Week 7 of the 2022 fantasy football season is nearly in the books! And it’s time to improve our rosters on the Week 8 waiver wire. Let’s take a look at the top Week 8 waiver wire pickups and targets that fantasy managers should consider adding to their rosters.
Note: All roster percentages are from Yahoo, and players are listed by position in order of priority.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 8 | Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones, New York Giants (39% Rostered)
It’s always tricky to rely on a low-volume passer, but Daniel Jones has been running a ton this year. He only threw for 202 yards and one touchdown against the Jaguars, but he carried the ball 11 times for 107 yards and a score. Most importantly, the runs weren’t scrambles — they were mostly read options. Brian Daboll is intentionally using Jones’ mobility.
The Giants get the Seahawks next week. When you face Geno Smith, you need to score points. Jones is firmly on the streaming radar. You can get him for a 3-5% FAAB bid.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 8 | Running Backs
Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens (42% Rostered)
The stat lines are a bit misleading. Gus Edwards may have been the lead back, but the Ravens were, in fact, careful with him. Edwards only played 36% of the snaps, just three more than Justice Hill.
MORE: Week 8 RB Fantasy Football Rankings
With that said, when Edwards was on the field, he got the ball. He carried it on 16 of his 23 snaps for 66 yards and two touchdowns. With J.K. Dobbins out indefinitely, this is Edwards’ backfield. His snap share should be around 50% most weeks. He is the top pickup ahead of Week 8 and is worth a 30-40% FAAB bid.
D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers (42% and 36% Rostered)
Let me preface this by saying that the Panthers are going to be very bad most weeks. What we saw in Week 7 was likely an anomaly. However, D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard both looked good.
The two backs split the backfield completely down the middle. Foreman played 27 snaps to Hubbard’s 23. Hubbard ran 12 routes to Foreman’s 10, but the latter did see more carries, 15-9.
In future games, we may very well see these two on an offense that can’t move the ball in the future. But we need to act on the information in front of us, and thus, both are worth adding.
It’s also important to note Hubbard left the game late after tweaking his ankle. If he’s out, we may see Foreman in a near-every-down role. At this point, we don’t have enough information for specific FAAB recommendations. What I will say is both are worth 15-20% bids if healthy.
Ty Johnson, New York Jets (0% Rostered)
The most devastating news of the day is Breece Hall’s potentially torn ACL. Michael Carter will be the clear lead back going forward, but he needs a backup. That man is likely Ty Johnson.
Carter played 43 snaps to Johnson’s 10. This is not necessarily a timeshare. However, if Carter were to get hurt, Johnson would suddenly be a weekly RB3. That alone makes him worth stashing. He’s worth a 3-5% FAAB bid.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 8 | Wide Receivers
Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants (29% Rostered)
Last week, I wrote about how Wan’Dale Robinson’s snaps would soon advance to an every-down role. We’re well on our way. Robinson played 70% of the snaps, outpacing Darius Slayton, David Sills V, and Richie James. He caught six of eight targets for 80 yards, with Jones looking for him early and often.
Robinson is the clear best WR on a receiving corps comprised of guys that would be healthy inactives on most teams. He’s been a recommended pickup for two weeks now. Very few wide receivers possess the type of upside Robinson does. I would spend 10-15% of my FAAB on him.
Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts (4% Rostered)
The Colts ran a ton of 11 personnel against the Titans. Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, and Parris Campbell all played a combined 98% of the snaps. While Pittman remains the WR1, it was Campbell who severely out-targeted Pierce 12-4 in this one.
Campbell had the best game of his career, catching 10 of 12 targets for 70 yards and a touchdown.
It’s impossible to know if this is going to keep up to any extent. In all likelihood, Campbell goes back to something like 3-30 next week. But we have to act on these things when we see them. Campbell is worth a 5-10% FAAB bid for WR-needy teams.
Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars (18% Rostered)
Zay Jones led all Jaguars receivers in snaps against the Giants. He played all but one of them. Jones only caught four passes for 54 yards, but he saw 10 targets. In fact, all of Zay, Marvin Jones Jr., and Christian Kirk saw at least eight targets.
MORE: Week 8 WR Fantasy Football Rankings
Trevor Lawrence has shown a preference for Zay this season. This was his fourth game (out of six) with at least eight targets. You can certainly do worse for a bye week or injury replacement. Jones can probably be had for 5-7% FAAB.
Kalif Raymond, Detroit Lions (0% Rostered)
Amon-Ra St. Brown was concussed on his first and only catch of the game. Kalif Raymond had already been elevated to the WR3 role in the absence of DJ Chark, and now, he may be the WR2 opposite Josh Reynolds.
Raymond caught five of six targets for 75 yards. He also carried the ball twice for 20 yards.
Don’t worry about the Lions’ offense. It’s fine. They won’t face the Cowboys’ elite defense every week. With Chark on IR, Raymond will be startable if St. Brown or Reynolds misses any time.
Marquise Goodwin, Seattle Seahawks (0% Rostered)
Incredibly, two of the six highest-scoring receivers prior to Sunday Night Football are not rostered in any fantasy leagues. Marquise Goodwin is back in our lives for two reasons. First, DK Metcalf was carted off the field with a knee injury. If he misses any time, Goodwin is the clear next man up.
Second, Goodwin’s quarterback is Geno Smith. Yeah, we’re actively targeting players catching their passes from Smith. His two touchdown passes to Goodwin were absolute dimes. We want pieces of this offense that is leaps and bounds better after their massive upgrade at quarterback.
Goodwin will likely be volatile. It’s also unclear how much time, if any, Metcalf will miss. But I would be remiss to leave Goodwin’s name off this list. Right now, I hesitate to recommend a FAAB bid given the lack of information about Metcalf.
DeAndre Carter, Los Angeles Chargers (5% Rostered)
It was a relatively quiet game from DeAndre Carter, despite Keenan Allen mostly being “fake” active. I’m not sure why the Chargers didn’t just hold him out, but that’s neither here nor there.
The real story is Mike Williams and his ugly-looking ankle injury. While we don’t know the severity just yet — and the Chargers are on bye next week — I’d be shocked if Williams wasn’t out at least 4-6 weeks, if not the season. He couldn’t put any weight on his ankle while being helped off the field.
Allen should be 100% following the bye, but Carter now projects to be their primary slot receiver, even when Joshua Palmer recovers from his concussion. Carter saw seven targets against the Seahawks. You could probably get him for 1-3% of your FAAB, but feel free to wait until next week, given that he’s of no use to anyone in Week 8.
Waiver Wire Pickups To Target in Week 8 | Tight Ends
Evan Engram, Jacksonville Jaguars (41% Rostered)
There’s nothing flashy about Evan Engram. He’s just a useful tight end.
Engram caught four of seven targets for 67 yards in Week 7. It was his third straight game with at least six targets. He now has 23 targets in his last three games. Engram played 81% of the snaps. He’s the clear TE1 on the Jaguars. If you need a tight end, Engram is quite serviceable. You shouldn’t need to spend more than 3-5% of your FAAB.
Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos (11% Rostered)
It’s difficult to read into anything that happened with Brett Rypien under center. But Greg Dulcich is the clear TE1 for the Broncos. He only played 60% of the snaps, but he ran 34 routes and saw nine targets, catching six for 51 yards. That plays at the tight end position. He’s worth a 3-5% FAAB bid.