Week 7 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire
By Jason Lisk
Quarterback: Matt Cassel had a great matchup last week and threw 3 touchdown passes. He goes from the worst pass defense to the second worst, as Jacksonville comes to town. He’s a viable start again. In really deep leagues or two-QB leagues, the Panthers are going back to Matt Moore at home against San Francisco. I wouldn’t want to go there, but if you need to, I would take him over Trent Edwards at Kansas City. Good Platoon Matchup Starts: Jay Cutler vs. Washington; Matt Hasselbeck vs. Arizona; Joe Flacco vs. Buffalo; Sam Bradford at Tampa Bay.
Running Back: On Tuesday, you often don’t know who will miss the next week for sure. Last week, I mentioned that Chris Ivory would be a good matchup start if Thomas missed another game, and I am sure that he will be quite popular this week, though the matchup isn’t quite as good but still favorable if he is the starter (Cleveland), but you will again have to monitor news on Pierre Thomas. Good Flex Matchups: Knowshown Moreno vs. Oakland; Marshawn Lynch vs. Arizona; Willis McGahee vs. Buffalo; Thomas Jones vs. Jacksonville.
Wide Receiver: Danario Alexander came off the practice squad and immediately had a big impact, and someone has to catch passes from Bradford. If Deion Branch wasn’t added after last week’s trade, pick him up. If Johnny Knox is on the waiver wire, this is a good week to pick him up and start him, as wide receivers have put up big numbers against the Redskins. Monitor news on the DeSean Jackson injury, as Jason Avant might get the chance opposite Maclin. Good Matchup Starts: Go back to Dwayne Bowe against Jacksonville; Steve Breaston at Seattle; Derrick Mason vs. Buffalo.
Tight End: I’m going to have to put my waiver money where my mouth is at this position, losing Finley and now Gates in my two leagues. Monitor the Cooley concussion, as Fred Davis could be startable if Cooley is out this week. Randy McMichael may become fantasy relevant if Gates misses games in San Diego, and has a good matchup this week. Ben Watson (at New Orleans) and Marcedes Lewis (at Kansas City) both have good tight end matchups and may be not on a roster, depending on how deep your league goes at tight end. These are probably the two I will decide on this week. Other Good Matchups: John Carlson vs. Arizona; Tony Moeaki vs. Jacksonville; Heath Miller at Miami.
Defenses: Kansas City (vs. Jacksonville); Denver (vs. Oakland) and Seattle (vs. Arizona) are all good matchup plays for those that like to rotate defenses, or have the Jets on a bye.