Rush Nation, we are almost half way through the Fantasy Football season. Seven days from now, we will be at the half-way point. However, we are over half way through the Fantasy Football regular season, meaning you only have 6/7 games to get into your playoffs. This is where your weekly Waiver Wire column comes in.

There was a whole host of injuries this weekend in key position. Especially Quarterback and Running Back. Make sure you catch-up on our Injury Report from last week and also this week, which we will release tomorrow.

As a result, make sure you get on the Waiver Wire this week. Otherwise, you will allow opponents to strengthen. Especially the Running Back pickups. We are almost at the point of the year where stashing Running Back handcuffs is a game winning strategy. 

So, jump ahead of the competition and pick up these players who are under 30% owned on ESPN.com.

Quarterbacks

Teddy Bridgewater- 22.4% Owned

Week 7- 23/28, 281 Yds, 2TDs, 7 Yds Rushing

Bridgewater moves to 5-0 as a starter of the New Orleans Saints. He is playing lights out football right now. In addition to playing well, he was incredibly efficient against the Chicago Bears Defense. In his last 3 games, against the Buccaneers, Jaguars and Bears, Bridgewater is completing passes at a rate of 67.6% and he has 7 Touchdowns and just the 1 INT. Coming up next for Teddy and Co is the Arizona Cardinals, who, despite causing havoc on the Giants offense and sacking Daniel Jones 8 times, are not a good defense. Let’s not forget, coming into this weekends games, Arizona were giving up the most fantasy points to Quarterbacks, with 25.2 PPG through Weeks One-Six. The only concern is whether Brees is back for this game. However, with the Saints on BYE for Week Nine, I would expect Teddy to start and finish this one.

Ryan Tannehill- 1.9% Owned

Week 7- 23/29, 312 Yds, 2TDs, 1INT, 7 Yds Rushing

Tannehill finally won the starting job in Tennessee and he showed why on Sunday. Now, I’m not saying he is a world beater Quarterback. In fact, if Kirk Cousins is free in your league, as he is owned in under 38% of leagues, then he would be on this list over Tannehill. However, since we operate on a 30% threshold, so you can have an actionable list of players for your Waiver Wire. However, Tannehill, for this week only, is an option.

The Buccaneers are the worst team in the NFL defending against the pass. They are given up 305 yards a game in the air. On top of this, they have given up a QB1 performance in 4 of 6 games this season. Whilst I’m not sure Tannehill gets a QB1 game on Sunday, it is in his range of outcomes. He also has a really safe floor. After throwing for over 300 yards on the road this Sunday, this could easily happen again this week against the Buccaneers.

Running Backs

Chase Edmonds- 28.9% Owned

Week 7- 27 Carries, 126 Yds, 3TDs, 2 Receptions, 24 Yds Receiving

Edmonds had himself a day on Sunday. And it came at the cost of many fantasy owners. David Johnson suited up for the game, and he was active. In fact, only 2 Arizona Running Backs were active on Sunday. However, after an early run for 2 yards for Johnson, Edmonds came in and took over. It looked like it was the weather that led to the workload and then the Cardinals leading with the hot hand after that. 

There is concerns over Johnson’s health. You won’t get another performance like this again from Edmonds. However, he is the premier handcuff to own on the Waiver Wire. And, after this game, you won’t get a lot of opportunities to own him. Johnson is banged up and carrying injuries. It is unlikely he will play every snap until the end of the season. Therefore, pick up Edmonds, because he had league winning capabilities if he is called upon to carry the rock.

Ty Johnson- 1.3% Owned

Week 7- 10 Carries, 29 Yds, 4 Receptions, 28 Yds Receiving

Kerryon Johnson has gone down with yet another injury. He went down in the first quarter with a knee injury and was left with a brace on his knee. Although too early to tell and with there being no information on Johnson volunteered by Matt Patricia and the coach staff of the Lions, it does not look good for Kerryon. However Ty Johnson (no relation), came in and did a reasonable job running the football. If Ty Johnson is a go, being at home to the Giants is not a bad matchup to exploit. Johnson’s usage was curtailed in the 4th quarter due to game script and chasing the game.

Coming into this week, the Giants defense was ranked 10th worst against Running Backs in terms of Fantasy Points per Game conceded. They have given up 203 scrimmage yards per game to Running Backs. Also, Johnson is a key handcuff. Therefore, he should be owned regardless and could be a good bye cover/ injury cover in the flex.

