Fantasy football Week 7 WR preview: Injuries lead to surging rookies Bernard and Tate as prime starts

Injuries to Davante Adams and Terry McLaurin open the door for rookies like Germie Bernard and Carnell Tate to become reliable lineup options

Oct 20, 2026 at 5:16 pm ET • 2 min read

It was a bad week for veteran receivers in Week 6. Davante Adams suffered a significant hamstring injury and will be out for at least six weeks. Terry McLaurin suffered a knee injury that may end his season. And Mike Evans aggravated his Achilles tendinitis and will miss at least one week, possibly more. From a Fantasy Football perspective, one downside of these injuries is that there is no other receiver on the Rams or 49ers we are particularly interested in. The Rams should further condense and give a JSN-like target share to Puka Nacua, while the 49ers will lean even more on Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle.

In Washington, I have a lot of interest in rookie Antonio Williams, but he's on bye this week. Williams has seen his snap share increase since the start of the year and has played about two-thirds of the snaps in each of the Commanders' last three games. He could be over 80% of the snaps after the bye with McLaurin out, which is why he is my favorite wide receiver stash. 

On the flip side of the veteran injuries, Week 6 was a great week for the rookies. Germie Bernard finished as WR3, Omar Cooper Jr. finished as WR6, and Carnell Tate was a top-12 guy as well. I am pretty sold on Tate and Bernard as WR2s for the foreseeable future, but Cooper is a little more difficult to judge. This breakout came in a game where Garrett Wilson only had six targets and Adonai Mitchell didn't play. Mitchell is expected to return soon, and Wilson should be back to his eight to 10 targets per game as well. As you will see below in the waiver wire section, I do want to add Cooper; I just don't want to go overboard with the expectations.

Here is the rest of the Week 7 WR preview:

Week 7 WR Preview

WR Preview

Numbers to Know

• 7.2 -- Michael Wilson has averaged 7.2 PPR FPPG the last two weeks without Marvin Harrison. I am not sure things will improve much against the Broncos.
• 28.4% -- Germie Bernard has a 28.4% target share in his last two games. Start him.
• 252 -- DK Metcalf has run 252 routes this year, 15 more than any other receiver. Start him too.
• 817 -- Matthew Golden leads all receivers with 817 targeted air yards. He's a WR1.
• 50% -- It's a very small sample size, but half of Omar Cooper's targets have turned into explosive plays.
• 9.88 -- It's a very small sample size, but Marvin Harrison's average route depth was down three points to 9.88 in his first action with the Texans.
  
• 6.0 -- Jaylen Waddle is averaging a career-low 6.0 yards per target. The connection with Bo Nix just isn't there yet.
• 29% -- Malik Washington has a 29% target share over the past month. I am starting him as a WR3.

WR Preview

Waiver Wire Targets

Week 7 Adds (WR Preview)

MIA Miami • #6 Age: 26 • Experience: 3 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ NYJ NYJ -4.5 O/U 39.5 OPP VS WR 12th WR RNK 35th ROSTERED 38% YTD Stats REC 23 TAR 36 REYDS 262 TD 0 FPTS/G 10 Washington has been one of the steadiest WR3s this season. In his last three games he has 12.1, 12.0, and 11.1 PPR Fantasy points. One thing that makes me optimistic is that he's done that without scoring a touchdown, so there is certainly 18-point upside if he happens to do that. Expect 11 or 12 Fantasy points and hope he finally gets into the end zone.

NYJ N.Y. Jets • #11 Age: 22 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs MIA NYJ -4.5 O/U 39.5 OPP VS WR 3rd WR RNK 37th ROSTERED 13% YTD Stats REC 7 TAR 8 REYDS 133 TD 1 FPTS/G 13.2 The Jets should be able to do whatever they want in Week 7 against the Dolphins. From Cooper's perspective I am a little concerned what the Jets want to do is run the ball and throw the ball to Garrett Wilson. Cooper is a high-upside flex this week who could have WR2 upside if he can hold off Adonai Mitchell for the WR2 role behind Wilson.

NE New England • #3 Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ CHI CHI -3 O/U 50.5 OPP VS WR 13th WR RNK 32nd ROSTERED 30% YTD Stats REC 20 TAR 30 REYDS 233 TD 3 FPTS/G 9.9 Douglas has three touchdowns in the past two weeks and he has scored more than 20 PPR Fantasy points in each of those games. Romeo Doubs was placed on Injured Reserve and Drake Maye is playing out of his mind. Still, at some point A.J. Brown is going to start catching the ball and Douglas is going to come back to earth. View him as a WR3 this week and rest of season.

Stashes (WR Preview)

NO New Orleans
Age: 22 • Experience: Rookie

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP vs PIT PIT -3.5 O/U 44.5	OPP VS WR 6th	WR RNK NR	ROSTERED 53%

YTD Stats
REC 0	TAR 0	REYDS 0	TD 0	FPTS/G 0

This could be your last chance. Tyson traveled with the team to France and could make his debut any week now. If I see him anywhere on the waiver wire, I am adding him. He was a first-round pick for a reason and I expect that at some point this season, he will be seeing most of the targets Devaughn Vele is currently getting.

WR Preview

DFS Plays

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

LAR L.A. Rams • #12
Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP @ LV LAR -4.5 O/U 47.5	OPP VS WR 19th	PROJ PTS 24.2	WR RNK 1st

YTD Stats
REC 37	TAR 52	REYDS 417	TD 2	FPTS/G 23

There is no Jaxon Smith-Njigba, CeeDee Lamb, or Chris Olave on the main slate. There is no Davante Adams on the other side of the field. Nacua should lead the slate in targets and I project him for three more points than any other receiver. Save money somewhere else.

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

DET Detroit • #1
Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP vs GB DET -3 O/U 53.5	OPP VS WR 20th	PROJ PTS 12.1	WR RNK 26th

YTD Stats
REC 18	TAR 29	REYDS 276	TD 2	FPTS/G 11.5

Williams is only $100 more than Jalen Coker on FanDuel. There is no logical reason to choose Williams when Coker is available. And yet, we all know that Williams has enormous upside on a weekly basis even if he hasn't shown it as much as we would like in 2026. He's exactly the type of contrarian play that could blow up and give you a big edge on the field.

WR Preview

Heath's Projections

My full set of Week 7 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 7. Projected stats for all starting wide receivers are updated throughout the week, so make sure you check back later in the week for changes.