By Ben Martinez / Chris Dell
Last Updated: Tuesday at 11:14 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 - @BetPredators on Twitter. BOL on your FAB bids/claims!
BYE WEEKS: Raiders, Ravens
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones 28.4% - Through the air, on the ground, and making one handed catches while absorbing contact? Daniel Jones simply did it all in Week 7 and now faces off this week against the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that ranks 2nd to last in average fantasy points given up to quarterbacks and was DEAD LAST in both pass rush and run defense heading into Week 6. The Giants also hope to have at least one of Golladay, Toney or Shepard to add to Jones’ weaponry this week. In a game with a 52-point total against KC’s abysmal defense, we expect the Giants to move the ball quite easily on Monday Night Football and will likely have Daniel Jones ranked as a borderline top 10 quarterback. Stream with confidence and know that you might have a season-long starter in Jones with sneaky rushing upside as his WR's get healthier here. Jones could get right back to putting up Top 10 performances ASAP. Recommended FAB Bid: 5-10%
Carson Wentz 22.1% - The rain was coming down hard in San Francisco on Sunday night, but that didn't stop Carson from have a +20 fantasy performance. Despite only throwing for 150 yards, Wentz scored 3 touchdowns - 2 in the air and 1 on the ground - and he’s been slowly climbing the quarterback rankings each of the last few weeks with 3 favorable matchups ahead to boot. Wentz gets a very beatable Titans secondary in Tennessee in Week 8, then faces the lowly Jets and Jaguars both at home, Wentz could enter the top 12 by Week 11 as a weekly borderline QB1, and his stock will continue to rise even further if T.Y. Hilton can get back in the lineup AND stay healthy. If you’ve been streaming at quarterback most weeks this year then Wentz is a great option if you can’t get Jones, or if your quarterback has a bye coming up you might want to stash the Colts QB just for one (or both) of those juicy matchups vs either NYJ/JAX. Wentz's recent addition of star OL Nelson is even more reason to make this add. Recommended FAB Bid: 5-10%
Deshaun Watson 16.1% - With news breaking about a possible trade that would see the former Texans quarterback on the move, now might be a good time to stash Watson and wait to see what happens. Even Goodell came out and implied that Watson would likely play (and avoid the exempt list) if and when he is dealt in the next week. Watson when healthy/active is a locked and loaded top 5 QB with a floor of top 10 signal-caller. He’s that good (in fantasy football), and off the field issues aside Watson is absolutely worth a spot on your bench. Carolina or Miami have enough weapons in their respective offenses to make this a potential league-winning add down the stretch of the fantasy playoffs. Recommended FAB Bid: 5-10%
Honorable Mention: Trey Lance 13.4% (stash), Teddy Bridgewater 21.4%, Jameis Winston 26.8%, Tyrod Taylor (stash) 2.6%, Taylor Heinicke 24.5%, Justin Fields 21.7% (stash)
Running Backs
Kenneth Gainwell 26.3%/ Boston Scott 0.7% - The potential of Miles Sanders (week to week) missing Week 8 gives both the rookie Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott the opportunity to spread their wings and fly. Out of the two, Gainwell is the priority add over Scott in PPR formats. Gainwell was already a part of the Eagles’ offensive scheme with Sanders healthy - albeit a very small part of that scheme lately - is used mostly in the passing game. Gainwell received 5 carries once Sanders was ruled out for the remainder of Philly’s Week 7 game and out-snapped Scott 34-23 in addition to running 21 routes to Scott's 12 and receiving 7 targets times (2nd highest on the team). Scott did receive 2 additional carries over Gainwell, however, and rushed for 4 more yards, including all of the rushing work in the red zone/goal line area. This week Gainwell should be the number one addition in all fantasy football leagues, as Philadelphia faces a Detroit rushing defense that ranks 2nd in most fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. Scott is a service-able flex as well, with more priority in half-ppr/standard scoring formats given his expected role as the team’s early down/goal line back. