Week 8 Waiver Wire
Shane McCormick
My wife and I just finished watching the last season of The Bear. We were excited for the new season. How would Carmy and Syd do with the opening of their new restaurant? Would Carmy’s relationships with Claire and Ritchie get repaired? Instead, we got the most disappointing season of a show that we have watched in a while. The fantasy football waiver wire can be like that sometimes. One week, you're excited to spend your FAAB on Ty Chandler, Josh Downs, and Jalen Tolbert. Then, after their games, you’re left feeling empty. But just as we will go back and watch season 4 when it debuts, hoping for better results, you have to take the same view with the next week of the waiver wire. So, let’s get to it. Yes, Chef!
*Note: The order in which I list the players is how I prioritize them.
Quarterbacks
Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa is owned in under 50% of ESPN and Yahoo leagues. There is a good chance he will return in week 8. Yes, there is always a chance he doesn’t make it through the entire season, but if you need help at the position, he is my top choice. Two out of his next three games are great matchups against the Cardinals and Rams.
Drake Maye
Maye has been a top-10 quarterback in his first two starts. His rushing ability has helped his fantasy stats, clearing 50 yards in his last two games. I won’t lie, the next three weeks are rough: Jets, Titans, and Bears. But Maye could be over 20 fantasy points in his three games after that: Rams, Dolphins, and Colts.
Bo Nix
Another quarterback that is providing a good floor due to his rushing production. Nix has rushed for 61 and 75 yards in his last two games. He has been a top-10 quarterback in two out of his previous three games, and he would have probably been one against New Orleans if they needed to pass more in the second half.
If you need a starter this week, prioritize Nix over Maye, given his week 8 matchup. This week, he gets a Carolina defense at home that just allowed Marcus Mariotta to finish the week as a top-10 quarterback.
Russell Wilson
Wilson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another against the Jets defense Sunday night to finish with 24 fantasy points. Due to his lack of rushing, I would add Maye and Nix over him, but he is a must-add in any SuperFlex league.
Jameis Winston
Deshaun Watson will now miss the rest of the season with his Achilles injury, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson left the game with a finger injury. I expect Winston to start for the Browns. While he doesn’t have the greatest weapons, he will be a viable starter most weeks in SuperFlex leagues.
Running Backs
Jaylen Warren
Warren was dropped in many leagues, but now, after Sunday night’s performance, it is time to pick him back up. This offense looked a little more dynamic with Russell Wilson back under center. We saw Warren put up 59 total yards against a tough Jets defense.
As we saw last year, I expect Warren to be worked into a more shared role with Najee Harris. He has two upcoming favorable matchups against the Giants and Commanders.
Tyler Goodson
If you watched any film of the Colts the last two weeks, you can see Goodson is much more explosive than Trey Sermon. Goodson has averaged 4.7 yards per carry compared to Sermon's 2.8 yards per carry. In week 7, we saw Goodson get 14 total touches to Sermon’s nine. Goodson had his highest snap count of the year at 48%. There is no guarantee that Jonathan Taylor will be back in week 8 for the Colts.
Ray Davis
I am moving Davis up from the stashes section. I have a feeling we might start to see him worked in a little more into this offense to lessen the workload for James Cook to keep him healthy throughout the year. After a monster week 6 game, Davis still put up 47 total yards and a touchdown on just six touches.
Stashes:
Tyler Allgeier
Roschon Johnson
Justice Hill
Emanuel Wilson
Blake Corum
Braelon Allen
Trey Benson
Kimani Vidal
The recent injuries have proved that you want a viable option if your starter goes down. If the starter in front of them suffered a long-term injury, all of these running backs would have three-down and league-winning potential.
Wide Receivers
Keon Coleman
After averaging just seven points in his first six games, many managers dropped Coleman. He had a mini-breakout in week 7, catching four balls for 125 yards and inches away from a touchdown. Amari Cooper might help Coleman, opening up more opportunities, which is good for him. He could also start seeing lesser-quality cornerbacks with the addition of Cooper.
Romeo Doubs
Doubs has seen 14 targets over his last two games and finished as a top-12 wide receiver in both. In week 7, he led Green Bay with eight receptions for 94 yards.
In week 8, he gets Jacksonville, who has given up the second-most passing yards in the league and the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers.
Jauan Jennings
Jennings missed week 7 with a hip injury, but initial reports say that he could be back for week 8. Brandon Aiyuk will be out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL. When given target opportunities (see week 3), he responded with top-flight fantasy numbers. If he is back in week 8, he faces a Dallas defense that gave up over 300 yards receiving in their last game.
Cedric Tillman
There were over eight targets a game available with the departure of Amari Cooper. Tillman responded in week 7 with eight catches for 81 yards. With Jameis Winston at quarterback, Tillman could provide some WR3 value during bye weeks.
Ricky Pearsall
If we get news that Jennings won’t be available, or if you want to opt for less FAAB spending, you can target Pearsall. In his first action of the year, the rookie had the most snaps of any San Franciso wide receiver and caught 3-of-5 targets for 21 yards.
Tight Ends
Hunter Henry
Henry greatly benefited from the change to Maye as the quarterback, finishing as a top-10 tight end the last two weeks. With Maye under center, he is averaging seven targets per game. If I were a Sam LaPorta manager, I would pick up Henry to start over him.
Noah Fant
I would not have thought Fant would have much room for success with the Seattle wide-receiving options, but he has had double-digit points in his last two games. Now, there is a chance that DK Metcalf will miss week 8, which would free up some extra targets for Fant.
Jonnu Smith
After a 22-point game in week 7, Smith has been in double-digits in three games this year. In this year’s tight-end landscape, that is an accomplishment. The backup quarterbacks in Miami target him, as he has seen 15 targets over the last two games.
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