Fantasy Football 2021 Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickup 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 roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com
Quarterbacks
Carson Wentz, Colts (37% Rostered): Wentz has quietly been steady this season for the Colts, rarely posting eye-popping production, but consistently delivering two passing TDs per game across his last four tilts. Yardage hasn’t been a strength this year thanks to a highly effective running game, but Wentz flashed the high upside with 402 yards vs. the Ravens two weeks ago, and has smash matchups with the Titans, Jets and Jaguars coming up, all at home. If you have a QB coming up on a bye week soon, or are looking to jump ship after committing to a young QB this year, Wentz is widely available and has a nice window of productivity opening up.
Daniel Jones, Giants (28% Rostered): Jones has a low floor, and playing him always carries risk of a nuclear disaster. He’s thrown one touchdown pass in his last three games, and finished with fewer than 250 passing yards in all three. On Sunday, however, he rushed eight times; he only amassed 28 yards on the ground, but the increased attempts are the story here. Jones is an underrated rusher at the position, and when he’s scooting around he’s capable of making up for the low yardage. The Giants have some potential bonanzas on the schedule – at Kansas City, vs. Las Vegas, at Tampa Bay – and while there’s never a guarantee Jones will tear up a weak secondary, these defenses are prone to being torn apart. He is worth a look if you’re desperate, and especially if Big Blue can get Sterling Shepard back on the field.
Running Backs
Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles (21% Rostered): The Miles Sanders injury has happened, and now Gainwell is in line for increased work. Don’t count on a massive workload, as even Sanders was seeing very little opportunity in this weird, unproductive morass of an offense, but Gainwell is pretty efficient. He averages 4.6 yards per carry in limited chances, and he’s already a quality pass-catcher, which is how he’ll be mostly used. Gainwell is like J.D. McKissic, but with better rushing upside, and more opportunity. That’s a pretty decent player, and he has two plush matchups coming at Detroit and vs. the Chargers.
Latavius Murray, Ravens (47% Rostered): Murray will be cheap, as he missed Week 7 with an injured ankle and has a Week 8 bye. He had assumed the mantle as Baltimore’s primary back, and in his absence Devonta Freeman and Le’Veon Bell were unimpressive to put it mildly, while Ty’Son Williams flat out doesn’t have the trust of Baltimore’s coaches. When Murray is ready, he’s going to hop right into a role with double-digit carries, and that is helpful in an offense that runs the ball as well as the Ravens do.
Devonta Freeman, Ravens (42% Rostered): Freeman was heavily added this week in the hopes he’d assume Murray’s workload, and instead he saw one fewer carry than Bell. He saved his day by finding the end zone, but four carries on 14 yards is an ugly line. He caught three passes for 25 yards as well, which is nice? Freeman is still the RB to own here if Murray misses more time, and he’ll be free because of the Week 8 bye. I’d only stash him if I was also the Murray manager already and have room to spare.
Sony Michel, Rams (42% Rostered): Michel saw only two carries vs. Detroit, and is a pure handcuff at this point. He’s a valuable handcuff, however, because an injury to Henderson means Michel is seeing double-digit carries in an offense where teams have to be laser focused on the passing game. Henderson managers need to scoop up Michel if they can as insurance, or they’ll be disgusted with how much he FAAB he’ll cost if Henderson has to miss time.
Ronald Jones, Buccaneers (28% Rostered): Jones actually saw some work in garbage time Sunday, and unsurprisingly averaged 6.3 yards per carry. He also fumbled, which is the full Jones experience. He’s as talented as they come as a pure rusher, but the Bucs are a pass-first offense in which Leonard Fournette has cemented himself as the primary back. Jones would have FLEX value if Fournette got hurt, so stashing him isn’t a terrible idea, but he’s not a necessary add by any stretch of the imagination.
Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots (15% Rostered): Stevenson’s season has been a yo-yo of looking effective and not being active. Stevenson rushed for 23 yards and a touchdown on five carries vs. Dallas in Week 6, while also catching three passes for 39 yards only to be a healthy scratch in a smash matchup vs. the Jets. Damien Harris, for now, looks like he has established a firm hold on lead back duty, but Stevenson is talented enough to make an impact if given a chance. For now, he’s a deep league stash, but no manager should plan on using him in the near-term.
Wide Receivers
Kadarius Toney, Giants (46% Rostered): Toney was clearly cut by a lot of managers dealing with the Week 7 bye week crunch, and now’s your opportunity to swoop in on a possible league-winner while he’s hurt. Bye weeks come for us all, and we’re in the thick of it, so competition should be lighter for an injured player. We don’t know how long Toney will be out, but if you have room he’s absolutely worth a stash. He flashed in Week 5 vs. the Saints, detonated on the Cowboys for 189 yards in Week 6, and had 36 yards in half a quarter vs. the Rams until he got hurt. Whenever he comes back, he’ll likely be hyper-targeted and productive. Worth the wait.
Rashod Bateman, Ravens (32% Rostered): Bateman is not as special as Toney, but he has walked into this offense and seen six targets in back-to-back games. He’s benefitting from Sammy Watkins being out, but he’s already been more impactful than Watkins, and should keep this role when Watkins is healthy again. Bateman is a high-upside add, and while I wouldn’t count on him, or any other non-Hollywood Brown Ravens receiver, I’d be very comfortable playing him in an injury/bye week pinch. Just remember you can’t play him this week.
Allen Lazard, Packers (4% Rostered): Lazard is risky; he was horrible until Week 6, and he’s still had mediocre output the past two weeks that have been boosted by touchdowns. Still, the 11 targets in the last two games are nice, and if that is reliable moving forward than Lazard could be a low-end emergency FLEX option. Green Bay has potentially high-scoring matchups on the slate with Arizona, Kansas City and Seattle, so Lazard should get some work.
Hunter Renfrow, Raiders (49% Rostered): Renfrow was back to his old tricks, drawing eight targets and catching seven for 58 yards. He’s not a reliable touchdown scorer, but his full-PPR floor is high, and will remain so with the Giants and Chiefs next up on his schedule. Renfrow is currently the 19th-highest rated WR on PFF, so his production is no fluke. He’s as safe as they come as long as you can tolerate a low ceiling.
Tim Patrick, Broncos (39% Rostered): Patrick finally busted, which will surely kill his roster %, as will the return of Jerry Jeudy. I’m less interested in starting him now until we see Jeudy’s reintegration into the offense, but Patrick still strikes me as a valid TD threat. His peak window has probably passed for the 2021 campaign, but in bye week crunches he’ll remain playable.
Tight Ends
C.J. Uzomah, Bengals (19% Rostered): Uzomah didn’t disappoint in a smash matchup with the Ravens, who entered play giving up the most points in the NFL to opposing TEs. He has a similarly great matchup this week vs. the Jets, and then in Week 10 against the Raiders. Now, relying on Uzomah has an element of danger; he has seen more than three targets just once this year and is heavily reliant on scoring touchdowns. But in such matchups he has shown he can exploit them, so he should be an option for desperate managers.
Mo Alie-Cox, Colts (17% Rostered): Cox, like Uzomah, can do damage. But he needs to score TDs to do it, because he has such a low target share. Cox has maxed out at five targets in any single game this year, but he has scored four touchdowns in the last four games. His Week 8 matchup with the Titans is subpar, but the following matchups, home dates vs. the Jets and Jaguars, are golden. Cox is a sneaky add if you have been streaming all year or are dealing with Rob Gronkowski/George Kittle injury problems.