Victor Cruz’s season ending injury makes Odell Beckham Jr. the top consensus waiver wire add for Week 7

Nobody wants to see an injury happen, but it is unfortunately part of the game and does impact your fantasy outlook. If you’re lucky to have the top waiver priority and are in need of a wide receiver, look no further than Odell Beckham Jr.. The most notable injury from this past weekend (Victor Cruz) made Beckham Jr. the clear consensus choice for who the top waiver wire add should be.

Now of course there’s the chance that Beckham Jr. is already rostered in your league, so who should you grab? Our experts have chimed in and answered that question with their weekly waiver wire rankings. They ranked this week’s top readily available players based on rest of season value as well as named their top D/ST rentals for Week 7. Read on to view the pundits’ consensus rankings.

Featured Pros

Jon Collins (Fantasy Sports LR)
R.J. White (Fantasy Football Cafe)
Ryan Rufe (RotoBaller)
Tony Mauriello (ProjectRoto)

Waiver Wire Rankings (STD Scoring)

*Note: We address the Rams’ RB situation here

Week 7 Waiver Wire Advice

Each expert was asked to share advice about a target or two they like this week along with any other waiver wire suggestions they have. Here’s what the experts had to say.

Q1: Give us your thoughts on a waiver wire target (or two) you especially like as a pickup.

Ryan Rufe – RotoBaller
I figure a few experts will tout Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the wake of Victor Cruz’s season-ending injury, so I’ll focus my attention on a different rookie who has made a significant fantasy impact thus far. Undrafted free agent Isaiah Crowell continues to impress for my hometown Cleveland Browns, running for a season-high 77 yards and a score during Sunday’s win over the Steelers. He fumbled twice (losing one) during the game, but the notable takeaway heading into the contest was the fact that fellow rookie Terrance West was inactive as a surprise healthy scratch. I doubt one lost fumble will force Mike Pettine to realign his depth chart at RB, which leaves Crowell in a good spot as the solidified RB2 behind an injury-prone starter (Ben Tate) on a run-heavy team.
 
Tony Mauriello – ProjectRoto
The Raiders almost pulled off an upset of the San Diego Chargers in the Black Hole yesterday and at the center of the air attack was the returning Derek Carr and his deep threat, Andre Holmes. After being underutilized during the Raiders’ first four games of the 2014 season, Holmes looked spectacular in catching 4 balls for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 8 targets. Holmes may not be PPR gold over the course of the rest of the season, but if he and Carr continue to develop the chemistry they had on Sunday, Holmes is a must add. The safety net for Holmes will always be there as the Raiders have shown that when they do get down in games, the offense will throw the ball and take deep shots. In other words, the Raiders could be the team of garbage time production. Jump on Holmes with about 12% of your waiver wire budget or rank him as your 1^st or 2^nd priority depending on your team’s needs.
 
Jon Collins – Fantasy Sports LR
Brandon LaFell is reasonably far down my list at seven, and those of my peers, but he may boast as high an upside as any of the receivers on the list. His chemistry was a little slow to come with Tom Brady, but he has been playing full snap loads in recent weeks and has a minimum of four targets in any game where he has been active this season. He was the third most targeted Patriot this week, behind Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, but with six looks, healthy production could continue on a regular basis. Clearly a more trusted option than Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson and company. LaFell looks to be cemented as the outside target in New England’s offense.

It took the Raiders a while to wake up to Andre Holmes, but the 3^rd year receiver who came on strong to close 2013 has found his way into regular playing time in the second month of the 2014 season. With 20 targets over the past two weeks, he should draw high volume as long as he maintains his depth chart position. With plays like the 77 yard catch and run to open against San Diego in his repertoire, that should be the case. Oakland will find themselves throwing late often this season, and on volume alone, Holmes becomes worthy of weekly WR3 consideration.
 
R.J. White – Fantasy Football Cafe
Odell Beckham and Brandon Bolden are the clear waiver adds this week, due largely to injuries ahead of them on the depth chart. Beckham was already high on my list of priority adds before the Victor Cruz injury — if you play in a redraft league with me, he’s probably already owned — and he has a nice group of opponents at the end of the season (JAC, TEN, WAS, STL), making him a very nice playoff option. Bolden has been solid when called upon in the past, and he should slot right into Stevan Ridley’s workload, as the Pats have a history of not piling too much on Shane Vereen’s plate. Fantasy teams should assess positional needs, as either player makes sense as a No. 1 claim based on each team’s strengths and weaknesses.
 

Q2. For owners looking to rent a D/ST in Week 7, what readily available option should they target?
*Note: Experts were asked to pick a team other than the Jaguars’ opponent (Cleveland) since they’re an obvious choice

Ryan Rufe – RotoBaller
The Buffalo Bills allowed a season-high 37 points during Sunday’s loss to the Patriots, but they should rebound nicely in Week 7 at home against the Minnesota Vikings. Buffalo is allowing 67.5 rushing yards per game as the top-ranked run defense in the NFL, which will likely force the Vikings to lean on rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater, who’s coming off a dreadful performance (188 yards passing, three INT, eight sacks) against the Lions. The Bills also have a favorable matchup in Week 8 against the Jets, which makes them a nice streaming option both this week and next.
 
Tony Mauriello – ProjectRoto
Aside from the Cleveland Browns, who win NFL roulette and get to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7, if you are streaming defenses, grab the Buffalo Bills, who get to host the Minnesota Vikings at home (and then face the New York Jets in Week 8). The Bills are not likely to be owned this week as they were facing the New England Patriots. While the Bills were torched by Tom Brady and the Patriots’ passing attack in Week 6, the Vikings have averaged less than 200 yards passing per game and Vikings QBs have thrown 9 interceptions and just 3 touchdowns. The Bills’ CBs should match up well with the Vikings’ wideouts and if they can be shut down, Teddy Bridgewater will not be able to use his legs to escape the Bills’ defensive line.
 
Jon Collins – Fantasy Sports LR
I like both sides of the Minnesota/Buffalo tilt in Week 7 as streaming options. The Bills are less readily available, though after watching Teddy Bridgewater struggle against a front seven that can dial up the pressure, I think he could be in for more of the same this week against the Bills. On the other side, Minnesota is available in virtually all leagues, but they present a nice rental option against Kyle Orton and Buffalo. The Bills have given up 11 fantasy points to opposing D/STs in both games of Kyle Orton’s tenure, taking seven sacks and throwing two interceptions across two weeks. Orton has done well enough moving the offense, but he’s still brand new to Doug Marrone’s scheme and can be counted on for a few errors this week. Minnesota will check in as a nice back-end top-12 D/ST option in my ranks this week.
 
R.J. White – Fantasy Football Cafe
None of the D/ST options stand out as a clear add. When that happens, I tend to favor the units that are averaging the most fantasy points on the season. That points me in the direction of Green Bay, Indianapolis and Miami, and of the three, I think the Packers have the best matchup, facing the Panthers at home. Carolina had to play a full extra quarter of football in Week 6, and injuries have decimated the Panthers’ running game. The Packers have a good shot at holding Carolina to a low score as a result, which should turn into a solid fantasy day.

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Thanks to this week’s Featured Pros for sharing their advice! You can check out more picks from the pundits as their weekly rankings are unveiled soon.