By Chris Dell / Ben Martinez
Last Updated: Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. EST
Welcome to our Betting Predators Waiver Wire column, which will be more of a catch-all space and a serve as a supplement to our weekly waiver wire rankings on the website. Please note, all players listed below are owned in less than 33.3% of ESPN leagues. Thank you for reading, as always, and don't hesitate to reach out with your fantasy questions - @MaddJournalist on Twitter. BOL on your FAB bids/claims!
Quarterbacks
Tua Tagovailoa 25.3% - With a solid (and healthy) performance under his belt after missing the previous four weeks, Tagovailoa scored over 20 fantasy points this past week against a bottom tier defense across the pond despite missing key weapons in DeVante Parker and Will Fuller. Tagovailoa completed 33 of his 47 passes for 329 yards and 2 touchdowns, and despite one bad pass that resulted in an interception, Tagovailoa still scored a solid 86.2 passing grade per PFF. Tua's next opponent, Atlanta, has given up numerous 20-point fantasy performances so far this year, so if your QB is on bye or misses week 7 due to injury, then Tua provides a decent floor and good upside. Despite a tough matchup in Week 8 against the Bills he is also stream-able in Week 9 in a home date against the Texans. Recommended FAB Bid: 1-5%
Matt Ryan 29.1% - With 4 of the top 10 fantasy scoring quarterbacks on bye this week, Matt Ryan tops the list of QB filler for Week 7 after scoring 20+ points in his last 2 contests. Ryan has an above-average matchup against the Dolphins in Miami, who are still likely to be down both of their top defensive backs in Byron Jones and Xavien Howard. Ryan's star receiver Calvin Ridley looks to make his return after missing Week 5 a while Kyle Pitts and Cordarelle Patterson continue to be ascend as threats in the open field for Arthur Smith's offense. Miami is already allowing the fourth most passing yards and just gave up 396 yards of total offense to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Recommended FAB Bid: 1-5%
Honorable Mention: Trey Lance 23.8% (STASH), Tyrod Taylor 3.4% (STASH), Teddy Bridgewater 16.9%, Mac Jones 12.4%, Carson Wentz 18.1%, Jimmy Garoppolo 1.7%, Jameis Winston 22.8%
Running Backs
Rhamondre Stevenson 11.5% - Without question, Damien Harris is the Patriots lead back. But the real question remains: just how long until Harris needs a break or is ruled out due to an injury. It's seven full weeks until New England has its bye week and recently it seems as if Harris is questionable for the game due to some varying sort of injury. Despite Belichick being known as the coach who hates playing rookies and even sending Stevenson to the doghouse after his Week 1 fumble, it looks like Stevenson will get a second chance to prove himself in this offense and possibly even carry the load if Harris goes down at any point during the regular season. Stevenson's overall numbers were not that impressive in Week 6, but he spelled Harris when needed and led the backfield in both routes run (9) and targets (3). Stevenson has worked his way into becoming must-own handcuff for Harris owners and a high-upside stash for owners looking to fill their remaining bench spots with potential breakout stars. Recommended FAB Bid: 15-20%
Jaret Patterson 0.9% - Antonio Gibson still dealing with a shin/calf injury that ended his day early in Week 6, and it just may lead to Gibson to missing week 7 at Green Bay. J.D. McKissic (Rostered in 46.2% of leagues) is in line for an even bigger day than usual if Gibson misses more time, sure, but don't forget about the talented rookie Patterson, who racked up 1,000+ rushing yards in just six games at Buffalo in 2020 and has already seen snaps/playing time in nearly every game this season. We expect Patterson to lead the team in rushing attempts and receive a small handful of targets if he indeed has to replace Gibson in the short term. Patterson was Washington's star running back in the preseason, racking up 26 carries for 111 rushing yards in two games and also having a very active receiving role to the tune of seven catches on seven targets for 55 receiving yards. Patterson is worth a speculative in all formats, if it's just to block the Gibson owner from finding a short-term replacement. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
D'Ernest Johnson 1.4%/Demetric Felton 2.9% - With Nick Chubb NOW RULED OUT for Week 7 and Kareem Hunt placed on I.R. this morning, indeed SOMEONE has to start at running back for the Browns this Thursday night against Denver. It's a short week too, which makes it nearly impossible to add a new running back to the mix via free agency AND into the active roster/gameplan for Cleveland. Felton and Johnson are your next men up next and Johnson should carry the load for Cleveland as the primer running back while Felton serves as the primary pass-catching back and also as a wide receiver. Felton hasn't had a single RB rush attempt all season but has lined out wide as a receiver on many of his snaps, including running routes out of the slot. Johnson is the priority add in all formats, with Felton a dart throw flex option in full PPR scoring for teams desperate dealing with byes/injuries. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Honorable Mention: Mark Ingram 22.2%
