Targeting weekly waiver picks is a completely subjective business,
but this column hopes to point out some obvious and not-so-obvious
selections to help your team from week to week while you strive
for that elusive title that your friends say is out of your grasp.
The waiver wire can be an almost limitless resource when it comes
to discovering fantasy value in strange places. Each week, I’ll
highlight some of the popular (and not-so-popular) players that
might be available in 12-team PPR leagues. I’ll also provide
a brief update on the players I covered the previous week.
Note: This column will be updated tomorrow at the conclusion
of Week 7.
Week 8 Byes: Kansas City, LA Chargers
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones, NYG @ Seattle – Jones is ramping up his rapport
with Wan’Dale Robinson and working well with the veteran WRs
that fill out the corps. He’s hit-or-miss in fantasy but the
matchup with Seattle could men another shootout.
Justin Fields, CHI @ Dallas – The Cowboys struggle to contain
QBs who can run and Fields could be primed for a better-than-usual
Week 8 game against Dallas, especially with Darnell Mooney getting
more involved and CB Trevon Diggs often gambling on his coverage.
We’ll be paying close attention to Fields’ performance
on Monday night, which could impact this as well, but for now
he’s on the radar.
Other QBs to consider (Week 8 opponents in parentheses):
Jacoby Brissett,
CLE (vs. CIN); Kenny
Pickett, PIT (@PHI)
UPDATE (players recommended last week):
Matt Ryan, IND
– I honestly just CAN’T with Ryan (243-1-2 in Week 7 @TEN) anymore,
so I’m not upset he’s been benched for Sam Ehlinger and is dealing
with a Grade 2 sprain of his right shoulder. I don’t wish bad
things on people, but Matty Ice really needs to take a seat, rest
up and contemplate his future in the NFL.
Davis Mills,
HOU – Mills had a decent Week 7 (302-2-1) and gets what should
be (ahem, Matt Ryan) a good matchup against the Titans in Week
8. He’s probably somewhere around Jones and Fields as a fantasy
option this week, all things considered, with a higher floor than
Fields and a slightly lower ceiling than both.
Running Backs
Gus Edwards,
BAL @ Tampa Bay – The matchup wouldn’t normally excite me, but if
you keep reading about the other RB recommendations, there may not
be reason to be afraid to pick up and start Edwards. The Panthers
just ate up the Bucs and Edwards looked solid on 16 carries for
66 yards and 2 TDs in Week 7 vs. Cleveland.
D’Onta
Foreman & Chuba
Hubbard, CAR @ Atlanta – Hubbard did well in Week 7 (nine
carries for 63 yards and a TD, 2-10-0 receiving) before leaving
with a minor ankle injury and both he and Foreman (15 carries,
118 rushing yards) really stepped up with Christina McCaffrey
off to San Fran. They made a good tandem Sunday against a declining
but still formidable Tampa Bay rush defense.
Deon Jackson,
IND – Two carries, 3 yards. He can safely be dropped with both
Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines back from injury.
Kenyan Drake, BAL – It appears as though the window on
Drake has closed, as he picked up just 5 yards on 11 carries,
and no – I don’t have those numbers mixed up. With
Gus Edwards back in the mix and Drake not getting any catches
last week, we don’t see a reason to hang onto him.
Latavius Murray, DEN – Without the score, Murray’s
eight-carry, 24-yard day would have been a bust, but he manages
to find some fantasy relevance in his elder years (for an NFL
RB) filling in for the injured guys.
Wide Receivers / Tight Ends
Parris Campbell, IND vs. Washington – Campbell soaked up
the lion’s share of WR targets (12) en route to a 10-70-1
game and his second straight week with a TD and 10+ targets. He’s
not an enormous priority but he’s looked sharp as of late.
Marquise
Goodwin, SEA vs. NY Giants – With DK Metcalf hurting his patella
tendon in Week 7, Goodwin came alive with two TDs (4-67-2 on five
targets). Metcalf may have avoided serious injury, but he should
still miss enough time for the dynamic but unpredictable Goodwin
to become a risk-reward WR3/flex for a few weeks.
Darius Slayton, NYG @ Seattle – On the other side of this
matchup we have Slayton, another quick-twitch WR with experience
enough to step up when the high-profile receivers succumb to injury
and/or ineffectiveness. The veteran struggles with drops occasionally
but should continue his featured offensive role next week.
TE Greg Dulcich, DEN @ Jacksonville – Dulcich (6-51-0 on
nine targets vs. Jets in Week 7) has quickly made a mark with
two games under his belt and could be a sneaky pickup moving forward.
Wan’Dale
Robinson, NYG – Mike REALLY wanted you all to take a second
look at Wan’Dale (6-50-8) against the Jaguars this week, and it’s
a good thing he did, because he’s going to be a big part of the
Giants offense the rest of the season. He went from four targets
in Week 6 to eight in Week 7 and he could see even more at Seattle
in Week 8.
Alec Pierce, IND – Pierce came crashing back to earth (3-37-0)
on Sunday facing the Titans as Matt Ryan played objectively poorly
and a healthy Campbell stole the show. He’ll be hit-or-miss
week-to-week given the Colts’ dodgy offensive production.
TE Robert Tonyan,
GB – It appeared as though Tonyan (3-32-0) was ready to keep up
the good work, but the Packers and their messy offense just don’t
have the same consistency without Davante Adams.
Robbie Anderson, ARI – One target, zero output –
but he’s a recent acquisition and he could find his way
soon in Arizona, where they need WRs.
Defense/ Special Teams
Buffalo vs. GB (if someone dropped them because of their
bye week)
