2025 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 7: Kimani Vidal, Bam Knight Top Picks

It’s crazy how, despite us being six weeks into the season, there are still questions to be answered. And opportunities continue to pop up left and right on the waiver wire. That’s the nature of this beautiful game. As much as we do our best to give ourselves an edge, there is always a level of uncertainty and randomness to keep us guessing. And, even if our teams are down or dealing with injuries, the waiver wire is always there to keep us alive!

Don't miss out—Go All-Pro today and head over to Fantasy Alarm's League Sync Waiver Wire Tool right now to uncover the top waiver wire pickups tailored specifically to your leagues. Additionally, if you're an All-Pro subscriber, unlock the exclusive Streamers & Stashes article for even deeper insights on hidden gems ready to stash for the long haul.

2025 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 7 Top Targets

As always, our waiver wire discussion will be split into two articles. This is the main article, which covers the top players to add at each position, as well as an update to our Yin & Yang Tight End strategy. The second article, found here, is our Streamers and Stashes article that covers the deeper, more nuanced plays for Fantasy Alarm Members!

NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Jaxson Dart - New York GiantsYahoo: 32% | ESPN: 35% | Sleeper: 45%

Three weeks in a row, we’ve been saying this, and on some platforms, the ownership for Dart has actually gone down. It’s very simple. If a quarterback is willing to run more than five times a game, he has a great floor in fantasy football AND massive upside. Dart has now run 10, 7, and 13 times in his first three games. He should have already been stashed on your bench. He’s scored 19.84, 17.58, and 23.60 points in his three games as a starter so far, so now you’ll likely need to pay up to get access.

Waiver Priority: Medium Priority

FAAB: 15-25% (more if he starts for you right away)

Trevor Lawrence - Jacksonville JaguarsYahoo: 51% | ESPN: 37% | Sleeper: 39%

The Jaguars have finally ramped up Travis Hunter to a full-time player on offense. It hasn’t translated to great production so far, but he has flashed the ability they drafted him for. And Brian Thomas Jr is quietly also coming to life here. Brenton Strange is on IR for the time being, but he’s expected back at some point, which should hopefully bring things together.

Lawrence has also quietly ramped things up a bit, both through the air and on the ground. He’s thrown for at least 220 yards in three of his last four starts and for at least 170 in all three games. He has also run 10 times over the last two weeks after only running three times total over the first four games. His heroics against the Chiefs on the ground seemed to have sparked something in him that sees him taking more chances as of late.

Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add

FAAB: 0% (more if he starts for you right away)

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Joe Flacco, Bryce Young

NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire Running Backs

Kimani Vidal - Los Angeles Chargers Yahoo: 31% | ESPN: 27% | Sleeper: 46%

The fantasy community was obsessed with Kimani Vidal last year as a rookie. He was a super athletic prospect who produced at a high level in college but never quite got a chance with the Chargers. After they signed Najee Harris, drafted Omarion Hampton, and released Vidal this offseason, he was all but forgotten.

But with Najee out for the year and Hampton set to miss a lot of time, Vidal was called upon. They seemingly gave both him and Hassan Haskins looks early on, but it was Vidal who ended up with the hot hand. He ended up playing more snaps (45 vs. 20), running more routes (21 vs. 8), and getting more carries (18 vs. 6) than Haskins. Yes, the Dolphins are bad, but Vidal is looking like the starter of an NFL team, so he’s a must-add in fantasy football if he didn’t get added last week.

Waiver Priority: High Priority

FAAB: 25-50%

Zonovan “Bam” Knight - Arizona Cardinals, Yahoo: 12% | ESPN: 6% | Sleeper: 5%

It seems most platforms list him by his nickname Bam rather than Zonovan, so that’s probably what you need to search. There was some confusion prior to kickoff as to who was the “starter” thanks to an Adam Schefter report, but the game script cleared up any confusion as to what the plan is.

Emari Demercado was essentially benched after his costly fumble the previous week - he only played three snaps.

