Fantasy Football Waiver Wire, Week 7: Jordan Mason or Elijah Mitchell?

I have only included players who are rostered in 50 percent or less of Yahoo fantasy football leagues. A player’s roster percentage will appear in parentheses next to their name. Denny Carter is mercifully handling the kicker section of this article which will be added Tuesday mornings. Updates from Monday Night Football will be added on Tuesday mornings as well. Be sure to check out the Waiver Wire Q&A Monday at 6PM ET.

Quarterback

Sam Howell, Commanders (38%)

Heading into Monday Night Football, Howell is the QB12. He has 290 yards in three games and multiple touchdowns—including rushing—in four appearances. The Commanders are letting him sling it despite his many flaws.

The Commanders’ high pass rate over expected has Howell top-10 in yards and touchdowns. Howell faces the Giants in Week 7. New York ranks 27th in EPA per dropback allowed.

Derek Carr, Saints (25%)

Carr’s Week 6 wasn’t his best showing of the year, but it was another instance of him looking back to normal after suffering a shoulder injury a few weeks ago. Carr threw 50 passes at an average target depth of 10.7. Given how deep he was throwing, Carr’s 64 percent completion rate is 11 percent higher than expected.

Desmond Ridder, Falcons (8%)

At quarterback, efficiency and real-life success are tied closely to fantasy outcomes. A passer can't fall back on six receptions for easy PPR points even if those catches only netted his team 19 yards. In Week 6, Ridder’s on-field outcome and fantasy performance broke this rule.

Ridder threw three interceptions and took three sacks but amassed 307 yards and two scores in the losing effort. Despite the implosion, Ridder has 636 yards and four total scores over his past two appearances. He gets a Tamp Bay defense that ranks 14th in EPA per dropback allowed in Week 7. In a week filled with byes and quarterback injuries, Ridder is worth a look off the wire for desperate teams.

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Running Back

Craig Reynolds, Lions (2%)

Jahmyr Gibbs did not practice at all last week and was ruled out before the weekend. David Montgomery then went down with a rib injury early in the Lions’ Week 6 win and did not return. That left Reynolds to handle 10 carries and two receptions. His backup, Divine Ozigbo, totaled four touches. Reynolds out-snapped him 43-6. He also threw this incredible block to pave the way for an Amon-Ra St. Brown score.

Montgomery is expected to miss some time while Gibbs could also be out multiple weeks as well. Reynolds is the top FAAB spender this week and is worth 30 percent or more for running-back-needy teams.

Jordan Mason, 49ers (6%)

When Christian McCaffrey went down with an oblique injury, the 49ers rolled with Mason over Elijah Mitchell. Mason saw more work on the ground and ran more routes than Mitchell.

On the other hand, Mitchell was coming back from a two-game absence because of a knee issue. He has dealt with injuries throughout his career, but he has also been trusted by Kyle Shanahan when healthy.

Mitchell has 10 career games over 15 touches and has excelled in Shanahan's rushing scheme. It's possible the 49ers significantly ramp up Mitchell's work a week removed from his knee injury, though it's hard to imagine him giving him loading the oft-injured back up with touches after giving him just two looks in Week 6. Mitchell's floor as the trusted back with plenty of experience in the San Francisco offense may be higher than Mason's, but Mason could still be the beneficiary of Mitchell's nagging knee issue.

Zach Evans, Rams (0%)

The Rams lost Ronnie Rivers in Week 6 to a PCL injury. He is expected to miss a few weeks. Kyren Williams suffered a sprained ankle and is expected to miss the Rams' Week 7 matchup with the Steelers. That leaves Evans as the lone healthy running back on LA's roster. Royce Freeman will be called up from the practice squad and another addition is likely.

Evans was a backup at TCU and Ole Miss in a handful of crowded backfields. He was eventually taken by the Rams in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Evans is a plus athlete who will get at least one shot to be the Rams' three-down back. If Williams' injury lingers, his time in the spotlight could last much longer.

Keaontay Ingram, Cardinals (20%)
Ingram saw exactly half of the Cardinals' running back carries and targets in Week 6. He rushed 10 times for 40 yards while adding two catches for 11 yards. Ingram has the clear edge in the Arizona backfield, but that is starting to look less valuable with each game the Cardinals play. After a hot start to the season, the Cardinals are averaging 15 points per game over their past three appearances. Ingram is still worth a few FAAB dollars, though I expect to have him ranked at the bottom of the RB3 range for Week 7.

Kareem Hunt, Browns (36%)

The Browns went run-heavy at home in a dogfight with the 49ers on Sunday, allowing them to dish out 12 attempts to Hunt and 17 for Jerome Ford. As long as Deshaun Watson remains sidelined, we can expect them to keep rolling with this approach if game-script allows for it. Hunt has also seen more of the Browns’ short down and distance attempts than Ford since joining the roster in Week 3.

Ezekiel Elliott, Patriots (43%)

Like Hunt, Zeke is the clear backup on his team, but the Pats run the ball enough to offer the occasional RB3 performance. Zeke has four top-30 PPR outings this year. He nearly had an RB1 day in Week 6 before this run was called back by a penalty.

Zeke is nothing more than a $1 bid for teams in need of a bye week filler, but he could get you through a week with six teams getting rest.

