Fantasy Football Week 7 Waiver Wire: Isaac Guerendo Leads Top Free-Agent Targets

The 2024 NFL season is chugging right along and about to reach Week 7. At this point in the campaign, fantasy football managers should have a good idea whether their team is strong enough for a championship run or needs some work to become a serious playoff threat.

Fortunately for managers in the latter group, there's more than enough time to reverse fortunes and become a contender.

While trades are an option that could give some teams the boost they need at this point in the year, it's not always easy to convince other managers to part with their assets at a fair price. Instead, managers should focus on making shrewd waiver wire claims that cost nothing more than a loss in priority or a small portion of a FAAB budget. These moves can shore up a roster's depth and occasionally return a game-changing starter who moves the needle in a big way.

Managers with strong starting lineups shouldn't stop keeping tabs on their league's waiver pool either. Turning over the bottom of a roster not only improves depth and reduces the negative impact of an injury, but also keeps high-end talent out of a rival's hands.

With that in mind, here's a look at five players you should be targeting when making your waiver claims for Week 7.

Fantasy points and rankings courtesy of FantasyPros' PPR data taken prior to the weeks' Monday Night Football matchup. Suggested free agent acquisition budget (FAAB) bids are based on a $100 dollar starting budget.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $3-6

The New England Patriots have officially entered the Drake Maye era. Fantasy managers should take note of the No. 3 overall pick's performance against the Houston Texans this past Sunday and consider him for at least a backup role on their roster going forward.

Although the rookie quarterback's first start ended with the Pats suffering yet another blowout loss, the results on offense were quite promising and a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Maye displayed flashes of brilliance to go with the expected mishaps for a first-year signal-caller making his professional debut, ending the day having completed 20-of-33 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions and a fumble.

Maye's performance resulted in a respectable 21.5 fantasy points and the first of potentially many top-10 finishes in his career.

Managers should be high on Maye after he clearly unlocked far more of New England's offensive potential than his predecessor. The 22-year-old put up more points against a tough Texans defense than Jacoby Brissett had mustered over his last three starts combined. Maye also managed to eclipse Brissett in touchdown throws on the season within a single start.

With a toilet paper-soft Jacksonville Jaguars foe on tap in London this coming week, Maye is well worth consideration as a fantasy starter. The Jags rank a paltry No. 31 in both total and scoring defense on the year and have allowed quarterbacks like Joe Flacco and Caleb Williams to notch top-five finishes against them.

If your usual starter is out on bye or underperforming, don't be afraid to roll the dice with Maye in Week 7.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $11-14

After a slow start to their season, the San Francisco 49ers returned to form on Sunday with their best offensive performance of the year. The Niners put up 36 points in a victory over the rival Seattle Seahawks, an outing buoyed by a whopping 228 yards on the ground.

Isaac Guerendo was one of the unlikely heroes for San Francisco's offense, coming out of nowhere to lead the team in carries (10) and rushing yardage (99). It was an especially impressive showing considering the rookie running back had just 12 carries for 41 yards total heading into Week 6.

Guerendo was elevated to the main option in the Niners' backfield after Jordan Mason exited Thursday's contest with a sprained A/C joint. Mason is now considered day-to-day while recovering from the left shoulder injury, meaning Guerendo could see an expanded role when San Francisco squares off with the Kansas City Chiefs this coming Sunday.

Given consensus No. 1 overall fantasy pick Christian McCaffrey is also rehabilitating a calf injury and remains sidelined without any promising updates regarding a potential return, managers will want to ensure Guerendo is on their roster for the upcoming Super Bowl rematch.

While it's unlikely Guerendo will see enough volume to warrant a spot in a starting lineup outside the deepest of the leagues when McCaffrey is back in action, he could at least be a matchup-winning pickup in Week 7.

Guerendo is brimming with upside—he ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any running back at the 2024 combine—and has the size to thrive with a heavy workload.

