Week #8 Waiver Watch Of Truth
Let’s dive right in and take a look at this week’s top waiver wire adds.
Quarterbacks
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (48% rostered) – Murray has shown to be an electric player when healthy before, and there’s been recent positive reports of Murray starting to practice. We’re still probably a week, maybe even two, before Murray takes the field, but a great stash if you have the bench space for a few weeks. The Cardinals play Baltimore and Cleveland the next two weeks, but Murray could be back for a stretch against Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh before the bye.
Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts (13% rostered) – Minshew put on a great fantasy day against one of the league’s best defenses, shredding the Browns for 305 and 2 through the air, bit also adding 2 rushing TDs on the ground. The rushing production, especially the TDs, shouldn’t be relied on each week, but even without it Minshew put up a respectable day against one of the best and should be started everywhere in 2QB leagues. He has a tough matchup against New Orleans this week, but with another 6 teams on bye in Week 9, he gets a super soft matchup against Carolina so might be worth a stash if you have a Week 9 bye-week QB.
Mac Jones, New England Patriots (13% rostered) – It’s not pretty, but Mac showed some life at home against the Bills this week, putting up almost 20 fantasy points. He’s got a great schedule upcoming against Miami, Washington and Indianapolis, so could make his way into your starting lineup in Superflex leagues. You still probably have better options at QB this week, but a heavy bye week in Week 9, Jones could be used in a pinch.
Running Backs
Darrell Henderson, Los Angeles Rams (37% rostered) – A good chance he’s still on your waiver wire, since Henderson was the last RB to join the Rams’ room, being signed to the active roster only a few days ago. With Kyren Williams sidelined for at least 3 more weeks on IR, Henderson looks to be the lead back slightly for now, out touching Royce Freeman 20-12. Henderson got the GL carry, and saw 2 targets to Freeman’s 0, so seems to have the passing role as well. LA has a tough matchup against Dallas this week, so you might have to be desperate to start him, but a solid matchup in Week 9 against Green Bay could be a great spot in a heavy bye week.
Royce Freeman, Los Angeles Rams (26% rostered) – Henderson provides more upside, but Freeman can be a decent body that you know will at least get touches. He saw 12 carries last week and no work in the passing game, so you’re most likely looking at anywhere from 6-7 points with upside for more if he happens to get the goal line carry. He averaged a nice 5.5 yards per carry, so he showed he can still produce, he just seems to be the lesser part of a timeshare with Darrell Henderson.
Cam Akers, Minnesota Vikings (48% rostered) – Still sharing time with Mattison for now, but got his biggest workload of the season Monday night with 13 total opportunities. He turned it into 7 points and showed some great burst on a few runs. Mattison and Akers split the touches almost 50/50 on Monday night, which could be a sign of Akers starting to get more work in the offense. Mattison has been uninspiring this season and coughed up the ball a few times, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Akers become the lead back of the committee sometime soon.
Devin Singletary, Houston Texans (21% rostered) – A good chance he’s available since the Texans were on bye this week, Singletary saw 12 opportunities in their previous game against the Saints. He showed some ability with 4.8 yards per carry against the Saints, compared to Pierce’s 2.62. Pierce has been very underwhelming this season, and seemingly took a back seat last game, playing less snaps and seeing less opportunities to Singletary. Houston gets a great matchup against Carolina this week, so if Singletary is taking over lead back duties, it could be a nice week for him.
Wide Receivers
Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts (52% rostered) – Most likely rostered since he’s strung together a few nice games in a row, Downs has been the biggest beneficiary of Gardner Minshew taking over at QB. Downs has gotten 6+ targets in 3 straight games, and exploded this past week for 125 and a TD. He provides a reliable 6 target floor with a high catch rate making a solid floor play in PPR, and showed he can also provide a nice ceiling this past week. Indy takes on New Orleans this week so a tough start/sit decision, but should feast in Week 9 against Carolina.
Jake Bobo, Seattle Seahawks (2% rostered) – A deeper league play, but Bob benefitted from DK Metcalf absent from the line up, getting a season-high 5 targets and turning it into 61 yards and a score. If Metcalf comes back next week I think it makes Bobo irrelevant, so wouldn’t burn a high amount of FAAB or a top priority on him, but if Metcalf misses again he can be a FLEX play again as you would expect another 5 or so targets.
Jalin Hyatt, New York Giants (13% rostered) – Hyatt has played over 70% of snaps in back to back weeks and saw a season high 5 targets in Week 7. Hyatt’s a boom/bust FLEX play as we saw from his 2 catches for 75 yards. If the Giant’s don’t connect on one of those Hyatt deep balls, he could leave you with almost nothing for the week, but hopefully should get more consistency if he continues to get involved in the offense. We’ll see if Daniel Jones is back this week and how that could affect Hyatt, but worth a flyer as a bench stash to see how things play out.
Tight Ends
Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills (41% rostered) – Everyone’s been waiting for the first round rookie to break out, and he showed up this past week with 8 targets, 8 catches and 75 yards. Recent report noted Dawson Knox is slated to miss a few weeks, which could continue the increased volume for Kincaid. He was highly touted coming out of college, and should be the #2 threat Buffalo needs. In the Tight End wasteland, Kincaid certainly provides the most upside of the options most likely available, and has the same floor as most options.
DST
DST Play of the Week this week is the Detroit Lions. They’re only 39% rostered, a high chance they were dropped last week due to the matchup against Baltimore, and anyone who has them might let them go after an abysmal game. They’ve been a strong unit most of the season, and this week host the Raiders at home who seem to be imploding at the moment. The Lions are 7.5-point home favorites and the Raiders allow over 2 sacks per game, and give the ball away the 3rd most in the NFL.
Good luck all and as always, stay true!
