Week 8 Waiver Wire

Alright, Monday is in the books. Cowboys 38, Eagles 21. I skipped it in the last post on purpose. This is that game, then who I’m actually adding this week.

Seven weeks of data and another pile of injuries. Jalen Hurts is on IR. Saquon Barkley left with a back. Dameon Pierce followed him. Terry McLaurin is done. Houston, New Orleans, the Giants, and San Francisco are on bye. That’s when you win redraft leagues. Last year I won mine because of waiver adds. Don’t sit this one out.

Stock up: Dak Prescott, Javonte Williams, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Makai Lemon

Stock down / caution: Barkley (the back, after the hamstring), Pierce (kick-return exit), Tanner McKee (the 211 yards are not a 1QB start), the Eagles offense, Jake Ferguson (0-0 on 1)

The scoreboard, real quick

DAL 38–21 PHI.

Monday Night

I spent Sunday telling you Cowboys-Eagles could wait. Then Dallas remembered how to run it, and Philadelphia remembered how to lose.

The Cowboys came in last in carries per game at 20.9 and 30th in rushing yards at 76. They ran it 38 times for 204. Javonte went 25-155-1, 6.2 a pop, a 34-yarder, and the 2-yard closer. I spent Week 2 calling this run game dead on 12-30. Monday was the tape I wanted in August. Arizona at home is not a fade. I’m not turning 155 into a weekly baseline either. The 25 carries are the sticky part.

Dak was the adult after two ugly weeks. 15-of-27 for 212, 3 scores, zero picks, sacked never. 55.6% completions and a 118.1 rating is a get-right night, not a new ceiling. Lamb on 12 looks (5-74-2). Pickens on 6 (4-57-1), including the 21-yarder Next Gen had at a 14.9% completion probability. Ryan Flournoy was 4-70 on 4. You start Lamb. You start Pickens. You do not spend FAAB on Flournoy’s 4-for-4.

Dallas scored on seven of nine possessions. Aubrey from 55, 27, and 24. Dak snuck the two-point after Lamb’s 16-yarder. Philadelphia had the ball for 34:52 and still lost by 17. That’s the script.

Barkley came back from the hamstring and looked like Barkley for one drive. 49 yards of a 75-yard touchdown march, the 29-yarder, the 8-yarder around DaRon Bland. Then a back, then he was done. Nine snaps. 7-62-1 plus 2-9 on 2. 8.9 a pop in a cameo. Schefter had him saying the hamstring is fine and he doesn’t expect the back to sit him. I would like that to be true. I am not starting him at Washington until Wednesday’s practice report agrees.

Pierce inherited the work (14-47-1 plus 1-1) and then left on a kickoff return in the fourth. Elijah Mitchell finished it (3-11 plus 3-23 on 4). Practice-squad signing last week, last man standing on Monday. That’s not a role. It is the bid if both guys in front of him are orange on Wednesday.

McKee went 23-of-35 for 211, a score, a pick. The pick was DeMarvion Overshown with the game still theoretically alive. DeVonta Smith sat (hamstring). Dontayvion Wicks sat (ankle). Lemon went 7-67-1 on 8. First career score, the 4-yarder that put Philadelphia up 21–20. I spent September telling you Lemon was the first-rounder eating snaps and Wicks was the one producing. Wicks was in street clothes. Lemon took the volume. Dallas Goedert was 5-48 on 7. That’s the Eagles passing game with Hurts on IR and the top two receivers out. Lemon is the add. McKee is a Superflex dart, not a 1QB start at Washington.

Eagles are 2-5. Five straight. Cowboys are 3-4 and still in the NFC East because the Giants are 4-2-1 and everybody else is a mess. Lamb, Pickens, and Javonte stay in against Arizona. Barkley is a Wednesday. Lemon is a claim.

The waiver wire

Sunday created the board. Monday just confirmed Dallas can run it and Philadelphia is a hospital. Roster rates below are the “still sitting in most redraft leagues” kind of number — call it under 50% on ESPN and Yahoo, with a couple of notes where the platforms disagree.

Spend your FAAB like a person who has watched seven weeks, not like a person who watched one 155-yard night. Coleman’s ankle return is not the same claim as Barkley’s back. McLaurin being done is not the same claim as a 63-yard button.

QB

Geno Smith (around 13% on ESPN, high teens on Yahoo). 23-of-30 for 287 and 3 scores. Second three-score tape, and the three games before that were under 12 fantasy points. That’s boom-bust. Las Vegas this week has allowed 16 touchdown passes, tied for second-most. Omar Cooper Jr. is a real second option now. Superflex, he’s a start. 1QB, he’s the stream if your starter is on a bye or named McKee. I’m not paying running-back money. I am taking the plus spot.

