Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire Advice
Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.
Quarterbacks
Alex Smith, Redskins (45% Owned): Smith is about as unexciting as it gets in terms of fantasy football, but he gets the job done most weeks. While you should normally never count on Smith for Top 5 production at his position, he’s going to have some good opportunities to flirt with that level of scoring. His next three matchups – at Giants, vs. Atlanta, at Tampa Bay – are golden. Those three defenses ranked 27th, 29th and 32nd (LAST) against the pass entering Week 7. Smith hasn’t thrown for more than two touchdowns in a game yet this year, nor has he topped 300 yards yet. That’s why he’s going to be very obtainable on your waiver wire, likely for $0 FAAB in some leagues where most owners feel set at QB or aren’t paying attention to matchups down the road.
Case Keenum, Broncos (20% Owned): Keenum is a risky, but high upside, option if you are a QB streamer and you either whiff on Smith, or if he’s already owned. Keenum’s had his ups and downs, but he has an elite receiving corps, a RB who can catch passes (Phillip Lindsay), and an upcoming matchup with the pass-friendly Chiefs. Keenum has no shot to be a weekly starter for you, so don’t spend much of your FAAB budget; with that said, he’s fairly safe to start for Week 7.
Running Backs
Chris Ivory, Bills (8% Owned): Ivory has a low ceiling, but if LeSean McCoy misses time Ivory is pretty much the top add of the week. In addition to getting 15+ carries against a relatively soft Patriots defense, Ivory has also caught three passes in both games in which he was Buffalo’s primary back. Catching the ball isn’t a skill that he’s really shown in the past, nor should you count on it, but know that he can. In the event McCoy is ruled out, consider Ivory a volume-based RB2 in the realm of current Adrian Peterson.
Jalen Richard, Raiders (21% Owned): Richard isn’t going to take over workhorse duties for the injured Marshawn Lynch, but he will benefit the most of all the Raiders’ backs. Oakland stinks. They largely stink because their defense leaves gaping holes for RBs to run through, and for receivers to catch passes in. This leads to pass-heavy game scripts, which is where Richard makes his production. He’s already a startable FLEX option in full-PPR leagues, but with Lynch gone he is probably going to start seeing a handful of carries as well. Having seen 6+ targets in four of the Raiders’ six games before the Lynch injury, Richard will now carry FLEX value in half-PPR leagues, and RB2 value in full-PPR.
Doug Martin, Raiders (24% Owned): Martin figures to see a big jump in workload, as he is expected to assume Lynch’s role. Martin, however, is not as good at this point in his career as Lynch. Martin will see touchdown opportunities, but Richard is going to steal some work from him, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see DeAndre Washington rearing his head in Devontae Booker-like fashion. People will spend a bunch of FAAB on Martin; I don’t recommend you be one of them.
Ronald Jones, Buccaneers (16% Owned): Jones scored his first NFL touchdown last week, and I expect the Bucs to move further in his direction as the lead back week by week. But I’m also not going to get too excited about his upside. While he showed big play potential in college, he’s averaged just 2.6 yards per carry in his limited opportunities thus far. In an offense that’s rightfully dominated by the passing game, Jones appears to be a touchdown-dependent option with no guarantee of goal line carries. He still has fairly high upside long-term, but at this point he’s simply a stash even in very deep leagues.
Marcus Murphy, Bills (0% Owned): Murphy has looked pretty explosive in limited action in 2018, averaging a healthy 5.9 yards per carry on 21 rushes. Ivory is fully expected to handle the better part of the workload in the event McCoy misses time, but Murphy should be expected to play on passing downs, where he’s also shown the ability to catch the ball. McCoy owners might want to make a move on Murphy rather than Ivory if they are running low on FAAB and don’t want to blow a hole in their budget on a RB in an offense that will not score very often with Derek Anderson at QB. Murphy is probably available for a $0 bid, and could easily play more than Ivory if the coaching staff decides they want to see what they have in him.
D’Onta Foreman, Texans (18% Owned): Foreman is eligible to play in Week 8, and while he surely will be extremely limited, if he plays at all, he could provide a spark to the Texans’ blah offense. Deshaun Watson hasn’t been as magical in Year 2, despite having major weapons in DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller at his disposal. Part of that is an offensive line that lets pass rushers disrupt him every time he drops back. Foreman’s explosiveness could provide a check on these defenses that come hard after Watson because they don’t truly respect Lamar Miller as a threat to burn them for chunk plays. Foreman is a pretty speculative add, but one who carries big upside.
