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Mike's college fantasy football waiver wire adds for Week 8 of the 2026 CFB season. His top targets and free agent pickups for CFF leagues at RB, WR, TE, QB.
The entire Big 12 is in action this week, but there are some big teams on byes this week. Notre Dame, Nebraska, Florida State, Louisville, Ohio State, Florida, Georgia, and Missouri are all off this week. We also don't have any teams playing FCS opponents. We're here to help with our Week 8 college fantasy football waiver wire pickups list.
To help you make your waiver wire bids, we will identify the top running back, wide receiver, tight end, and quarterback free agents to target ahead of Week 8. Pickups are listed in priority order by position, and their Yahoo rostered percentage is in parentheses. This column considers only players under 50% rostered at the time of writing. We also won't recommend players heading into Week 8 byes.
Below, read about key Week 8 waiver wire targets and stashes like Jonaz Walton, Gio Lopez, and Jack Foley. Whether you're looking for production this week or a long-term solution, we'll give you options for any-sized league.
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Week 8 Running Back CFF Waiver Wire Pickups
Aiden Flora, Iowa State (49%)
Some may have forgotten about Flora since he was shut down against BYU and was on a bye last week. It's time to reacquaint yourself.
Aiden Flora should be a Heisman finalist in New York this year simply for this play alone https://t.co/WoCKuYJ9m6
— AJ Caldwell (@CycloneKingdom) October 10, 2026
Iowa State was trying to get Flora free to throw another pass since he threw two touchdowns against West Virginia. That's just another way that he can help. Arizona was roughed up by the West Virginia run game.
Before that game, Arizona had done reasonably well in rush defense. This likely won't be a monster game for Flora, but you're not going to find anywhere near his volume anywhere else on waivers.
Cole Tabb (12%), Cincinnati
I think we're done with the committee backfield. Tabb exploded against West Virginia for 118 rushing yards, 51 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns yesterday.
Gi'Bran Payne suffered an ankle injury early in the game, which allowed for an extended run for Tabb. Tabb was the guy who got more receiving work and more touchdowns anyway.
If Payne misses time, I may even add Tabb over Flora. As it stands now, Tabb should at least get a 50/50 share with Payne when he's healthy. That wasn't happening before.
CJ Baxter, Kentucky (47%)
Baxter didn't play in Kentucky's win over Oklahoma last week, but Jacob Patterson and Jovantae Barnes weren't very sucessful in the game either.
Baxter is still Kentucky's best back. Patterson has taken carries from him in recent weeks, but Baxter is still the main guy. Vanderbilt has allowed at least 140 rushing yards in all four conference games this year. The Kentucky backs should have room to run this week.
Trelain Maddox, Georgia Tech (19%)
Injuries in the Tech backfield have opened the door for Maddox. He has scored five touchdowns in the last three games, while notching nine receptions.
Maddox will still take a backseat to Justice Haynes when he is healthy, but Maddox can succeed even with Haynes in the lineup. Maddox is getting all of the chances that previously went to Malachi Hosley before he got hurt.
Javian Mallory, Miami (FL) (1%)
The true freshman sparked Miami to a double-overtime win over Florida State with 13 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns, all in the second half.
Mark Fletcher Jr. suffered an arm injury in the first half and was used sparingly thereafter, seemingly having trouble cradling the ball. If Fletcher is forced to miss time or limited again, Mallory could be a big part of the offense against Pitt this week.
Week 8 Wide Receiver CFF Waiver Wire Pickups
Que'Sean Brown, Virginia Tech (27%)
QUE’SEAN BROWN. 60 YARDS. TOUCHDOWN. ⚡️
? @accnetwork x @HokiesFB https://t.co/8UqTqaqISL
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 17, 2026
If you are one of the five percent of Yahoo! players who picked up Brown from last week, congratulations. Brown likely propelled you to a win this week. Brown had a career-high 182 yards against Georgia Tech, scoring 26.4 fantasy points. He's a must-play vs. Clemson next week.
