Jaylin Noel, Omar Cooper Jr., and 3 More Fantasy Football Week 7 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers
The NFL has 32 teams, and each team typically starts three wide receivers. Do the math, and that's 96 weekly starters. With 28 teams playing and four on the bye, 84 receivers get the nod. Many of those are fantasy-viable. The result? Waiver wire options with great upside that teams in need should pick up.
Availability Percentages are from Sleeper
Caleb Douglas — 85% Available
The Dolphins will get back their rookie draft pick against the Jets this Sunday. Over Douglas's two games and 59 total routes run, he has 9 targets, 7 receptions, and 113 yards. He is the Dolphins' WR1 in volume, as Malik Washington has a low yards-per-reception rate, so Douglas is projected to get nearly one-third of the team's projected passing volume.
Jaylin Noel — 92% Available
For the fourth straight game, Noel caught 100% of his targets. In those four games, Noel is 14-for-14 for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
Noel is also featuring an explosive 19.6 yards per reception. In that case, he is extremely viable in standard-scoring formats, since just three receptions can make him a big winner on the day.
The additions of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Tank Dell surely crowd this wide receiver room. Nonetheless, CJ Stroud has now thrown for 300+ yards in three of his six starts, and 261 yards in five. If Stroud can average the 280 yards per game I project, then Noel is plenty viable at his new projection of a 17% share of this passing offense.
Ryan Flournoy — 81% Available
It definitely helps that the Eagles play the Cowboys next. The team is without Jalen Hurts for the season, and ESPN FPI rates them the worst offense in the NFL; they're also without Saquon Barkley. How does that help Flournoy, an offensive player?
The Cowboys will naturally expect more time of possession when facing a bad team/offense. The Eagles have also fallen far below their usual standard of great coverage. Philadelphia ranks 29th in Fantasy Points Allowed to Wide Receivers. Meanwhile, my preliminary projection has Dak Prescott earning the highest pass rate in Week 7, which Flournoy projects at 16% based on the week's sample size.
Omar Cooper Jr. — 87% Available
I have been the number-one promoter of Cooper Jr., and boy, did he impress in his first full game. Cooper Jr. led all Jets with 7 targets, 6 receptions, 103 yards, and a touchdown in Week 7. He also ran the second-most routes of any Jet, five more than Kenyon Sadiq and six more than Tim Patrick.
A first-round draft pick, Cooper Jr. is considered a legitimate talent. So long as Adonai Mitchell is sidelined, Cooper Jr. is as projected as a WR3-range player in fantasy football.
Demario Douglas — 93% Available
Out goes Romeo Doubs to the IR, and Douglas gets a big target share. He will now be working as the WR2 alongside AJ Brown. In Week 7 against a top-8-ranked Jets secondary, Douglas caught 7 of 8 targets for 86 yards and one touchdown.
The Bears lead the league, ranking 23rd in Fantasy Points Allowed to Wide Receivers. Note that Douglas plays mostly from the slot, thus facing Cam Lewis this Sunday, who ranks 72nd in PFF Coverage Grade.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.