We are now firmly in the middle of the fantasy football season, which means we know which of our teams look like contenders and which ones have some work to do. We can start gearing our pickups more toward our team situations. It’s now time to improve our rosters.
Let’s take a look at the top Week 8 waiver wire targets and pickups that fantasy managers should consider adding to their rosters.
As always, all players are rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues.
I have done away with FAAB recommendations this year, as there are too many variables to account for. Instead, I replaced it with my opinion on how aggressive fantasy managers should be in pursuing the player on a scale of 1-10.
Who To Target on This Week’s Waiver Wire
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots (16%)
Two starts. Two 20-point performances for the rookie. Drake Maye has looked very good in his young career, providing a much-needed spark for the New England Patriots’ offense.
The schedule is about to get really difficult with the New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, and Chicago Bears coming up, but Maye has displayed a solid floor with his rushing and is not afraid to air it out. He’s at least a high QB2.
Aggressiveness Rating: 3.5
Russell Wilson, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers (7%)
This is so much pain. Justin Fields deserves better. I hate having to include Russell Wilson here, but after his performance on Sunday night, it would be a dereliction of my duty not to at least mention him.
In the history of the NFL, we’ve never seen a former mobile quarterback excel beyond age 33. Wilson is just shy of his 36th birthday.
It’s tough to know what to make of Wilson’s play. His trademark deep ball seemed to be on point, but he also benefited from some really impressive catches by George Pickens (and one by Pat Freiermuth).
on the stat sheet it's gonna say two deep ball completions for Russell Wilson but in reality they were both underthrows made possible solely because George Pickens is a god damn wizard pic.twitter.com/6f7WWLvmnY
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 21, 2024
Nevertheless, Wilson scored 24.86 fantasy points, and that needs to be noticed.
The Steelers have the Giants next week and then their bye. Unless you’re really in need of a quarterback, I would pass on adding Wilson.
Aggressiveness Rating: 1.0
D’Ernest Johnson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (7%)
The Jacksonville Jaguars won’t be able to call about 20 consecutive run plays in most games. But that may actually be a good thing for D’Ernest Johnson.
With Travis Etienne Jr. out, Johnson served as the primary passing-down back, albeit in a game where the Jaguars didn’t need to do much passing. He still managed nine carries for 38 yards and three catches for 32 yards.
The Jaguars’ next five games are against teams that are going to make them throw. Who knows when Etienne will be back? If I were coaching the Jaguars, he would be the RB3 and would only play if Tank Bigsby and Johnson couldn’t. Johnson is at least worth a speculative addition.
Aggressiveness Rating: 3.0
Ray Davis, RB, Buffalo Bills (26%)
Just two weeks ago, Ray Davis turned 23 touches into 162 total yards. That’s what his upside is as a starter. Of course, he’s not startable as long as James Cook is healthy. But this is football. Anyone can get hurt.
Davis remains one of the best handcuffs in the league. He’s worth stashing purely for the potential if Cook were to go down.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.5
Tyler Goodson, RB, Indianapolis Colts (14%)
There’s a decent chance Jonathan Taylor is back this week. But if not, it feels like Tyler Goodson is on the precipice of overtaking Trey Sermon as the primary RB2. Goodson is just way more explosive than the plodding Sermon.
Tyler Goodson's first career TD! @Colts even the score.
📺: #MIAvsIND on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/fkmzLcPeVp— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2024
The sophomore carried the ball 14 times for 51 yards and a touchdown — that’s compared to just eight carries for Sermon. If Taylor misses another week, Goodson will be startable in a pinch.
Aggressiveness Rating: 2.5
Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20%)
This waiver column drops well before Monday Night Football. That means as I write this, we don’t know how Sean Tucker followed up his breakout Week 6 performance.
Head coach Todd Bowles said he will ride the hot hand in the Bucs’ backfield. That means there could be weeks where Tucker sees 10+ touches and produces RB2 numbers. There also could be weeks he barely plays at all.
If this truly is a three-headed committee, none of these backs will be startable in fantasy. Let’s see how Monday night’s game plays out and then make a decision on Tuesday as to how addable Tucker is.
Aggressiveness Rating: TBD (check back on Tuesday)
Justice Hill, RB, Baltimore Ravens (18%)
Justice Hill has the Ravens’ passing back job on lockdown. That gives him a decent snap share floor, but renders him very gamescript dependent.
