26 Oct Week 8 Waiver Wire Roundup – Resurrect Nelson Agholor
Week 8 of the waiver wire is great if you do not need running backs! I could start each column with this sentence, but I am not lazy enough (yet) to not be creative. Here are names to monitor and add to your fantasy rosters this week.
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Quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater
Carolina Panthers – Rostered at 44% Yahoo!, 31% ESPN
Teddy Bridgewater went to New Orleans and put up 254 yards and two passing touchdowns, which he has done now in three of his past four games. His Week 8 opponent? The Atlanta Falcons. Christian McCaffrey is not expected to play, so Bridgewater will look to spread the wealth for another week.
Derek Carr
Las Vegas Raiders – 29% Yahoo!, 26% ESPN
Despite two less than stellar opponents over the past two weeks, Derek Carr has balled out. He is averaging 288 passing yards per game this season, a career high. Carr has been largely efficient and has made irrelevant receivers waiver wire worthy (more on that later). He has three solid matchups over the next three weeks against Cleveland, the Los Angeles Chargers, and Denver.
Running Back
Chase Edmonds
Arizona Cardinals – 62% Yahoo!, 56% ESPN
I hate having to recommend Chase Edmonds because of injury. He had been nearly in lock step with Kenyan Drake for snaps prior to Week 5, and now Edmonds may be asked to take over the featured role. Injury news on Drake should be known by mid-week at the latest.
Giovani Bernard
Cincinnati Bengals – 59% Yahoo!, 49% ESPN
Joe Mixon’s injury is considered week-to-week, which makes Giovani Bernard a viable addition heading into Week 8. He thrived in a shootout against the Cleveland Browns in Week 7 and gets a shot at the Titans in next. Tennessee allows 130 rushing yards per game, 10th most in the NFL.
La’Mical Perine
New York Jets – 16% Yahoo!, 11% ESPN
The Jets are awful, but La’Mical Perine is finally getting a shot to play. Perine was out-snapped 60-39 by Frank Gore, but the two had 11 carries each. Perine also caught two targets in Week 7. At his low ownership and with a chance to get close to 20 touches a game going forward, Perine deserves a roster spot.
Carlos Hyde
Seattle Seahawks – 10% Yahoo!, 5% ESPN
Injuries lead to opportunities, and Carlos Hyde could be in line for a full workload if Chris Carson’s foot injury is serious. Hyde is a must-add off the waiver wire being attached to the Seattle offense.
Tony Pollard
Las Vegas Raiders – 20% Yahoo!, 20% ESPN
Why not? Ezekiel Elliott has been fumbly and the Cowboys are searching for any light in their infinite darkness. You could do worse!
Wide Receiver
Rashard Higgins
Cleveland Browns – 1% Yahoo!, 0% ESPN
Rashard Higgins is a route technician that has a quarterback that does better with timing routes. It showed once Odell Beckham Jr. was hurt, who is now out for the season. It is difficult to gauge Baker Mayfield’s performance after beating up a bad Bengals defense, but we have seen Higgins play well with Mayfield-esque QBs.
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Cleveland Browns – 0% Yahoo!, 0% ESPN
The uber-athletic receiver played well in his first extended look. Donovan Peoples-Jones will get a chance to thrive in three-wide sets going forward without OBJ.
Brandon Aiyuk
San Francisco 49ers – 48% Yahoo!, 21% ESPN
The rookie is good and gets the Seahawks next week. Next.
Randall Cobb
Houston Texans – 15% Yahoo!, 14% ESPN
Coming out of a Week 8 bye, Randall Cobb gets the Jaguars and Browns. Cobb has 17 receptions over his past three games after starting the year catching 13 over four contests.
Corey Davis
Tennessee Titans- 28% Yahoo!, 22% ESPN
Corey Davis returned from COVID with six catches and a touchdown. The Titans offense cannot support more than two receiving options per game consistently (Jonnu Smith had 1/9 in Week 7), so Davis has volatility when he is played.
Nelson Agholor
Las Vegas Raiders – 3% Yahoo!, 2% ESPN
Nelson Agholor is relevant again? Nelson Agholor is relevant again! The move to Vegas with Derek Carr has been great as of late for the inconsistent veteran. The three-game touchdown streak is great, but not realistic to continue. Agholor has caught 75% of his targets in 2020, a career best to this point.
Tight End
Eric Ebron
Pittsburgh Steelers – 46% Yahoo!, 50% ESPN
Eric Ebron had a season-high six catches on eight targets and should see his fair share of targets. His only issue is the Steelers feature three excellent receiving options and a starting running back that gets his through the air.
Logan Thomas
Las Vegas Raiders – 26% Yahoo!, 9% ESPN
Kyle Allen is finding Logan Thomas and the preseason hype is paying off! Tight end on the waiver wire is a cesspool, so the play of Thomas should be more than enough for a roster spot on your fantasy team.
Richard Rodgers
Philadelphia Eagles – 8% Yahoo!, 4% ESPN
Dallas Goedert is supposed to miss Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys, making ‘Dick Rod’ an easy streaming choice.
Harrison Bryant
Cleveland Browns – 1% Yahoo!, 1% ESPN
If Austin Hooper misses Week 8 because of his appendectomy, fire up Harrison Bryant. He logged two touchdowns Week 7 and played ahead of veteran David Njoku.
Albert Okwuegbunam
Denver Broncos – 0% Yahoo!, 0% ESPN
Albert ‘O’ has 13 targets over the past two games and may have caught former college teammate Drew Lock’s eye while Noah Fant missed time with an ankle injury. He may not be a waiver wire must-add, but he is no worse than a must-watch in Week 8.
Jeff has been playing fantasy sports since 2001. He has covered and written about fantasy, high school, and professional sports for over five years. When not grinding articles and fantasy lineups, he spends time with his wife and two kids, runs for charity, and continues to get progressively worse at golf, no matter how hard he tries.