Even though he doesn't add much PPR value (Guerendo has yet to record a catch in the NFL), the 24-year-old is a must-add for not only his potential starring role against the Chiefs on Sunday, but also his priority handcuff status within San Francisco's injury-prone backfield.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $5-8

Although they were missing starting running back Rachaad White, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't have any issues generating offense on Sunday. The team hung an eye-popping 51 points on the rival New Orleans Saints, with third-stringer Sean Tucker leading the way for the backfield by punching in two scores on his way to a rather unexpected RB1 finish.

Tucker made the most of his expanded role, amassing 34.2 fantasy points by rushing 14 times for 136 yards and a touchdown and adding another 56 yards and a score on three receptions.

Prior to Week 6, Tucker had logged a meager two carries for seven yards and reeled in his lone target for 14 yards. The second-year back not only outperformed rookie Bucky Irving—who still logged an RB11 finish after putting up 105 yards and a touchdown on 16 touches—but put up more fantasy points than White had across the last five games combined.

The Bucs now have some tough decision to make regarding their backfield pecking order going forward. White has been abysmally inefficient with his rushing workload, averaging just 3.7 yards per attempt on both the year and over his career. He's been better as a pass-catcher—securing 17 of 19 targets for 127 yards this season—but White has been steadily losing playing time to Irving and could start to cede volume to Tucker upon his return from a foot injury.

While Irving should be rostered in most competitive leagues at this point and would be a much higher priority pickup if he's still available, Tucker is now on the fantasy radar and worth a waiver claim for managers who are desperate for RB production.

Managers who pick up Tucker should closely watch the injury reports this week. If White is sidelined for a Week 7 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, Tucker is a highly viable flex play. If the starter is back, it'd be prudent to hold Tucker out while the Bucs figure out how they are going to divvy up the touches amongst their three capable backs.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $7-10

Consider this a last call for Josh Downs waiver-wire claims.

After missing the first two games of his sophomore season and getting off to a slow start upon his Week 3 return, the Indianapolis Colts wide receiver has finally hit his stride. Downs has been racking up a ton of volume over the last three weeks—he's seen 24 targets during that span—and has become not just the team's most productive receiver, but one of the highest scoring fantasy players in the league.

Although his looks dipped slightly from the season-high 12 targets he saw in Week 5, Downs still posted a respectable stat line of seven catches for 66 yards on Sunday. He also scored his second touchdown of the year and posted his third consecutive top-18 finish at the wide receiver position.

Downs' 19.5-point outing this past week brought his total to 57.6 over the past three games. Only Ja'Marr Chase, Drake London and Chris Godwin have put up more during that same stretch. He's clearly become one of Joe Flacco's favorite targets and has outscored teammate Michael Pittman Jr. by 13.1 points since the veteran quarterback took over in wake of Anthony Richardson's Week 4 injury.

While Downs' production could take a hit when Richardson returns to action—likely to occur when the Colts take on the Miami Dolphins this coming week—he's still a fantastic waiver addition for any receiver-needy manager.

Downs is already rostered in nearly half of all leagues and almost certainly won't be available this time next week, so don't hesitate if you need a wideout to get you through the upcoming slew of byes.

Suggested FAAB Bid: $1-3

Zach Ertz has established himself as a key piece in the Washington Commanders' new-look offense. The veteran tight end has built a rapid rapport with first-year quarterback Jayden Daniels, and that chemistry has resulted in at least four targets for Ertz in all but one game this year.

Ertz just put up 10.8 points in a tough loss to the Baltimore Ravens this past weekend, a mark good for his third top-10 finish of 2024. The 33-year-old has a strong floor, notably only placing outside of the top-20 once during his Commanders tenure.

While Ertz isn't putting up huge numbers, the steady amount of volume he's earning makes him a highly viable fantasy starter at a position where consistency is a boon and can be difficult to find outside of the top options. He's a perfect pickup for any manager who has been streaming tight ends and is looking for stability.

Ertz clearly has upside for more too. He's yet to find the end zone this season, but given his size, pass-catching skills and steady stream of targets, it's only a matter of time before Ertz finally secures the 47th touchdown of his career.

There's a great chance Ertz notches that score in Week 7 against a league-worst Carolina Panthers defense, a team allowing 33.8 points per game this year. Expect the Commanders to be the next foe to cook Carolina and Ertz to have his finest fantasy outing of 2024 in the process.