This has been an NFL season like no other. We can safely say it is the worst year for injuries in the history of the league. However, the show must go on. In the wake of several top WRs going down last week, how should fantasy football managers handle the waiver wire, trades, and the decision to cut players from their rosters?
Wide Receivers To Target off the Week 8 Waiver Wire
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 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 San Francisco 49ers pass-catchers got healthy. Jennings does not have stand-alone value in this offense. He is the ever-rare handcuff WR. Well, the handcuffs are coming off.
Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL and is done for the season. That elevates Jennings into the WR2 role opposite Deebo Samuel Sr.
There is a bit more risk with Jennings now that Ricky Pearsall is back. The rookie may work 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.
We rarely 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 addition 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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 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. 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 has 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 as 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 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
Wide Receivers To Target in Trades Ahead of Week 8
Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
Fantasy managers are getting fed up with Chris Olave. We’re now seven weeks into the season, and he’s had more games with 3.1 or fewer fantasy points (three) than with 16+ (two). Olave is averaging 9.3 fantasy points per game and has been a fantasy WR5. But this is still a really talented player.
Despite all his failings, Olave is averaging 2.14 yards per route run and 9.7 yards per target. For reasons that are hard to understand, his target share sits at a lowly 17.4%.
Derek Carr is likely returning in Week 9. Rashid Shaheed is done for the season. The New Orleans Saints will need Olave over the second half.
Beginning in Week 9, the Saints start a stretch of games against average or worse pass defenses. They also face a handful of opponents likely to make them throw to keep up.
Given how poor Olave’s production has been, he may be acquirable for a WR3 price. I would pay that willingly.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Did we just see the worst game of DeVonta Smith’s entire career? Probably. He’s had zero receiving yards in a game before. He’s never had fewer than you or I did while watching the game from our couches.
The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the New York Giants with Saquon Barkley and a deep A.J. Brown touchdown. They just didn’t need Smith.
Going forward, the Eagles have a lengthy stretch of games against below-average to bad pass defenses on teams with offenses capable of participating in a shootout.
Before this week, Smith had 14.9 fantasy points in every game this season. If his manager is worried about him, feel free to take Smith off their hands.
Amari Cooper, WR, Buffalo Bills
It’s great for fantasy managers that Cooper scored in his Bills debut, but it would’ve made buying him a whole lot easier if he hadn’t. Cooper caught four passes for 66 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. Yet, he barely played.
Having been with the team less than a week, Cooper was used sparingly due to his limited knowledge of the playbook, playing just 19 snaps and running 12 routes, both fourth on the team at WR. As a testament to his immense ability as a route runner and his overall high football IQ, Cooper scored on a play in which he didn’t even know what he was supposed to do.
Amari Cooper just scored his first touchdown with the Bills and he had no idea what the play was! Y’all gotta see this. 🤣 🤣
When you know what you’re watching, football is so much more fun. #BillsMafia | #AchoAnalysis pic.twitter.com/KTt646KJow
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 20, 2024
As the weeks go by, Cooper will become more integrated into the offense. He will learn the playbook better and eventually become the clear WR1. It wouldn’t be a shock if that happened as soon as this week. If his manager is looking to “sell high” off of what appears to be a flukey high-scoring debut, gladly accept.
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
From Weeks 2-4, Malik Nabers was the best wide receiver in fantasy. Then, he missed two games with a concussion before returning and posting a complete dud against the Eagles.
When Week 8 begins, it will have been a month since Nabers did anything useful for fantasy managers. See if you can use that to your advantage.
The Giants have a tough matchup this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It could be another rough go of it for Nabers. Perhaps you want to wait a week. But beginning in Week 9, the schedule really opens up.
The Giants only have one more game against a defense better than the bottom 10 against the pass. Seven of the Giants’ final eight games have shootout potential. If there is any discount at all, buy.
Wide Receivers To Potentially Trade Away Ahead of Week 8
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
No one is necessarily looking at Jaxon Smith-Njigba as some every-week must-start player. However, his performance has been better than his usage.
Smith-Njigba is purely a PPR scam. His aDOT is somehow lower than it was last year. He doesn’t earn volume — it’s purely a product of circumstance when he gets targeted.
JSN caught three passes for nine yards against the Falcons. With DK Metcalf going down with an injury, fantasy managers may think this is a chance for JSN’s value to spike. In actuality, it’s merely an opening to sell him.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Carolina Panthers
It looks like the Andy Dalton honeymoon is over. The Washington Commanders have been better defensively, but there’s no defending throwing for 93 yards and two interceptions over a full game. There’s a very real chance we see the Panthers go back to Bryce Young within the next week or two. It’s unlikely to be any better.
Diontae Johnson caught just one pass for 17 yards against the Commanders. Back in Week 5, he caught three passes for 23 yards against the Chicago Bears. That’s more like what we saw in Weeks 1 and 2 with Young and what might be happening going forward. If Johnson still has any semblance of the WR2 value he did a couple of weeks ago, see if you can get something usable in return.
Wide Receivers To Cut in Week 8
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers (99%)
This is the worst type of name to put on this list. Aiyuk tore his ACL in the 49ers’ loss to the Chiefs. His season is over, and he can be safely dropped.
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints (47%)
Clearly, a bunch of fantasy managers have already dropped Rashid Shaheed. Sadly, the Saints WR2 tore his meniscus and opted for the full repair. He is done for the season and can be safely dropped as well.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Tennessee Titans (49%)
Before his training camp knee injury, I was actually very much in on a DeAndre Hopkins bounceback. The injury bailed me out of a bad take.
It appears to be over for the future Hall of Famer. Hopkins has now failed to reach 2.0 fantasy points in half of his games this season. In two others, he failed to reach double digits. He has one WR1 game mixed in, but that is not enough of a reason to continue rostering him.
Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (91%)
We have had not one, not two, but three top receivers suffer season-ending injuries surrounding Week 7. The latest one to go down was Godwin, who dislocated his ankle very late in the fourth quarter of the Bucs’ loss to the Ravens on Monday night.
All things considered, a dislocated ankle is probably one of the better outcomes for Godwin, given how gruesome the injury looked. Regardless, his season is over. One of the best picks in fantasy this season can be dropped