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RotoBaller staff's fantasy football Week 8 waiver wire pickups for 2026. Expert advice for waiver wire RB, WR, TE, QB targets from Phil, Dan, Craig and Frank.
We have several more injuries and byes to navigate ahead of the eighth week of the fantasy football season, and with the waiver wire thinning out, it's getting tough to identify who is worth picking up. We're here to help guide your Week 8 decisions with our RotoBaller Staff waiver wire picks, including Dylan Sampson, Ryan Flournoy, T.J. Hockenson, and Malik Willis.
Pivoting when your players are injured, underperforming, or on a bye is always the name of the game in fantasy football, and we're here to guide your waiver-wire decisions. Note that some of these are deeper selections, so some of the more trendy and obvious Week 8 targets aren't listed here.
Our RotoBaller experts Phil Clark, Frank Ammirante, Craig Rondinone, and Dan Fornek are here to help you identify the top RB, WR, TE, and QB targets ahead of Week 8.
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Running Backs Waiver Wire Week 8
Selections By Phil Clark
Kaelon Black, San Francisco 49ers
Black has remained cemented among the top-tier handcuff options due to his unchallenged role as the RB2 behind Christian McCaffrey in Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
The importance of Black’s placement below McCaffrey on the 49ers’ depth chart was on display during San Francisco’s Week 7 visit to Atlanta.
McCaffrey sustained a thigh injury during the contest, which launched Black into a temporary role as the 49ers’ lead back until McCaffrey re-emerged during the matchup.
Kaelon Black put on the burners to get 6
SFvsATL on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/DFth3gvB6M— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
Black secured a season-high 46.2% snap share. He also registered a season-best 52.2% rush share, while assembling 63 yards with his 12 attempts and generating his first career touchdown.
Black has now attained a 29.6% snap share and a 26.5% rush share since Week 1.
McCaffrey is also averaging 16.9 touches per game, and Black remains positioned to seize a massive workload if McCaffrey is unavailable during any of the 49ers’ upcoming matchups.
Rachaad White, Washington Commanders
The composition of Washington’s backfield was transformed when Jacory Croskey-Merritt was placed on injured reserve on October 19.
That removed a significant obstruction from White’s runway toward functioning as Washington’s lead back within a depth chart that also contains Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols.
White operated as the Commanders’ primary back during their Week 6 matchup in San Francisco.
Jayden Daniels connects with Rachaad White for his second TD pass of the game!
WASvsSF on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/uS2INDJgC4— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2026
White finished 14th among all backs with a 68.7% snap share, and also attained a 41.2% rush share. White also rose to eighth in target share (14.7%) and 10th in receiving yards (30).
McNichols attained a 17.9% snap share, carried five times, and generated 13 rushing yards. Ekeler registered a 10.5% snap share while accumulating three touches and seven total yards.
The Commanders will host the Eagles in Week 8, and White’s expanded workload should be sustained during Croskey-Merritt’s absence.
That makes White a top waiver-wire priority, as he is positioned to deliver RB2 production.
Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
Sampson re-emerged in Cleveland’s backfield during the Browns’ Week 7 matchup with Tennessee. He had been sidelined since he sustained a knee injury in Week 1.
However, Sampson’s return infused him into a rotation with Quinshon Judkins, who was also returning from his one-game absence (ankle).
Sampson operated with a 47% snap share in Week 7. He also attained a 20.7% rush share, carried six times, assembled 45 rushing yards, and averaged 7.5 yards per attempt.
Sampson also led Cleveland’s backfield in routes run (18), targets (three), and receiving yards (32).
Sampson should continue to function as the primary receiving weapon in the Browns’ backfield. He also earned that role during 2025, while finishing among the top 25 in receptions (33) and receiving yards (271).
Sampson is also stationed directly below Judkins on the Browns’ depth chart. This positions Sampson to seize an extensive workload if Judkins misses time during Cleveland’s remaining matchups.
