Waiver Wire Week 7: Reviewing Top Pickups and Drops Likely Available
The mad dash to the waiver wire began late Sunday after a handful of unlikely stars broke out in Week 6.
Some of the best players available on the fantasy football market will be gone by the middle of the week, as fellow owners try to make similar moves.
Two of the top players available are quarterbacks who have gained more trust within their respective teams, while there's a plethora of options at wide receiver.
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The running back market isn't flourishing as much as the wide receiver market, but there are quality options on the waiver wire, while the murky tight end picture is still the hardest to navigate.
Quarterback
Top Pickups
Sam Darnold, New York Jets (Owned in 9 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Dak Prescott, Dallas (Owned in 32 percent of Yahoo Leagues)
C.J. Beathard, San Francisco (Owned in 6 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Drops Likely Available
Blake Bortles, Jacksonville
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland
There's still plenty of room on the Sam Darnold bandwagon, but if you wait another week or two, it might be too crowded to join.
The New York Jets rookie threw for 280 yards and completed 24 of his 30 passes in the Week 6 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Although there are still questions surrounding his consistency, Darnold's shown in spurts that he's more than capable of leading the Jets to victory by himself.
Now that he's developed chemistry with his wide receiver corps in games, Darnold should continue to improve and be a pickup option for owners dealing with bye weeks.
"Convincing" isn't a term we've used to describe Dak Prescott much, but he was impressive against Jacksonville's defense, as he totaled 265 yards and three touchdowns.
It's understandable if you want to stay away from Prescott for another week because he's been inconsistent, but if he produces a strong showing against Washington in Week 7, he won't be as available as he is at the moment.
In three starts for San Francisco, C.J. Beathard's thrown for 892 yards and six touchdowns, but he's been intercepted on five occasions.
The turnovers could turn you away from the 49ers signal-caller, but he's kept his team in more games than expected and developed a chemistry with most of his targets.
If you jumped on the Blake Bortles bandwagon after he threw for 430 yards against Kansas City in Week 6, you're most likely ready to cut ties with him following his struggles against the Cowboys, while Baker Mayfield's proved he can't be a reliable fantasy option yet with five interceptions in his last three games.
Running Back
Top Pickups
Marlon Mack, Indianapolis (Owned in 26 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Frank Gore, Miami (Owned in 10 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Ito Smith, Atlanta (Owned in 9 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Drops Likely Available
Alfred Morris, San Francisco
Royce Freeman, Denver
Marlon Mack was one of many Indianapolis skill players on the injury report at the start of the season, and although he may be hard to trust, he's going to get the ball when healthy to provide balance in the Colts offense.
In his first game back from injury, Mack ran for 89 yards and 12 carries, and he should improve on those numbers against the Bills at home in Week 8.
Shying away from Frank Gore because of his age was the right move until now, as the 35-year-old eclipsed 100 yards on the ground in Miami's overtime win over Chicago.
Gore's production has increased in each of the last three games, and he received a season-high 15 carries against the Bears.
Atlanta's Ito Smith isn't worth picking up as a volume back, but he's the No. 1 touchdown vulture of the 2018 season, as he's run into the end zone in each of the last three weeks.
While it's still a risk to pick up a running back with 102 rushing yards in six games, it's hard to look past Smith when he's an important piece of the Falcons' red-zone offense.
Alfred Morris was a fantasy no-show in Week 6, as he took a back seat to the duo of Raheem Mostert and Matt Breida.
Not earning a single carry against Green Bay is all the justification you need to let Morris loose on the waiver wire and pick up a better option.
Meanwhile, in Denver, Royce Freeman's totaled 53 yards on the ground in the last two weeks after producing his season-high of 67 yards against the Chiefs.
Given his questionable stats and the abundance of options available at the moment, Freeman is a leading candidate to get dumped off rosters en masse.
Wide Receiver
Top Pickups
Albert Wilson, Miami (Owned in 10 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Tyrell Williams, Los Angeles Chargers (Owned in 9 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Cole Beasley, Dallas (Owned in 9 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Drops Likely Available
Jordy Nelson, Oakland
Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers
Albert Wilson, Tyrell Williams and Cole Beasley will be the hottest commodities on the waiver wire this week, and if you haven't put claims in for them yet, it's probably too late.
Wilson plowed through the Chicago secondary with touchdowns of 75 and 43 yards in the fourth quarter Sunday to help the Dolphins force overtime.
The former Kansas City player received six targets in the two weeks prior to the Chicago game, but he was given more attention by Brock Osweiler, as he caught six balls on nine targets for 155 yards.
No matter who starts at quarterback, the Dolphins will try to use Wilson's speed to exploit opposing secondaries, which makes him one of the available players you must have on your roster moving forward.
Williams averaged 39.3 yards per catch during his two-touchdown performance in the Los Angeles Chargers' win in Cleveland.
His production combined with the lack of attention Mike Williams received makes the Western Oregon product the better fantasy fit behind Keenan Allen on the Chargers depth chart.
Cole Beasley might be the riskiest pickup of the three receivers suggested above, as he'll only go as far as Prescott takes him.
It's easy to jump on the Beasley bandwagon because he caught nine balls for 101 yards and two touchdowns in Week 6, but it is concerning that it took this long for him to emerge among a weak collection of wide receivers in Dallas.
While there may be some hesitation in picking up Beasley, there shouldn't be any in dropping Jordy Nelson, who had six receiving yards in Week 6, as his production continued to drop off in Oakland's offense.
Tight End
Top Pickups
C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati (Owned in 32 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Ricky Seals-Jones, Arizona (Owned in 21 percent of Yahoo leagues)
Drops Likely Available
Charles Clay, Buffalo
Unfortunately for fantasy owners still in need of a reliable tight end, the market is light.
Of the available players, Cincinnati's C.J. Uzomah is showing some promise with eight receptions for 97 yards in the last two weeks, but he hasn't caught a touchdown pass in his last three games.
Ricky Seals-Jones is emerging as one of Josh Rosen's top targets beneath Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, but he might be worth waiting another week for.
Seals-Jones caught five passes for 69 yards in Week 6 for the Cardinals, but that came after being shutout in Week 5.
Charles Clay's experienced the same inconsistency in production in Buffalo, and given the questionable quarterback situation there, it's hard to justify keeping him on your roster.
Clay hasn't totaled more than 40 yards in a game this season, and he's without a touchdown reception, two trends that have a good chance of continuing if Nathan Peterman has to fill in for the injured Josh Allen.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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