Fantasy Football Week 7 Cheat Sheet: Waiver-Wire Rankings and Flex Projections

Everyone wants to find that sleeper quarterback on the waiver wire, the quarterback who can turn your fantasy season around in a heartbeat.

That idea sounds good in theory, but when you get to Week 7 of the season, it usually has very little value in reality.

That's because the best quarterbacks are in short supply and are generally not available. But with midseason approaching, a former phenom now appears to be a quarterback who can turn a mediocre fantasy season around.

Colin Kaepernick has had two good games in a row for the 49ers. He led San Francisco to a 25-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6, and he also brought the Niners back late in the game against the New York Giants in Week 5. While the Niners couldn't hold a late lead against New York, Kaepernick seemed to rediscover his talent after a miserable start.

Going into the Giants game, Kaepernick had failed to throw a touchdown pass in three of the Niners' first four games, totaling two touchdown passes and five interceptions. It seemed it was just a matter of time before he would lose his starting gig because his performance was so poor and his 49ers teammates were not responding.

It appeared that Kaepernick and the Niners would be taken to school by the explosive Giants passing attack in their Sunday night meeting, but instead of being intimidated, Kaepernick appeared to be relaxed and ready for the challenge.

He threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns, and he followed that with a 340-yard performance against the Ravens and two more touchdowns. He did not throw an interception in either game.

The Niners are at home this week against the hated Seattle Seahawks, and Pete Carroll's team is vulnerable this year. They have lost double-digit leads in each of the past two games, and Kaepernick would love to make this team pay. 

If you need a waiver-wire quarterback, Kaepernick is your man.

Position	Player	Team	Week 7 Opponent
QB	Colin Kaepernick	San Francisco 49ers	Seattle Seahawks
QB	Ryan Fitzpatrick	New York Jets	New England Patiots
QB	Jameis Winston	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Washington Redskins
RB	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	Houston Texans
RB	LeSean McCoy	Buffalo Bills	Jacksonville Jaguars
RB	Danny Woodhead	San Diego Chargers	Oakland Raiders
WR	Martavis Bryant	Pittsburgh Steelers	Kansas City Chiefs
WR	Stefon Diggs	Minnesota Vikings	Detroit Lions
WR	Robert Woods	Buffalo Bills	Jacksonville Jaguars
TE	Benjamin Watson	New Orleans Saints	Indianapolis Colts
TE	Gary Barnidge	Cleveland Browns	St. Louis Rams

RB Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins

Was any team more disappointing over its first four games than the Miami Dolphins?

They barely beat the Washington Redskins in Week 1, and then looked successively worse in losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.

After the loss to the Jets in London, head coach Joe Philbin was sent packing and hard-edged Dan Campbell was named head coach. While the move may or may not work, the Dolphins responded with their best game of the season as they trounced the Tennessee Titans 38-10 in Week 6.

While several of the Dolphins had good statistical games, no player seemed to benefit more than running back Lamar Miller.

He used his speed and decisiveness to carry 19 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. Miller had been ineffective in the first five games, as he had not run for more than 53 yards in any contest.

Campbell has pushed the Dolphins hard since taking over for Philbin, and his team should continue to respond to him for at least a few more weeks. The Dolphins host Houston this week, and Miller should be able to do some damage against the Texans' 17th-ranked run defense.

Don Wright/Associated Press

WR Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh Steelers

Fantasy players are hoping that Ben Roethlisberger is back in the lineup this week for the Steelers—and that he can stay upright for 60 minutes.

The Steelers offense has been stifled since Roethlisberger injured his MCL in Week 3 at St. Louis. While the Steelers have won two of the three games he has missed, the coaching staff only let Mike Vick cut it loose in the late stages of the Week 5 Monday night win at San Diego. Aside from that, they made him play ball-control (i.e., conservative) football.

If Roethlisberger can get back in the lineup this week, the Steelers should once again be quite dangerous. In addition to superstars Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, look for a huge game from Martavis Bryant.

Bryant returned from a suspension to catch six passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns against the high-flying Arizona Cardinals. He caught an 88-yard TD pass in the late stages of that game from third-string quarterback Landry Jones.

Bryant is not going to be faced with double coverage, and if Roethlisberger is under center, he could have a huge game against the woebegone pass defense of the Kansas City Chiefs (ranked 25th). Even if Roethlisberger can't play, Jones should be able to find Brown, Bryant and Pittsburgh's other receivers with little trouble.

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

TE Benjamin Watson, New Orleans Saints

The Saints were under the gun when they faced the previously undefeated Atlanta Falcons in the Week 6 Thursday night game.

They had been awful in their first five games, and a nationally televised home game against their division rivals brought about a high-level effort.

One of the key moves was getting Benjamin Watson involved in the game plan. Prior to facing Atlanta, Watson had not caught more than four passes in any game. Watson has largely been perceived as a blocking tight end for much of his career, but he had an explosive 10-catch game against the Falcons for 127 yards and a touchdown.

The Saints travel to Indianapolis this week and have a chance to take advantage of the Colts' 28th-ranked pass defense. Look for Watson to approach 100 yards in this game and score a touchdown.

Rank	Position	Player, Team	Projection
1	RB	Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh	165 yards, two TDs
2	WR	Julio Jones, Atlanta	160 yards, two TDs
3	WR	Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh	155 yards, one TD
4	WR	Odell Beckham, N.Y. Giants	155 yards
5	RB	Adrian Peterson, Minnesota	140 yards, two TDs
6	TE	Rob Gronkowski, New England	135 yards, two TDs
7	WR	DeAndre Hopkins, Houston	130 yards
8	WR	Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona	125 yards, two TDs
9	WR	Calvin Johnson, Detroit	125 yards, one TD
10	WR	Brandon Marshall, N.Y. Jets	125 yards
11	RB	Devonta Freeman, Atlanta	120 yards, one TD
12	RB	Todd Gurley, St. Louis	120 yards
13	TE	Antonio Gates, San Diego	115 yards, one TD
14	WR	Keenan Allen, San Diego	110 yards, one TD
15	RB	Doug Martin, Tampa Bay	100 yards, one TD
16	TE	Jason Witten, Dallas	95 yards
17	WR	T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis	95 yards
18	RB	Chris Ivory, N.Y. Jets	90 yards, one TD
19	WR	Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh	90 yards, one TD
20	RB	Lamar Miller, Miami	85 yards, one TD