Waivers are like an auction. Play the best value. Some weeks are a chance to load up in the backfield. Others, wide receivers emerge. Week 7 was light on running backs gaining value, but multiple quarterback rooms shifted, and the leaguewide trend of significant receiver injuries continued.  This article will discuss deep league waiver additions, focusing on Dynasty league formats. 

Players will fall into four primary categories: 

• Short-term Starters - Players capable of providing immediate production in deep leagues. 
• Proactive Pickups - Players who need the depth chart to be clear before them but are more available than other players in a similar role. 
• Deep Darts - Speculative players who have a chance at value.
• Dynasty Buys - Players whose values have changed, and the market may not have caught up.

Quarterbacks

Short Term Starters

Mason Rudolph, Tennessee (31% Sleeper rostered) 

The Titans had a Week 5 bye, so it was a bit surprising that Will Levis maintained his starting quarterback position in Week 6, following Rudolph's Week 4 victory in relief. Levis failing to hit 100 passing yards and losing a winnable game to the Colts in Week 6 was enough, and the switch was made. 

It is Rudolph's team now. 

Rudolph did not light the Bills up, but his 215 passing yards are more than Levis had posted in all but one of his last seven starts. In deeper Superflex quarterbacks, all 32 quarterbacks hold potential value. Rudolph is one of the 32. 

Marcus Mariota, Washington (11% Sleeper rostered) 

Jayden Daniels left Week 7 early with a rib injury. Though ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the injury holds a "week-to-week" label, there is optimism the injury was not as bad as initial concerns. Daniels is very questionable for Week 8. If he misses, Mariota is next up.

The matchup is not ideal. The Bears have allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to the quarterback position, and Mariota is likely to have a one- or two-week stopgap start in Superflex formats. He finished Week 7 as the QB9 overall in scoring and has the athletic skill set to add rushing yards. The Commanders' offense has been humming, and he took advantage of the matchup against Carolina, but in the best case, he is a fringe QB2 for Week 8. 

Jameis Winston, Cleveland (39% Sleeper rostered)
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Cleveland (18% Sleeper rostered) 

Deshaun Watson is out of the season. Until Week 7, Winston would have been the obvious assumed choice to step into the lineup. Of course, it is the Browns, so they made Winston the emergency third quarterback and inserted Thompson-Robinson as the backup. 

The Week 8 starter has yet to be announced. 

Winston is the best choice for all the Browns' fantasy options. He is proven capable of getting the ball to his playmakers and showed a connection with Cedric Tillman. His fearless gunslinger mentality instantly invokes visions of Joe Flacco's 2023 resurrection. That led to David Njoku's run as the overall TE1 over the second half. 

Hypothetically, Thompson-Robinson's rushing game could make him the best "fantasy" quarterback. He topped 20 rushing yards in his 2023 starts and ran for 44 in Week 7. Thompson-Robinson's career-high passing yards is 165, and he has shown no ability to support other fantasy pieces. 

Winston "should" be the easy choice. But the Browns already traded away Amari Cooper and may be able to give Thompson-Robinson an extended run. 

Gardner Minshew II, Las Vegas (57% Sleeper rostered) 

Minshew lost the starting quarterback job for all of five quarters. A fractured thumb put Aidan O'Connell on IR and thrusts Minshew back into the lineup. 

Minshew started the season hot through the first two weeks, averaging 266.5 yards and completing 77% of his passes, including an upset win over Baltimore. He fell off a cliff, falling below 140 passing yards in both Weeks 4 and 5.

Supporting Brock Bowers is the most significant fantasy concern out of the quarterback position, with Davante Adams now gone. But like Rudolph, Minshew is one of the 32.

Proactive Pickups

Jake Haener, New Orleans (12% Sleeper rostered)

Last week, Winston, Minshew, and Rudolph were all labeled Proactive Pickups. Their value increased. Haener now may have the best chance of earning a starting job without an injury. Well, Spencer Rattler is already injured, suffering a hip pointer in Week 7. Derek Carr is also injured, though he avoided IR placement, and the team hopes to have him back. Rattler struggled in his second start, and the Saints lost five straight. Carr's initial prognosis had him out for three weeks; we are now on that third week. Haener is a consideration in only the deepest leagues.