Jacoby Brissett (around 20% on ESPN, 27% on Yahoo). 27-of-48 for 272 at Denver. Two 25-plus-point games already. Dallas just got right against a backup and still came in allowing 21-plus per game to quarterbacks. Arizona will throw it. Trey McBride is the reason. Brissett is the volume stream behind that. I’m not putting him in the Geno tier this week. I am rostering him through the bye weeks, because somebody in your league is about to start a dart.

Michael Penix Jr. (around 18%). 25-of-34 for 213 and 3 scores against San Francisco. Six scores in two games. Nine and one interception in five starts. Tampa is a tougher draw than the 49ers tape. If your starter is Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey is still a protocol, or you’re in Superflex and McKee is the alternative, this is the adult. Malik Willis is 18% too and just ran one in (14-of-21, 208, 2 passing scores, a rushing score). The Patriots in Miami is not a gift. Take Penix if you need a quarterback who will throw it. Take Willis if you need the rushing floor and Geno/Brissett are gone.

RB

Jonah Coleman is the FAAB hammer. About 24% on ESPN, already 35% on Yahoo. Four weeks on IR with the ankle. Then 50% of the snaps, 9-54 plus 2-15, and he out-snapped RJ Harvey (25%) and J.K. Dobbins (21%). Sean Payton said after the game they need to get him more. That’s the sentence. Kansas City in Denver is not a smash — Kenneth Walker III just went 14-36 in Seattle and this Chiefs front is still the Chiefs front. Bid like you need a running back who just got the “more touches” quote in a three-man committee. Do not bid like you found 2023 De'Von Achane. I told you to spend FAAB on Coleman in Week 3, then the ankle sat him. This is the re-buy. I’m not thrilled. I am putting in the claim.

Bam Knight (high teens on ESPN, mid-30s and climbing). Jeremiyah Love sat a second straight (ankle). Knight has 27 touches and 161 yards from scrimmage in two games. Tyler Allgeier is still there. Knight has been the productive one. Dallas just gave up 121 on the ground to a hospital backfield and 8.9 a pop to a limited Barkley. If Love is inactive again, Knight is a flex. If Love practices, scale it. Don’t pay Coleman money. Do not let Love owners get him for $3 either.

Dylan Sampson (around 8–9%). Off IR, 6-45 plus 3-32 on a night Quinshon Judkins went 17-96-2. That’s not a takeover. It is an explosive committee piece on a team that will throw. Pittsburgh this week is ugly. I would not start him there. I would roster him in 12-teamers, because IR returns who pop on six carries are how October backfields become jobs. Mitchell is the Monday leftover and I already put him in the sleeper bin. Same idea, different injury.

WR

Omar Cooper Jr. is the receiver add. About 35% on ESPN, already flirting with 50% on Yahoo. I called him a deep-league dart after 6-103-1. Then he went 5-115-1 on 5 while Garrett Wilson saw 3 looks. Two weeks, 11-218-2. Adonai Mitchell was back and caught zero. Las Vegas this week is the smash. Wilson is still the Jets WR1 job. Cooper is the explosive one. I’m not paying Coleman money if Yahoo already took him. I am not letting him sit at 35% either. Last call.

KC Concepcion (around 43% on ESPN, already 60% in some rooms). 8-129 on 10, plus 3-23 on the ground. Six-plus targets in five of his last six. I called him a deep-league dart who took the volume crown for a night. One 129-yard game is not Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Six-plus looks on Deshaun Watson is a WR3/flex you can live with. Pittsburgh is a tougher draw. The target share is the reason you’re here. I’d rather have Cooper. I’d take Concepcion over chasing Caleb Douglas’s two scores on three targets.

Lemon (mid-30s to low 40s) is the Monday claim. 7-67-1 on 8 with Smith and Wicks in street clothes. Washington on Sunday Night is McKee again unless Smith pops up on Wednesday. I am not starting Lemon over an actual WR2. I am rostering the Eagles receiver who just saw eight looks because the other two couldn’t go. Antonio Williams is 7–8% and I already like him behind Stefon Diggs with McLaurin done. If Cooper and Lemon are gone, that’s the leftover. Douglas is 10% and two scores on two catches. That’s a button. Don’t pay Cooper money for it.

TE

Chig Okonkwo (around 5%). I put him in this column in Week 6 at 3% after Daniels came back. Then he went 4-plus catches and 60-plus yards in consecutive games, including the 7-69 on Monday Night two weeks ago. McLaurin is done. Diggs is the alpha. Chig is next. Philadelphia this week is a plus spot against a Cowboys defense that just gave up 23 completions to McKee. That’s a real tight end in PPR if your starter is a prayer. Don’t pay Brock Bowers money. Do not let him sit at 5% either.

Hunter Henry (high 40s on ESPN, already 55% on Yahoo). 7-71 on 7 with Drake Maye. Four straight weeks of double-digit PPR. Romeo Doubs is on IR. A.J. Brown is still rust. Miami this week is a plus spot. I’m not starting him over an actual TE1. I am rostering Maye’s safety valve through the bye weeks. If Yahoo already took him, the claim is Strange.

