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Week 8 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Oronde Gadsden, Harold Fannin Jr., Juwan Johnson in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.
Week 8 is the biggest bye week of the year, with a huge total of SIX teams getting the week off. With everyone's roster stretched thin, it's an important week to show off your depth or come up with a creative solution really quickly. One position where many managers may need help is at tight end, where the options are somewhat limited from week to week. Tight end can also be a creative solution in flex spots in some leagues where receivers and running backs are stretched thin. The three players in this post are tight ends on the rise who are still on many leagues' waiver wires, but they can make a massive impact for your team right away
These three tight ends have not been every-week starts in most formats so far this season, but could be excellent solutions in Week 8 and going forward as TE1 plays the rest of the year.
So, should fantasy managers add Gadsden, Fannin Jr., and Johnson in Week 8? Let's dive in and find out.
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Oronde Gadsden Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 6% of Leagues
Baller Move: Priority Add in All Leagues
Oronde Gadsden is at the top of everyone's waiver wire list for Week 8 after a monster performance in Week 7. He went off for 164 yards on seven catches against the Colts and added his first NFL touchdown.
rook gets his first nfl td
📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/XMA5gdtDdI
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 19, 2025
Gadsden wasn't even active for the first two games of the season, but has slowly worked his way to the top of the depth chart, passing veterans Tyler Conklin and Will Dissly. Dissly initially had a knee injury that opened the door for Gadsden, but even now that he's healthy, Gadsden has established himself as the primary receiving tight end.
Gadsden's breakout isn't just a flash in the pan, either. He played the most snaps at the position in four straight weeks and had seven catches for 68 yards against the Dolphins in Week 6. That game was significant to Gadsden since his father, Oronde Gadsden, spent his NFL career with the Dolphins in Miami.
Oronde Gadsden is well on his way to a long career of his own if his rookie season is any indication. With Justin Herbert having to throw the ball more while Omarion Hampton (ankle) is out, Gadsden should remain a very involved option for the next few weeks.
If you want to play Gadsden in Week 8, you'll need to move fast since the Chargers host the Vikings on Thursday Night Football. After that game, the Bolts face the Titans, Steelers, and Jaguars before their Week 12 bye week. There should be some very favorable matchups for Gadsden, who has shown enough to be a starter in almost all formats throughout the bye week rush and possibly beyond.
Harold Fannin Jr. Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 58% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in All Leagues
Another impressive rookie tight end to emerge from the middle rounds of the NFL Draft this season has been Fannin. The Browns have young playmakers all over their offense, and Fannin has proven he deserves to be a top-10 tight end consideration every week.
The Bowling Green standout earned a significant role right off the bat and made an impact by catching 12 passes for 111 yards in the first two weeks of the season. He did slow down a little bit in the next few games for the Browns, causing many fantasy managers to bail on the rookie. The Browns also moved from Joe Flacco to Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, which caused the whole offense to stumble a little bit.
However, Fannin's fellow tight end, David Njoku (knee), missed Week 7 and is day-to-day with a knee injury, opening up more room for the rookie to get even more work in the coming weeks. Njoku has also been rumored to be on the trading block to open up playing time and targets for Fannin going forward. In the game that Njoku left injured, Fannin finished with a season-high 10 targets, and he's averaging over six targets per game.
Fannin stepped up with four catches on five targets for 36 yards in a 31-6 win over the Miami Dolphins. While those numbers aren't awesome, he did lead the team in receiving in a run-heavy game in the wind and rain. Gabriel only threw for 116, so Fannin's production was a key part of that.
Fannin also set another rookie record for Cleveland with that performance, catching the most passes (32) through the first seven games of a season.
Njoku could return in Week 8 or miss more time, but either way, Fannin is a solid finge starting option with top-five upside. This week, he'll face the Patriots, who have been one of the best matchups in the NFL for tight ends, so he could be set up for a massive game.
Even if he keeps putting up the numbers he has been posting, his PPR value is enough to make him a great grab in all formats. Njoku's potential return and Gabriel's unsteady offense make Gadsden my slight preference as a ceiling pickup. Still, Fannin's steady and established role makes him a relatively safe and excellent addition.
Juwan Johnson Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rostered: 30% of Leagues
Baller Move: Add in 12-Team Leagues
The Saints offense hasn't had many bright spots this season, with Spencer Rattler struggling at times and the team sliding to a 1-6 start. One player who has been able to put up good numbers in the offense, though, has been Juwan Johnson.
Johnson got off to a great start to the year and was one of the hottest early-season additions at his position. He had 19 catches on a whopping 28 targets in the first three games of the season for an impressive total of 176 yards. He also had this nice grab against the 49ers for a touchdown:
Juwan Johnson has 19 receiving TDs since 2021, the most by any undrafted TE in the NFL in that span 💪
Watch live local games on #NFLPlus
Blackout restrictions may applypic.twitter.com/diJJ4cE0Sd— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) September 14, 2025
Like Fannin, Johnson cooled off, though, and he ended up back on many leagues' waiver wires. He was dealing with an ankle injury and lost some playing time to Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill. After a few weeks in the shadows, though, he re-emerged on Sunday in Chicago, where he tied with Chris Olave for the team lead in targets and hauled in five catches for 79 yards.
Johnson's yardage total set a new season high, showing he can still be a very productive part of this offense when included in the game plan. The Bears focused on stopping the run and forced Rattler to throw the ball, leading to more work for Johnson. That same game script could be in play this week against the Bucs, who are also typically good at shutting down the run (at least until last week).
While he doesn't have the raw talent or upside of Fannin or Gadsden, Johnson can be a solid deep-league play at tight end or can help you through the bye week. He faces the Rams in Week 9 in a tough matchup, but then he gets a good spot against the Panthers before his Week 11 bye week.
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