Every week, I will share my favorite waiver wire or free agent pickups in fantasy football. Here is what I have for week eight!
Even after the trade for Adams, Rodgers is still only 53% owned on Sleeper. He faces a terrible Patriots defense this week and should definitely be added, even if it’s just for this game. He and the Jets got off to a hot start on SNF against the Steelers but were unable to maintain success in the 2nd half. This week, that won’t be a problem, as even the worst teams in the league have had success moving the football and scoring points on the Patriots.
The Steelers offense started really slowly with Wilson on SNF. It was so bad that most of the people watching were wondering when they were going to see Justin Fields come in and reclaim his job. Russ eventually shook off the rust, though, and led the Steelers to a huge win, a blowout win. The Steelers won 37-15, and Wilson threw for 264 yards, 2 TD, and he didn’t turn the ball over. He also rushed for a TD on a QB sneak. He got George Pickens heavily involved and gave Pat Freiermuth a chance to make big plays, too. Both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren benefited from the offense opening up as well, as they combined for 146 rushing yards and two catches for 15. yards.
With both Browns QBs getting injured in week 7, the emergency QB Jameis Winston entered the game and threw a TD pass to TE David Njoku. Watson is out for the remainder of the season, and DTR didn’t look good throwing the football. There are a lot of people out there who believe that Winston should have been starting already for the Browns, and although it comes under unfortunate circumstances now because you never want to see injuries, I do believe that all the Browns pass catchers just got a boost. Winston is a great option now for any league where you can start 2 QB.
The Saints have fallen apart. Dennis Allen is likely to be the next coach to be fired, and there is a good chance that star RB Alvin Kamara gets traded. If that trade does happen, Miller is going to become a starting RB and gain plenty of fantasy value just based on opportunity alone. This is the type of move you want to make before a trade occurs, so you can get Miller cheap, not after the trade occurs, because then it is going to cost you a top waiver priority.
This is a repeat from last week. He is just a stash at the moment, but he is one J.K. Dobbins injury away from being the starting RB in a run-first offense. Dobbins has been injury-prone his entire NFL career, so whether you roster Dobbins or not, Vidal is a really nice stash as we head into the second half of the NFL season.
He won’t cost you much this week after Javonte Williams put up a huge game in week 7, but McLaughlin has a great matchup against Carolina, who has given up a ton of points to RBs this season and allows the most points per game in the NFL. He also gets work in the passing game and could provide you with depth at the position in deeper leagues.
With Amari Cooper traded to the Bills last week, one of the Browns WRs (Tillman or Moore) was going to see more targets and involvement in the passing game. Moore saw 7 targets and caught 6 for 41 yards, which is a decent PPR day, but Tillman saw 12 targets and caught 8 for 81 yards. They both were much more involved than Jerry Jeudy, who caught 1 of 5 targets for 18 yards. That is definitely something to keep an eye on. I am looking to take a shot on Tillman and pick Moore as a backup.
The 49ers are somehow 3-4 this season. They have plenty of injuries, and they are certainly a factor, but I think everyone expected more from them. Brandon Ayiuk may be out for the season, and Deebo Samuel left the week 7 loss early on. Cowing had some big plays and will garner some attention this week, but for me, it’s Pearsall who people should be running to add. There was plenty of buzz around him during fantasy draft season, especially because people felt Ayiuk would be traded. Now, with Ayiuk injured, it’s as if he has been traded, at least for the remainder of this season. So go get Pearsall everywhere because the 49ers have plenty of time to turn their season around.
The Chargers are thought to be considered a run-first team, but in week 7, they threw the ball a season-high 39 times and for a season-high 349 yards. That 349 yards is over 100 more than they have thrown for in any other game this season. Palmer led the Chargers WR group in yards in week 7, finishing with 63 yards on 4 catches. He is the longest-tenured WR the Chargers have; he and QB Justin Herbert have been together for a few years now, so the success Palmer had could continue in the coming weeks, especially this week against the Saints, who rank 28th in the NFL against the pass.
Heading into MNF week 7, he was the WR3 in the offense. He looked good early in the season but got hurt, but now he is back and needs to be looked at in deeper leagues. With Mike Evans hobbling around the field early in week 7 with a hamstring injury and eventually leaving the game, McMillan suddenly could have a lot more value. If Evans misses any extended time, and it looks like he will, McMillan is an option in shallower leagues, too. Chris Godwin got injured in the final minute of the game as well, so in one night, McMillan might have become the WR1. Although the Bucs offense looked bad without Evans and could look even worse without Godwin, too, with a full week of practice for McMillan with Baker as the WR1, things should come together.
It’s mostly been Courtland Sutton or Devaughn Vele this season for the Broncos when it comes to pass catchers making plays for rookie Bo Nix. In week 7 though, it was Franklin who led the way in the Broncos passing game, and we could begin to see it happen more frequently. Let’s not forget that NIx and Franklin played together at Oregon, so there is a trust factor there and built-in chemistry. Franklin could become the number 1 WR in Denver, especially after such a poor showing from the Nix to Sutton connection last week.
With Mike Evans leaving the game on Monday night with a hamstring injury and not returning, Otton played a big role in the Bucs passing game, catching 8 passes on 10 targets for 100 yards. Chris Godwin got hurt, too. He is now out for the season, and suddenly, Otton could be the top weapon in the Bucs passing game for at least a few weeks, if not longer, depending on how long Mike Evans will be out with his hamstring issue. For anyone out there who is hurting at the TE position, this is the guy you want to add.
I mentioned in the Josh Palmer write-up that the Chargers threw the ball more in week 7 than they had all season. Will Dissly was the biggest beneficiary of it, seeing a team-high 11 targets, catching 8 of them for 81 yards. Although he may not see this much target share on a weekly basis, he looks to have the TE1 role in the offense locked down now, so he is a good addition this week.
He appears to be the only Dolphins pass catcher that can be relied upon right now. Of course, when Tua comes back, that should change, but the TE position is so volatile on a weekly basis that adding Jonnu seems like a must right now, especially with his bye being in the rearview mirror.
Every week, there is going to be someone new stepping up in the Chiefs offense. We know Kelce will be involved, but beyond that, unless they make a trade this week, there are plenty of question marks surrounding who will produce in fantasy. Gray is one of the guys who, at least for now, seems like he could carve out a decent role because Mahomes trusts him, and he’s a good pass catcher.
Russ looked good on Sunday night against a pretty tough Jets defense, and he was able to set up Freiermuth to make some big plays. It seems like Russ will get another shot to be the starting QB, and as long as he is in there, Freiermuth becomes a legitimate option in fantasy.
