DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 23: Michael Carter #32 of the New York Jets runs with the ball for a first down against the Denver Broncos during the third quarter at Empower Field At Mile High on October 23, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
It was reported this afternoon that Jets rookie RB Breece Hall has torn his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the 2022 season. As a result, RB Michael Carter should be on everyone’s radar even though he is available in less than 20% of fantasy football leagues at the moment.
Likewise, D’Onta Foreman is only available in approximately 35% of fantasy football leagues at the moment, but produced nearly 150 all-purpose yards in his first start at RB1 for the Panthers instead of Christian McCaffrey.
At receiver, injuries to Amon-Ra St. Brown have opened up the field for Josh Reynolds who has emerged as the Lions’ best-available receiver for Week 8. In addition, WR Parris Campbell of the Colts has produced 55+ receiving yards and one touchdown in each of his last two games but is available as a free agent to claim from the waiver wire in more than 90% of fantasy football leagues heading into Week 8!
Let’s take a look at the best available running back and wide receiver free agents as we wrap up Week 7 of the 2022 NFL regular season.
Midway through the Jets game against the Broncos’ this Sunday afternoon, RB Breece Hall crumpled in the middle of a pile of Denver defenders and left the game with a severe knee injury.
It was reported just hours ago that Jets’ rookie RB Breece Hall suffered a torn ACL on Sunday. This will end Hall’s first season on the Jets which was going very well. Through Week 7, the rookie RB had produced 463 rushing yards, 218 receiving yards, and five total touchdowns.
Now, second-year back Micheal Carter will take over at RB for the New York Jets. Carter struggled rushing the football on Sunday. He had 13 carries for 29 rushing yards (2.23 AVG). Still, he had two catches for 45 yards on Sunday. In Week 5, Carter had two touchdowns against the Dolphins. So far, Carter has produced 228 rushing yards, 151 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns this regular season. With Hall out of the way for the remainder of the year, expect Carter’s fantasy production per game to rise substantially each week moving forward in 2022. While Carter is available in less than 20% of fantasy football leagues at the moment, everyone should be checking to see if is still claimable from waivers.
RB Tyler Allegier, Atlanta Falcons (56.33% Owned)
Falcons’ RB Cordarelle Patterson started the 2022 season red-hot. However, he’s been sidelined for consecutive weeks now which has given the role of RB1 to Tyler Allegier. Allegier exploded in Week 4 where he had 10 carries for 84 rushing yards (8.4 AVG). He produced 45 rushing yards in Week 5, 51 rushing yards in Week 6, and 50 rushing yards for one touchdown in Week 7. While Patterson remains sidelined, Allegier is Atlanta’s top option at RB.
Now that RB Christian McCaffrey is out in Carolina, Chubba Hubbard and D’Onta Foreman are the Panthers’ two best available running backs. In his first game without McCaffrey on Sunday, Foreman had 15 carries for 118 rushing yards (7.9 AVG) and two catches for 27 receiving yards (13.5 AVG) to help Carolina defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-3. In his first start for the Panthers in 2022, you couldn’t ask much more from Foreman as he took over the role of RB1 in Week 7. While he is only available in approximately 35% of fantasy football leagues at the moment, Foreman is the running back every fantasy owners should be looking for from waivers heading into next week. While RB Chubba Hubbard could gain more fantasy value in the weeks to come, Foreman is hands down the Panthers’ starting RB. Expect him to produce at least 100+ all-purpose yards in Week 8.
Jets’ WR Corey Davis was targeted just once on Sunday and failed to make a single catch against the Broncos. This season, Davis has emerged as the Jets’ best receiver. He leads the team with 34 catches for 351 receiving yards (18.5 AVG) and two touchdown catches this season. Now that the Jets’ have lost RB Breece Hall for the remainder of the season, there is a good chance that Zach Wilson targets his route-runners more frequently. It's not like he's been throwing the ball a lot or well at all, but things could change with these 5-2 Jets. If Wilson does get into rhythm with his pass-catchers, then Corey Davis stands out as one of if not the best free-agent wide receiver to claim from waivers heading into Week 8.
WR Josh Reynolds, Detroit Lions (51.72% Owned)
The Detroit Lions’ have been dealing with injuries to their best RB (D’Andre Swift) and their best WR (Amon-Ra St. Brown) since the beginning of the season. St. Brown was active in Week 7, but left the game early after sustaining a concussion. As a result, WR Josh Reynolds has emerged as the Lions’ most productive receiver over the last few weeks. He only had one catch for eight yards as the Lions got destroyed on Sunday. However, he had six catches for 92 yards in Week 5, seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in Week 4, and six catches for 96 yards in Week 3. Especially if St. Brown doesn’t suit up in Week 8, Josh Reynolds is due for a massive week. He is available in approximately 50% of fantasy football leagues at the moment.
Over the last two weeks, Marvin Jones has emerged as a crucial passing target for Trevor Lawrence. He had seven receptions for 104 yards in Week 5 followed by four catches for 57 yards this weekend. Lawrence has targeted Jones 19 times in the Jaguars’ last two games. While Christian Kirk is Jacksonville’s top receiver in 2022, Jones still has 22 catches for 265 yards and one touchdown heading into Week 8. He is available in well-more than 75% wof fantasy football leagues at the moment and could see his share of targets increase in the weeks to come.
WR Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts (9.39% Owned)
In recent weeks, the Colts’ coaching staff has been raving about how WR Parris Campbell had been performing in practices. Indianapolis’ top receivers this season include Michael Pittman and rookie WR Alec Pierce who have both produced big numbers so far. Nonetheless, Campbell has emerged as an important WR3 in recent weeks. Over the last two weeks, Campbell has caught 17 passes for 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He’s produced at least 55 receiving yards and one touchdown in each of the Colts’ last two games. At the moment, Campbell is claimable from the waiver-wire in more than 90% of fantasy football leagues. After great performances in back-to-back weeks, Matt Ryan could be targeting Parris Campbell, especially as opposing defenses hyperfocus on locking down Pittman and Pierce on their running routes in the weeks to come.
