Target 'Pop' on the waiver wire in Week 7! 🎯

In case you missed it: we released our top-20 takeaways from Week 6’s action yesterday afternoon. Take a look at that post here, and make sure to stay tuned for our weekly waiver wire advice post over on Instagram and the full waiver wire episode for Week 7 of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast releasing later today!

• Saints WRs Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed listed as DNP on Monday’s estimated injury report

  • Olave exited Sunday’s game early in the contest with a concussion and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. Given the fact that concussions don’t go away over a span of four days, it’s safe to assume that Olave will be out for New Orleans’ Thursday night clash with the Broncos. As such, it’s not a surprise to see him listed as a DNP on Monday’s estimated practice report. The surprise addition to the list, however, is Rashid Shaheed, who has been the Saints’ most productive wide receiver through six weeks. It’s a knee injury for the lightning-in-a-bottle pass catcher and punt returner, and the most recent reports indicate that it’s ‘concerning’. We didn’t come up with that term to describe it, but it certainly is concerning for Shaheed considering he was in line to start the short week as the Saints’ clear No. 1 receiver. All we can count on for now is more information later today, but fantasy managers holding out hope can hang their hats on the fact that Monday’s injury report was just an estimation. Should Shaheed miss any time, rookie WR Bub Means and Mason Tipton would be in line for increased work in the receiving game catching passes from – you guessed it – rookie QB Spencer Rattler. Denver is one of the toughest matchups for passing offenses in the NFL, though they are expected to be down their top corner in Patrick Surtain II, who’s dealing with a concussion of his own. There will be plenty of better options available than Means and co. for fantasy lineups in Week 7, and fantasy managers should temper expectations for the Saints offense overall this Thursday.

• Titans RB Tyjae Spears considered ‘week-to-week’ with hamstring injury suffered in Week 6, per HC Brian Callahan

  • Tony Pollard managers rejoice, and Tyjae Spears managers… just get ready for more of the same. Spears has been a liability in fantasy lineups through five weeks, averaging just over 7 PPR points per game as part of a Titans offense that has lacked the ability to consistently supports fantasy-relevant players not named Tony Pollard. Contrast that steady poor production with Pollard’s steady strong production, and things are looking relatively bleak (at least in the short term) for Spears, who’s now dealing with a hamstring injury that’s threatening to sideline him for multiple weeks. Spears hasn’t been in fantasy lineups for a while now, but his absence will likely add another layer of security to Pollard’s weekly floor and upside. Pollard was the every-down back for Tennessee in the second half of last week’s game against the Colts, and he came through for fantasy managers with a touchdown on an efficient outing on the ground. That role will likely continue moving forward, making Pollard a set-and-forget high-RB2/low-RB1 for as long as Spears is out of the lineup.

• Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson present at practice Monday; Panthers open 21-day practice window for rookie RB Jonathon Brooks

  • Both players are making returns from major knee injuries suffered in 2023. With the Vikings far exceeding expectations this season with an undefeated record through six weeks, there’s been no rush on Minnesota’s part to throw Hockenson out on the field as he draws closer to being back to 100%. He’ll enter an already crowded Vikings offense that features the likes of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Aaron Jones, all of whom will likely provide stiff competition for targets from QB Sam Darnold. There’s a chance that Hockenson could suit up this weekend, but it’s too early in the week to know for sure. Fantasy managers should temper expectations regardless in Hockenson’s first start back (whether that be this weekend or sometime in the future) given that he’s had little time to build rapport with Darnold. As for Brooks, his practice window is now officially open and he’s less than three weeks away from taking the field in the NFL for the first time in his career. With RB Chuba Hubbard also playing very well, Carolina is likewise not in a rush to trot Brooks out onto the field until he’s absolutely ready to go. He’ll profile as a potential low-RB2 with upside in his first action of the season, though it seems increasingly likely that he won’t have a real chance at dominating control of the backfield until next season, if at all.

1. Demario Douglas (WR - New England Patriots)

   • The last month has seen Douglas definitively emerge as the WR1 in New England, seeing three games where he hit 6+ catches, 9+ targets, and 12+ points in his last four games.

   • With that volume, the Patriots almost certainly playing from behind in nearly every game, and rookie QB Drake Maye now injecting some life into the offense as a whole, Douglas may be approaching FLEX territory at the very least in PPR leagues.

   • He should be the top priority this week given his volume.

2. Tyler Allgeier (RB - Atlanta Falcons)

   • Allgeier remains one of the few 'handcuff' RBs that has their own role in the offense beyond the backup duties, seeing 10+ touches in four of his last five games.

   • He had a monster 18-carry, 21-touch game of 108 total yards and a TD this past week, but that should be an extreme rarity for him that only comes as a result of having faced Carolina.

   • He's towards the top of this list because of his availability to be plugged into the FLEX spot in positive matchups while still serving as a handcuff to Bijan Robinson, but if possible, I'd try to add-and-trade Allgeier off of this massive game.

3. JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR - Kansas City Chiefs)

   • The Chiefs were on their bye this week and that likely influenced many from picking up JuJu like they should've after his Week 5 performance of 7 catches for 130 yards, somehow remaining available in 69% of leagues on Yahoo.

   • We saw him get this type of volume pretty routinely in the opening three quarters of the 2023 season before the Rashee Rice breakout, tallying 5+ targets in 5 of 10 healthy games last year. He won't be Rashee Rice, but it's very likely he'll serve a substantial role volume-wise in the star WR's absence, especially as defenses return to scheming around Travis Kelce.

   • He projects as a WR3/borderline-FLEX option in PPR scoring and could push to be a weekly lineup option with another game or two of 5+ catches.