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Seven Sundays of fantasy football are in the books. Time for the Week 8 waiver wire.
Some of the names listed below might end up winning leagues. At the very least, several of them could be difference-makers in the immediate future. Do not take the waiver wire for granted -- this is where the rubber meets the road in our imaginary game.
I’ll be here every week from now until fantasy championships. Hope to have you along for the full ride. Let’s win some hardware.
NOTES:
Players must be rostered in less than 60% of ESPN leagues to be eligible for the column. All statistics come courtesy of Next Gen Stats, unless otherwise noted.
TOP 15 OVERALL WAIVER-WIRE TARGETS
Waiver Wire Priority Rankings Next opponent 1) WR KC Concepcion, Browns at Steelers 2) WR Omar Cooper Jr., Jets vs. Raiders 3) TE Chig Okonkwo, Commanders vs. Eagles 4) TE Hunter Henry, Patriots at Dolphins 5) WR Caleb Douglas, Dolphins vs. Patriots 6) RB Rico Dowdle, Steelers vs. Browns 7) WR Antonio Williams, Commanders vs. Eagles 8) QB Kirk Cousins, Raiders at Jets 9) RB Dylan Sampson, Browns at Steelers 10) RB Seth McGowan, Colts at Jaguars 11) Bengals D/ST vs. Titans 12) TE Brenton Strange, Jaguars vs. Colts 13) RB Kaelon Black, 49ers vs. Raiders (Week 9) 14) WR Ja'Kobi Lane, Ravens at Bills 15) QB Geno Smith, Jets vs. Raiders
And here are my top waiver-wire targets by position:
QUARTERBACKS
ROSTERED: 57%
This isn’t the first time I’ve said this: Cousins is a legitimate, reliable, relatively high-floor QB1. Not a streamer. Not a one-week replacement. He’s topped 18 fantasy points in five of his last six games and has thrown multiple touchdown passes in all but one contest on the season. Even with a tough stretch of matchups on the horizon, Cousins should be started most weeks, especially with other starters on bye.
ROSTERED: 13%
Smith has been pretty boom or bust this year. He scored 23.48 fantasy points on Sunday in his second game with three touchdown passes, but had logged fewer than 12 points in each of the three games prior. That said, with Omar Cooper Jr. breaking out to give Smith another target -- outside of Garrett Wilson -- I like Geno's chances as a streamer, particularly in Week 8 against a Raiders defense that has allowed 16 touchdown passes this season (tied for second-most in the league).
ROSTERED: 20%
Speaking of boom-or-bust streamers, Brissett has scored 25-plus points twice this year, including a 292-yard, three-touchdown outing against the Lions in Week 5. One of the only defenses close to Detroit’s in terms of quarterback-friendliness is Dallas' unit, which has surrendered 21.28 points per game to the position. That's Jacoby's draw in Week 8.
RUNNING BACKS
ROSTERED: 57%
Dowdle had a solid Week 6 return, but it was his Week 7 performance in Paris that put him on the waiver radar. Even with Jaylen Warren popping off for 137 scrimmage yards, Dowdle took nine carries for 41 yards and importantly caught all six of his targets for 45 yards. He looks FLEX-worthy in the right matchups and would have league-winning upside should anything happen to Warren.
ROSTERED: 9%
A popular preseason sleeper, Sampson finally got his first touches of the season on Sunday after returning from injured reserve. He totaled 45 yards on six carries and 32 yards on three catches, looking explosive in the process. Quinshon Judkins also had an excellent game, so Sampson isn’t taking over the backfield, but he still should be heavily rostered.
ROSTERED: 4%
This is a pretty unique waiver-wire inclusion. There are rumblings that the 2-5 Colts could move Jonathan Taylor before the Nov. 10 trade deadline. If they do, McGowan is the next man up in the running back room. He’s averaged 4.2 yards per carry this year (same as Taylor) and would be immediately startable in such an eventuality.
ROSTERED: 22%
With Christian McCaffrey battling a thigh injury throughout Sunday’s upset loss to the Falcons, Black ended up leading the team in carries (12) and rushing yards (63), scoring a 30-yard touchdown. This was a useful reminder that Black should be stashed in reasonably deep leagues for what he would become if CMC were to miss games.
Loading...San Francisco 49ers running back Kaelon Black rushes for a 30-yard touchdown.
ROSTERED: 24%
After a four-week absence with an ankle injury, Coleman got 50% of the offensive snaps in his Week 7 return, heavily outplaying RJ Harvey (25%) and J.K. Dobbins (21.4%). He also led Denver's backs in carries (nine) and rushing yards (54) and added two catches for 15 yards, as well. He might only be the head of a three-man committee, but he’s worth rostering on the chance that he ultimately runs away with the job.
