Waiver Wire Week 7: Kenyan Drake, Marcus Mariota Highlight Pickups to Know

The Baltimore Ravens' running back situation will be closely monitored in the next week by fantasy football players.

Kenyan Drake was Baltimore's top ball-carrier in Week 6 because J.K. Dobbins felt tightness in his knee.

Drake took full advantage of his situation by earning 119 yards on 10 carries and finding the end zone once against the New York Giants.

Dobbins' injury situation will be monitored throughout the week, and if the news is not great, Drake could be one of the top players picked up from the waiver wire.

The additional problem with the waiver wire for Week 7 is that the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings are all on byes.

That is a brutal combination of four teams to be off at once, and that may lead to some drastic measures on the waiver wire, including using Marcus Mariota as your fantasy starter for one week.

Kenyan Drake took advantage of his elevated role in the Baltimore ground game on Sunday.

He produced 119 rushing yards on 10 carries and a touchdown to prove that he can be a viable backup to J.K. Dobbins.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters after Sunday's game with the New York Giants that Dobbins had his knee tighten up, per ESPN's Field Yates.

The Dobbins news is concerning for fantasy football players with him on their roster because the issue could be a lingering one throughout the season.

Drake may be the best insurance you can add off the waiver wire in case Dobbins is unable to go in future games.

Baltimore has a strong matchup in its favor in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns, who conceded over 200 rushing yards in Weeks 4 and 5.

Drake could be added because of that matchup, Dobbins' status and the lack of bye-week replacements for Dalvin Cook, Devin Singletary and Miles Sanders.

Marcus Mariota could be the ideal Week 7 bye-week replacement for Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Jalen Hurts or Kirk Cousins.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback does not have eye-popping numbers, but he has been able to produce touchdowns on a consistent basis.

Mariota has six passing touchdowns and three rushing scores in his first year in Atlanta. He added to that tally with two passing scores and one of the rushing variety in the upset win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

The touchdowns make up for the lack of yardage Mariota produced through the air. He has been under 200 passing yards in each of the last three weeks.

Mariota should find some success in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals, who conceded over 300 total yards in five of their six games.

The former first-round pick has proved the touchdowns will be there each week, and if he adds more yards to his personal tally, he could be a perfect one-week fill-in on fantasy rosters.

Mariota could also be a Week 8 fill-in since the Falcons face the Carolina Panthers. Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert have byes in two weeks.

Alec Pierce has developed into one of Matt Ryan's go-to guys with the Indianapolis Colts.

Some fantasy players may have taken a risk on the rookie wide receiver a few weeks ago, but there is still time to add Pierce to your roster.

The second-rounder out of Cincinnati only had three catches for 49 yards Sunday, but he scored a touchdown to help the Colts get past the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Pierce has 22 targets in the last three weeks. He caught 15 of those passes for 210 yards, and his touchdown was the first of his career.

Indianapolis does not have many reliable assets in the passing game behind Michael Pittman Jr., so Pierce should continue to receive a healthy amount of targets.

Indianapolis' offensive approach will be determined weekly by the health of Jonathan Taylor. If he comes back for Week 7, Deon Jackson's fantasy value will drop quickly.

Pierce has more season-long value than one of Week 6's breakout running backs, and he should be one of the most targeted players on the waiver wire building up to Week 7.

Tyquan Thornton should start to gain traction on your waiver-wire radar.

The 2022 draft pick scored two touchdowns for the New England Patriots in Sunday's blowout win over the Cleveland Browns.

The second-rounder out of Baylor caught one touchdown pass and ran in his second score. He caught four of his five targets for 37 yards.

His production against the Browns may give us a look into how the Patriots want to use him moving forward.

Thornton is not on top of the must-add players on the waiver wire yet, but he may be a player to target now if you have roster room just in case he becomes more popular in the coming weeks.

New England only has one wide receiver with more than 300 yards through six weeks. The distribtution of targets to certain players was disrupted by Mac Jones' injury and Bailey Zappe's entrance into the lineup.

Thornton could be an offensive weapon regardless of his quarterback because of the versatility that could be added through rushing plays.

One week is still a small sample size. but Thornton showed enough promise to get more touches inside the New England offense moving forward.