Monday night's doubleheader yielded two more wide receivers who will be among the top Week 7 fantasy waiver wire pickups and free agent adds. Christian Kirk continued his recent hot streak in Arizona's dismantling of the Cowboys, while Cole Beasley continued his solid season as the Bills' No. 2 receiver. Neither is worth as high of a waiver claim as injury-replacement RBs like Boston Scott or Gus Edwards, but they join a long list of WRs (Tee Higgins, Travis Fulgham, Tim Patrick, Preston Williams) who will at least be priority free agent adds after waivers clear around 4-5 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning in ESPN and Yahoo leagues.
Our full free agent list has even more RBs, WRs, and TEs (lots of tight ends this week), including a bunch of guys who should've been picked up last week but might have fallen through the cracks because of their byes (Justin Jackson, Mike Williams, Henry Ruggs). We're also at that point in the season where finding the right streamer at QB, TE, and D/ST can make or break your matchup, so we identify a bunch of matchup-based fill-ins at the end of this list. We also have you covered if you need a new kicker with our Week 7 kicker rankings.
MORE WEEK 7: Full waiver list | RB Handcuff Chart
Chances are, it will take at least a mid-tier waiver claim to get Scott and maybe Jackson this week, but other than that, you don't necessarily need to use a claim unless you have bye-week issues. There are enough similarly skilled WRs available that you can probably get at least one as a free agent, so unless you really like a particular player, you can wait until the morning. The same goes for TE, where someone like Dallas Goedert (ankle) might be worth a high claim if he's expected back within the next two weeks, but we'll have to wait for an injury update before recommending you go all-in on him.
We know more injuries are coming. The past few weeks have seen several starting RBs go down, and those are the types of situations you generally want to save your high waiver claims for.
WEEK 7 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Top fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 7
Unless otherwise noted, only players owned in fewer than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues considered.
Christian Kirk, WR, Cardinals. It took a little longer than expected, but Kirk is finally making good on his preseason sleeper hype. On Monday, he received just two targets, but he hauled in both for 86 yards and two TDs. This came a week after setting season highs in catches (5), targets (7) and yards (78) and two weeks after catching his first TD of the year. We'd still like to see more volume from Kirk, but he's clearly an explosive player who can beat you all over the field in the Cardinals' creative offense. Grab him now ahead of four favorable matchups (vs. Seahawks, bye, vs. Dolphins, vs. Bills, @ Seahawks).
Cole Beasley, WR, Bills. Beasley has quietly had a solid year, and after catching four-of-seven targets for 45 yards and a score on Monday night, he's had at least 9.8 PPR points in every game and averaged 12.6/game on the season. That's a high-floor WR3, and Beasley has even more upside in upcoming matchups against the Jets (Week 7) and Seahawks (Week 9).
WEEK 7 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Tevin Coleman, RB, 49ers. Coleman has been on the IR since injuring his knee in Week 2. At the time of the injury, it was believed he would miss around a month. He's yet to do anything more than individual drills in practice, so it seems unlikely he'll return in Week 7, but with oft-injured starter Raheem Mostert suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 6, Coleman might immediately inherit a featured role when he's ready. San Francisco has a Week 11 bye, so it wouldn't be a shock if it kept Mostert out for the next four games, giving him ample time to heal through the bye. Coleman would have value if he's seeing 12-plus touches, especially in Week 9 against the Packers. Until Coleman is able to return, Jerick McKinnon, who's already owned in 72 percent of Yahoo leagues, will handle the bulk of the RB touches, with Jeff Wilson Jr. (calf) or JaMycal Hasty handling secondary duties. Wilson is probably worth a free agent pickup if he's healthy, and Hasty could be worth grabbing if Wilson remains out.
MORE WEEK 7: Full waiver list | FAAB budget planner | Buy-low, sell-high
Justin Jackson, RB, Chargers. Don't forget about Jackson, who had 20 touches in L.A.'s first full game without Austin Ekeler (hamstring) in Week 5. He saw eight more touches than Joshua Kelley and outgained him 94 to 38. There's no guarantee that Jackson will out-touch Kelley by a similar margin in Week 7, but he certainly has the inside track, which is enough to make him a flex in all formats. Ekeler figures to be out at least three more weeks, giving Jackson plenty of chances to exploit the mediocre run defenses of the Jaguars, Broncos, Raiders.
Henry Ruggs, WR, Raiders. Here's another "don't-forget" guy. Ruggs had a breakout Week 5 prior to Vegas's bye, catching a pair of deep balls for 118 yards and a score. He'll continue to be a boom-or-bust playmaker, but he has the talent to put up big numbers in any given week. This week's tilt against the Bucs isn't great on paper, but Ruggs follows that up with three favorable matchups against the Browns, Chargers, and Broncos. Grab him now if you still can.
For more waiver/free agent suggestions, including pickups Boston Scott, Gus Edwards,Tee Higgins, and more, check out our full Week 7 list.