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Brandon Bolden 5.5% - The rookie Rhamondre Stevenson was a surprisingly healthy scratch/inactive in Week 7 coming off the best game of his young NFL career, thus giving the “James White Lite” role back to Bolden, who bounced back well with 7-6-79 receiving, including a long reception of 28 yards and a 15-yard TD reception. Whichever RB secures this pass-catching role provides immediate starting value as a flex or low-end RB2 in the right matchup, and at just 5.5% owned, the veteran Bolden seems to have this locked in for now, being that JJ Taylor received nearly all of his touches with the Patriots up by 20+ points late in the game. If you remove Week 6 in which Bolden played behind Stevenson, he’s now been targeted 4+ times in all 4 of his games and has 3+ catches in those 4 games. It seems as if the current NE coaching staff doesn’t trust Stevenson in pass pro, and if that’s the case, Bolden could be in this third-down role all year long. In deeper leagues similar analysis gives us reason to stash JJ Taylor. Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
Jaret Patterson 0.9% (stash) - Last week Jaret Patterson was on our radar as a must-add if Antonio Gibson missed any time due to a shin stress fracture injury. Gibson is still playing football with an injury that typically takes 6-8 weeks to heal, and although the Washington Football Team has a bye in Week 9 which could help Gibson recover more quickly, the odds of Patterson taking over for Gibson look semi-promising with “The Team’s” playoff chances dwindling by the second. McKissic would certainly step into a bigger role sans Gibson, but we’d expect roughly 10 touches per game and a few targets if Patterson was thrust in the rotation, which could give him borderline/low-end flex numbers for RB-needy teams and a solid handcuff if you’re rostering Antonio Gibson at the moment as well. Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
Honorable Mention: Devonta Freeman 19.9%, Ty’Son Williams 15.3%, Rashaad Penny 9.8%, Ty Johnson 4.1%, David Johnson 28.8%, Salvon Ahmed 1.8%, Jamycal Hasty 2.7%, Samaje Perine 7.3%, Marlon Mack (6.0% - STASH), Jeff Wilson (5.6% - STASH), Mark Ingram II 24.8%, Darryton Evans (1.4% - STASH), JJ Taylor 0.5%, Ronald Jones (30.1% - STASH)
Wide Receivers
Rashod Bateman 19% - The rookie WR built on his NFL debut against CIN this week with 6 targets and 3 receptions for 80 yards. Bateman was 3rd in snaps and 2nd in routes run for the Ravens and now gets a bye week to become even more integrated into this potent passing attack. Stash Bateman ASAP and reap the rewards down the stretch of the regular season and fantasy playoffs. Recommended FAB Bid: 10-15%
Christian Kirk 31.7% - Through Week 7, Kirk trails only DeAndre Hopkins in targets, receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns on the team and is a near lock to run a starter’s amount of routes in Arizona’s 3-WR sets. We don’t often talk about “wide receiver handcuffs” often, but if AJ Green or Hopkins were to ever miss time, Kirk would become a coveted asset, even moreso than he is now as the #22 overall scoring WR in fantasy and playing for one of the NFL's most pass-happy offenses. Recommended FAB Bid: 5-10%
Darius Slayton 11.2% - The number one wide receiver for the New York Football Giants is most likely still available in your league. With injuries to 3 of the top Giant wide receivers, Slayton has taken over the top spot in New York as he finished with 5 receptions on a team-leading 9 targets for 63 yards during a blowout win against Carolina, Slayton will look to continue leading the injury-riddled Giants at wide receiver against a league worse Kansas City secondary on Monday Night. Even if one of Shepard/Toney/Golladay return we still expect Slayton to be locked into his role as the team’s top perimeter threat on the outside. He’s shown great rapport with Daniel Jones over the last few seasons and we expect that continue for a Giants team likely to be playing from behind and dropping back to pass at an elevated rate more often than not. Recommended FAB Bid: 5-10%
