Waiver Wire: Week 8

Waiver Wire: Week 8

We’re in a crucial part of the season for most teams. Now’s the time to start improving rosters and winning some matchups for that playoff push in a handful of short weeks. Even those at the top of the leaderboard need to stay proactive to not lose the edge they’ve gained through seven weeks. To help you make that push or continue crushing it, I’ve put together my top waiver adds for the season and you can find them all right here.

Quarterbacks

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (Rostered: 48% on Yahoo, 42% on ESPN)

Since coming back from injury, Tua Tagovailoa has scored 22 and 28 fantasy points the last two weeks, and this puts him squarely on the starting radar for fantasy teams. Tua has been solid, but the Dolphins are not a good team and will either be in close games or playing from behind a lot the rest of the season. This bodes well for Tua’s fantasy outlook. 

Daniel Jones, New York Giants (Rostered: 28% on Yahoo, 29% on ESPN)

Daniels Jones recently returned from an injury and put up another solid fantasy performance this past Sunday. Similar to the Dolphins, the Giants are not very good and will be playing in close games or from behind a lot the rest of the season. Daniel Jones should have ample opportunity to drop back and pass. On top of this, Jones has a very appealing rushing floor for a quarterback. He averages about 5 carries per game and can really run. Jones is a good streaming option. Oh, apparently he thought he was OBJ for a play on Sunday too.

Running Backs

Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles (Rostered: 21% on Yahoo, 26% on ESPN)

Kenneth Gainwell is going to be a popular add from waivers this week due to Miles Sanders’ ankle injury on Sunday. Gainwell had earned himself a nice role out of the backfield before this injury, but now he should see a nice uptick in opportunities. We’ve already seen that Gainwell is a solid receiving back, and he should have more chances to showcase his skills.

JaMycal Hasty, San Francisco 49ers (Rostered: 4% on Yahoo, 2% on ESPN)

JaMycal Hasty came back from injured reserve this past week and was given ample opportunity right away. Hasty only had three carries, but he was also targeted six times out of the backfield. It seems that the 49ers are comfortable using Hasty on receiving downs, and this provides great value in a waiver add. Expect better days from Hasty going forward. 

Wide Receivers

Russell Gage, Atlanta Falcons (Rostered: 10% on Yahoo, 10% on ESPN)

Russell Gage is now healthy after missing the previous three games and had a really good return to action. Gage caught four of six targets for 67 yards and one touchdown for a solid 16 PPR fantasy points. Matt Ryan has not thrown less than 35 times at all this year, and the Falcons sorely needed another receiving threat. Gage should be in flex consideration most weeks.

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens (Rostered: 32% on Yahoo, 17% on ESPN)

Rashod Bateman has had a promising rookie debut as he had six targets both weeks he’s played this year. He was able to reel in three of his six targets this past Sunday for 80 scoreless yards. I’ll take that as a flex play most weeks. Bateman is very talented and is likely to continue receiving a good amount of targets as Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have committed to passing more this season. 

Kadarius Toney, New York Giants (Rostered: 46% on Yahoo, 45% on ESPN)

Kadarius Toney did not play against the Panthers this Sunday, but he seems on track to return relatively soon from his ankle injury. Adding Toney now is purposely adding a player you know might not play for another week or two, but his production warrants it. The Giants were starting to feed their first-round rookie receiver, and he was up to the challenge. The Giants are getting healthier at receiver, but Toney has separated himself as a really good NFL player already, and I expect him to have great fantasy weeks more often than not once he returns from injury.

Tight Ends

Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears (Rostered: 26% on Yahoo, 15% on ESPN)

The Chicago Bears offense has not been good this year, but Cole Kmet is still finding ways to produce. He has now scored eight or more points the past two weeks as he’s seeing consistent targets and a high percentage of offensive snaps. While now inspiring, Kmet has been solid and can be counted on for good performances most weeks.

Evan Engram, New York Giants (Rostered: 31% on Yahoo, 23% on ESPN)

Evan Engram has been relatively quiet for fantasy this season, but he is seeing a lot of targets. Engram is now up to 29 targets since Week 3 (he was hurt Weeks 1 and 2), which is just about six per game. We finally saw a nice fantasy output from Engram this past week, 10 PPR points, which only seemed like a matter of time. I expect to see more performances like this from Engram the rest of the year.

You can follow me on Twitter at @Corey_Hietpas