Trenton Cannon, Jets (0% Owned): Cannon is going to be the Jets’ No. 2 back if Bilal Powell is going to miss weeks with his neck injury. While this really means Isaiah Crowell becomes a weekly must-start based on workload alone, it also elevates Cannon into a decent passing downs role. Cannon is more exciting for full-PPR owners, but his four-catch, 69-yard performance last week in garbage time showcased big time speed. In full-PPR or deep leagues, any RB who is locked into predictable touches is worth owning. If Powell’s out of the picture, that’s an accurate description of Cannon
Frank Gore, Dolphins (30% Owned): Another week, another 10 carries for Frank Gore. Yes, Gore only turned it into 29 yards, and yes, Kenyan Drake vastly outplayed him. That’s what Drake is supposed to do! Anyone who owns Drake should also own Gore, because an injury turns Gore into an instant RB2. Any RB who is locked into 10+ carries per game needs to be owned by someone. Someone for God’s sake pick up Frank Gore.
LeGarrette Blount, Lions (13% Owned): Blount is in the same boat as Gore, only Blount has three touchdowns in his last two games. Blount has recorded 12 and 10 carries in his last two games, respectively, scoring in both tilts. If you own Kerryon Johnson, and don’t own Blount (or aren’t trying to trade for Blount), then whatever misfortune befalls you if Johnson gets hurt is on you.
Wide Receivers
Chris Godwin, Buccaneers (49% Owned): Godwin has remained a steady target in the Tampa Bay offense through the transfer from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Jameis Winston, and he’s been a consistent player all season. Godwin has racked up 50 or more yards in four of the Buccaneers’ six games and scored in four of them. He is the definition of a capable WR2. It’s unclear why so many owners are reluctant to add him, but if he’s still loitering around your waiver wire act quickly.
Tyrell Williams, Chargers (15% Owned): Williams has amassed 118 yards in each of the last two games, scoring three times over this high-powered stretch. Do NOT overreact. Williams has clearly made his case as a boom-or-bust WR whom you can start in any given week, particularly in 3WR leagues, but chasing these long touchdowns is a recipe for disappointment. While he may be performing like DeSean Jackson, he’s still not seeing D-Jax target share. Instead, he’s just made the most of the few targets Philip Rivers has sent his way.
Cole Beasley, Cowboys (27% Owned): Beasley’s role has become clearer lately, and while the Cowboys’ passing game isn’t to be trusted – by extension meaning you shouldn’t count on big weeks from Beasley every week – you can rely on him to see a healthy target share from Dak Prescott. Tony Romo mentioned during the Cowboys’ Week 7 loss that Beasley has begun to run lots of the routes TE Jason Witten used to run. That’s good for Beasley, as Prescott had a nice connection with Witten. If the 19 targets over two games are any indication, Beasley has become a safe WR3/PPR FLEX play.
Christian Kirk, Cardinals (26% Owned): Kirk has become the top target in the Cardinals’ offense. That doesn’t mean much, as it’s maybe the worst offense in the NFL, but even during a 45-10 humiliation by the Broncos, Kirk turned in a respectable three-catch, 55-yard effort on six targets from Josh Rosen. Kirk has big play ability, but more importantly, he has developed chemistry with Arizona’s QB of the future, Rosen. Kirk’s ceiling is low at the moment, but his floor is rising with each passing week.
Tre’Quan Smith, Saints (17% Owned): Smith can’t quite be trusted on a weekly basis, but he is the replacement for Ted Ginn’s big play opportunities. If you are chasing Tyrell Williams’ long-ass touchdowns, you should try to grab Smith instead, since he hasn’t had Williams’ explosion yet. He’s also in a better offense with a better QB than Williams.
Tight Ends
Vance McDonald, Steelers (40% Owned): McDonald has a George Kittle vibe to him. He’s very talented and has big play potential, but his main impediment is the many mouths that need to be fed in Pittsburgh’s offense. Still, Ben Roethlisberger makes frequent use of his tight ends most weeks, and in that high-scoring attack McDonald is, at worst, a matchup play who can deliver a Top 5 performance vs. the right defenses.
Chris Herndon, Jets (1% Owned): I pumped up Herndon as a sneaky DFS play last week due to the matchup with Minnesota, but now I think he has a genuine chance to be a playable fantasy TE. The Jets made heavy use of Quincy Enunwa in the early going, mostly because of his size as a WR. Herndon has a similar skill set; he’s not your typical, lumbering TE of old. Herndon is a pass-catcher first, he’s scored in back-to-back games, and he was targeted seven times vs. the Vikings. Perhaps the spike was due to the matchup, but he may just be developing a connection with Sam Darnold, particularly with the Jets missing Enunwa and Terrelle Pryor from the receiving corps.