Wide Receivers

Kenny Stills

Week 7- 4 Receptions, 105 Yards

Kenny Stills is back off injury and he is back to being fantasy relevant. Will Fuller V had picked up another injury, in the time of year where he normally gets injured. And it looks likely Fuller will be out for the next couple of weeks. So fire up your Kenny Stills! Hopkins will continue to draw double coverage and Coutee, despite the Touchdown on Sunday, isn’t getting the volume to succeed. Whereas Stills has establish a rapport with DeShawn Watson already and looks like he could be a low end WR2 moving forward for the next few weeks.

The Texans have the Raiders next. The Raiders came into Week Seven giving up the 6th most fantasy points to Wide Receivers. In addition to this, they just gave up 5 Touchdowns to the Packers, to 5 different receivers. This is a perfect match-up for Stills to exploit. He should be a top priority if you need a Wide Receiver this week off of the Waiver Wire.

Alex Erickson- 0.3% Owned

Week 7- 8 Receptions, 137 yds, 2 Carries, -2 Yds

The Bengals are a bad football team. Really bad! However, they are somehow even worse “attempting” to run the Football. The Bengals in Week Seven managed just 33 yards rushing. This has now taken their rushing total for the season, through seven games, to 372 yards, or an average of 53.1 yards per game. However, their opponents have managed to run the ball for 1,323 yards against them this season. The Bengals are bad on both lines and will be picking in the top 5 of the 2020 NFL Draft.

However, the one thing they do manage to do, is sling the rock. And Erickson, in the slot, isn the main beneficiary of the ball slinging at the moment. He was targeted 14 times on Sunday. Tyler Boyd is commanding double coverage, and Auden Tate, whilst incredible, is taking the top off the defense and therefore won’t get the same volume. Erickson is therefore always the first or second read for Andy Dalton. They face the Rams next and Erickson could easily see 10 targets in that game as well. Especially as they will be chasing the game early. 

Tight Ends

Josh Hill- 0.2% Owned

Week 7- 3 Receptions, 41 Yds, 1TD

Josh Hill came in after an injury to Jared Cook and he caught a Touchdown early in the game vs Chicago. Cook is currently recovering from an ankle injury. With the Saints playing the Arizona Cardinals, who, coming into this week, are giving up 24.1 Fantasy Points per Game to Tight Ends. This makes them the worst defense in the NFL against Tight Ends, averaging a Touchdown per game being conceded to Tight Ends. This Hill pick-up off the Waiver Wire is one where you will have to watch the injury reports. Also, it is just a one week pick-up. The Saints are on BYE week 9 and then I am sure Cook, if not already back, will be back for Week 10.

Irv Smith Jr.- 0.9% Owned

Week 7- 5 Receptions, 60 Yds

Smith is becoming the number 1 Tight End in Minnesota. He is looking better with every game. And whilst Rudolph got the Touchdown and not Smith, Smith ended up getting significant work and looking to be the more effective back. His snap count is rising every week and was at a season high 55% Sunday. As a result, it is looking more and more likely that Smith will take over the majority of work as the Tight End soon. They are also playing the Redskins in Week Eight. Therefore, in a position that is very much a wasteland, he is the best of a bad bunch. However, if you can find a better option at Tight End on the Waiver Wire in your league, then definitely pick them up instead.

Kicker

Jason Myers- 9.2% Owned

Week 7- 4/5, 10 Fantasy Points

Myers has been a solid kicker in the league for a while now. He did miss one on Sunday from over 50 yards, against the Ravens, but made all his other kickers to deliver a 10 point week. This week however, he is kicking in the dome in Atlanta, against one of the worst defenses in football. Myers has a very safe floor this week and should deliver you a solid top 10 performance this coming week.

D/ST

Colts- 15.9% Owned- vs DEN

This is a hard selection for D/ST’s under 30% owned on the Waiver Wire. However, I have plumped for the Colts. I would pick up the Pittsburgh Steelers D/ST at 31.9% owned. So if they are free in your league, go ahead and snap them up.

The Colts have a reasonably safe floor, with just 2 weeks under 4 points this season. However, they also have a low floor, with their 3 best weeks being 9,8 and 7 points. They play Denver next month, who arguably have the most stagnant offense in the NFL right now. This Denver offense made the Chiefs defense look elite. The Colts D/ST shouldn’t lose you your week. And, at this stage, with bye weeks in play, that is all you are looking for from a D/ST. There are better options, and check your Waiver Wire for them. However, feel comfortable starting the Colts D/ST if needed.

That’s it for this week. We hope you get a lot out of this article and are seeing some success. You can listen to the audio show on Tuesday night’s on your favourite podcast app. We also answer questions on Twitter @5yardrush so do get in touch there. However, until next week, Keep Rushing.