Early Fantasy Football Waiver Wire For Week 7: Omar Cooper Is Breaking Out

I’m not going to sugar coat it—this is not the week to be blowing your FAAB budget on any single player. Especially if you’re needy for immediate production at the running back position … you’re probably better off trying to make a trade after this one than spending on the wire. There weren’t any major injuries, and I’d expect most of the guys who stepped up to see their roles diminished next week when the starters return.

That being said … there are still some intriguing names here that I’d be looking to snag. Especially when it comes to young, high-upside pass catchers.

FYI—the following players are ordered by position, NOT the order in which I would attack them on the wire. For detailed breakdowns on priority and pricing for each of these players, make sure to check out the premium version of this article, which drops weekly on Tuesday mornings. I dive deep into FAAB recommendations in multiple league sizes and formats, including Guillotine Leagues™️.

Without further ado, let’s get right into it.

Early Week 7 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

Quarterbacks

J.J. McCarthy | NYG

Roster: 13%

McCarthy came into the game in the 4th quarter with 11 minutes left, and lit the world on fire.

243 passing yards

26 rushing yards

1 TD (and 1 INT)

Believe it or not, this 243 passing yards from McCarthy over an 11-minute span was the most from any QB in NFL history. He ended with 0.22 EPA per dropback, putting him at QB5 on the week. Will JJ take the starting job going forward after this performance? It remains to be seen, but I am genuinely intrigued.

I’m not going to tell you to go pick up McCarthy just yet in your 1QB leagues … but if you’re in superflex, he’s absolutely worth a flier.

Running Backs

Roschon Johnson | CHI

Roster: 23%

Johnson served as the RB2 in the Chicago backfield this week behind D'Andre Swift with Kyle Monangai sidelined. He took 45% of the total running back carries out of the Bears backfield (13 carries to Swift’s 15) for 51 yards and a touchdown. He also added 2 receptions for 34 yards, finishing with 16.5 PPR points (RB8 on the week).

This waiver pickup comes with a major caveat: there is no long-term value when it comes to picking up Johnson. If Monangai returns in Week 7, I have no interest in rostering him. That being said, he looked pretty great this week. If Monangai remains out next week, I think Johnson will be serviceable as a fill-in back in fantasy lineups.

Seth McGowan | IND

Roster: 19%

McGowan is my weekly staple in this waiver article when there are no other major running back targets. It’s simple: he remains the primary handcuff and only other back to receive any touches behind Jonathan Taylor on a weekly basis.

While he offers zero startability as long as Taylor is healthy, he needs to be rostered as one of the top-tier handcuffs in fantasy. He’s on way too many waiver wires right now. Burn a roster spot and roster McGowan—if JT goes down, you’ll have a locked-in RB2 every week.

Wide Receivers

Omar Cooper | NYJ

Roster: 27%

In his first game back off of injured reserve, Cooper showed us why he’s worthy of the top waiver wire pickup after Week 6:

85% route participation (2nd only behind Garrett Wilson)

7 targets / 24% target share (1st on NYJ)

6 receptions, 103 yards (1st on NYJ)

22.3 fantasy points (6th among all WRs in Week 6)

The first-round rookie receiver hasn’t seen game action since Week 1, when he left with injury after his first NFL reception. He came roaring back in Week 6, with a performance that has me believing he should be the No. 1 priority this week.

Ja'Kobi Lane | BAL

Roster: 44%

Lane was one of the hottest names after his Week 1 performance, where the rookie came onto the scene hot as the WR2 in route participation behind Zay Flowers—only to be sent to injured reserve for four weeks.

In his return to game action in Week 6, he picked up right where he left off—serving as a top option in the Ravens passing attack. He didn’t do much in the boxscore, finishing with only 4 receptions for 40 yards, but he was second on the team in target rate (16.1%).

I’m not taking a whole lot away from the Ravens offensive performance this week in their loss to the Browns with Tyler Huntley at the helm, but it was great to see Lane return to action and immediately be prioritized. If he was dropped in your league, I’d absolutely be looking to snag the rookie as a high-upside swing at the receiver position.

Jaylin Noel | HOU

Roster: 24%

Let’s start with the good news here:

Noel was the No. 2 wide receiver in route participation behind Nico Collins this week. He finished with 4 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown—20.7 PPR points (WR7 on the week).

Now for the (not so good) news:

He only ran 61% of the routes.

He had only 7.2 expected fantasy points (WR48 on the week).

I think Noel will be a popular waiver add after this explosive performance, but honestly I’d rather let someone else spend up for him. Especially with Marvin Harrison Jr. getting added to the fold, I only see this wide receiver room getting more murky beyond Nico Collins going forward.

Malachi Fields | NYG

Roster: 28%

Looking at the boxscore, you would never guess that the third-round rookie receiver from the 2026 class had his best utilization of the year in Week 6. He finished with 2 receptions for 19 yards and no touchdown (3.9 PPR points).

The underlying usage suggests there are brighter days ahead for Fields in fantasy:

90.6% route participation (only behind Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely)

8 targets (again, behind only Nabers and Likely)

Fields’ 13.1 expected fantasy points give him an underperformance delta of -9.2 (13.1 - 3.9), which ranks him 91st of 95 receivers in Week 6. Even though he didn’t provide any value from a real-life fantasy perspective this week, I love to see a rookie getting this involved in their offense’s game plan.

Tight Ends

Michael Mayer | LV

Roster: 30%

I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to start giving Michael Mayer his flowers as a legit target earner in this Raiders offense - even with Brock Bowers on the field.

Since wers returned in Week 3, the Raiders have run 12 personnel on 57.9% of their offensive plays. That's the highest rate in the league and about 2.4 times the rest of the league's 23.7%. The median team is at 22.5%.

In Week 6, specifically, Mayer continued to prove his importance as a receiver here:

69% route participation (3rd)

9 targets, 23.7% target rate (1st)

7 receptions, 95 yards

14.5 expected fantasy points (TE6)

16.5 actual fantasy points (TE5)

Mayer is now TE12 on the season with 10.1 fantasy points per game. Even as the firm TE2 on his own team, I’m starting to think he needs to be in the back-end TE1 conversation on a weekly basis.

Since you made it this far … here are the guys I would NOT recommend spending on:

Zonovan Knight: split carries with Tyler Allgeier this week, but I’m expecting Jeremiyah Love to return in Week 7.

Tyrone Tracy: the Giants backfield was an absolute mess this week. I’m not taking much away from Tracy’s fantasy production here.

Jahan Dotson: solid fantasy performance here with 90+% of the routes in Atlanta, but I don’t trust Dotson as a weekly option given his NFL track record.

Tommy Tremble: 2 touchdowns, only 50% of the routes. Could just as easily be Darren Waller again next week.

Keandre Lambert-Smith: Chargers gonna Charger. What else is there to say?