Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire: Best Pickups At Each Position
Here's some advice for owners working through bye weeks and injuries
Suddenly, it’s Week 8 of the 2021 NFL season, and you might need to pay a visit to the waiver wire in order to get your team properly loaded up for the stretch run.
More teams have bye weeks coming up, and the injuries continue to mount, as well. Whether you need a plug-and-play option or are just stocking up your bench, the wire might become necessary this week.
So, here are the players you’ll want to eye this week on the wire (based on players available in 65 percent or fewer of Yahoo! leagues).
Quarterback: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (48% owned)
The Dolphins still stink, so it’s not helping his team in the win-loss department, but Tagovailoa has been the third-most successful fantasy quarterback across the last four weeks.
Who knows if this is Tagovailoa finally living up to his draft slot, or just a nice flash that will come plummeting to the ground at some point. Whatever the case, he’s good now, and barring a trade for Deshaun Watson, he’s probably worth a flier at this point.
Other quarterbacks to target: Carson Wentz (IND), Jameis Winston (NO), Trevor Lawrence (JAX)
Running back: Michael Carter, New York Jets (62% owned)
There are a few ways to look at this. While Carter was held mostly quiet by the New England Patriots this past week, he still has had some promising performances.
Considering the Jets are without Zach Wilson for the next few weeks, they might lean on Carter more than usual. That could be a good thing, but it also might allow for defenses to key in on him more. Either way, there’s always a dearth of good running backs on the wire at this point in the season, so Carter might be your best option no mater what.
Other running backs to target: Samaje Perine (CIN), Khalil Herbert (CHI), Boston Scott (PHI)
Wide receiver: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns (13% owned)
There definitely is some risk in Peoples-Jones, and adding him is a move that is admittedly clouded by being a victim of the moment.
The Browns are coming off a bye week, but in Week 6, the 22-year-old had 101 yards receiving with two touchdowns. And though he didn’t find the end zone the week before, he had five catches for 70 yards. That’s pretty good volume, and if the Browns go to the air more with Kareem Hunt out, Peoples-Jones could be a worthwhile addition.
Other wide receivers to target: Russell Gage (ATL), DeVante Parker (MIA), Kadarius Toney, (NYG)
Tight end: C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals (20% owned)
Uzomah has quietly turned into Tony Gonzalez the last few weeks with the upstart Bengals.
Not really, but he’s been productive at a position that always is thin. Uzomah has caught three passes in each of the last two weeks, going for 91 yards and two touchdowns in Week 7 and 15 yards with one touchdown the week prior. In Week 4, he had five catches for 95 yards with two touchdowns.
We don’t have to know why Uzomah is suddenly becoming such a key target for Joe Burrow; we just have to know that feeding him consistently is working. Unless you have one of the top dogs at the position, he’s worth scooping up at this point.
Other tight ends to target: Jared Cook (LAC), Mo Alie-Cox (IND), Ricky Seals-Jones (WFT)