Salvon Ahmed, Dolphins (21%)

Ahmed and Chris Brooks both saw work behind Raheem Mostert in Week 6. Each back saw six carries but Ahmed out-snapped Brooks 24-11 and found the end zone in the fourth quarter. Brooks went down with an ankle injury late and was eventually ruled out. Jeff Wilson could be back for Week 7, but there’s a chance he is out another week and Ahmed is the clear RB2 for the best offense in football.

Wide Receiver

Jameson Williams, Lions (49%)

Williams is surprisingly rostered in just under half of all Yahoo leagues. His role in Week 6 remained minor, but he gave Lions OC Ben Johnson every reason to put more routes on his plate in Week 7. Williams ran a route on 9-of-48 Jared Goff dropbacks and caught two passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. He made a perfect adjustment to Goff’s pass as it sailed toward him near the end zone for a 45-yard score.

Josh Downs, Colts (33%)

Downs has been a favorite target of Gardner Minshew this year and that didn’t stop in Week 6. He earned eight looks, five of which were caught for 21 yards and a score. Downs’ aDOT still leaves something to be desired as he is primarily being used on throws short of the sticks, but he sees to ball enough to post WR3/4 numbers.

Rashee Rice, Chiefs (45%)

Rice ran a route on half of the Chiefs’ passing plays for the second time this year in Week 6. He caught all four of his targets for 72 yards. Justin Watson went down with a dislocated elbow and is likely to miss a few weeks, ensuring that Rice’s newfound role is here to stay. Rice will still need to push past a 50 percent route rate to post usable fantasy numbers, but there is a clear path to him becoming the best fantasy option in the Chiefs’ receiving room.

Kendrick Bourne, Patriots (17%)

Bourne has run a route on 91 percent of New England’s dropbacks over the past two weeks and has a 33 percent target share. In Week 6, Bourne caught 10-of-11 targets for 89 yards and saw one rush attempt which he turned into four yards. Demario Douglas and JuJu Smith-Schuster were both sidelined versus the Raiders. Bourne is shaping up to be the best receiver the Patriots have and he’s also one of their only healthy wideouts at the moment.

Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants (18%)

Robinson set a season-high in route rate last week, running a route on 73 percent of Tyrod Taylor’s dropbacks. He earned a 26 precent target share which was also a season-high. Robinson's target depth of 4.4 from Week 6 needs to rise for him to be anything more than a WR4, but his climbing route rate makes him worth 5-10% of a FAAB budget.

Curtis Samuel, Commanders (34%)

You know if you need Samuel or not. He doesn’t have the potential for a breakout stretch of games like Jameson Williams or Rashee Rice might, but he’s more likely to get you 10 PPR points in Week 7 than anyone else available on the waiver wire. Samuel has been a top-20 fantasy option in each of the past three weeks and has only fallen below 40 yards in a game once.

Tight End

Michael Mayer, Raiders (5%)

Mayer was a part-time player for the first five games of his rookie season. Then, in Week 6, Josh McDaniels took the training wheels off and had him run a route on 67 percent of the Raiders’ dropbacks. He earned a target on over a quarter of his routes and accounted for 21 percent of the team’s targets. Mayer was an elite prospect both as a blocker and a pass-catcher. Now the Raiders are finally giving him a chance to show what he’s made of.

Taysom Hill, Saints (7%)

Hill set career-highs in targets (eight) and catches (seven) in Week 6. Juwan Johnson was out for this game and Pete Carmichael opted to use Hill to replace him instead of turning to Jimmy Graham or Foster Moreau. Hill ran 33 routes, the bulk of which came from the slot. Though a traditional pass-catching role is not typical for Hill, it would thrust him into the top of the TE2 range if it sticks for Week 7.

Jonnu Smith, Falcons (19%)

Since Week 1, Smith has run a route on two-thirds of Desmond Ridder’s dropbacks and has a 19 percent target share. He has finished as a top-10 fantasy tight end in each of the past three weeks. Smith still isn’t seeing a full complement of routes, but he’s close enough to be putting up borderline TE1 numbers.

Kicker (Presented by Denny Carter)

Joey Slye, Commanders (1%)

Slye plays the Giants in Week 7. That’s really all there is to it. Everyone gets neutral and positive game script against the G-people, and the Commanders should be no different as favorites.

New York has allowed multiple field goal attempts to five of the six kickers they’ve faced in 2023. Giants opponents are averaging a healthy 3.5 red zone possessions per game, one of the highest marks in the NFL. Slye, at worst, has a solid floor here.

Anders Carlson, Packers (2%)

The only fantasy-viable kicker named Carlson is in a good spot this week against the ghost of the Denver Broncos, who have allowed 16 field goal tries in six games and allowed at least nine kicker fantasy points in four of six contests.

Though the down-bad Packers are only one-point favorites against the worst team in recent NFL history, Carlson should enjoy some neutral game script, at worst. Denver is giving up a league-high 4.4 red zone possessions per game through Week 6 and Green Bay’s recent red zone struggles should fuel opportunity for the superior Carlson brother.

Chase McLaughlin, Buccaneers (1%)

McLaughlin is a superb option. I’d prefer him over Carlson, for one. The Bucs happen to be two-point favorites against the Falcons this week. That’s good for process purposes. With multiple field goal tries in four of five games and a head coach who loves to “take the points” in the red zone, McLaughlin has become a reliable fantasy play in 2023.

Baker Mayfield’s shockingly decent play should keep McLaughlin viable for now.