Quarterback Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders and running back Darren McFadden of the Dallas Cowboys had two of the most productive weeks for fantasy players in Week 7, and they rank as two of the top fantasy pickups for the upcoming week.
However, both have difficult matchups, and all factors have to be considered when it comes to making waiver-wire additions to your lineup.
Carr was razor sharp in the Raiders’ impressive 37-29 road victory at San Diego against the Chargers. He completed 24 of 31 passes for 289 yards with three touchdowns and did not throw an interception. In addition to those numbers, Carr knew all his options when it came to reading the San Diego defense, and he was like a well-practiced conductor as he led his symphony.
The Raiders are clearly a team that is improving as the season moves along, and they have a trio of offensive stars in Carr, running back Latavius Murray and rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper. Those three are going to carry the Raiders as far as they can go, and they are all playing with confidence.
As well as the Raiders played against the Chargers, they will have a much more difficult assignment against the New York Jets, who have the second-best defense in the league. The key for the Raiders will be the performance of the offensive line.
If they can keep the Jets pass rush off Carr, he has a chance to have another big day before the Raiders’ enthusiastic home fans.
This team has reached the .500 mark at 3-3, and it should come up with its best effort of the season, as it has a chance to establish itself as a winning team for the first time since its Super Bowl season in 2002.
The Raiders have had two .500 seasons since then, but they have not had a winning record. Carr is an excellent waiver-wire pickup.
Running back Darren McFadden, Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have been searching for offensive answers since Tony Romo and Dez Bryant went down with injuries early in the year.
It has been rather disastrous for head coach Jason Garrett and owner Jerry Jones, because their offense has not done enough even though the defense has played well. The Dallas offense has been all about three-and-outs and turnovers, and the inability for that unit to stay on the field has hurt the team badly and led to four consecutive losses.
However, there was light at the end of the tunnel in the Cowboys’ Week 7 loss to the New York Giants. That light did not come from backup quarterback Matt Cassel, however, who threw three interceptions.
It came from long-forgotten running back Darren McFadden, who carried the ball 29 times for 152 yards and dominated New York’s defense.
While the Giants have been relatively soft on defense (they rank 29th overall), McFadden ran with a hunger that he has rarely shown since the 2010 season, when he ran for 1,157 yards with the Raiders.
The question is whether McFadden can keep it up, and the answer should come this week. The challenge will be even greater since the Cowboys have to go to Seattle against a Seahawks defense that appeared to regain its form in Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Normally, we would not want to challenge the Seattle defense under those circumstances, but the combination of McFadden’s hard running and Seattle’s previous difficulties points us in the other direction.
McFadden looks like a go-to waiver-wire pickup.
Wide receiver Danny Amendola, New England Patriots
The Patriots continue to roll after taking on a big challenge from the defensively savvy Jets in Week 7.
New York traded punches with New England for 60 minutes, and while the Patriots found a way to survive, the Jets looked like near equals in the game on the Patriots’ home field in Foxborough.
One of the reasons the Patriots came out on top was the sure-handed effort of wideout Danny Amendola. Tom Brady targeted Amendola nine times, and Amendola caught eight of his passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.
The impressive part about Amendola‘s game was his consistency. He regularly got off the line and away from coverage, ran precise patterns and made tough catches even though he was hit within a fraction of a second after getting his hands on the ball.
It may be difficult to predict head coach Bill Belichick‘s game plan from week to week, but Amendola was so sharp that we can’t see the Patriots going in another direction against the Miami Dolphins this week. Amendola should be a stellar waiver-wire pickup as the Patriots host the Dolphins Thursday night.
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