Last week, Hill was barely used, seeing one carry and one target. It was his least effective game of the season as the Ravens continue to lean more and more on Derrick Henry.
Hill has now given fantasy managers one elite game, one passable game, and four unstartable efforts. Playing on an offense that doesn’t frequently target the running back position (through six weeks, the Ravens were second-to-last in running back targets), Hill’s fantasy value is too speculative and unreliable to be worth rostering.
Aggressiveness Rating: 0.0
Cedric Tillman, WR, Cleveland Browns (0%)
This is a very speculative addition based on a very small sample size. In the Cleveland Browns’ first game without Amari Cooper, Cedric Tillman saw 12 targets, catching eight of them for 81 yards.
Cleveland Browns 2023 Round 3 WR Cedric Tillman in the first game without Amari Cooper:
– Second on the team in routes, ahead of Elijah Moore
– 12 targets
– 127 air yards
– First on the team in receiving yards (81)— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 20, 2024
This could very well be a fluke, but there’s certainly a chance Tillman is their new starting outside receiver. If Jameis Winston ends up starting, there’s a WR3 upside here.
Aggressiveness Rating: 1.5
Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers (44%)
It’s always a challenge to predict which Green Bay Packers WR will be Jordan Love’s favorite on a given week. Occasionally, it’s Romeo Doubs. And when it is, he’s capable of producing WR2 numbers.
Doubs caught eight of 10 targets for 94 yards against the Houston Texans. That’s now his second consecutive game with 17+ fantasy points.
At the bare minimum, the Packers face bottom-five passing defenses in each of their next two games before their Week 10 bye. Doubs could be startable for the needy fantasy manager.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.0
Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Green Bay Packers (27%)
It’s been a challenge to figure out Dontayvion Wicks, or really any of the Packers WRs this season. But what we do know is Jordan Love is an MVP candidate and at least one of these receivers pops each week.
Wicks has had three productive fantasy outings. Not so coincidentally, they were the three games in which he scored.
We know Wicks is talented, but when all the Packers WRs are healthy, he’s the WR4. He ran the fewest routes last week, which has been the norm with all four active.
There’s still value in rostering Wicks, as we know the upside exists in the event one of the others gets hurt. But he’s not a must-roster.
Aggressiveness Rating: 3.5
Keon Coleman, WR, Buffalo Bills (32%)
Amari Cooper was only used sparingly in his first game as a member of the Buffalo Bills, but Keon Coleman still had the best game of his young career, catching four of seven targets for 125 yards.
Keon Coleman is pretty good after the catch!!#GoBills #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/PeZzZ0TRja
— Dave Myers BIB (@DaveMyersBIB) October 20, 2024
Coleman’s game was bolstered by multiple splash plays, but that’s also what he offers. The rookie certainly provides the Bills with more explosive play potential than Mack Hollins and could be on his way to earning a larger workload. He’s worth adding now while we find out how real this was.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.0
Jauan Jennings, WR, San Francisco 49ers (30%)
Understandably, many fantasy managers dropped Jauan Jennings once the 49ers pass-catchers got healthy. Jennings does not have standalone value in this offense. He is the ever-rare handcuff WR. Well, the handcuffs are coming off.
Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL and his done for the season. That elevates Jennings into the WR2 role opposite Deebo Samuel.
There is a bit more risk with Jennings now that Ricky Pearsall is back. It’s possible the rookie works his way into the WR2 role soon enough. But we’ve already seen what Jennings’ upside looks like. The man scored 46.5 fantasy points in Week 3.
Jennings missed last week’s game with a hip injury, but head coach Kyle Shanahan is hopeful he can return in Week 8. Jennings will be a WR4, at worst, for the rest of the season.
Aggressiveness Rating: 5.5
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers (13%)
With Aiyuk done for the season, Samuel will serve as the WR1 (when he’s not dealing with an illness) and George Kittle will be the second option in the passing game. But there is room for a third guy.
Right now, the presumption is it will be Jennings. But what if it’s not?
Pearsall made his NFL debut last week and caught three of five targets for 21 yards. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was a perfectly fine dip into the NFL waters.
If Pearsall has a similar Week 8, then this will be much ado about nothing for the time being. But if Pearsall breaks out, you want to be ahead of it.