Drew Lock, NY Giants (2% Sleeper rostered)

Daniel Jones' contract has a $23 million injury guarantee. It has an out before the 2025 season; the Giants can get out of $30 million and spread his cap hit to $11 million for each of 2025 and 2026. 

He also has performance incentives. $250K hits at 19 touchdown passes, 3,325 passing yards, 24 total touchdowns, 3,700 total yards, and then $500K at 65% of snaps if the team makes the playoffs. 

The Giants looked headed for a potential turnaround after beating the Seahawks in Week 5 to move to 2-3. Two losses since, and a problematic Sunday night road game at Pittsburgh ends that. I said I would buy Jones a couple of weeks ago. I was wrong. He must turn it around immediately to avoid losing his starting position. 

Dynasty Buy

Matthew Stafford, LA Rams

Stafford trade rumors popped up on Tuesday. After a complex contract negotiation that resulted in Stafford forfeiting future guaranteed money, at least testing the free agent market is inevitable. 

Stafford had climbed to QB23 in Dynasty value to start the 2023 season, but he has struggled since Week 2, scoring 8.7 fantasy points per game, ranking him QB36 in PPG. 

One of two things is likely to happen to change the tide. Either a rumored trade comes to fruition. Or Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua return to the lineup. Either way, Stafford is the cheapest route to a player who could post 300+ passing-yard games regularly during the fantasy stretch run. 

Running Backs

Proactive Pickups

Kendre Miller, New Orleans (83% Sleeper rostered) 

The Saints had ample garbage time against the Broncos but failed to get much working offensively. Miller was the biggest beneficiary. He looked explosive in his first action of the 2024 season and should push to replace Jamaal Williams as Alvin Kamara's backup immediately. 

After starting a surprising 2-0, the Saints have lost five straight games. It is now or never on their season. Their upcoming stretch (Chargers, Panthers, Falcons, Browns, Rams, and Giants) features one team over .500, the NFC South-leading Falcons. The other five are a combined 9-24. The NFL trade deadline is November 5th. One loss in the next two weeks could lead to players being shopped. Miller stands as someone capable of gaining value. 

Dynasty Buy

Josh Jacobs, Green Bay

Jacobs's RB16 status is interesting. He is in a similar age band and is valued below Brian Robinson Jr. and Isiah Pacheco. Pacheco is not currently playing football, and Robinson missed Week 6 with an injury. 

He is one big game away from everyone, realizing the fade has been too harsh. He is fourth in the league with 520 rushing yards and added very little in the passing game through the first three weeks. He only has one rushing touchdown. But his passing game involvement has picked up; he scored his first career receiving touchdown in Week 7 and has added 7 PPR points per game over the last four weeks. Over those four weeks, he has averaged 88.5 scrimmage yards, a full-season pace of 1,504. 

Contenders should look to add him before the market picks up. 

Wide Receivers

Short Term Starters

Ricky Pearsall Jr., San Francisco (94% Sleeper rostered)
Jauan Jennings, San Francisco (84% Sleeper rostered) 

Brandon Aiyuk is lost for the season. His replacement has immediate value. But will it be Pearsall or Jennings that sees the most significant uptick? 

Pearsall was ostensibly drafted as his replacement. The team completed the much-contested contract extension, and Pearsall's shooting accident delayed his start. Pearsall debuted in Week 7, posting three catches and 21 yards. 

Jennings was out in Week 7 and should be back in Week 8. He was a significant early storyline with an 11-reception, 175-yard game in Week 3. In that game, he operated downfield on routes traditionally going to Aiyuk. 

Jennings should be the most significant value bump and relevant fantasy play. Pearsall was close in snaps with Chris Conley in Week 7, and Ronnie Bell played considerably. In Week 3, Jennings' 60 total snaps tied Deebo Samuel Sr.'s 60 in Week 2 for the third most any 49er has played in 2024. Jennings was a star in the Super Bowl effort that came up short and received a meaningful contract extension. He should be the primary receiver opposite Samuel in two receiver sets. 

