Fantasy Football: Week 8’s Best Waiver Wire Options
Last night a friend of mine asked me for waiver advice. He was frantic, claiming he was screwed and desperate because he has three players on bye this week. If having three players on bye is your biggest fantasy issue, you should kiss a baby or a slab of mahogany or whatever because luck is ridiculously on your side.
For the majority of fantasy owners, Sunday’s slaughtering has taken its toll on rosters and many are actually screwed and desperate. So let’s get right to the best waiver options.
(As always, all players listed are owned in less than 50% of FleaFlicker.com leagues.)
Harry Douglas, Falcons WR (29% owned): Looks like Douglas will be a significant part of the Falcons passing game in Julio Jones’s absence. With 149 yards and a touchdown, he is coming off the best game of his career. Based on the Falcon’s thin personnel this is unlikely to be an anomaly situation.
Terrance Williams, Cowboys WR (45% owned): Williams has scored in three straight games – what more can you ask for? Potential owners should note Williams’ six catches last week and the fact that Dallas has Detroit and Minnesota next on the schedule. Both teams field bottom-feeding pass defenses.
Michael Floyd, Cardinals WR (49% owned): What Floyd is lacking in wow-factor games, he makes up for in consistency. Floyd has come down with at least 5 catches a game the last four weeks and has finished with between 44-87 receiving yards.
Riley Cooper, Eagles WR (8% owned): Ok, so you won’t brag about owning Cooper to anyone. But it’s hard to ignore his 10 receptions, 208 receiving yards and a touchdown over the past two games. Granted that was with Nick Foles largely at the helm. Can Cooper keep up the production with Vick back?
Roy Helu, Redskins RB (30% owned): Helu’s three scores last week probably even surprised Helu. He will continue to have less carries than Alfred Morris (11-to-13 on Sunday) but you can see a very clear three-headed rushing monster in Washington – Morris, RGIII and Helu, with Helu as the most reliable goal-line option.
Chris Ivory, Jets RB (41% owned): Rex Ryan let Chris Ivory touch the ball a whopping 34 times Sunday after Ivory had the “hot hand” during practice. After amassing 104 yards, here’s guessing Ivory still has the hot hand against the Bengals.
Mike James, Bucs RB (2% owned): Doug Martin had been putting up disappointing numbers all season. There is no reason to think James won’t follow suit. But he is a starting running back in the NFL and will carry a heavy load. Probably worth the risk, especially for Martin owners.
Jonathan Stewart, Panthers RB (20% owned): Ron Rivera says Stewart is supposed to start practicing this week and may even play Sunday. Stewart isn’t guaranteed anything but DeAngelo Williams hasn’t done enough to warrant hogging all the carries.
Jordan Reed, Redskins TE (16% owned): Fred Davis has fallen out of favor in Washington and is supposedly on the trading block. Enter Reed who is coming off of 9 receptions, 134 yards and a touchdown. Reed has quietly been a factor all season coming away with at least four receptions in every game but one.
Geno Smith, Jets QB (29% owned): Smith is probably the best replacement for Jay Cutler owners. He only has one 300-plus yard game and his numbers are wildly inconsistent but enjoy the over 20 points Smith will give you…at least every other week.
Josh McCown, Bears QB (0% owned): And your second best Cutler replacement is his actual replacement, McCown, whose remarkable Band-Aid performance Sunday was overshadowed by injuries. McCown obviously doesn’t have the skill set of Cutler but he does have Brandon Marshal and Alshon Jeffrey, as well as the smarts to run a West Coast offense. A decent stash option for Week 9 if you are in quarterback hell.
Josh Freeman, Vikings QB (44% owned): Just kidding!
