Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.
Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you have questions throughout the week.
Here’s my NFL Week 8 waiver wire cheat sheet for all league sizes and formats, with players you need to add, drop and stream in your fantasy football league:
ADD
WR Josh Downs, Colts (ESPN: 35%; Yahoo: 37%): Downs is the overall WR13 across all fantasy formats since Week 3. He has two games with three or fewer receptions — the two games where Anthony Richardson played more than 95 percent of the offensive snaps. To see the rookie has thrived with Gardner Minshew under center would be an understatement.
QB Kyler Murray, Cardinals (ESPN: 23%; Yahoo: 43%): Murray will return at some point in the next three weeks. The dynamic signal-caller has finished as fantasy’s QB7, QB2 and QB10 in his three healthy seasons. He was the overall QB8 before he got hurt in 2022.
RB Darrell Henderson, Rams (ESPN: 12%; Yahoo: 25%): The Rams’ former starting running back returned to a familiar role in Week 7 against the Steelers with Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers both put on IR. Henderson played 57 percent of the snaps, finishing with 19 touches for 66 total yards and a TD in his first game of the season. Royce Freeman (ESPN: 23%; Yahoo: 28%) was the more efficient option with 66 yards on 12 carries (5.5 yards per carry) and should remain a factor, considering Henderson hasn’t exactly been the most durable option in his previous four seasons. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Myles Gaskin (ESPN: <1%; Yahoo: 1%) sprinkled in before Williams returns. None of these guys are worth a heavy FAAB investment.
WR Tank Dell, Texans (ESPN: 48%; Yahoo: 48%): The dynamic rookie receiver missed Week 6 with a concussion and was on bye for Week 7, but that’s still no excuse for his roster percentage being this low. Dell was the overall WR21 in standard formats (WR25 in PPR) through the first five weeks of the season and even brighter days could be ahead playing with one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.
TE Dalton Kincaid, Bills (ESPN: 31%; Yahoo: 43%): Buffalo’s first-round tight end finally played a prominent role in its pass attack, leading the team in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (75) in Week 7 against the Patriots. Kincaid was second only to Stefon Diggs in targets with eight.
BONUS: RB Kareem Hunt, Browns (ESPN: 46%; Yahoo: 65%): Looks like Jerome Ford will miss one or two weeks with an ankle sprain. Hunt, who was dealing with a thigh injury last week, scored two TDs against the Colts — he has three the last two games.
BONUS: WR Kendrick Bourne, Patriots (ESPN: 24%; Yahoo: 26%): Bourne has finished as the WR5, WR55, WR10 and WR14 in PPR during the four games he’s played at least 87 percent of the snaps (or started).
BONUS: QB Gardner Minshew, Colts (ESPN: 4%; Yahoo: 8%): I wrote he was off my radar last week because of his next two games being tough matchups, but that there would be better days ahead for Minshew Mania. Then he finished as the QB3 in Week 7 against one of the best defenses in the NFL, throwing for 305 yards and scoring four total TDs — only Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson had better games.
BONUS: WR Rashee Rice, Chiefs (ESPN: 49%; Yahoo: 58%): Rice is the overall WR16 in standard formats (WR19 in PPR) since Week 5. He leads Kansas City’s wide receivers in targets (33), receptions (26), receiving yards (305) and touchdowns (three). I don’t expect the return of Mecole Hardman (ESPN: 8%; Yahoo: 16%) to significantly impact Rice’s ascendancy.
BONUS: RB Devin Singletary, Texans (ESPN: 26%; Yahoo: 15%): Dameon Pierce saw his playing time take a significant hit compared to Singletary in Week 6 — Pierce only played 33 percent of the offensive snaps compared to Singletary’s 54 percent. Pierce has been largely ineffective (2.9 yards per carry) this season despite averaging almost 18 touches per game. Houston faces a Panthers defense this week that is allowing the second-most fantasy points to running backs and Singletary will have RB2 upside if this snap share continues.
BONUS: WR Rashid Shaheed, Saints (ESPN: 19%; Yahoo: 37%): The speedy Shaheed is capable of a boom week anytime New Orleans faces a team who primarily plays zone coverage. The Saints next three games are against the Colts, Bears and Vikings, who all utilize zone coverage on at least 70 percent of their coverage snaps, according to Fantasy Points Data.
