10 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Heading Into Week 7

Week 6 will be in the books soon, once an NFC North matchup is decided on Monday Night Football, and the midseason grind of the fantasy football year is upon us.

Bye weeks are in full swing: Week 7 features four teams on resting. Injuries, too, are forcing us to turn to the waiver wire for desperation fill-ins.

This week is no different. A few players around 60% ownership are in prime spots to be added, but that's right on the edge of waiver-wire territory.

This week's suggested waiver wire targets primarily feature players who can help gamers now and in the near future. Some situations are too good to ignore even around a 60% roster rate, but we'll be sure to add in some honorable mentions to make up for any higher-owned pickups recommended.

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

Yahoo! Ownership: 60%

Josh Allen is pushing the brink of waiver-wire add territory, but at 60% owned, he's out there, and if he's out there, you'll want to grab him for Week 7 in a home matchup against the Miami Dolphins, the worst pass defense in the NFL by an uncomfortably large margin. Allen's passing efficiency has been poor in 2019, as he ranks 33rd in Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back among 38 qualified quarterbacks through Week 6's Sunday games.

Despite the lack of passing production from Allen (he has maxed out at 254 yards and has just one multi-touchdown game passing), he has been rushing enough to raise his fantasy floor. Allen has run 41 times this season, including 10 times in Week 5 before his bye week. The well-rested Allen enters the week as a primo streaming option if he's available.

Jacoby Brissett, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Yahoo! Ownership: 42%

Jacoby Brissett's matchup in Week 7 pits him at home against the Houston Texans, who rank 16th in Passing NEP per drop back allowed. Factoring out lost expected points on sacks, the Texans' pass defense ranks 21st on a per-pass basis, a beatable matchup for sure. The Indianapolis Colts opened as 1-point favorites with a 48-point over/under, via Super Bowl odds, so a shootout is possible in this game script.

Brissett has been sacked just 6 times and ranks a middling 18th in Passing NEP per drop back. Aside from Week 5's positive script, Brissett has posted at least 16.5 fantasy points in every game, so he's a high-floor option in a game where the Colts shouldn't be able to take the air out of the ball.

Honorable Mentions or Deep-League Adds: If you're uninterested in Brissett or Allen was stashed over his bye, you can consider Daniel Jones (29%), who faces the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7 and should have a healthier roster with him moving forward. Kirk Cousins (42%) is also in play against the Detroit Lions. You won't want to deploy Sam Darnold (16%) next week against the New England Patriots, but his second-half schedule shapes up nicely if you are in a position to hold him.

Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Yahoo! Ownership: 22%

No clear-cut number-one backs are on the waiver wire this week, but Alexander Mattison is intriguing. Though he'll never overtake Dalvin Cook outright for the lead back role, Mattison played 30% of the snaps in Week 6. That doesn't sound like much -- and it isn't -- but spell backs don't always need to have a high snap count to be involved, especially on a run-first team like the Minnesota Vikings. Mattison handled 14 carries on his 21 snaps in Week 6, though 12 of them came in the fourth quarter. Cook's single-week rushing totals have been 21, 20, 16, 14, 20, and 16.

At worst, Mattison is a high-value handcuff. At best, he would be a stud if Cook missed time. Realistically, he could push for 10-plus touches a week to give Cook a rest, and that's pretty solid for this week's waiver wire pool, which is uninspiring when it comes to running backs.

Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Yahoo! Ownership: 34%

Chase Edmonds will still be second-fiddle to David Johnson, who played through a back injury in Week 6, but he could be carving out a bigger role each week, and he'd be the clear-cut primary back if Johnson were to miss a game. Even with Johnson playing 79% of snaps in Week 6, Edmonds still managed to play 30% of snaps against the Atlanta Falcons. Edmonds had 5 carries for 34 yards and 2 targets for 33 yards and a touchdown this past weekend and nearly scored a second touchdown.

Edmonds will need an injury to maximize his potential, but it doesn't make sense to ride David Johnson into the ground if they have a viable spell back. Edmonds is most likely just a stash for now, yet on a weak week for waiver-wire running backs, he stands out.

Mark Walton, RB, Miami Dolphins

Yahoo! Ownership: 4%

The primary issue with Mark Walton is that his offense will always come with low touchdown equity, and touchdowns pay the bills for fantasy running backs. Still, if you're in a deep league or looking for a bench stash, Walton makes sense.

The former Miami Hurricane played 45% of the Miami Dolphins' snaps in Week 6 and handled 6 carries and 6 targets against Washington. Miami may not need to see much more from Kenyan Drake, so we could see a heavy dose of Walton down the stretch, even if it comes without much yardage and touchdown upside.