Waiver Priority: Medium Priority

FAAB: 5-10%

Tyjae Spears - Tennessee Titans, Yahoo: 24% | ESPN: 24% | Sleeper: 33%

They told us that Tyjae Spears would get ramped up coming off an injury. Well, this week, he got ramped up to the point where he actually played more snaps than Tony Pollard. It appears that they like Pollard for run downs with Spears skewing more towards pass downs. The negative game script this week ended up with them having a lot of pass downs. And this is a team that is going to find itself in negative game scripts in most weeks. Tyjae Spears could be a decent spot start, especially in any sort of PPR format.s

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Isaiah Davis, Tyler Allgeier, DJ Giddens, Blake Corum

NFL Week 7 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

Elic Ayomanor - Tennessee Titans Yahoo: 24% | ESPN: 28% | Sleeper: 46%

The production has not been incredible. That much is obvious. But the deployment for Elic Ayomanor has been good. He’s very clearly been a top two WR for the Tennessee Titans all season opposite Calvin Ridley. And he’s averaged 5.6 targets per game along the way with at least four targets in every game.

Now Calvin Ridley is dealing with a hamstring injury. It’s unclear what the extent of that will be, but either way, Ayomanor is pretty entrenched atop this depth chart. The hope now is that firing Brian Callahan might serve as a bit of a spark for this team that’s been struggling thus far. Ayomonar offers a good mix of floor and upside as he’s already playing a ton and getting targets, and there is a chance that he and Cam Ward both develop as rookies as the season goes on.

Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

Kendrick Bourne - San Francisco 49ers Yahoo: 35% | ESPN: 38% | Sleeper: 52%

I know that Kendrick Bourne could go “back in the bottle” at some point. This team features two WR sets and, with Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, and Brandon Aiyuk looming, he might not have much value down the stretch. Plus, George Kittle is expected back this week as well. But right now, with Aiyuk and Pearsall out and Jauan Jennings dealing with multiple injuries, it’s clear that Kendrick Bourne can operate within this system with back-to-back 142-yard games. So Bourne has to be a guy on your radar as a spot start for the time being.

Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

Isaiah Bond - Cleveland Browns Yahoo: 5% | ESPN: 3% | Sleeper: 21%

I’m surprised there aren’t more people jumping on the Isaiah Bond train this week. I know he hasn’t been super productive so far with his opportunities. But the opportunities have been there and should be there moving forward. This week, he actually played 71 snaps and ran 58 routes, which was second only to Jerry Jeudy’s 73 and 59. That’s a monster workload for a team that has to throw a ton.

He’s also gotten 6, 7, and 5 targets over the last three weeks while Cedric Tillman is out. And now David Njoku is dealing with a knee issue that could see him limited to some degree. We have to keep in mind that Bond isn’t your average undrafted free agent - he could have been drafted as high as Day Two of the NFL Draft, which is not for pending league issues. The Browns gave him an unprecedented contract for a UDFA to secure his rights, and now he’s playing a full-time role for them.

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Allen Lazard, Kayshon Boutte, Jalen Coker, Alec Pierce

NFL Week 7 Waiver and Yin & Yang Tight End

Harold Fannin Jr - Cleveland Browns, Yahoo: 27% | ESPN: 29% | Sleeper: 50%

It was hard to get on board with Harold Fannin Jr when the Browns had Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, David Njoku, and Fannin. He was routinely fourth on the team in routes run and was battling to be the third target. In Week 5, Njoku ran 31 routes to only 18 for Fannin, and it was looking bleak. And that saw Fannin hit the waiver wire in a lot of leagues.

They were already down Cedric Tillman before, which helped. And now they could either be without David Njoku or have him play through a knee issue. Njoku left the game early this week, and that saw the usage for Fannin skyrocket - he ran 50 routes this week and caught 7 of 10 targets for 81 yards. For folks out there in dynasty leagues, that gives us a glimpse of what things could be like in future years for Fannin. Or maybe if Njoku can get healthy enough, the future could start early at the NFL trade deadline. That’s set for Tuesday, November 4th.