Wide Receivers Waiver Wire Week 8
Selections By Frank Ammirante
De'Zhaun Stribling, San Francisco 49ers
De'Zhaun Stribling is worth stashing if you have room on your bench. The rookie second-round pick generated plenty of buzz during training camp and the preseason before suffering an ankle injury in Week 1 that required surgery. The good news is that head coach Kyle Shanahan recently confirmed Stribling remains on track to return in December.
The biggest reason for optimism is San Francisco's wide-open receiving corps. Ricky Pearsall is out for the season, while Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel have also been dealing with injuries. There's a clear opportunity for Stribling to carve out a meaningful role once he's healthy, especially in an offense led by Brock Purdy.
Obviously, you'll need to be patient here. Stribling isn't expected back for several more weeks, so this is strictly a stash for fantasy managers with room to spare. However, the combination of his talent and San Francisco's lack of healthy receivers makes him an intriguing late-season lottery ticket.
Ryan Flournoy, Dallas Cowboys
Ryan Flournoy continues to make the most of his opportunities in Dallas. The third-year receiver caught all four of his targets for 70 yards in Monday night's 38-21 win over the Eagles, finishing second on the team in receiving yards. Flournoy has now recorded at least 70 receiving yards in two of his last three games, showing that he can make an impact even while playing behind CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
The Cowboys have one of the more pass-heavy offenses in the NFL, giving Flournoy an opportunity to remain involved as the No. 3 receiver. Dak Prescott has shown a willingness to spread the ball around. Flournoy is starting to develop better chemistry with his quarterback. The problem is that Lamb and Pickens will continue to dominate targets when healthy, making Flournoy difficult to trust as a weekly fantasy starter.
However, Flournoy would become a priority waiver-wire pickup if either Lamb or Pickens missed time, making him worth a stash in deeper leagues.
Kendrick Bourne, Arizona Cardinals
Kendrick Bourne is starting to carve out a consistent role in Arizona's passing game. The veteran receiver has seen at least six targets in three consecutive games, including eight targets in back-to-back contests against the Lions and Rams. Bourne caught five passes for 70 yards in Week 5 and followed that up with five receptions for 47 yards in Week 6.
While Bourne managed just three catches for nine yards against Denver in Week 7, the six targets were encouraging. More importantly, Arizona has a wide-open opportunity at wide receiver following Marvin Harrison Jr.'s departure. Bourne has emerged as one of the team's primary options behind Michael Wilson, while Jalen Brooks' season-ending wrist injury should create even more opportunities.
Tight Ends Waiver Wire Week 8
Selections By Craig Rondinone
Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Drake Maye is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL right now, and Hunter Henry is his most reliable target, so that is causing the latter’s fantasy value to skyrocket in recent weeks. Henry has 19 receptions for 225 yards and two touchdowns over his last four games.
Hunter Henry is wide open and extends the @Patriots lead!
NYJvsNE on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/XLoJlTgMzs— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026
WR1 A.J. Brown is dropping more passes than he catches. New England’s other receivers are not as consistent or talented as pass catchers as Henry is. Rookie backup tight end Eli Raridon is getting targets and scoring opportunities but is the clear TE2 to Henry. Henry is undoubtedly New England’s top target at the present time.
Henry becomes even more attractive because of his matchup this week against a newly recharged Miami Dolphins team coming off their first victory of 2026. Do not be fooled by the win. Miami made New York’s Mason Taylor look like Rob Gronkowski. Pick up Henry and play him this week and for the rest of the season if need be.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
T.J. Hockenson sandwiched two very good games around an unfortunate one-catch disaster caused by a concussion he received on the second play of the game. Take out that clunker, and he racked up 17 receptions for 154 yards and one touchdown in his Week 5 and 7 contests.
Quarterback Kyler Murray has done no fantasy favors for Minnesota’s top-like receiving corps (like I predicted), but he has learned how to get the ball to Hockenson. Now he gets to run routes against a Detroit Lions defense that ranks dead last in the NFL against the pass. Enjoy him if you pick him up!
Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
Another week, another game, another touchdown for Mike Gesicki. He is the modern-day Cris Carter. All the guy does is catch touchdown tosses. As Kurt Angle would say, “It’s true! It’s damn true!” Gesicki has now had back-to-back games where he only caught one pass, but it was a touchdown.
You would like your fantasy tight end to average more than 2.2 catches and 27.2 yards per game, ideally. But Gesicki has scored five touchdowns in six games and continues to get Joe Burrow’s attention inside the red zone. I do not think he will solve a fantasy manager’s tight end issue all year long, but he can certainly be used as a spot-start guy from here on out if picked up.
Quarterbacks Waiver Wire Week 8
Selections By Dan Fornek
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
Michael Penix Jr. continues to deliver fantasy-relevant weeks for fantasy managers. Since taking over the starting job for Atlanta in Week 3, Penix has scored at least 14.0 fantasy points in four of five games. He has at least one passing touchdown in every game this season.
Penix gets his third touchdown pass of the day.
The @AtlantaFalcons have scored 23 unanswered points.
SFvsATL on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/tEqQPY8YcC— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
Over the last two weeks, Penix hasn’t put up gaudy passing production (438 yards on a 65.5% completion rate), but has thrown six touchdowns with zero interceptions (three in each game). That touchdown production has helped Penix post back-to-back games with 20+ fantasy points scored.
The Falcons have three weeks until their Week 11 bye. Matchups against the Buccaneers (Week 8) and Bengals (Week 9) should
Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
The bye week was apparently the best medicine for Malik Willis and the Miami Dolphins’ offense. Willis scored a season-high 28.02 fantasy points against the Jets in Week 7, completing 66.7% of his passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns (and zero interceptions) while adding eight carries for 37 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Malik Willis lowers his shoulder for the touchdown
MIAvsNYJ on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/TVRwL1sULm— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
It was the second time this season (and second straight game) Willis has scored 18.0+ fantasy points and the third time this year he’s broken 16.0 points. More importantly, Willis has been leaning into his rushing production over the last two games, recording 16 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
The Dolphins have a difficult matchup against New England’s defense in Week 8, so it’s fair to expect less fantasy production. However, they have one of the best runs of fantasy defenses against quarterbacks from Weeks 9 to 14 with matchups against the Lions, Colts, Bills, Jets, Broncos, and Bears.
Willis needs to be rostered in all fantasy formats given that stretch of games (and upcoming bye weeks), even if fantasy managers want to play it safe and stash him on the bench to see if his newfound production is real.
Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals continue to trust Jacoby Brissett to air out the football in negative game scripts. The results weren’t necessarily there for the Cardinals’ offense in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos (272 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions), but the fact that he avoided turning the ball over is a positive.
It was only Brissett’s third game this season without an interception thrown. More importantly for fantasy, it was the sixth time in seven games that Brissett has attempted at least 35 passes and the third time this year he attempted more than 45 passes.
There are whispers that the Cardinals will eventually turn the offense over to 2026 rookie Carson Beck, but at this point that feels like a late-season solution to evaluate what areas the team will need to address in the NFL draft.
For now, Brissett is getting the volume he needs to be a low-end QB1 thanks to his lack of rushing upside. If the offense starts hitting, he will be a high-end streamer as long as he’s starting.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pickup off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2026 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Kaelon Black, Rachaad White, Dylan Sampson, De'Zhaun Stribling, Ryan Flournoy, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, T.J. Hockenson, Mike Gesicki. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2026. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2026. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Kaelon Black, Rachaad White, Dylan Sampson, De'Zhaun Stribling, Ryan Flournoy, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, T.J. Hockenson, Mike Gesicki. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
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Popular Waiver Wire Searches. Curious to see some tough waiver wire decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Pickup? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2026 for Kaelon Black, Rachaad White, Dylan Sampson, De'Zhaun Stribling, Ryan Flournoy, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, T.J. Hockenson, Mike Gesicki:
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