After dealing with another week of disappointment, it’s time to look at the waivers, especially for those who are like me and have more than one player on a bye. We also hope that injures don’t shorten the season for some of our top players.
One of those top players is Oakland Raiders WR Amari Cooper, who left the game in London against the Seattle Seahawks with an injury. Fortunately, he and the Raiders are heading into the bye, so that should give him time to get healthy. That’s the same of the Green Bay Packers WR’s Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison, who have both missed the last two weeks with injuries.
The Seahawks’ WR Doug Baldwin missed the first three games of the season with an injury before returning, but he’s still trying to get reconnected with QB Russell Wilson. Let’s not forget that Pittsburgh Steelers’ RB Le’Veon Bell said he would report to the Steelers in week 7. So the bye week couldn’t have come at a better time. All four of those teams are still fighting to keep their season alive.
How about your season? You still alive in hopes of making the playoffs? Do you have any player from the four teams on bye and need a replacement? I’m here to help you figure out what moves to make again this week.
Quarterbacks
- Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears, 67.2 percent availability
- Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals, 37.7 percent availability
- Jamies Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 42.9 percent availability
- Alex Smith, Washington Redskins, 41.1 percent availability
- Eli Manning, New York Giants, 88.8 percent availability
Trubisky has suddenly found his way and is moving the ball around to his receivers and running backs. He will remain on this list for the next few weeks. This week he faces the New England Patriots, who have allowed big games to every QB they’ve faced who not named Ryan Tannehill, so we should expect one from Trubisky as well.
Dalton is in a similar situation. He has the Bengals offense rolling, and with their next opponent being the Kansas City Chiefs, who are one of the worst defenses in the league, Dalton should have himself another great day.
Winston played a great game against Atlanta until the end. His next opponent is the Cleveland Browns, who have actually been better than they look, but Winston should have some success off the young defense as long as he can find the connection with his receivers.
Smith bounced back nicely against the Carolina Panthers and will look to continue to improve. It won’t be easy, seeing that he has to face the tough defense of the Dallas Cowboys. If Adrian Peterson can continue to run and help Smith control the game, he should have better numbers. The Redskins could find some big plays to their receivers like Paul Richardson, who is emerging as the favorite option for Smith.
Eli, Oh, Eli! Let’s be honest, this is the biggest risk taking add you can do. But it may be a high reward considering the opponent is the Atlanta Falcons, who haven’t been the same defense since week one with all the injuries they have faced.
Running Backs
- Duke Johnson Jr., Cleveland Browns, 55.3 percent availability
- Corey Clement, Philadelphia Eagles, 37.9 percent availability
- Peyton Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 57 percent availability
- Latavius Murray, Minnesota Vikings, 53.3 percent availability
- Ito Smith, Atlanta Falcons, 86.3 percent availability
For some reason Duke Johnson is available in more than half the leagues. I know he isn’t the primary back, but he is used a lot on passing downs. With the receiving core struggling to move the ball down field, Johnson could be a sleeper. Playing against the Buccaneers should only open up more opportunities for him, but if you don’t trust him yet, still stash him on the bench for later use.
How Clement is still on the waivers in some many leagues beats me. I guess it’s because he played on a short week and his status was unclear. But now we know the status is Clement as the primary back, or at least until he’s not productive. Honestly, if you have the space on your roster, why not just add him and Smallwood? Playing Carolina on Sunday, both backs could be involved heavily.
Has Barber finally gotten himself to where the Buccaneers wanted him? It’s still a big question, but he did scored a touchdown in their last game. If Winston continues to involve Barber in the passing game, then his value would only rise. Expect a heavy dose of Barber against the Browns defense.
Murray has done a nice job filling in for Dalvin Cook while he’s been out with an injury. If Cook remains out, Murray will get the workload again. Despite Cook’s injuries, he hasn’t been producing like the team had hoped. Murray may still get some touches and snaps that could be important to the game. I would still add Murray, but keep an eye on the availability of Cook before starting him.
