Every week, we examine players that may be available on your league's waiver wire that could help your team in the short and/or long term.
For a player to be listed, he must be rostered in 50 percent (or less) of Yahoo! leagues. The goal is to provide recommendations of players that have a greater chance of being available on your league's waiver wire. Of course, your league's size and settings could significantly impact whether these players (or better options) are available in your particular league(s).
With that said, here are some wide receiver waiver-wire options to consider heading into Week 7 (Yahoo! % rostered in parenthesis):
[Note: Players listed below are sorted by our preference to add.]
Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears (44%)
Good news first, here are Mooney's per-game target shares this season: 17.5%, 34.78%, 20.0%, 41.18%, 25.0% and 32.0%. On the year, the second-year wideout has a team-high 26.9% target share. In addition, Mooney leads the Bears in all receiving stats -- receptions (25), yards (306) and touchdowns (one).
So, what's the bad news?
Only the Saints (120, 24.0/G) have fewer pass attempts this season than the Bears (149, 24.83/G). While Mooney has a couple of strong performances (WR13 in Week 4 and currently WR18 heading into MNF), he's also finished as fantasy's WR107 and WR68 in Justin Fields' two other starts.
With a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on tap in Week 7, the Bears are nearly two-TD underdogs. Could that lead to a significant uptick in pass attempts, especially given how stout the team's run defense is?
If the game script leads to more pass attempts and Mooney maintains a target share north of 20%, it's possible that he has another solid outing in a top-eight fantasy matchup.
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens (28%)
The first of Baltimore's two first-round picks in 2021, Bateman made his NFL debut in Sunday's blowout victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. It's unclear how things may have been different had it not been a blowout and had Sammy Watkins played, but it was encouraging to see Bateman tie Mark Andrews for a team-high six targets.
Based on talent, Bateman should be a top-50 performer the rest of the way. The biggest concern with Bateman is the same general concern that applies to all of the team's pass catchers -- a run-dominant offensive philosophy that leads to low volume overall.
More Fantasy Football Waiver Wire:
- Fantasy Football QB Waiver Wire
- Fantasy Football RB Waiver Wire
- Fantasy Football WR Waiver Wire
- Fantasy Football TE Waiver Wire
Check out more of our content:
- Fantasy Football Rankings
- 2022 NFL Mock Draft
- 2023 NFL Mock Draft
- 2022 NBA Mock Draft
- Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule
- NFL Power Rankings
Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.
More Fantasy Football Waiver-Wire Advice:
- Fantasy Football QB Waiver Wire
- Fantasy Football RB Waiver Wire
- Fantasy Football WR Waiver Wire
- Fantasy Football TE Waiver Wire
Check out more of our content:
- Fantasy Football Rankings
- 2022 NFL Mock Draft
- 2023 NFL Mock Draft
- 2022 NBA Mock Draft
- Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule
- NFL Power Rankings
Keep track of our site's updates: Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and/or Subscribe to our newsletter.
