Fantasy Football Week 7 waiver wire: Top 5 Quarterback pickups

The next three weeks are scary for fantasy football owners. In one of my dual-QB leagues, my starters are Drew Brees and Michael Vick. This week, there’s a good chance I’ll be without both of them unless Vick rallies and is able to play through his bum hamstring.

If you-like me-are headed for the waiver wire looking for help, here are my top five QB’s available in over half of ESPN leagues who are worth a look on the waiver wire. They’re listed in the rough order that I would pick them up in most formats. The Percentages in parentheses are the ESPN ownership as of Tuesday night.

If you have a team-specific question drop it in the comments at the bottom of the page or find me @ZT_Sports on twitter, and I’ll do my best to help you out with your roster calls.

1. Nick Foles-Philadelphia Eagles (2.6%)

If you just need a one-week band-aid, Foles is the top option mainly because of his matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. No team has given up more fantasy points per game to opposing QB’s than Dallas, and Foles showed off his abilities to run Chip Kelly’s offense last week in Tampa. Foles threw for three scores and ran for a fourth while falling just short of 300 yards. He may not have quite that good a game this week, but the matchup is actually more favorable. The Eagles are hoping Vick comes back, but right now it looks like it’ll be Foles show on Sunday. If you own Vick, Foles is almost a must-add, but even if you don’t he’s a good play this week.

2. Ryan Tannehill-Miami Dolphins (14.1%)

If you’re looking for a more long-term solution, Tannehill is a nice pickup who has turned in a nice season this year throwing for at least 200 yards in every game and 270 or more in three of five. He also has a touchdown in every game although he’s only thrown for multiple scores once. This week, he and the Dolphins come off a bye and host the Bills who are among the 10 worst pass defenses against opposing fantasy QB’s. Tannehill had a bye week to improve his rapport with Mike Wallace and should be set up for a solid run the rest of the season as a pretty good QB2.

3. Andy Dalton-Cincinnati Bengals (23.4%)

Dalton had a very nice fantasy day against the Bills last week ending a two week touchdown drought by connecting with three receivers for three scores and finishing with 337 yards in Cincinnati’s overtime win. On the down side, Dalton has thrown a pick in four straight games and struggled against the Pats and Browns. He’s in a tough matchup this week against the Lions defense which has been solid so far this season. Dalton isn’t a great play, but he can serve as a fill-in if you’re in a bind this week.

4. Terrelle Pryor-Oakland Raiders (32.0%)

If you aren’t looking for a quick week 7 fix, Pryor is probably on top of this list if you can wait to use him until next week. With six teams on byes each of the next two weeks, chances are you’ll be hitting the wire for a QB sometime soon, so get ahead of the curve now and stash Pryor through his bye for use against the Eagles (week 9) or Steelers (week 8) both great matchups.

5. Josh Freeman-Minnesota Vikings (3.9%)

My guess is that Freeman gets the start this week for the Vikings after Matt Cassel’s struggle. If he gets the nod, he makes a solid option since the Vikings play the Giants defense who hasn’t stopped anyone yet this season. Freeman was badly in need of a change of scenery and got it, so it will be fascinating to see how he performs in Minnesota with the weapons of Adrian Peterson, Greg Jennings, Jerome Simpson, and Kyle Rudolph.

This list of QB’s is part of my weekly waiver wire focus. If you need further help constructing your team, check out my top ten waiver wire picks of the week as well as my top waiver targets at each of the following positions: RB, WR, TE, D/ST.