Adam Strangis NFL Waiver Wire Week 8
It was a rough go on Sunday, with multiple high-profile injuries across the league. Odell Beckham Jr., Chris Carson, Deebo Samuel and Kenyan Drake were just some of the players that were hurt this weekend. While Beckham is done for the season, the jury is still out on some of the other players. We’re here to help fill out your rosters to get through the bye weeks coming in NFL Waiver Wire Week 8!
*Note* The ownership referenced will be based on Yahoo and if this needs updated after Monday Night Football, it certainly will be before your waivers run.
Teams on a Bye – Washington, Jacksonville, Houston, Arizona
NFL Waiver Wire Week 8 Quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater, Panthers – 44% rostered
Monday Night Football is yet to be played as this is typed, but nobody will catch Teddy B in passing yardage. That means he’s fifth in the NFL and he’s thriving in the new-look Carolina offense. He’s only 0.4% off the league lead for completion rate as well, so this is really a perfect marriage right now. The only facet missing from the resume is touchdown passes, with just eight on the year. It’s a good thing he gets Atlanta this week because they lead the league in touchdown passes allowed at 19. The first time Bridgewater saw this matchup, he put up 313 yards, two scores and no picks. You’d be very happy to stream that production this week.
Derek Carr, Raiders – 29% rostered
I have been a noted Carr-hater in the past, but he’s been wildly impressive this season. Only once has he not thrown at least two touchdowns in a game and he ran the streak to five straight this past week against the Bucs. That’s no mean feat considering the matchup and this week he takes on the Browns. You know, the same team that just got lit up by rookie Joe Burrow. Carr and coach Jon Gruden have meshed well this year, and they’ve gotten only limited contributions from their rookie receivers. Cleveland entered this past week at 19th in DVOA against the pass, which likely didn’t get better. Carr sits third in completion rate and only has one interception on the season.
Honorable Mention
Baker Mayfield, Browns – You missed the best game of the season and he’s not typically a ceiling option, but Mayfield also has thrown multiple touchdowns in every game but two. The Raiders were 26th in DVOA entering this week and Vegas sits at 11 TD passes given up.
Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers – A gross option to say he least but Seattle’s secondary tends to cure a whole lot of ailments.
Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins – Tua draws a tough spot against the Rams in his first start, but he’s rostered in under 30% of leagues. That’s not high enough for his potential and even if you don’t start him immediately, he has the Jets, Chargers, Broncos, Bengals and Raiders left on the schedule.
NFL Waiver Wire Week 8 Running Back
Chase Edmonds, Cardinals – 63% rostered
There’s a number one option in NFL Waiver Wire Week 8 and it’s not close. He’s why we’re breaking the rules on how high a player is rostered. Edmonds is going to be the lead back in Arizona for the foreseeable future, as Kenyan Drake has an ankle injury that could land him on IR. High-ankle sprains can be tough to get back from, and Edmonds just generated over 140 scrimmage yards Sunday night on 12 touches. He was already the passing down back and there’s a real chance Drake doesn’t get his job back this year. In dynasty leagues, Eno Benjamin isn’t a bad stash option to see what happens behind Edmonds either.
Carlos Hyde, Seahawks – 11% rostered
On the other side of this game, Chris Carson left with a foot sprain and is being listed as week-to-week. That’s not great and could lead to him missing some time. Hyde stepped into a healthy workload of 15 carries, though he did look on as DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer played passing downs. Hyde might just be a two-down banger at this point, but when you’re a part of the highest-scoring offense in football, a two down role is still extremely fantasy relevant.
La’Mical Perine, Jets – 16% rostered
The good news? Perine appears to be taking over as the leader in the backfield, as he played 70% of the snaps and handled 13 running back touches. He got the only RB targets in the game, which signals that he is the alpha right now. The bad news? He plays for the Jets. Inevitably, the game scripts are going to go against him in almost every game the rest of the way and Perine is going to be tough to trust. He’s more of a deep league play to me, but a running back getting so much playing time deserves attention.
49ers Backfield
This is one of the grossest backfields in fantasy, but one of the most relevant at the same time. Only six teams average more rushing yards per game than San Francisco but guessing which player leads the position has become a nightmare. We thought it would be Jerick McKinnon this past week. We were wrong, as Jeff Wilson torched the Patriots before getting hurt. Coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game that it had been the plan all along to rest McKinnon this week.
That is one of the toughest aspects in fantasy. There’s no way to prepare for a game plan you’re not privy to. This week should have only McKinnon, Jamycal Hasty and potentially Tevin Coleman as their options. Hasty has looked the part with 72 scrimmage yards on 10 touches, but those only came later in the game. All the pieces are interesting, but we’ll need more information to choosing the right one. Even then, it’s not set in stone.
