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Through The Wire - Week 8



By Antonio D'Arcangelis | 10/24/22 |

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.

Feedback is always welcome, appreciated and encouraged. I’ll get to as many e-mails as I can.


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.

Gus Edwards

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.

Other RBs to consider (Week 8 opponents in parentheses): Khalil Herbert, CHI (@DAL); DeeJay Dallas, SEA (@NYG); Dare Ogunbowale, HOU (PPR only; vs. TEN)

UPDATE (players recommended last week):

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.

Other WRs/TEs to consider (Week 8 opponents in parentheses): Zay Jones, JAC (vs. JAC); Mack Hollins, LV (@NO); George Pickens, PIT (@PHI); Kalif Raymond, DET (MIA); TE Cade Otton, TB (vs. BAL)

UPDATE (players recommended last week):

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)
  • Miami @ DET
  • Las Vegas @ NO
  • Denver @ JAC
  • Indianapolis @ WAS