Top Waiver Wire Starts & Stashes: Week 7
1) DeMario Douglas
DeMario “pop” Douglas came into the season with a questionable role and workload, as the Patriots seemingly made it clear to him this offseason that they don’t think he’s a true #1 WR by trading for A.J. Brown and paying Romeo Doubs this offseason.
Douglas failed to crack double-digit fantasy points for four straight weeks to start off the season, and as a result his ownership has dropped below 20% to 13.8% in ESPN leagues.
However, with Romeo Doubs now on IR and A.J. Brown struggling with the same issues he had in Philadelphia last year, Douglas looks like the top Pats wideout by far and has put together back-to-back performances of 19+ fantasy points.
Through seven weeks he leads New England in targets (30) and receptions (20), and touchdowns (3). He also ranks second on the team in receiving yards, catches for 20+ yards, and receptions for first downs.
Among all 2026 WRs, Douglas currently ranks:
- 36th in PRK
- 25th in passer rating when targeted
- 29th in ESPN Analytics’ overall receiver rating
- 42nd in routs run
Douglas is an underrated sharp route runner (9th among WRs in average separation) who knows the Pats system and knows where Drake Maye expects him to be, giving him a leg up on the rest of the Pats WR core including the just-returned A.J. Brown who couldn’t catch a cold in a blizzard this weekend.
DeMario “Pop” Douglas has also accounted for 20% of all of the Patriots’ 2026 air yards thus far.
Douglas is a shifty playmaker with dependable hands, and its obvious why the Patriots have been trying to get him the rock so often over the past two weeks.
With Romeo Doubs on IR and Brown struggling, DeMario Douglas profiles as a solid WR2 option with low-end WR1 upside in Week 7 on Thursday night against the Bears.
2) Omar Cooper Jr.
Omar Cooper Jr. returned from injured reserve in Week 6 and immediately looked like maybe the second-best player on the entire team.
At minimum, he is clearly the #2 receiver in a Jets offense that figures to need to throw a ton in 2026 as a result of playing from behind.
After playing 82% of snaps and trailing only Garret Wilson among Jets receivers in snap share, Cooper scored his first NFL touchdown while going for 103 yards on six catches off of seven targets.
Given we only have a week of evaluation on Cooper and his role in the Jets offense, he ranks as nothing more than a risky flex play in Week 7 against the Dolphins, but he has legitimate fantasy WR2 potential and will be the most-claimed player next week should he put together back-to-back double-digit fantasy weeks.
3) Chig Okonkwo
Chig Okonkwo may have finally found the perfect team for his “tweener” TE skillset, as he’s seemingly inherited the target heavy, Zach Ertz role in Washington since returning from injury.
With Jayden Daniels back and Scary Terry out for the season, Okonkwo’s fantasy prospects have never been brighter.
Okonkwo now has back-to-back weeks going for at least 10 fantasy points and 60 yards on at least six targets. Relatively speaking, those are essentially fantasy WR3 numbers, an encouraging workload for a tight end.
Since his return from injury three weeks ago, Okonkwo has seen at least four targets in every game. He’s also seen more work in every single game since then.
He had four targets and two catches in Week 4 for just five yards, then six targets and four catches in Week 5 for 60 yards, and then seven targets and seven catches last week for 69 yards.
Since he’s missed a few weeks, didn’t finish one game, and was just ramping up in a another, Okonkwo’s season stats aren’t impressive but he does rank amongst the top-20 TEs in receiving yards per game, yards per target, catch percentage, average separation, and average yards per target.
At the moment, Chiggy is one of the most reliable and efficient targets at Jayden Daniels’ disposal.