Zach Moss, Bills – 46% rostered
Devin Singletary is not taking over this backfield with his play right now and Moss could be chipping away. This past week Moss racked up 72 scrimmage yards to 47 for Singletary and each back had 10 touches. Moss also has only four fewer red zone attempts than Singletary in three fewer games even though Josh Allen looms as a major thorn in the side as far as touchdowns in close. You want to make sure Moss is on your roster before he takes over (if he does) and beat the crowd to pick him up.
Honorable Mention
Both Gio Bernard and Jamaal Williams of the Bengals and Packers respectively are RB2-style players as long as Joe Mixon and Aaron Jones are out. There’s even RB1 upside. Both players are over the normal 50% threshold and it appeared that neither Mixon nor Jones would be out long. However, I’d want both starters back at practice before I dropped either backup.
NFL Waiver Wire Week 8 Wide Receiver
Sterling Shepard, Giants – 29% rostered
Shepard came back to the Giants lineup and posted a 6/59/1 line on eight targets. That’s some great volume and Shepard is possibly their best all-around receiver? It’s a toss-up between him and Darius Slayton but Shepard shouldn’t be available in this many leagues. If you need immediate help, Shepard might not be the ideal play. He has the Bucs and Washington the next two weeks. However, he has Philly again, a bye, the Bengals and the Seahawks after that. Shepard can do some damage in an offense that is desperate for play makers and should be trailing plenty.
Cole Beasley, Bills – 41% rostered
Beasley is mostly a PPR specialist, but he is a solid one at that. Only once has he dipped under double-digit points. He’s actually flirting with 1,000 yard season which is pretty impressive. Some of that has been because John Brown has missed time but Brown has always (and sadly) had issues staying on the field. Buffalo ranks eighth in attempts per game with the new Josh Allen under center and Beasley has a respectable 19.2% target share. If nothing else, he’s worth playing while you miss players these next couple of weeks.
Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers – 49% rostered
Deebo Samuel is set to miss more time with an injury. Even though that didn’t mean much at the start of the season, Aiyuk is coming into his own. He just recorded his first 100-yard receiving game in New England, an impressive feat. He now gets the Seahawks and if he gets another seven targets and possibly a rush or two, should pay off in this spot. Sometimes it takes a few games for a rookie to start clicking in an offense. Kyle Shanahan’s has a reputation for being a complex one to learn.
Jalen Reagor, Eagles – 14% rostered
We’ve only seen him in two games, but Reagor racked up over 150 air yards on just eight targets. Philly is now down Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert and DeSean Jackson in the offense, just as far as receiving options. Travis Fulgham has emerged but the Eagles are aching for another option in this passing game. Reagor might be my favorite option of the receivers in NFL Waiver Wire Week 8. Will someone please for goodness sake help Carson Wentz??
Rashard Higgins, Browns – 2% rostered
With Beckham done for the season, it’s a reasonable expectation to see Higgins jump up his production. He did catch all six of his targets this past week for 110 yards but he had started to integrate into this offense a little bit the past couple weeks. Higgins had played 55% and 60% of the snaps the previous two weeks. He was quietly earning playing time even if targets weren’t following. I likely don’t trust him yet in shallow leagues but in deeper leagues, he could be a flex option this week against the Raiders.
NFL Waiver Wire Week 8 Tight End
Richard Rodgers, Eagles – 9% rostered
It’s an odd day when Richard Rodgers checks in as a streaming option, and yet here we are. With the lack of tight ends in Philly, Rodgers saw eight targets this past week and caught six of them for 85 yards. With a matchup against the Cowboys on the horizon, Rodgers is a dynamite streamer and he was the only Philly tight end to be targeted last week.
Trey Burton, Colts – 21% rostered
In the three weeks that Burton has been active, he’s carved out a 15.7% target share, third on the team. Additionally, he has the third-most red zone targets and second-most end zone targets in those three games. Burton even has a rushing score and while I certainly wouldn’t count on that, the targets are real and he is a solid asset in PPR leagues especially.
Honorable Mention
Logan Thomas, Washington
He can’t help you this week since he’s on his bye week but coming out of the bye, he has the Giants, Lions, Bengals and Cowboys again. With Kyle Allen as his quarterback, Thomas is third on the team in targets and has over 17% of the air yards with two red zone looks. When Terry McLaurin is at a 33% target share and 61% (!!) of the air yards, those marks for Thomas are pretty nice.
NFL Waiver Wire Week 8 D/ST
Packers – 20% rostered
It is not a good week to be streaming defenses in NFL Waiver Wire Week 8. Almost every good one is rostered fairly universally and even the somewhat decent options face juggernaut offenses. The Packers defense is flawed and doesn’t have an interception since Week 2, but they do get Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. You can hope Cousins has a rough game and the Packers don’t kill you this week.
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