IDP Waiver Wire: Week 7

Injuries, dud weeks, and now byes: the fantasy football season is in full swing. Here are some names to target off the waiver wire to keep your IDP squad afloat.

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Not that you needed any more challenges to your weekly lineup decisions; between poor home-field stat crews not being generous, studs laying eggs in premium matchups, and, of course, injuries—now you get the dreaded bye weeks!

Not to fear my good friend, I am here to help you navigate those landmines, get back to scoring more points, and hopefully end some weeks in the win column. As you look to make some additions to your team, please be sure to go back and look at some of the names in the previous weekly waiver wires articles. You might just find a diamond in the rough waiting to be unearthed. With that said, here are this week’s adds.

Defensive Line

Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants

Armon Watts, Minnesota Vikings

If you have read my previous DL claims, it’s not about being flashy, but being consistent and not giving you those horrible goose eggs on any given week.

This week’s adds are just that! Both Dexter Lawrence and Armon Watts are rostered in less than 2% of leagues, yet both have been top 12 scorers at the position over the last 3 weeks. Lawrence in that span has had 9 tackles to go along with 7 assists, a half a sack, and 1 PD. Again, not flashy but consistent. Watts is probably the least known IDPer on that Viking’s D-line. With Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen getting double teamed as often as they have, this has allowed Watts to soak up 6 tackles, 9 assists, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble over the previous 3 contests.

Lawrence gets Carolina this week, and coach Matt Rhule wants to create a new identity for the team, which could mean a focus on the ground game. This could lead to some more opportunities for Lawrence. Watts has a bye so he would be a great add to stash while your competition overlooks him this week because of this.

Defensive Backs

Kyle Dugger, New England Patriots

Dugger may or may not be on your waivers, as he was a hot name in many drafts last year and managers were quick to put in a claim on him. But in true Belichick fashion, Dugger got the rookie treatment and was underused his first season.

As a result, a manager may have dropped him. If so, you are in luck. Dugger has been racking up snaps this season (341 of 414) and tackles (57 combined). Dugger is rostered in less than 10% of CBS leagues and I cannot imagine it is much more than that in other leagues. That needs to change if he is available in yours!

DJ Reed, Seattle Seahawks

What kind of waiver wire article would it be without mentioning a cornerback? DJ Reed comes out of the week as a top 15 DB in most scoring formats. His 39 total tackles have him in the top 10 amongst all DBs this season.

The one stat Reed is lacking in is INTs (those should come soon). Reed and his counterpart, Sidney Jones, have the unfortunate honor of playing in the NFC West where they get to play against Arizona and Los Angeles twice—not good news for them, but wonderful news for IDP managers. Reed has played all but two snaps this season so you know he will be out there playing on Monday against the Saints.

Linebacker

Micah Kiser, Denver Broncos

When it comes to scoring points in your lineup, the best ability is availability. Sadly, for many IDP managers, we lost another stud when AJ Johnson was lost for the season this past weekend with a torn pec muscle. I’m wishing him a speedy recovery as I move him into my IR spot on many teams. With the loss of Johnson, the Broncos will need to turn to Justin Strnad, who was a feature on these articles a few weeks ago.

They’ll also turn to Micah Kiser. Kiser is a name many IDP managers remember from his very productive days with the Rams not too many seasons ago. Kiser was already starting to see an increase in snaps before the injury to Johnson and now should see almost all of them. The 4th year pro has the prototypical size (6 foot, 240 lbs) to play the position and he will need to step up big for a Broncos team that has been ravaged by injuries. Kiser gets the Browns this week, who will be very run-heavy considering the injuries they have been suffering on the offensive side of the ball themselves.

Jalen Reeves-Maybin/Derrick Barnes, Detroit Lions

These next two, much like the DL adds of the week, are very similar in stats, availability, and this time, the same team! Jalen Reeves-Maybin has been very productive over the last 3 weeks: 14 combined tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR, and 1 PD.

Bobby Wagner type numbers? No, but you will find Reeves-Maybin available in 99% of leagues. His teammate Derrick Barnes has been a rookie draft darling since the Lions drafted him in the 4th round in this past April’s draft. Barnes may have had a bigger Week 6 if he had not spent a little time in the blue medical tent; he was cleared and returned to the field. With Detroit looking like a team destined to be drafting first next April, the coaching staff will want to see what they have in Barnes.

Like Reeves-Maybin, Barnes is currently only rostered in less than 10% of all leagues. With the bye weeks upon us, he is my preferred add of the two!

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Well, there you have it: additions for Week 7 already! In the next week or so, I will be putting out an article about some possible trade targets for teams heading into the playoffs based on playoff matchups and the cost to acquire.

For now, everyone is still a playoff team. Let’s be aggressive on the waivers and keep adding pieces that can help our team this season. Or, if it comes to it, guys we can trade away for future players or picks. As always, I appreciate the reads, likes, and comments. If you have trade questions or lineup decisions, please feel free to reach out to me at @Boobam131 on Twitter. Have a great week, kids!

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