Marquez Valdes-Scantling 1.7%/T.Y. Hilton 30.2% - Allen Lazard and Davante Adams are both on the COVID list, leaving an extremely thin pass-catching core in Green Bay for their Thursday Night Football showdown against the Arizona Cardinals. Enter the man simply known as “MVS,” who was among the league-leaders in air yards before he injured his hamstring before Week 4 and was coming off his best game of the season with 3 catches for 59 yards and a touchdown against the 49’ers. MVS could serve as Rodgers’ #1 receiving option against the Cardinals this week with Cobb manning the slot and Tonyan serving as the only other option outside of the RB’s Jones/Dillon. In a game where the Packers are underdogs, on the road, and in primetime, we expect more than a fair share of deep shots sent MVS’ way from Rodgers here. Hilton fits a similar mold here, although much higher owned, being the Colts’ #1 deep threat for a surging Carson Wentz and now getting a dream matchup against the Titans secondary in Week 8. Hilton is the priority add for long-term value IF he’s healthy, but that’s a big if right now given Hilton’s recent track record of injuries. Both of these guys are big plays waiting to happen and could happen to be in featured roles this week. If you need a spot start in Week 8 for your WR 2/WR 3 spot for your flex, you could certainly do a ton worse. Recommended FAB Bid: 5-10%
Honorable Mention: Jamal Agnew 0.5%, Dante Pettis 1.8% (STASH), Elijah Moore 12.4%, Kalif Raymond 5.9%, Van Jefferson 8.8%, K.J. Osborn 7.6%, Randall Cobb 14.3%, Russell Gage 8.4%, Jamison Crowder 22.2%, Bryan Edwards 7.6%, Nico Collins 1.6%, Curtis Samuel 32.2% (stash), Allen Lazard 4.9% (COVID), Quez Watkins 4.3%, Zach Pascal 8.9%, Gabriel Davis 3.3%, Tyler Johnson 2.5%, Tre’Quan Smith 1.9%, Deonte Harris 2.5%, Sammy Watkins 15.2%, Byron Pringle 0.8%, Mack Hollins 0.1%
Tight Ends
Pat Freiermuth 2.7% - If you missed last week's article we went over why Freiermuth is a great add. Case in point: 7 receptions for 58 yards in Week 6, turning in his best NFL performance as rookie with Smith-Schuster out. Freiermuth stepped in immediately’s as Big Ben’s second short-area target next to Diontae Johnson and still serves as a big-bodied red zone threat as well. He’ll be a borderline TE1 in our rankings moving forward and fits in perfectly with the PIT scheme/Big Ben quick-hitting tendencies, especially in full PPR scoring formats. Coming off the bye he could be even more involved. Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
C.J. Uzomah 10.1% - There are only 4 tight ends in the top 10 in TE scoring in fantasy with 2 or more +20 fantasy point games, but there are ZERO tight ends in the top 10 with a zero point performance either. Tread carefully when adding Uzomah, who was 2nd in snaps this week with 52 but was 4th in routes run with 27 for the now high-flying Cincinnati Bengals passing attack. Uzomah’s big day resulted in 3 receptions on 3 targets for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. With 2 of the top 3 ranked tight ends on bye this week Uzomah could be a good replacement against a weak Jets secondary/linebacker crew, but temper your expectations with so many mouths to feed for the Bengals in a game they might not need to throw in the second half. If he suffers any regression in the TD department we could easily see him being dropped back to waivers just as quickly as he was added. Still worth a flier, though. Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
Foster Moreau 5.7% - A last minute DNP for Darren Waller led to Moreau leading the Las Vegas Raiders with 66 snaps and tied for 2nd on the team with 30 routes run, Moreau caught all 6 of his targets for 60 yards and a touchdown, but unfortunately the Raiders are on bye this week and rumors of Waller’s injury are that it’s not so severe. If you have extra space on your bench and/or own Waller yourself, then Moreau should be added until Waller is cleared. Moreau is a talented prospect who's flashed his abilities when given opportunity. He would be a sure fire TE1 if Waller missed more time. Recommended FAB Bid: 5%
Evan Engram 23.4% - Like Slayton mentioned above, Engram finally stepped up in a big way as one of the few remaining Giants’ pass catchers in Week 7 as he was targeted 8 times and finished with 6 catches for 44 yards. Tied for 2nd in snaps with Slayton with 44, Engram also ran 22 routes and gets a very favorable matchup against the Chiefs in Week 8. Engram’s target share could take a dip with the return of some of his teammates, and even without Shepard/Toney/Golladay he still only put up a modest fantasy performance, so don’t get too crazy with your bids here if you don’t have to. Recommended FAB Bid: 2.5%
Honorable Mention: Mo-Ali Cox 13.7%, Tyler Conklin 10.7%, Dan Arnold 6.9%, Cole Kmet 18.2%, Tommy Sweeney 0.4%
D/ST
Bengals 23.0% (at Jets)
Falcons 18.7% (vs. Panthers)
Seahawks 6.7% (vs. Jaguars)
Eagles 3.6% (at Lions)
Bears 16.3% (vs. 49’ers)
Chargers 2.4% (vs. Patriots)
Jaguars 1.2% (at Seahawks)
Lions 0.8% (vs. Eagles)
Chiefs 6.3% (vs. Giants)