Waiver Priority: Medium to Low Priority

FAAB: 5-10%

Mason Taylor - New York Jets Yahoo: 37% | ESPN: 36% | Sleeper: 46%

Yes, Mason Taylor had a down week. That’s going to happen with guys from the waiver wire. And it’s especially going to happen with rookies in the first half of their first season. But we did see some promising metrics from Taylor. Despite the Jets not throwing a ton, he did run 86% of the routes while only pass blocking on 3 snaps. The Broncos are one of the best defenses in the league, and the Jets couldn’t do anything at all, so we have to kind of just hope things are better in better matchups.

The one thing we can’t ignore here is the injury to Garrett Wilson. It’s not super serious, but he is set to miss a couple of weeks, per reports. That takes Mason Taylor, who was already in the mix to be a top two target on the team in any given week, and gives him a slight boost.

Waiver Priority: Medium to Low Priority

FAAB: 5-10%

Oronde Gadsden Jr - Los Angeles Chargers Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 4%

We mentioned the history with this Chargers group this offseason in regards to Gadsden. Greg Roman orchestrated a top-five all-time tight end season with Mark Andrews. And tight end coach Andy Bischoff was the one who converted Darren Waller from WR to tight end. That created intriguing upside for Gadsden that we loved in dynasty.

The problem? They added Keenan Allen to a group that already had Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston. That crowds things a bit, and it still obviously remains crowded now. The offensive line and running back injuries have decimated the Chargers' run game, so the volume should hopefully stay high, but the crowdedness of that room is the only thing holding us back from fully sending it with Gadsden in redraft. I’m willing to make an exception, though, and add this player in these circumstances.

Waiver Priority: Late Priority

FAAB: 0-5%

**Check the bottom of the article for free rest of season half PPR tight end rankings with our Yin & Yang tight end chart!**

NFL Week 7 Waiver DST

New England Patriots, Yahoo: 52% | ESPN: 46% | Sleeper: 72%

The Patriots have to be mentioned here, as they might have been dropped in leagues when they played the Bills and not added back. The Las Vegas Raiders are a legitimately bad defense, and they still put up points against the Titans. The Patriots are actually pretty good, especially when Christian Gonzalez plays, so they are a smash start this week. The Chiefs may also be available in some leagues after playing the Lions.

Cleveland Browns DST, Yahoo: 38% | ESPN: 6% | Sleeper: 25%

The Steelers were able to neutralize the pass rush of Myles Garrett with their strange four-tight-end offense and quick throws. But the Dolphins really don’t have the personnel to do something similar here. In fact, they don’t have the personnel to do a whole lot. So the Browns are a defense that is available in a decent number of leagues with sack potential in a solid matchup.

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Bears DST vs. NO, MIA DST vs CLE, Saints DST vs. CHI

NFL Week 7 Waiver K

Michael Badgley - Indianapolis Colts K, Yahoo: 11% | ESPN: 7% | Sleeper: 21%

The news came a little late last week that the Colts were signing Badgley to replace Spencer Shrader, who ended up on season-ending IR. That allowed Badgley to slip through the cracks and end up on the waiver wire. The reality with some of these kickers is that the margin between who ends up with a job or not is pretty thin. Unless there is a glaring issue, we are focused more on opportunity than talent level, and the Colts are providing plenty of opportunities to put points on the board this year.

Eddy Pineiro K, San Francisco 49ers Yahoo: 24% | ESPN: 26% | Sleeper: 28%

Eddy Pineiro has been absolutely white hot since joining the 49ers. He’s now a perfect 15 of 15, and that includes back-to-back games with four field goals kicked. Kyle Shanahan’s offense seems like it will keep on humming regardless of who is starting for them, so Pineiro is as good an option as any this week.

NFL Yin & Yang Tight End Rankings

As promised, here are our Yin & Yang tight end rankings. This has been our bread and butter the last few years, and how we find breakout tight ends. Here is how the chart works.

If you have someone in the “standalone” section, then great - you don’t need to roster another tight end outside of injury and bye week. Outside of that, we are rostering two. We are looking for someone “safe” to start while stashing the most high-risk, high-reward option, trying to find a breakout.

The tight ends in red are injured and at risk of missing time. If you can put them in an IR spot, great. If not, you may have to prioritize either a Yin or Yang tight end ranked above them to start for you.

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