It’s rare that we find players with this much uncertainty this deep into the season. Uncertainty is a good thing because we don’t actually know how high Pearsall’s ceiling is. I can endorse a speculative add here.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.0
Jalen McMillan (2%), Trey Palmer (0%), and Sterling Shepard, (1%) WRs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I am bunching all of the Bucs’ WRs together because of the nature of the situation. Chris Godwin is done for the season with a dislocated ankle. Mike Evans aggravated his hamstring strain and, while not done for the season, could be out for an extended period of time. It would be surprising if he didn’t miss at least 2-3 weeks. Someone has to play WR for the Bucs.
These three names are the likely starters in three-receiver sets for the foreseeable future. Let’s start with Jalen McMillan, as he’s the most interesting of the bunch.
Being a rookie, we don’t yet know who McMillan is. That unknown upside is what makes him the most appealing. He earned a season-high eight targets on Monday night, but only caught three of them for 15 yards.
McMillan has been the primary WR3 all season and largely done nothing with it. While it’s possible he emerges now that there’s no one else, color me skeptical. Nevertheless, McMillan is undoubtedly worth a speculative add as we wait to see how the dust settles.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.0
Next, we have Trey Palmer. The sophomore WR lost the WR3 role to McMillan, which doesn’t bode well for his upside. After Evans went down, Palmer took over as the primary X receiver. He ran just one fewer route than Godwin, yet only earned three targets, catching one for 16 yards. It seems unlikely that Palmer will emerge into a startable fantasy asset. But, again, all Bucs WRs are worth stabbing at.
Aggressiveness Rating: 2.0
Finally, we have Sterling Shepard. He’s the veteran of the bunch. That’s good because we know he has the talent to produce, as he’s done it in the past. It’s bad because he’s 31 years old and has absolutely no upside.
I have a hard time imagining Shepard emerging into a weekly startable option, but, again, all Bucs WRs are worth a shot, especially in deeper leagues.
Aggressiveness Rating: 1.0
Hunter Henry, TE, New England Patriots (31%)
That’s two straight games with 13+ fantasy points for Hunter Henry. Perhaps Maye has revived the veteran tight end’s fantasy value. Henry caught eight of nine targets for 92 yards.
At a depleted tight end position, Henry is worth a look if you need someone. He could be a back-end TE1 for the rest of the season.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.0
Jonnu Smith, TE, Miami Dolphins (4%)
For the second consecutive game, Jonnu Smith was Tyler Huntley’s favorite target, catching all seven of his targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. Tua Tagovailoa is expected back next week, which should result in targets actually going to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, as opposed to Smith. Nevertheless, when a TE performs this well, I’m obligated to at least mention him. But you don’t need to pick him up.
Aggressiveness Rating: 0.0
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, Carolina Panthers (1%)
Not every rookie tight end can be Sam LaPorta or Brock Bowers. In fact, for most, it takes a little while before they figure things out at the NFL level. We may be watching that happen with Ja’Tavion Sanders in real time.
The Carolina Panthers rookie TE has now seen 13 targets over his last two games. He’s posted lines of 5-49 and 6-61. That is very useful. It’s way better than anything Sam LaPorta has done all season.
We don’t know what the future holds for the Panthers at quarterback, but Sanders could be emerging as a startable fantasy TE.
Aggressiveness Rating: How badly do you need a tight end?
Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders (30%)
Zach Ertz just posted his best game of the season, scoring 14.0 fantasy points. Of course, nothing actually changed in his role. He just happened to score a touchdown.
Ertz has seen more than five targets in a game just once this season. Most weeks, you’re getting somewhere in the range of 5-8 points.
If you want a streaming tight end who won’t get you zero, sure, Ertz can do that. But he’s nothing more than a matchup-based streamer. Ertz does not need to be a regular part of fantasy rosters.
Aggressiveness Rating: 0.0
Cade Otton, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (39%)
Fantasy managers are justifiably going to chase all of the Bucs’ wide receivers in light of the injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. But the man likely to benefit the most is Cade Otton.
The Bucs TE racked up 100 yards on eight receptions last week. Although much of that was in garbage time, Otton remains the last man standing in this passing game. He instantly goes from a low-upside streamer to every-week TE1. If he’s out there in your league, even if you don’t need a tight end, go hard after Otton.
Aggressiveness Rating: 8.0