ROSTERED: 11%
I had Rodriguez in this section entering the Week 7 bye after his strong rushing performance against the Texans. If you’re looking for depth and can’t find it elsewhere (or above), Rodriguez is the short-yardage and sometimes-goal-line back for an excellent offense.
WIDE RECEIVERS
NOTE: Raiders' Tre Tucker has topped 21 fantasy points in consecutive games but is rostered in 61% of ESPN leagues, making him ineligible for this column. Double check the wire, just in case.
ROSTERED: 43%
We’re going to temper expectations here a bit, but coming off an eight-catch, 129-yard game -- with three carries for 23 yards as a bonus -- Concepcion must be a top priority. He’s now had six-plus targets in five of his last six games and is making a case as the top option in Cleveland. Concepcion was averaging just 6.6 points per game prior to Sunday, hence the tempered expectations, but this could be the start of a full breakout.
ROSTERED: 35%
For the second straight week, Cooper was a big-play machine while Garrett Wilson was largely silenced. The rookie has 11 catches for 218 yards and two touchdowns over his last two games and looks consistently explosive. We shouldn’t expect that kind of production on a weekly basis, but like KC Concepcion, this first-round receiver appears to be breaking out.
ROSTERED: 10%
Rookie wideouts sure flashed in Week 7. Douglas was sidelined for a month with an ankle injury but has now topped 14 fantasy points in two of the three games he’s played. On Sunday, he only had two catches (on three targets), but both went for touchdowns, including a 63-yard catch-and-run score. Douglas is more volatile than the two newbies listed just above, but he should still be added in deeper leagues.
ROSTERED: 7%
Yep, it’s a fourth rookie, though this one didn’t play in Week 7. With Terry McLaurin out for the season, it’s very likely Williams will see an uptick in snaps, routes and targets. He has looked solid on limited opportunities so far and can be tucked away in deeper PPR leagues.
ROSTERED: 12%
It’s officially an ALL-ROOKIES wideout section this week. Lane ran 28 routes on Sunday and saw the second-most targets on the team (behind Zay Flowers). While he’s yet to break out like some of the names above, he’s also yet to play a full game with Lamar Jackson. He’s another sneaky-good stash in deeper leagues.
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TIGHT ENDS
ROSTERED: 5%
If there’s one sleeper tight end with a chance to make a jump into the upper tier down the stretch, it’s Chig Okonkwo. He has four-plus catches and 60-plus yards in consecutive games, was heavily involved last Monday night and likely will be the No. 2 target behind Stefon Diggs moving forward (with Terry McLaurin out for the season). Especially in PPR formats, Okonkwo has legitimate TE1 potential and is widely available on almost every waiver wire.
ROSTERED: 47%
Henry’s last four games have resulted in 11.2, 13.4, 14.8 and 14.1 fantasy points. He saw a season-high seven targets on Thursday night -- and caught all seven for 71 yards -- and is arguably Drake Maye’s most trusted option in critical situations. While he’s never going to be a top-tier starter, Henry is one of the more quietly reliable low-end TE1s and should be starting in the vast majority of leagues.
ROSTERED: 36%
Despite an excellent run of production, Strange’s rostership percentage dipped during his Week 7 bye. C’mon, people. He totaled 23 targets, 19 catches and 207 yards through his last three games and is a staple in the Jacksonville passing game. At the least, add Strange as a bye-week filler.
ROSTERED: 0.3%
Taylor is almost certainly a fantasy-flash-in-the-pan but has caught at least four passes on at least six targets in back-to-back weeks and scored twice on Sunday. He’s a mildly viable streamer in a pinch.
DEFENSES
ROSTERED: 16%
Somewhat quietly, the Bengals defense boasts the second-highest sack rate in the NFL this season (8.8%) behind only the Vikings. As a result, they’ve scored seven-plus fantasy points in four of six games so far this season … and they get the Titans in Week 8. In fact, they don’t have a tough matchup for at least six weeks, so Cincy is the best plug-and-play D/ST for the foreseeable future.
ROSTERED: 28%
The Jaguars defense has been hit-or-miss this season, but they get Daniel Jones and the Colts in Week 8 … and that’s all we need. Indy has allowed the third-highest pressure rate in the league (43.4%) and 1.7 giveaways per game, tied for fifth-most. Plus, Jacksonville’s D has excelled against the run -- allowing the fewest yards per game in the league (72.2) -- and Indy’s offense is extremely run-dependent. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Colts get shut out next Sunday.