Junior Sherrill, Vanderbilt (36%)
Sherrill is the receiver that both quarterbacks look for in the passing game. He has at least five receptions in every FBS game, and hasn't been held under 55 yards in any game this year. All four of his touchdowns have come in the last five games.
Justin Bowick, Oklahoma State (50%)
Bowick is finally right at the threshold for this article. He should be pushed over this week in a matchup with Colorado. Bowick scored another 12.2 fantasy points last week, catching his fifth touchdown in the last four games.
QB Drew Mestemaker led FBS in passing yards in 2025. This offense isn't slowing down anytime soon.
DJ Epps, West Virginia (3%)
Michael Hawkins Jr. had a career game through the air yesterday, resulting in some gaudy stats for Epps. Epps caught eight passes for 163 yards and a touchdown.
Surprisingly, this was the third 100-yard game of the season for Epps, despite Hawkins not being in the top 50 in passing yards in the FBS. He'll still put up good numbers nearly every week whether Hawkins passes a lot or not.
Cataurus Hicks, Pittsburgh (11%)
New Pitt QB Holden Greiner has found a favorite in Hicks. Hicks has 14 receptions for 248 yards and three touchdowns in three games since starter Mason Heintschel went down.
Pitt is still a run-first team, but Hicks is easily leading the team in targets since Greiner took over. It's time to take note.
Jackson Harris, LSU (6%)
Sam Leavitt has cut down on the interceptions, which has resulted in better games for his receivers. Harris has five touchdown receptions in the four games since TE Trey'Dez Green went down in the Mississippi game. Harris has 18 receptions for 302 yards and those five touchdowns in three games vs. FBS schools in that span.
Week 8 Tight End CFF Waiver Wire Pickups
Rocky Beers, Oklahoma (46%)
The Oklahoma offense still couldn't move the ball well for most of the game against Texas or Kentucky, but Beers was still the second-most targeted Sooner in both games. Expect that trend to continue with Trell Harris out.
Beers is more valuable in PPR leagues because he doesn't rack up a bunch of yards. Oklahoma routinely involves the TE in the passing game, so he has a relatively safe floor.
Caleb Odom, Mississippi (35%)
Odom has at least three receptions in every game that he has played in this season. That's good production for a college tight end. Odom had his first touchdown since Week 1 last week as the Mississippi offense was hitting stride again with Kewan Lacy back.
Daunte Bacheyie, Syracuse (6%)
Bacheyie rewarded those who picked him up with five receptions for 29 yards last week, but he failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season. That may be the outlier since Malachi Nelson still looked his way quite a bit.
Week 8 Quarterback CFF Waiver Wire Pickups
Gio Lopez, Wake Forest (20%)
Two Q1 passing TDs for Gio Lopez?
? ESPN2 x @WakeFB https://t.co/PBu7g7DeYk
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 18, 2026
Y'all still don't know Gio, huh? If you want to win your league, you should know him. Lopez threw four touchdowns in the rout of Cal last night.
The Wake Forest offense is cruising, and Lopez is second in fantasy points across Yahoo! leagues with 208.28 this season. Only Michael Hawkins Jr. has more.
Ethan Grunkemeyer, Virginia Tech (7%)
Two of my WW favorites, Lincoln Kienholz and Anthony Colandrea, are off this week. It's time to look to Grunk. Only Boston College has held Grunkemeyer under 20 fantasy points this year.
He has a great matchup coming up against Clemson before his bye. Grunkemeyer would be easily the best one-week pickup if you guys knew Gio.
Bear Bachmeier, BYU (18%)
Bear had a big game against Iowa State with LJ Martin sidelined. He turned in another huge performance in the biggest BYU win since 1984 last night.
Bachmeier has scored 58.52 fantasy points in two games without Martin. He'll likely still be out for the UCF game this weekend, which means another game of through-the-roof usage for Bear.
