Bye-nado is upon us.
The good news is this is the only week all season with six teams on bye. The bad news is that those six teams are the Bills, Cowboys, Jaguars, Vikings, Chargers and Steelers, likely leaving many rosters looking very lean.
Managers will need to find one-week fill-ins for Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders, Zack Moss, Devin Singletary and Dawson Knox from Buffalo; Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Dalton Schultz, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard from Dallas; James Robinson and Marvin Jones from Jacksonville; Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison from Minnesota; Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler and Jared Cook from Los Angeles; and Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and Najee Harris from Pittsburgh.
Managers may also be scrambling for potential longer-term replacements for players like Kareem Hunt, who suffered a major calf injury against the Cardinals.
Whether you need bye-week fill-in or Week 7 streamer, make sure to check out our top targets at each position — all of which are available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues — that you should prioritize come Tuesday night.
Note: Yahoo! roster percentages are reflected in parenthesis and as of Monday.
Fantasy Waiver Wire Pickups
Fantasy Waiver QBs to Target
Trey Lance, 49ers (31%)
Lance was lauded as a potential top 12 quarterback in his first NFL start, but disappointed fantasy managers with just 16 points — good enough to finish as QB20. He also suffered a sprained knee in the team's Week 5 loss to the Cardinals.
With Jimmy Garoppolo trending towards coming back, it's possible Lance misses this week, though I firmly believe better days are ahead. The rookie posted 16 rushes for 89 yards and should give managers a rock-solid floor.
Priority: High, highest in dynasty/keeper formats.
Jameis Winston, Saints (37%)
Winston started the season with a five-touchdown game, but his passing attempts were a far cry from what we're used to seeing from him. His passing volume has been trending upwards, as he has posted two straight 200-yards games and attempted a season-high 30 passes before the team's Week 6 bye. He will be a potential streamer with six teams on bye this week with what should be a favorable matchup against the Seahawks.
Priority: High if streaming quarterbacks or in need of a bye-week fill-in.
Teddy Bridgewater, Broncos (20%)
Bridgewater had a strong fantasy outing in Week 6 and completed 35-of-49 attempts for 334 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He might finish top 12 for the second time this season and has had only one bad game so far, excluding the Ravens game from which he exited early.
He isn't an exciting streamer, but he'll get the job done.
Priority: Medium if streaming quarterbacks or in need of a bye-week fill-in.
Justin Fields, Bears (32%)
Fields posted his best game to date for fantasy tallying 14 fantasy points — good enough to finish as QB17. It’s the first time this season he’s finished better than QB31, which is disappointing considering we lauded him as a potential top 12 guy once he took over for Dalton.
Fields does get a juicy Week 7 matchup against the Buccaneers' leaky secondary, which should give him some upside as a desperation fill-in.
Priority: Medium if streaming quarterbacks, in need of a bye-week fill-in or dynasty/keeper formats.
Fantasy Waiver RBs to Target
D'Ernest Johnson & Demetric Felton, Browns (2% & 9%)
Editor's note: The following section has been updated to reflect the news of Nick Chubb being ruled out for Thursday's game.
Both Johnson and Felton could see an uptick in work with starting running backs Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb out this week. Hunt was placed on injured reserve with a calf injury suffered this past Sunday and Chubb was ruled out on Tuesday for the second week in a row, leaving the Browns very lean at RB on a short week for their Thursday night matchup against the Broncos.
Johnson would likely take over more work on the ground that would have otherwise gone to Chubb as the only pure rusher of the he and Felton.
Johnson should be the preferred waiver add of the pair, though I would temper expectations: He saw just one rush for two yards and caught a pass for seven yards in Week 6 with Chubb sidelined. He also disappointed fantasy managers last year after many spent significant amounts of their FAAB on him.
Felton, who has dual eligibility as a running back and receiver, has yet to record a rushing attempt all year and will likely see more of the passing-down work that Hunt usually takes. Felton will undoubtedly carry more value in PPR formats.
Priority: Medium to high for Johnson; low to medium for Felton (slightly higher in PPR formats).
J.D. McKissic & Jarret Patterson, Washington (42% & 1%)
Antonio Gibson exited the game after recording 10 carries for 44 yards. Gibson has been dealing with a shin injury that he apparently re-aggravated on Sunday.
McKissic is next up in the backfield and has quietly had a nice season, especially in PPR formats. He is RB28 in half PPR through five games and will finish top 20 this week. He and Patterson — who hasn't seen much work all season — could stand to see a significant uptick in work on the ground if Gibson misses any time.
Priority: Medium to high for McKissic; low for Patterson if Gibson's Week 7 status is questionable.
Chris Evans, Bengals (4%)
Evans had a fantastic day backing up Joe Mixon with Samaje Perine on the COVID-19/reserve list — he saw four carries for 18 yards and caught 3-of-3 targets for 49 yards and a touchdown.
With Mixon healthy and Perine likely coming off the COVID-19 list soon, though, Evans' potential may be capped. He is worth hanging onto in deep leagues, however, especially with Mixon's injury history.
Priority: Low to medium.
Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots (11%)
Stevenson has reemerged from Bill Belichick's turnover doghouse and could be an interesting add off of waivers.
The rookie saw five carries for 23 yards and a touchdown and tacked on three catches for 39 yards. Damien Harris was the focal point of the Patriots' run game, however, and had 18 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Stevenson is worth considering in deeper formats.
Priority: Low to medium.
DeVonta Freeman & Le'Veon Bell, Ravens (2% & 7%)
Latavius Murray exited Sunday's game late in the third quarter with an ankle injury, which isn't considered serious, according to John Harbaugh.
Freeman and Bell manned the backfield in Murray's absence with Ty'Son Williams a healthy scratch again and both fell into the end zone for their first touchdowns of the year. If Murray is trending towards missing the team's Week 7 matchup against Cincinnati, either one could be worth adding, especially with so many teams on bye.
Priority: Low to medium.
DeeJay Dallas & Rashaad Penny, Seahawks (2% & 8%)
Dallas was fairly involved on Sunday night and recorded four rushes for 17 yards and caught 5-of-5 targets for 33 yards behind Alex Collins. Collins did leave the game with a hip and glute injury, and with Chris Carson on injured reserve for at least the next two weeks, both Dallas and Penny could have appeal based on situation alone.
Priority: Low.
Fantasy Waiver WRs to Target
Darnell Mooney, Bears (44% rostered)
Who is the Bears' best receiver and why is it Mooney?
The Year 2 wideout has more targets, catches and yards than Allen Robinson, who disappointed once again and finished with four catches on seven targets for 53 yards. The good news is we saw glimmers of life from this offense that has a cupcake matchup in Week 7 — the Buccaneers' secondary has been carved up by opposing offenses and should be a favorable matchup for Mooney.
Priority: High.
Marquez Callaway, Saints (34%)
Callaway stood out in Week 5 against Washington's abysmal pass defense and caught 4-of-8 targets for 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns. This Saints offense is a bit unpredictable, but Callaway has a clear connection with Winston.
The team will be well-rested coming off of their Week 6 and have four easy matchups coming up against Seattle, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Tennessee.
Priority: Medium to high.
A.J. Green & Christian Kirk, Cardinals (44% & 44%)
Green and Kirk each saw more targets than DeAndre Hopkins and found the end zone once. They both offer high-upside flex value as the No. 2 and 3 options in this offense and face Houston this week, which should be a favorable matchup.
Priority: Medium to high.
Michael Gallup, Cowboys (43%)
Gallup is designated to return as early as Week 8 after the Cowboys' Week 7 bye. He may have been dropped in your leagues after straining his calf in the season-opener against Tampa and offers low-cost exposure to the Cowboys' high-scoring offense.
Gallup had 1,107 receiving yards in 2019 and finished as WR22 in half PPR.
Priority: Medium.
Tim Patrick, Broncos (35%)
It was the Noah Fant and Courtland Sutton show on Sunday, the pair of which combined for a whopping 17 catches on 25 targets for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
Patrick also performed well and caught 3-of-6 targets for 42 yards and scored for the third time this year. His value could take a bit of a hit with Jerry Jeudy slated to return as soon as Thursday against the Browns, but he remains a viable deep-league flex option.
Priority: Medium.
T.Y. Hilton, Colts (39%)
Hilton looked strong in his first game of the season against the Texans. He caught 4-of-4 targets for 80 yards, though he was ruled out of the game with a quad injury, completely unrelated to the neck issue that sidelined him for five games.
It's worth monitoring his health and adding the veteran wideout in deeper formats.
Priority: Medium.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Browns (2%)
Peoples-Jones caught 4-of-5 passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 57-yard Hail Mary pass. He could stand to see more targets moving forward if Odell Beckham Jr., who suffered a shoulder injury in Week 6, is not 100%.
Priority: Low to medium.
K.J. Osborn, Vikings (8%)
Osborn caught 6-of-7 passes for 78 yards and was the hero of the day with the game-winning touchdown in overtime. It was the fourth time this year he has seen at least six targets.
The Vikings have a bye in Week 7, but Osborn might be worth a bench stash given his upside.
Priority: Low to medium.
Fantasy Waiver TEs to Target
Ricky Seals-Jones, Washington (29%)
Seals-Jones was a popular waiver add last week and delivered for fantasy managers on Sunday against the Chiefs. He caught 4-of-6 targets for 58 yards and a touchdown, good enough for 14 fantasy points in half PPR scoring.
The options at tight end on the waiver wire are lean, so Seals-Jones might be your best bet if in need of a one-and-done add; he should remain a viable option while Logan Thomas is out.
Priority: Medium to high if streaming tight ends or in need of a bye-week fill in.
Pat Freiermuth, Steelers (6%)
Freiermuth saw a season-high seven targets in Week 6 and caught all seven for 58 yards. His uptick in targets is likely linked to JuJu Smith-Schuster being out for the season. The Steelers have a Week 7 bye, so this is more of a longer-term add for deep leagues or dynasty/keeper formats.
Priority: Low to medium; higher in dynasty/keeper formats.