Brenton Strange (mid-30s on ESPN, around 46% on Yahoo). 19-207 on 23 the last three games he played. People dropped him on the bye. That’s the tax. Indianapolis this week is a plus spot — Daniel Jones just threw for 108. If Chig and Henry are gone, this is the add. I’m not paying Bowers money through a week you already sat. I am taking the tight end Jacksonville keeps throwing to.

Deep sleepers (under 5%)

Mason Taylor (around 0–2%). 5-62-2 on a night Cooper went nuclear and Wilson went quiet. Four-plus catches in back-to-back weeks. That’s a streaming tight end on a team that will throw, not a TE1 you feel good about. I would not start him over Chig or Henry. I would roster him in 12- and 14-teamers if your tight end slot is a dart, because two-score nights on six targets are how you steal a week in October. Geno is the reason. Taylor is the extra ticket.

Elijah Mitchell (around 1%). Three carries, three catches, and the rest of a Monday Night game after Barkley’s back and Pierce’s kick-return exit. Practice squad last week. Last man standing by the fourth quarter. Schefter had Barkley talking like he’ll play. Scale it to Wednesday. If both guys in front of him are limited, this is your last-man-standing backfield again. Don’t pay Coleman money. Do not let Barkley owners get him for $1 either.

Seth McGowan is about 4% and the rumor is Jonathan Taylor by the Nov. 10 deadline. 4.2 yards a pop, same as JT. That’s a stash, not a start at Jacksonville. I’d rather have Mitchell’s actual snaps than a trade rumor. I’d take McGowan over empty bench spots if Taylor’s name keeps showing up in the same sentence as Green Bay and Seattle.

D/ST (next 2–3 weeks)

If your league still uses a defense, stop streaming week to week like it’s 2014. Grab a unit with a two- or three-week runway.

Bengals (mid-teens to mid-20s). Tennessee, Atlanta in Madrid, then Pittsburgh on Sunday Night. Second-highest sack rate in the league at 8.8%. Tennessee is the smash. Atlanta in Spain is a plus spot against a team that will throw. Pittsburgh in Week 10 is the tax — live with it or stream off. That’s the best plug-and-play slate on the board. Nobody is going to fight you for this after they just dropped 35 on Baltimore.

Jaguars (high 20s to 40s). Indianapolis, at Baltimore on Thursday Night, at Tennessee. Jones just threw for 108. The Colts are allowing the third-highest pressure rate (43.4%) and 1.7 giveaways a game. Jacksonville hasn’t been letting people run. That’s the smash of the week. Baltimore is a sit if Lamar Jackson actually plays, and a smash if Wolfson’s “he’ll play” turns into another Huntley week. Tennessee in Week 10 is the reason you hold them. Don’t drop them after one Thursday.

Cowboys (still sitting in plenty of 12-teamers). Arizona, at Indianapolis, then San Francisco. Love sat again. Brissett will throw it, which is how you get sacks and picks. Indianapolis scored 10. San Francisco after the bye is the tax. I’d rather have Cincinnati’s three-week slate. I’d take Dallas over a one-week dart at the Raiders.

The Jets get Las Vegas at home. Sixteen touchdown passes allowed. That’s the smash of the week if you only need one game. Then Kansas City, then Buffalo. If you want a runway, don’t. Patriots are already gone in most rooms and draw Miami, which is the leftover stream if Cincinnati and Jacksonville are rostered.

What I’m watching

Barkley’s practice week. Pierce too. Mitchell is the add if Wednesday is empty. Scale the bid to the report, not the 8.9 yards a pop.

Love’s ankle. Knight is the add either way. A limited Love is not the same as an inactive one.

Lamar at Buffalo. Wolfson had Minter saying he’ll play. Flowers stays in. Derrick Henry is a different back if Lamar is out there. Tyler Huntley at Buffalo is a Superflex dart, not a 1QB start.

Breece Hall versus Las Vegas. If he sits a fifth time, Braelon Allen is an RB2 again. If he practices, scale Allen.

Zach Charbonnet at Chicago on Monday. Macdonald wouldn’t say. Emanuel Wilson went 24-100-1. If Charbonnet sits again, Wilson is a start. He’s already gone in most rooms. That’s the point.

Christian McCaffrey’s hamstring. Shanahan called it mild and sounded optimistic for Week 9 after the bye. Kaelon Black is the stash at 22–28%, not a Week 8 start. San Francisco is off.

Ladd’s protocol. Herbert at the Rams. Adams is not there to steal looks. Puka is.

Thursday is Carolina at Green Bay. Chuba Hubbard versus Josh Jacobs. And then we can talk about the rest of Week 8 after the Sunday slate. Bears-Seahawks on Monday can wait.