You would think we’re getting to the point in the fantasy football season where there isn’t much to look at in terms of the waiver wire. Well, that’s absolutely not the case. Aside from one exception on the list, our fantasy football waiver wire picks for Week 8 are less than 50% owned in Yahoo! leagues. These candidates are definitely worth a start in most formats if you’re looking for bye week help.
After posting multiple touchdowns for three straight weeks, Josh McCown finds himself a top 12 fantasy quarterback in most formats (currently 11th in my standard QB points league). The Jets will be playing from behind a ton this season, and I’ve included just about all of McCown’s weapons in this article at one point. It stands to reason the guy getting them the ball must be worth owning.
Sanu returned from injury to find himself squarely as the No. 2 target for Matt Ryan. Though that doesn’t seem to hold as much water this season with the Falcons struggling, Sanu will still have good games and has a juicy matchup with the Jets coming up. He finished second on the Falcons with 10 targets and had six receptions for 65 yards against the New England Patriots.
Jones is an anomaly in his ridiculously low targets to receptions ratio. He has just seven receptions on 32 targets, mostly due to the targets being deep balls. He has seen his targets increase with 15 over the last two games. Jones and Tyrod Taylor have failed to hookup, but the opportunity is there. Grab and stash him and deploy him with very favorable match ups or if you’re in need on a bye week.
Kupp finished their latest game with a season high in targets (10), mostly due to Patrick Peterson sticking to Sammy Watkins all afternoon. Kupp finished the day with four catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. The Rams have a bye then take on the New York Giants and Janoris Jenkins, who will also be shadowing Watkins. Kupp will be worth a start in Week 9.
Albeit against the Indianapolis Colts, Hurns had one of his better games of the year with five catches on eight targets for 101 yards. He has a matchup with the Cleveland Browns looming in a couple weeks, so you could get out ahead by picking him up now or after his bye week next week.
Goodwin is averaging eight targets, almost four receptions and 74 yards per game over his last three contests. That’s worth starting in most leagues, though he has yet to find the end zone. He has a nice match up with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8 and could finally get to pay dirt.
The uncertainty with Tye Montgomery obviously makes this situation cloudy, but there is no reason for Jones to still be a free agent in your league. He has a touchdown in three of his four games and finished with 17 carries for 131 yards and a score in his latest effort against the Saints. The Packers will lean on the run game with Aaron Rodgers lost for the season.
Going into the season, it was clear Howard was going to play second fiddle to Cameron Brate despite being a first round pick, but many thought he could come on strong at some point. Sunday might have been his coming out party as he finished with six catches on six targets for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Howard has actually out-snapped Brate 259 to 230 in 2017. That number could get even higher as Howard continues to show off his skill set.
Derby now has two solid games in his last three efforts. At a position as week as tight end this year, that’s enough to be worth a look. He had six catches on seven targets, both season highs, for 66 yards against the Los Angeles Chargers. His next matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs looks good on paper.
With 25 targets, 18 receptions and 121 yards and a touchdown over the last three games, Doyle has to at least be owned in PPR formats. The potential for an Andrew Luck return makes him enticing, but even without Luck Doyle is eighth in the NFL among tight ends in total targets this season.
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