obviously, having Russell Wilson as his quarterback doesn’t help. The potential for Jeudy to be traded ahead of the deadline is the main reason I’m hanging onto him.
With that said, Samuel has been the better player — both real life and fantasy — all season. If given the choice between rostering and starting these two players specifically, it’s Samuel, and it’s not close.
You don’t need to rush out to drop Jeudy, but if he’s the most droppable player on your roster and Samuel is available, that’s a move worth making.