Chances are if you’re reading this, you got unlucky with an injury in last week’s matchup or you need to find a replacement for players on bye (BAL and LV). There have been plenty of injuries that have plagued the league in seven weeks of action, with top-tier fantasy players out for extended periods of time or were unable to suit up Sunday morning, leaving you scrambling for a plug-in starter. This is why you will need to work the fantasy football waiver wire to grab high-upside players to help fill these empty spots and reduce the Sunday morning pre-kickoff panic.
It’s not even halfway through the season, so you can still stash those late-round flyers you’re attached to and think could boom moving forward in the season especially with multiple names added to the injury report this week. But if you need an immediate upgrade now, here are some Week 8 fantasy football waiver wire pickups that could help move your team in the right direction.
Players must be owned in less than 60 percent of ESPN leagues to be included in the Week 8 fantasy football waiver wire pickups column. All ownerships for waiver wire players will be provided and will reflect that of Monday evening.
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Kirk Cousins | Minnesota Vikings (40.4%)
Kirk Cousins is coming off his best fantasy performance of the season, followed by a bye week to recuperate for likely a high-scoring matchup against Dallas. Cousins has surpassed 20 fantasy points in four of his six games this year and that should continue the next few weeks when the Vikings face DAL, BAL and LAC, which will all be high-scoring games. He’s thrown 13 touchdowns and two interceptions thus far and has very viable weapons to consistently put up good fantasy points moving forward in the season.
Daniel Jones | New York Giants (28.4%)
After a strong start to the season, Daniel Jones slowed down very quickly, posting less than 5.0 fantasy points in back-to-back games, but improved this past week against the Panthers. He’s as inconsistent as it gets, throwing only five touchdowns to four interceptions through seven games, but his fantasy football upside comes from his running game. Jones faces KC and LV in his next two games, which should be very favorable for him to surpass 20 fantasy points with little to no problems. His weapons are banged up, but once the team becomes more healthy, his performance should increase as well.
Carson Wentz | Indianapolis Colts (22.1%)
Carson Wentz has surpassed double-digit fantasy points in all but one game this season, despite the Colts looking out-of-sorts as a team. Wentz has an 11:1 touchdown to interception ratio so far and, despite not having the greatest of weapons, has gotten the job done. The Colts face some very bad defenses in the next few weeks in TEN, NYJ and JAX, which should bode very well for his fantasy value moving forward. The offense thrives through the running game, but Wentz has proved he can be trusted to move the ball and should fair well in fantasy as long as he stays consistent.
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Kenneth Gainwell | Philadelphia Eagles (26.3%)
Although he was carted off the field with an injury, Miles Sanders doesn’t seem like he’ll miss significant time. Still, he could be sidelined for at least a week or two. That could bode well for the rookie Kenneth Gainwell moving forward. Gainwell seems to fit the scheme better, considering he is a very good pass-catching back and the Eagles seem to refuse to run the ball regularly. The Eagles offense has been as inconsistent as it gets through seven games this season, but Gainwell could carve out a substantial role on the ground and through the air if Sanders were to miss time.
J.D. McKissic | Washington Football Team (58.8%)
Despite dealing with injuries all season, Antonio Gibson has still played every game but J.D. McKissic still carves out a role. He isn’t used in the running game much but is still being targeted regularly by Taylor Heinicke. He almost has more catches (25) than carries (29) this season and, as long as Washington’s defense continues playing poorly, the offense will be forced to move the chains and throw the ball more often than not. Washington plays some tough teams with a bye week in the middle, but this could be more beneficial for McKissic, considering he’ll see more targets.
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
A.J. Green | Arizona Cardinals (38.3%)
We can all likely agree that A.J. Green hasn’t been dominant like he used to be, but he has certainly seen his usage increase since joining the Cardinals. Kyler Murray has been on fire, finding multiple receivers each game and not solely depending on DeAndre Hopkins, and that’s what makes Green intriguing in fantasy football. Green has seen six targets in five of his seven games this year and has found the end zone three times in that span. The Cardinals offense consists of many hungry mouths to feed, but it seems like Green has carved out a dependency for big-chunk plays.
Amon-Ra St. Brown | Detroit Lions (22.2%)
This is the third straight week Amon-Ra St. Brown has been included in this article yet his ownership hasn’t significantly increased, likely because of the team he plays for. Jared Goff is very bad this season and it’s obviously going to affect his receivers, especially in fantasy but St. Brown has been consistent enough. He’s seen at least seven targets in three straight games but failed to garner a single target last week against the Rams, for some reason. St. Brown has been a crucial part in the passing game but Goff didn’t find him once. I wouldn’t be too turned off by this, considering there are many gaps in that offense still. He’s owned in less than a fourth of all leagues, so he could be a good stash on your bench.
Russell Gage | Atlanta Falcons (9.8%)
After an underwhelming start to the season then being sidelined with an injury, Russell Gage finally posted a solid fantasy football performance. He caught four of six passes for 67 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins. Atlanta’s offense has been as underwhelming as possible with even Calvin Ridley struggling, so beware of their offensive woes this season. Still, Gage seems promising, garnering six targets in his first game back from injury. If the Falcons defense plays inconsistently still, the offense will need to revolve around the passing game.
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TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Ricky Seals-Jones | Washington Football Team (51.8%)
It’s clear the Washington offense runs through the tight end position, and Ricky Seals-Jones has benefited from it. He’s been targeted at least six times in three straight games and has found the end zone once since then. It’s unclear how much longer Logan Thomas will be on IR, but it will be at least one more week, so Seals-Jones’ value should be solid moving forward. He’s likely a top-10 tight end and will garner consistent targets behind Terry McLaurin.
C.J. Uzomah | Cincinnati Bengals (10.1%)
C.J. Uzomah is definitely more of a streaming option for good matchups than a full-time starter, but he has recently seen his fantasy value skyrocket the past four weeks. He’s caught five touchdowns in the last four weeks and with the Bengals offense looking better and better each week, his value should continue to increase. There are quite a few mouths to feed in that offense, which is why Uzomah is definitely more of a streaming option, but if the matchup is right, he could return a very solid performance for fantasy football managers.