Honorable Mentions or Deep-League Adds: Benny Snell Jr. (2%) had 17 carries in Week 6 while James Conner left early and Jaylen Samuels were out. The issue is that the Pittsburgh Steelers hit a bye, and Conner's injury doesn't seem to be too serious. Snell's window of opportunity is both delayed and short. Darrell Henderson (28%) played 17 snaps in Week 6 but was on the field in a red-zone possession. If Todd Gurley were to be sat strategically down the stretch, Henderson would benefit from an expanded role. Kareem Hunt (50%) could return in Week 10. Jamaal Williams (14%) has been dumped entering Week 6's Monday Night Football tilt.

Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets

Yahoo! Ownership: 59%

The return of Sam Darnold has revived the New York Jets' offense. Robby Anderson (59%), Jamison Crowder (42%), and Demaryius Thomas (4%) are all worthy of pickup consideration, depending on the size of your league. Naturally, Anderson is pushing the brink of 60% ownership already, but he could be a season-changing addition for teams in shallower leagues. Anderson had 25.8% of Darnold's targets in Week 6 and saw 4 deep targets (16-plus yards downfield). He gets high-leverage opportunities from an above-average passer with Darnold back.

Crowder had three deep targets of his own to go along with a team-high nine targets (Anderson had eight). Demaryius Thomas saw five targets but two red-zone looks. Chris Herndon can be stashed but is also unlikely to play in Week 7, keeping the key pass-catchers the same. Just know that this team faces the Pats in Week 7.

Auden Tate, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Yahoo! Ownership: 23%

Auden Tate made some flashy grabs in Week 6, but it's his snap rate and target share that should get us most excited for fantasy football. Tate has played at least 88% of snaps in four straight games and has carved out a 23% target share in those. His 8.5 targets are good for 18th among receivers in that split.

The offense is uninspiring overall, but Tate has combined for 11 high-leverage targets (4 downfield and 7 in the red zone) since Week 3, and since Week 3, he ranks 22nd in the NFL in air yards, via AirYards.com. The arrow keeps pointing up for Tate, who is coming off a 12-target outing.

Phillip Dorsett, WR, New England Patriots

Yahoo! Ownership: 38%

Phillip Dorsett has missed, essentially, two games with a hamstring injury but has had extra time to rest up for the Patriots' Week 7 game against the Jets. In three games when he has played at least 50% of snaps, Dorsett has 17% of New England's targets (ranking third) and 26% of the team's air yards, a team-high. There are receivers on the wire with an easier case to be made, but few of them come from a passing offense as enticing as what Dorsett has.

Honorable Mentions or Deep-League Adds: Golden Tate is 61% owned and won't have quite the role he did in Week 6 when the Giants get healthy, but he shouldn't be on the wire in that many leagues. D.K. Metcalf (59%) gets high-leverage targets, and he should build on a team-best red zone role without Will Dissly. Zay Jones (4%) is a speculative add on a team that needs receivers. In-season transitions for wideouts don't really pan out often, but he could slot in as a high-volume play. Cole Beasley (15%) faces the Dolphins in Week 7.

Darren Fells, TE, Houston Texans

Yahoo! Ownership: 4%

Fells had three targets in two games entering Week 6 before seeing seven targets for the Houston Texans against the Kansas City Chiefs. Most importantly, he played every snap in Week 6, and that's rare for a tight end. Fells has five red zone targets over his past five games, and the Indianapolis Colts rank bottom-six in Target Success Rate allowed to tight ends in 2019.

Honorable Mentions or Deep-League Adds: Hunter Henry (62%) should be added in every league. Luke Willson (0%) played north of 70% snaps in Week 6 and had 6 targets. Will Dissly may be out for the season with an Achilles injury. Jason Witten (60%) and Dawson Knox (8%) are also on the streaming radar.

Kansas City Chiefs, D/ST

Yahoo! Ownership: 24%

There are a lot of borderline pickups this week among defensive streamers, which I'll mention later. But among the widely-available options, the Kansas City D/ST pops. They are a defense we should much prefer at home, but they'll be facing an uninspiring Denver Broncos offense on a short week in Denver. Entering Week 6, the Chiefs ranked 13th in pressure rate defensively. As 3.5-point road favorites in a game with an over/under of 49 points, the Chiefs both should be forcing Joe Flacco to pass and forcing the Broncos to run extra plays. That means more possible points for Denver, but we do need play volume for sacks and turnovers.

Honorable Mentions or Deep-League Adds: Buffalo D/ST (64%) should be the top option against the Miami Dolphins. The San Francisco D/ST (64%) travels to Washington. Green Bay D/ST (52%) hosts the Oakland Raiders. They'd all be preferable to the Chiefs.