Week 8 Quarterback Sleepers: Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds

Hello once again my friends, and welcome to week eight. We’re going to take a look at some waiver wire quarterbacks that I like for Week 8,  as well as a couple players who I want to believe in and a couple who I think are benchable.   My goal within this article is to recommend both short term quarterback options (i.e. matchup plays, injury fill-ins), and also longer term QB considerations (i.e. emerging rookies). With that said lets get to it!

Fantasy Football Quarterbacks (QB) - Week 8

Kyle Orton – Buffalo Bills (Owned in 9% of leagues on FleaFlicker)

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Week 8 Opponent: New York Jets

BALLER MOVE: Orton has been solid as a starter, and faces a weak Jets passing defense. Look to start him in all 2 QB leagues and even deep 12-14 team 1 QB leagues this week.

ANALYSIS: Kyle Orton has been nothing but consistent since he took over the role of starting QB for the Bills in week five. In all three games, he has thrown for around 300 yards, at least one touchdown, and one INT. With Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller out this week, I expect the Bills to turn to the arm of Orton more than the last three weeks. In both games that Orton threw over 40 times, the Bills have come out on top.

The main reason to give Orton a look this week, however, is because he is facing one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL in the New York Jets. The Jets have slowly turned into my team to pick on when streaming quarterbacks. This secondary has given up an average of 257.29 passing yards per game (ranked 17^th), 2.57 passing touchdowns per game (ranked 32^nd), and also the most fantasy points of any defense to opposing quarterbacks according to FleaFlicker. Orton could have his first game with more than two TDs this week, and with rookie talent Sammy Watkins continuing to play at a high level, Orton definitely has the edge in this matchup.

Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens (Owned in 76% of leagues on FleaFlicker)

Week 8 Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

BALLER MOVE: Though he’s not an under the radar QB by any means, Flacco has a great matchup that should put him in the starting role in most (if not all) leagues.

ANALYSIS: Joe Flacco has played excellent football of late, racking up ten TDs in the last four weeks while only throwing three INTs. Excluding a lackluster performance at Lucas Oil Stadium in week five, Flacco has bolstered his fantasy value by a ton with his touchdowns and yardage, throwing less than 225 yards only twice this year.

The Cincinnati team that Flacco faces this week has been able to keep the passing touchdown total low against other opposing quarterbacks this year, only giving up 1.33 passing TDs per game (ranked 6^th). On the other hand, the Bengal’s secondary has given up 280.17 yards per game passing (ranked 29^th) and also has handed opposing quarterbacks the sixth most fantasy points per game on the season according to FleaFlicker. If you’re lucky enough to find Flacco on the waiver wire in your league, grab him. If you’ve got Flacco on your team this week, give him a start. He should produce once again this week.

Other QB’s to Watch This Week

Derek Carr – Oakland Raiders (@CLE) - I don’t expect a ton of scoring in this one, but this is a Cleveland defense that gave up a lopsided win to the Jags in week seven. Carr is definitely not a guy to start this week, but he could make things interesting away from home in week eight. If he can’t put together a win for the Raiders soon, we might see some Matt McGloin action.

Jay Cutler – Chicago Bears – (@NE) - The Bears had some interesting locker room conversations after their week seven loss to the Dolphins. Cutler is capable of putting up some solid numbers, but this NE secondary is not one to be messed with. I expect Cutler to put up some middle of the road, average numbers. If you’re streaming QBs, you might look to someone else this week.

Colt McCoy – Washington Redskins – (@DAL) - He stepped in to give the Washington the win in week seven, but he has a disastrous second outing ahead of him facing the Cowboys in week eight on Monday night. McCoy is definitely a guy to avoid, but still one to keep an eye on as I’m not too sure what to expect out of him going forward.

Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks (@CAR) – People are starting to panic when it comes to the fate of the Seattle Seahawks. Let me reassure you. If you have Russell Wilson, start him. The guy is a fantasy dynamo, and can put up ridiculous numbers, even in a loss. He has a strong matchup this week against a struggling Panthers defense. Do what you know you should, and don’t over think it.

Brian Hoyer – Cleveland Browns – (vs. OAK) - This week was the first week that Hoyer left the field without a touchdown pass. Hoyer still has favorable matchups going forward, including Oakland, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati. If you own Hoyer, take a deep breath, and keep the faith. If not, keep an eye out. He may be one to grab in the next few weeks.

One QB to Avoid for the Near Future

Ryan Tannehill – Miami Dolphins

Though he has been solid in the last three weeks, I would be tentative in starting him. Outside of his week eight matchup with Jacksonville, the following weeks look grim for the young QB. In weeks nine through thirteen, the Dolphins play the Chargers, Lions, Bills, and Broncos; these are teams that have solid defensive units that have played very well this season. Avoid Tannehill until at least week 13 in his matchup with the Jets.

If you have feedback for the format of this article, tweet at me and follow me @fantasycalderon. My aim is to give you all the QB info that you're looking for in one place, so whether you wanna see more ROS advice, week-to-week advice, etc., just let me know and I'll get on it for next week.