Now Smith is a different story. With Devontae Freeman likely out again week 7, Smith will continue to play a huge role in the running game of the Falcons. He has scored a touchdown in each of the last three games and could likely get one Monday night against the terrible Giants defense. I would only start him as a low-flex in all leagues unless you absolutely need an RB2 because of bye week and injury.
Wide Receivers
- Dede Westbrook, Jacksonville Jaguars, 57 percent availability
- Keke Coutee, Houston Texans, 67.7 percent availability
- Taylor Gabriel, Chicago Bears, 68.2 percent availability
- Mohammed Sanu, Atlanta Falcons, 36.8 percent availability
- Albert Wilson, Miami Dolphins, 94 percent availability
With all the receivers who have a bye this week, it is important to make sure you have a solid replacement who you may be able to trade away for value. Westbrook is one of those guys. He’s Bortles’ primary target and has the speed to out run the defenders. In the game against Houston, he’ll have a tough challenge trying to get free from Texan’s CB Jonathan Joseph. But we do expect him to get a lot of targets and have himself a nice day, so do consider adding him off the waivers if you haven’t done so already.
Coutee may have been quiet last week, but that will change this week. With the Jaguars CB Jalen Ramsey upset about the way he played against the Dallas Cowboys, he’ll be looking to shut down DeAndre Hopkins, which means Coutee should be available more often in this game as long as QB Deshaun Watson can connect with him again.
Like I said about Trubisky, the Chicago Bears offense is turning out to be something, and Gabriel has been a factor in that. Coming off back to back weeks, Gabriel and Trubisky are connecting well. With the Patriots’ defense giving up so many yards, Gabriel could be on the receiving end of a nice game for the Bears. If you have Robinson, I’d still start him over Gabriel, but Gabriel is a nice flex-like player.
Gabriel’s former teammate, Mohammed Sanu has made an appearance on the list. As of right now, we don’t know the status of rookie WR Calvin Ridley after suffering an injury late in their win over Tampa Bay. With that being unknown, Sanu, who was already involved in the Falcons’ offense, could have a bigger role.
Wilson has been one of the main targets for the Dolphins’ QBs this year. With the team struggling on offense, they likely use him in a lot of different ways to try and get something going. We’ve already seen him throw a big touchdown and catch several more. In the game against Detroit, we should expect to see Wilson have a big game again with the attention being placed else where, but since he’s third on the depth chart, I wouldn’t be to jumpy in wanting to add him to my lineup.
Tight Ends
- Austin Hooper, Atlanta Falcons, 75.3 percent availability
- O. J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 63.5 percent availability
- Cameron Brate, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 83.4 percent availability
- C. J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals,89.7 percent availability
- Ricky Seals-Jones, Arizona Cardinals, 84 percent availability
Hooper is now considered one of the top TEs in the league heading into week 7. As much as the Falcons’ offense has struggled to score points, Hooper should be considered a must start at TE or even flex if you another TE who is good.
Howard or Brate? Why not both? I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about both tight ends. They both scored touchdowns last week, but Howard got more yards and catches. I don’t see anything wrong with grabbing the both of them either. Winston loves to throw it to his TEs, as we have seen over the years. They could very well have a good game, seeing how that’s one of the weaknesses of the Browns’ defense. So look at both as possible starts this week if you absolutely need them.
Uzomah seems to be taking over the primary TE position since Tyler Eifert has been out. He’s not really one of Dalton’s favorite targets, but he could give you a good amount of yards. If you’re in a PPR, he’ll give you more with the receptions. Uzomah is still a must watch. He shouldn’t be started, but if you happen to have a great team and need a TE to fill a roster spot, I would go with Uzomah if the rest are not available.
Seals-Jones is slowly starting to became one of the top receiving guys for rookie QB Josh Rosen. Since Rosen has been the QB, Seals-Jones’ production has increased. Despite the win over the 49ers two weeks ago, because that was all David Johnson. I do expect to see him continue to have a continuous role in the Cardinals’ offense, who are still trying to figure things out. I wouldn’t be afraid to add and start him on a team that has Jimmy Graham or Jared Cook on a bye.
Good luck to all the fantasy football players. Hope you can put together the best lineup to win your matchup this week!
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