NFL fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 7

Fantasy Football TE waiver wire pickups, Week 6

Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders (5 percent rostered):

The tight end position has become a fantasy football wasteland. Outside of Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson, and Sam LaPorta, steady tight end production has been tough to come by. The bar for being a fantasy-relevant tight end is very low – Kyle Pitts is Yahoo’s overall TE12 through six weeks in PPR formats and averages less than nine points per game. With that said, any time a potential tight end option emerges, they’re at the very least worthy of consideration.

In comes Michael Mayer, who followed up his career-high 39-yard performance in Week 5 by setting a new career-high in yards (75), receptions (5), and targets (6) in Week 6. In Week 6, Mayer logged a career-high 81 percent of the Raiders’ offensive snaps and has seen his snap count increase over each of the past five weeks.

The Raiders spent a second-round pick on Mayer, suggesting they have big plans for him to be a part of their plans moving forward. In Week 7, he gets to face a Bears defense that ranks 25th in opponent yards per game (356.8). Pick up Mayer this week even if you don’t plan on starting him because you may not have the option to next week.

Jonnu Smith, Atlanta Falcons (20 percent rostered):

Jonnu Smith has seen his rostership jump from one percent to 20 percent since he was last mentioned in this column as a waiver wire pickup for Week 5. While it is good to see people are beginning to take notice of how productive Smith has been, he should be rostered in more than 20 percent of Yahoo fantasy football leagues given the current landscape of the tight end position.

Through six weeks, Smith is tied for sixth amongst tight ends in receiving yards (282). Smith has had a consistent role in the Falcons offense even with the presumed starting tight end (Kyle Pitts) beginning to heat up. Smith has seen at least five targets in every game after Week 1 when he strangely had zero. He continues to outpace fellow teammate and tight end Pitts, who the Falcons selected with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Smith has a connection to head coach Arthur Smith dating back to their days in Tennessee together when they were both members of the Titans. His familiarity with the scheme is something that [Arthur] Smith values and factors into his game plan. For anyone in need of tight end help, the overall TE8 through six weeks can be had in 80 percent of Yahoo fantasy football leagues.