The Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8

After a week off, the GoingFor2 team brings you the best waiver wire adds for Week 8…

RB Darrell Henderson (LAR) 36% Owned

Kyren Williams and backup RB Ronnie Rivers are both on IR for at least the next three weeks. The Rams aren’t trusting the rookie Zach Evans so they decided to hit the streets and sign Darrrell Henderson off his couch. Even though Henderson hasn’t been with the team all season, the Rams trusted him to handle the majority of the RB workload. He knows the offense being with the team in the past so they called him to duty. 

Henderson received 62% of the RB opportunity getting 18 carries and 2 targets. Henderson finished the week with 61 rushing yards, 1 catch for 5 yards and a touchdown earning him 13.6 PPR points. This makes him a priority add on the waiver wire this week for teams who are hurting at RB. During the next few weeks, Henderson will be a RB 3 with RB 2 upside and could even be used as a flex option. – @JamiePerog

RB Pierre Strong (CLE) 4%

Pierre Strong is the RB you want to aquire in this Browns backfield . He has good vision and is a great pass catching running back who is extremely durable. I’ve said it a couple weeks ago, believe it or not, but Strong is a better RB than Jerome Ford.

Let’s take a look at his profile picture. Strong has 99th percentile speed, 85th percentile burst, and 75th percentile agility. He is actually the most explosive, most exciting RB on the Browns’ roster. Just go ahead and look up his 40 yard rush vs the Ravens, your welcome!!! He is not the strongest or the biggest but he has great pass catching ability that will rack up fantasy points in your lineup.

Now let’s look at how long Jerome will be out this season. Ford was diagnosed with a low grade high ankle sprain reported to be out 1-2 weeks. Well that’s interesting because when has any high ankle sprain been that minimal of weeks? According to Dr. James Ferretti, a “low” grade “high” ankle sprain is like saying getting shot in the chest is a low grade injury.

I trust the Doc and expect Ford to be out 3-4 weeks as opposed to the 1-2 week prediction. Plus history has shown us that when high ankle sprain injured players return, they take a dip in efficiency and productivity. So, let’s get Strong on our rosters for the near future with a possibility of rest of season value. – @JamiePerog

TE Dalton Kincaid (BUF) 41%

The cynic in me believes that the injury to Dawson Knox leads to more opportunities for Khalil Shakir. But the optimist sees Kincaid getting career-high in targets (8) and a Bills team that is searching for an offensive identity after starting the season 4-3. The Bill’s Week 8 oponent, the Buccaneers, are most fantasy friendly to WRs. However, coming into the season believers in Kincaid touted him more as a big slot rather than a traditional tight end. Well, my fantasy friends, let’s see what the big slot can do! – @FatherDynasty

QB Tyson Bagent (CHI) 7%

The Shepherd University product put on an efficient first NFL start, finishing as the QB-18 in Week 7. Bagent is slated to start for the injured Justin Fields for at least one more week and it could not be a better one. Week 8 has the Bears going up against the Chargers, the latter of whom are giving up the most fantasy points to opposing QBs. Bagent produced both as an efficient passer but also as a rusher in Week 7 and there is certainly upside for a possible rushing touchdown. For fantasy managers scrambling amidst injuries and bye weeks, Bagent is a worthy start in Week 8. – @FatherDynasty

WR Josh Downs (IND) 52%

Although technically above the threshold he is not nearly owned enough. This rookie is really coming on as of late and now that the quarterback doesn’t get 10 designed runs a game there’s a whole lot of targets to go around. This talented rookie has scored in back to back games and keeps putting up more than 10 points a game. – @MeLlamoMoron

QB Gardner Minshew (IND) 13%

Minshew has been solid for the Colts since Anthony Richardson went down. This week he was QB 3 while going against a tough Cleveland defense. He is a perfect bye week fill in. Maybe even better depending on your situation. – @MeLlamoMoron

RB Emari Demercado (ARI) 20%

It might have been easy to miss because perhaps the Cardinals’ offense isn’t where a lot of people are focusing, but Demercado had 18 opportunities (13 carries + 5 targets) Sunday. Keaontay Ingram, whose skillset I felt was more well-rounded, had zero, and retread Damien Williams had one. This recommendaiton comes with a few caveats. First, it’s possible Arizona mixes in Ingram more; he may not be 100% after coming back from an injury, and the team reportedly liked him.

Second, Demercado is likely a guy you’re looking a tin deeper leagues and/or PPR leagues (given the pass-catching upside). Lastly, James Conner could come off IR in a couple of weeks. Otherwise, he is a solid waiver target at this point in the season. Josh Dobbs appears to have turned back into a pumpkin, and while this might not be good news overall for the Cardinals’ offense, I’m expecting more cehck-downs from him. Also, we know the team will be in frequent negative game scripts, even if Kyler Murray were to return at some point this season, so we should see Demercado out there in LDD and two-minute drill situations.

While Murray’s prowess as a rusher might dampen our expectations for Demercado as a receiver, I don’t think the former will be at 100% and his old rushing self until next year. Conner’s return from IR could hurt Demercado, but the latetr remains the better pass-catching back, and we may have a “can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube” situation on a team motivated to see what they have in the undrafted free agent rookie.

Heck, what if Conner gets traded before he comes back from IR? I feel that waivers, especially at this point in the season, should be more about ceiling outcomes than safe floors. You can likely get similar production to the more vanilla option you pass over in favor of chasing Demercdo’s upside from someone else should Demercado not pan out. The opposite is rarley ever true. Drop some FAAB on Demercado just to feel something after an ugly week of football and at a point in the season when taking big swings is pretty much a must. – @FFjunkie_ 

Others to Consider

• WR Kendrick Borne (NE) 39%
• WR Brandon Powell (MIN) 5%
• RB Tyjae Spears (TEN) 50%

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