Hey folks! We cannot understate the importance of being in on Week 7 waiver wire players early while the free agency acquisition budget (FAAB) price is cheapest (or free!), so you can add them to your roster. This is not just for adding them to your roster so your league mates don’t get them first; this will help you build a strong roster that has depth and can provide some additional cover from the chaos of the NFL season.

As we know, nothing goes exactly to plan in the NFL, so we want you to be as prepared as possible to weather the uncertain storm of injuries, role changes, scheme changes, and any other general chaos that can happen in a given NFL season.

I’m Kevin Tompkins, and while I may not have drafted a running back ever, I have picked up quite a few in my day as a noted “Zero-RB” guy; luckily, it won’t just be the running back position I’ll be helping you all with this season.

Each week, I’ll provide five players as look-ahead players for the next week, who could be THE waiver wire claims for the following week. But they won’t be available in your league because you already have them.

We’re already looking ahead to Week 7 players, so you can be ahead of the game now that we’re deeper into the bye weeks with the Chiefs, Rams, Dolphins, and Vikings all taking the week off.

Note: I cannot be held responsible if these players get hurt in Week 6, so please don’t tweet me @ktompkinsii if that happens.

~ Check out our Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings ~

Week 7 Waiver Wire QB

Drake Maye (QB – NE)

ESPN Rostership (3.4%)

It’s time to swim for Drake Maye, who is being thrust into the deep end for his first NFL start at home against the Houston Texans. The rub on Maye is the rushing upside that he provides in stark contrast to the zero upside Jacoby Brissett provided for five games prior to the announcement of Maye starting. To be put on this list is getting out ahead of the game if you have the room, but the third-overall pick in this past April’s NFL Draft has everything you want from a quarterback with size, athletic ability, arm talent, and not being Brissett. Major pluses that you want to see.

Of course, the mobile element is why you’re starting him rather than his ability to pass to what, on paper, is limited weaponry. Suppose the Patriots let Maye cook a little bit instead of hiding him and putting him in a box. In that case, he can “C.J. Stroud” his way into more passing volume than we originally anticipated, which was the thesis for the Texans in the early going of last season when Stroud averaged 37 pass attempts per game in the first five games.

The weapons? They aren’t super great. Second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk is now earning routes (100 percent route participation in Week 5), DeMario Douglas and Rhamondre Stevenson are decent, Kendrick Bourne is off of injured reserve, Hunter Henry exists, as do several passable players. It’s certainly possible that we get a “rising tide lifts all boats” scenario with Maye, where he becomes a high-end streaming quarterback for the rest of the season. The risk is zero. The reward is GREAT.

Week 7 Waiver Wire RB

Blake Corum (RB – LAR)

ESPN Rostership (18.5%)

Normally, it takes a little more than five pass routes and 19 snaps in a season to deem a guy waiver-wire worthy, but that’s where we are in America when it comes to Blake Corum. Corum saw his most extended NFL regular season game action (outside of the final few minutes in Week 2, where he earned eight snaps and eight rushing attempts) of the season, when he was the primary backup of Kyren Williams, with Ronnie Rivers only playing special teams snaps.

Corum saw two green-zone touches and almost had a touchdown, which would have perked people up to Corum even more. Luckily, he’s staying under the radar just enough for you to take advantage. Rivers being relegated to special teams is huge for Corum. With a running back workload just one hammy tweak or a concussion away across the league, Corum — the Rams’ third-round rookie from the 2024 NFL Draft — should be rostered in every league for the massive contingent value he has.

Week 7 Waiver Wire WR

Ja’Lynn Polk (WR – NE)

ESPN Rostership (12.7%)

For all the reasons we wrote about Drake Maye, bringing along a passing-game weapon to sew up Maye’s thesis is needed. Enter Polk, the team’s second-round pick in this past April’s NFL Draft, who is earning more and more work by the week.

While the stat sheet hasn’t been too friendly for Polk after five games, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel here. Polk has earned seven and six targets in his last two games, and after routes per dropback of 62 percent, 69 percent and 49 percent, Polk has run routes at an 87 percent clip in Week 4 and a full 100 percent route participation in Week 5. While the 13 targets in the last two weeks have been pretty inefficient, target shares of 24 percent and 21 percent in the last two weeks are incredibly promising.

The Patriots’ offense is showing intent to target Polk, and that should continue with Maye being installed at quarterback. So, while Maye may have a leaky offensive line (PFF’s lowest-graded offensive line entering Week 6), Maye has the mobility to get out of the pocket and make plays off script, and Polk should be a big part of that.

Adonai Mitchell (WR – IND)

ESPN Rostership (10.8%)

With Michael Pittman (back) nursing a back injury that will likely sideline him for Week 6 and potentially place him on injured reserve, the main beneficiary in the passing game is Adonai Mitchell.

Mitchell should line back up on the outside in Pittman’s place and garner a solid, usable route per dropback for whoever is the quarterback between Joe Flacco and Anthony Richardson. When Josh Downs played his first game in Week 3, Mitchell’s routes cratered to just 9 percent, 27 percent and 24 percent from Week 3 on to last week. Last week is where things changed despite Mitchell playing a part-time role, as he has a ridiculous 58 percent targets per route run and earned seven targets, a rushing attempt, and even a pass attempt. The Colts made a concerted effort to involve him in the game plan, and that should increase a bunch with one key cog missing from the lineup.

Grab Mitchell as soon as possible to stash on your bench with drastically increased routes per dropback and even more opportunity to involve him in the offense, no matter if it’s an increased pass-volume offense with Flacco or a high average depth of target (aDOT) Anthony Richardson using his receivers to make huge splash plays.

Week 7 Waiver Wire TE

Ja’Tavion Sanders (TE – CAR)

ESPN Rostership (0.3%)

Ja’Tavion Sanders has the opportunity coming in Week 6 to run a massive number of routes per dropback, and while the Panthers’ offense isn’t a top unit by any stretch, Sanders will at least be on the field a ton. Tommy Tremble suffered a nasty concussion and hasn’t practiced on Wednesday or Thursday, so he’s likely not clearing concussion protocol before Sunday’s game at home against the Atlanta Falcons. Ian Thomas hasn’t played a snap all year and is on injured reserve thanks to a calf injury, but if he does get removed, he won’t be thrust into a starting role right away.

That leaves Sanders in a prime position to get some targets with the opportunity to score. Sanders ran a career-high routes per dropback (74 percent) and snaps (74 percent ) last week and should improve upon those numbers in Week 6. What about the target-earning ability? It was actually pretty solid last week as he earned five targets, catching three balls for 13 yards. These are not game-breaking numbers at all, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

When we’re digging this deep for a tight end, we’re looking for a touchdown and then receptions afterward. As one of the best athletic tight ends that came out of the draft this past April, Sanders could be building on something for the Panthers, and it’s a free look at an athletic profile where the opportunity is 100 percent there for him.

Kevin Tompkins is a contributor to Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Kevin on X (formerly Twitter) @ktompkinsii and right here on Optimus Fantasy.