Thomason: Top Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 7
By Jack Thomason--
(CBS) The NFL is a revolving door of parity. Change is constantly happening, and as fantasy owners, it's an area of opportunity for us to improve.
There are so many examples to be on top of that should cause you to re-evaluate fantasy situations, but if you snooze, you lose. I'll share my whiff to date: Bears receiver Kevin White was seeing an abundant amount of targets, and in steps Cameron Meredith when White got hurt. In the six games they've combined to play, they've combined for the second-most targets by a receiver in the league. The writing was on the wall. Meredith has exploded in his last two games, and the sheer opportunity should've been enough for me and other owners to jump on him when the chance was there.
Here are my top 10 waiver adds for 10- and 12-member league.
1. Cameron Meredith (WR, Chicago Bears) – I've already shared some about Meredith above, but the bottom line is he's being showered in targets. Over his last two games as a starting receiver, Meredith has combined for 20 receptions on 27 targets, blowing up for 243 yards and a touchdown. Enjoy the show.
2. Jay Ajayi (RB, Miami Dolphins) – Finally, the Dolphins committed to their best running back, and he paid significant dividends. While Arian Foster isn't fully healthy, I suspect Sunday's performance of a NFL season-best 204 yards rushing on 25 carries has earned Ajayi the right to play the bell-cow role until further notice. Ajayi played 69 percent of the snaps, and the Dolphins offensive line looked the best it has all season.
3. James White (RB, New England Patriots) – While Dion Lewis is eligible to return fron the physically-unable-to-perform list, there hasn't been much word about him returning and it's possible the Patriots take their time with him. That leaves White in a great situation now that Tom Brady has returned. He torched the Bengals for eight catches, 47 yards and two scores while chipping in 19 yards on seven carries. The receiving back to LaGarrette Blount's hammer, White will be efficient with his touches and always have the opportunity to blow up, especially against tough run defenses, as the Patriots like to spread them out and go with a pass-happy approach.
4. Hunter Henry (TE, San Diego Chargers) – Henry needs to be owned in all formats at this point. I think most people are expecting Antonio Gates to render Henry unusable, but it's the other way around. Let's not forget Gates is 37 and Henry has looked incredible, putting to shame the notion rookie tight ends can't make an impact. With three touchdowns in his last three games and still playing 68 percent of the snaps last week with eight targets, Henry should be considered a mid-range TE1.
5. Kenny Britt (WR, LA Rams) – Quietly, dating back to last year, Britt has surpassed 60 receiving yards in eight of his last 12 games. He's currently on pace for more than 1,300 yards and is the go-to receiver in the Rams offense.He makes for a solid WR3 and can pop in any game, much like he did Sunday ripping off 136 yards and two touchdowns.
6. Mike Gillislee (RB, Buffalo Bills) – Gillislee was moments away from being the clear top add, though LeSean McCoy owners are so thankful that isn't the case. It's also a reminder that those stud running backs who are receiving bulk touches can go down at any moment, and you want to be prepared to reap the rewards. Gillislee is still only seeing about a quarter of the snaps (24 percent) and averaging five touches a week over the last three games, but he does have two touchdowns in that time and showed he's capable of explosive plays. McCoy came back form what looked to be a scary knee injury, but Gillislee is waiting in the wings if anything were to happen to him moving forward.
7. Devontae Booker (RB, Denver Broncos) – Now is the time to start adding some of these backup running backs who are seeing time and looking good. Booker is one of them. He continues to see work and looks more explosive than C.J. Anderson. That said, Anderson was just shy of a monster night last Thursday. He had several runs and catches called back due to penalties, including a touchdown, so don't get too crazy here. Booker did play just 21 percent of the snaps but totaled 53 yards on seven touches in comparison to Anderson's 71 yards on 14 touches.
8. Cole Beasley (WR, Dallas Cowboys) – Beasley gets little to no love, yet he's averaging 5.5 receptions, 65 yards and 0.5 touchdowns on 6.5 targets. They aren't staggering numbers, but especially in PPR leagues, Beasley is a WR3 with some upside. He will have more underneath space to work when Dez Bryant returns in Week 8, and he quietly has three touchdowns in his last two games. He isn't the most exciting player, but he gets opportunity and produces.
9. Adam Thielen (WR, Minnesota Vikings) – If there's a lingering issue with Stefon Diggs' groin, we've seen Thielen assert himself as Sam Bradford's top option without Diggs on the field. He tallied 127 yards and a score on eight targets against the Texans' strong pass defense. This is a preemptive add and a quality depth move at the back end of the waiver wire.
10. Ty Montgomery (WR, Green Bay Packers) – The Packers are reeling at running back, and though there was a lot of talk about Randall Cobb seeing work in the backfield, it was Montgomery who played the majority of that change-of-pace role. The Packers used the short passing game with him as an extension of the running game. In doing so, Montgomery racked up 10 receptions for 98 yards and added in three carries. Montgomery saw 50 percent of the offensive snaps,the highest on the season for him, and this may be something we see more of going forward.
Just missed: Dion Lewis, Mike Davis, Rob Kelley, Corey Coleman, Donte Moncrief, Kendall Wright, Torrey Smith, Jack Doyle, C.J. Fiedorwicz and Ladarius Green.
Jack Thomason is 670 The Score's fantasy football expert and co-host of "Chicago's Fantasy Football Today," which can be heard every Sunday during football season from 8-9 a.m. CT on WSCR-670 and 670thescore.com/listen. Follow him on Twitter @jthomason77 and feel free to ask fantasy questions.