Stash Candidates: Rashaad Penny 3.2%, DeeJay Dallas 1.1%, Samaje Perine 15.1%/Chris Evans 2.0%, Devonta Freeman 2.7%, Jermar Jefferson 0.2%, Marlon Mack 7.9%, , Jerick McKinnon 6.0%, Peyton Barber 4.9%, Salvon Ahmed 1.7%, Malcolm Brown 9.6%, Giovani Bernard 12.2%, Darrynton Evans 1.7%, Ty'Son Williams 21.7%, Jeff Wilson Jr. 7.3%, Elijah Penny 0.1%, Travis Homer 0.2%, Le'Veon Bell 1.7%
Wide Receivers
A.J. Green 32.9%/Christian Kirk 25.1% - Unfortunately there's only one football, BUT in this case Kyler Murray makes sure at least 3 of the 4 WR's in this Arizona pass-catching platoon score double digit fantasy points seemingly each and every week. This week alone it was Hopkins, Green, and Kirk who all scored more than 18 fantasy points, with Green leading all WR in snaps with 68, 2nd in routes run with 29, and 2nd in targets. Kirk only had 4 less snaps than Green and 3 less routes run but led the team in targets. All four wide receivers are start-able during the bye weeks, at least until we see how Zach Ertz is used coming up in Week 7. Don't forget to keep an eye out for Rondale Moore either, who might be dropped this week yet has flashed truly elite potential despite still seeing limited snaps/opportunities on a weekly basis this year. We want parts of this offense as much as possible for the rest of the season, especially as we see Arizona get into more competitive game scripts in 2020. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
T.Y. Hilton 23.8% - Welcome back, T.Y.! The Colts re-introduced Hilton back into the lineup with only 24 snaps and 16 routes run, but it was Hilton who still produced the best statistics by any Colt pass catcher. With 4 receptions on 4 targets for 80 yards, T.Y. seems to have found his groove quickly with Wentz. With Parris Campbell going down with an apparent foot injury, the potential for T.Y. to shine next week is there against San Francisco and become the de-facto 1B WR opposite Pittman. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Rashod Bateman 14.6% - Although the rookie Bateman didn't light the fantasy world on fire in his NFL debut, the potential is certainly there. Bateman tied the team with 6 targets, finished 2nd in receptions (all 4 of which 4 led to first downs) and also ended up 2nd in snaps with 44 and 3rd in routes run 22. With the Ravens blowing out the Chargers, Lamar Jackson didn't have to take to the air very often, and with Sammy Watkins returning next week it will be interesting to see how Bateman is used going forward, but having said that he's still a nice stash for the next couple weeks to see how he's involved and most importantly how much more he can grow in this offense even with Watkins back. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Honorable Mention: Amon-Ra St. Brown 12.1%, Donovan Peoples-Jones 1.2%, Jamison Crowder 23.8%, K.J. Osborn 8.1%, Quez Watkins 2.8%, Bryan Edwards 7.7%, Darius Slayton 5.7%, Parris Campbell 15.8%, Van Jefferson 8.8%, Elijah Moore 15.7%, Sammy Watkins 21.6%, Deonte Harris 2.6%, Tre'Quan Smith 1.8% (STASH), Demarcus Robinson 1.3%, Byron Pringle 0.8%, Dyami Brown 0.8%, Cedrick Wilson 0.8%, Jamal Agnew 0.4%, Russell Gage 10.6%, Kendrick Bourne 2.6%, Mack Hollins 0.0%, Nick Westbrook-Ikine 5.7%
Tight Ends
Ricky Seals-Jones 20.0% - Living up to the hype by scoring the 3rd highest amount of fantasy points for a tight end in Week 6, Seal-Jones is now a must roster player in all league sizes until Logan Thomas return from injured reserve. "RSJ" played 100% of the teams total snaps this week, ran 1 less route than team leader Terry McLaurin (38) and was also 2nd in targets with 6. Next week Washington travels to Green Bay with the Packers giving up an average of 5.5 receptions/50 yards a game to opponents tight ends. RSJ could also serve as a 1B option in this offense with McLaurin not 100%. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Pat Freiermuth 3.0% - With Smith-Schuster on the IR, seemingly no one benefited more than the rookie Pat Freiermuth, who posted career-highs with 7 receptions and 58 yards. With the Steelers on bye in Week 7 it's still worth a stash, and a priority add if he's still available in any dynasty or TE-premium scoring format leagues. Freiermuth tied for second in targets with both Chase Claypool and Najee Harris and with the week off could get even more acclimated/involved in this pass-happy/short-passing scheme offense in Week 8. He'll continue to serve as a red zone threat with his size too. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Honorable Mention: Evan Engram 27.4%, Tyler Conklin 17.7%, Cole Kmet 10.2%, Dan Arnold 6.9%, Mo Alie-Cox 2.0%, OJ Howard 1.7%, Durham Smythe 10.9%, Tommy Sweeney 0.1% (STASH - Dawson Knox injury)
D/ST
New York Giants 3.0% - vs. Carolina
Philadelphia 2.2% - @ Las Vegas
Las Vegas 23.0% - vs. Philadelphia