BONUS: RB D’Onta Foreman, Bears (ESPN: 49%; Yahoo: 65%): Roschon Johnson missed a second straight game due to a concussion, giving Foreman another chance to show he deserves playing time and he made it count with 120 total yards and three total TDs against the Raiders. Assuming Johnson does actually return this week, it wouldn’t surprise me if he splits carries with Foreman until Khalil Herbert is healthy.
BONUS: TE Michael Mayer, Raiders (ESPN: 10%; Yahoo: 28%): Mayer only had 13 yards on two receptions (four targets) against the Bears, but his role expanded even further this week. He now has the playing time to go with his immense talent to be a fantasy starter.
BONUS: RB Chuba Hubbard, Panthers (ESPN: 46%; Yahoo: 58%): Hubbard had already started to play an increased role for Carolina before Miles Sanders missed Week 6 against the Dolphins with a shoulder injury. Hubbard produced 88 yards on 19 carries and a TD at Miami, the best performance by a Panthers running back this season. On Monday, Frank Reich tiptoed around a definitive answer on his running back situation when asked about the future of the depth chart following a Week 7 bye.
BONUS: WR Marvin Mims Jr., Broncos (ESPN: 8%; Yahoo: 19%): The dynamic Mims’ value will skyrocket if Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton (or both) get traded. He needs to be stashed before the trade deadline on Halloween.
BONUS: RB Tyjae Spears, Titans (ESPN: 34%; Yahoo: 42%): Spears has already surpassed playing 50 percent of the offensive snaps in five of six games this season. He’s carved out a solid role, and deserves weekly flex consideration in deeper leagues, but his value could soar if Tennessee starts to look more toward the future and/or ends up trading Derrick Henry.
BONUS: QB Malik Willis, Titans (ESPN: <1%; Yahoo: 1%): Tennessee starter Ryan Tannehill is currently in a cast for a high-ankle sprain and doubtful to play this week. Willis has shown improvement this season, and could provide a decent floor with his legs in superflex formats.
BONUS: RB Jaleel McLaughlin, Broncos (ESPN: 47%; Yahoo: 51%): It would likely take Javonte Williams getting hurt again to fully activate McLaughlin, but he’s still averaging 6.9 yards per carry with 4.3 yards after contact per carry, both ranking second among running backs this season (behind only De’Von Achane). It’s reasonable to stash someone playing this well if you have space at the end of your bench. All it takes is an opportunity.
BONUS: D/ST Jaguars (ESPN: 33%; Yahoo: 26%): Jacksonville’s defense had its only hiccup against the Texans in Week 3 where it allowed 37 points at home. The Jaguars have created multiple turnovers in five of seven games this season and scored two touchdowns. Since the hiccup, the Jaguars have scored the second-most fantasy points behind only the Ravens.
BONUS: D/ST Chargers (ESPN: 3%; Yahoo: 7%): Tyson Bagent looked decent in a victory against the Raiders, but targeting an undrafted rookie free agent at quarterback in his first road start (not that the SoFi crowd would intimidate anybody) remains a pretty solid streaming strategy.
DROP
TE Zach Ertz, Cardinals: Ertz played fewer snaps than Trey McBride in Week 6 and played the same amount last week. In his last two games, Ertz has five receptions on nine targets for 41 yards. McBride has produced seven receptions on 11 targets for 91 yards. This looks like a timeshare.
RB Zach Evans, Rams: Evans didn’t play a single offensive snap against the Steelers after being one of the hottest waiver wire additions in Week 7.
WR Quentin Johnston, Chargers: In three games without Mike Williams, the rookie receiver has only produced two receptions on seven targets for 38 yards.
RB Jerick McKinnon, Chiefs: McKinnon only has 23 touches (14 receptions) through seven games. “Jet” just hasn’t been a part of the offense like he was down the stretch last season.
RB Antonio Gibson, Commanders: Gibson has had exactly four touches in three straight games and may not even be the handcuff to starter Brian Robinson with the emergence of rookie running back Chris Rodriguez.