Trey Palmer, Tampa Bay
Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay
Sterling Shepard, Tampa Bay

Chris Godwin's season is over with a brutal ankle injury, and Mike Evans's' status is uncertain with a significant hamstring injury. 

In three-quarters of football, the Buccaneers may have gone from the best receiver corp to the worst. 

McMillan had locked up the WR3 job that Palmer held out of camp in 2023. With McMillan out in Weeks 4 and 5, Shepard stepped in. Shepard has a long relationship with Baker Mayfield, dating back to the University of Oklahoma in 2015.  

The easiest explanation is that the Buccaneers' passing attack is nowhere near as good as before the injuries. All three receivers play, but none emerge as a primary option. The Buccaneers have utilized all three to attack at different levels, and there needs to be more indication that one is ahead of the others. Hopefully, Evans will return quickly, but this stock is down for the passing attack. 

Cedric Tillman, Cleveland (44% Sleeper rostered)

Tillman was the primary beneficiary of Cooper's departure, posting an 8-81 line on 12 targets. His 82% snap share was second behind Jerry Jeudy. He has a stranglehold on the outside job with Elijah Moore in the slot. 

Tillman's value is contingent on Winston or Thompson-Robinson as the quarterback. Dynasty leagues should be aggressive if he is on the wire as a Day 2 pick in the 2023 draft. But we want to see Winston announced in our Week 8 fantasy lineups before we start him.

Troy Franklin, Denver (85% Sleeper rostered)

Franklin picked up steam with his college teammate Bo Nix, who is playing better as a quarterback. He has played the second most wide receiver snaps for the Broncos over the last two weeks, ranking WR29. 

The Broncos offense is starting to come together, and Franklin has ample opportunity to lock himself into a key role. As the team's confidence grows, his role will grow, too. Like Tillman, he is another player Dynasty managers should aggressively target. 

Proactive Pickups

Jake Bobo, Seattle (18% Sleeper rostered)

Metcalf left Sunday's game with a "minor MCL" injury. The team believes he avoided long-term injury. His short-term status is very questionable. Jaxon Smith-Njigab and Tyler Lockett, along with Noah Fant, should be the immediate beneficiaries. But Bobo is worth adding in deep formats. Bobo has been locked in as the WR4, and it is easy to get the sense the involvement of the WR4 has more to do with the team wanting to work Bobo through than believing four wide receivers need ample playing time. His size compliments Smith-Njigba and Lockett. He can be an immediate red zone threat without Metcalf but is far from hitting managed starting lineups. 

Tight Ends

Proactive Pickups

Noah Gray, Kansas City (40% Sleeper rostered) 

In another game, another Chiefs receiving option was injured. This time, JuJu Smith-Schuster is expected to miss multiple weeks. Gray recorded four receptions for the second time in three weeks. Over the last three weeks, his 17-game pace is 57 receptions and 765 yards. Gray is an emergency, deep league option unless Travis Kelce is forced out of the lineup. In deep best ball formats, he has a chance to pop in some Top 10 scoring weeks. He is no fluke, though, not a random blocking tight end catching an occasional pass. He is a good athlete the team has focused on involving. 

Lucas Krull, Denver (4% Sleeper rostered) 

The Greg Dulcich experiment looks over. Dulcich was benched following Week 4. At this point, he has never grasped the blocking Sean Payton needs from the position. Krull has been the biggest beneficiary. Our Cecil Lammey was on Krull this summer, identifying his athleticism and massive frame as the best chance for a player capable of contributing in both the run and pass game. Adam Trautman is a Payton favorite and well noted for his blocking ability, but in year five, he has never developed in the passing game and is not the type of athlete teams utilize at the position. Nate Atkins is an H-back, not a player capable of winning in the seam. Krull flashed in Week 7 and is likely earning more opportunities to do so again.