RADIO
Deeper waiver wire sleepers and pickups to add for Week 8 of the NFL season. Justin Carter finds lightly owned players for fantasy football owners to target.
If you read this list last week and thought Justin, how dare you suggest I pick Josh McCown up. I will never read you again, then...well, in that scenario you likely aren't actually reading this. But McCown was fifth among QBs in scoring for the week going into Monday night and he gets Atlanta in Week 8, plus the Buccaneers in Week 10. J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets? Jets??? I guess!
C.J. Beathard was also on last week's list. He struggled more than McCown as the 49ers were just decimated by Dallas, but Beathard did manage to avoid throwing any interceptions! (I mean, he lost a couple of fumbles but...OPTIMISM.) He's still a decent play moving forward. Brett Hundley? Not so much. We'll see if the Packers figure things out over the bye week but, umm, Hundley wasn't very good. 44 rushing yards and a touchdown saved an otherwise disastrous fantasy day and the Packers lost to New Orleans.
Let's look at deeper waiver wire targets and sleepers for Week 8, players whose ownership is currently under 20% and are likely available in many of your leagues. Note: All ownership percentages are for Yahoo leagues.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
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Deeper Waiver Wire Targets for Week 8
QUARTERBACKS
Matt Moore, Miami Dolphins - 1% owned
Matt Moore only threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns after Jay Cutler went down with a rib injury, but didn't it feel like more? The Dolphins have struggled to move the ball at various times this season, but things seemed to work right in Miami's comeback win against the Jets. Why? Because Matt Moore is a better quarterback than Jay Cutler. Because Moore should have been Miami's starter all along. Because Moore is almost guaranteed to start Thursday against the Ravens and Miami should just go ahead and name him the starter the rest of the way. The front office shouldn't fall for the sunk cost fallacy here--yes, you invested in bringing Cutler out of retirement, but no--investing more time and energy in him is not going to magically help this team.
RUNNING BACKS
Jalen Richard, Oakland Raiders - 11% owned
Someone--either Richard or DeAndre Washington--will benefit from the Marshawn Lynch suspension. My money is on Richard, since he's been the most involved of the two in the team's offense up to this point. It's a risk starting either player, but Richard is fast and has upside against the Bills.
Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers - 1% owned
Melvin Gordon is obviously the man in Los Angeles, but Ekeler continues to see more involvement in the Chargers offense, with a season-high seven carries this week, plus four receptions. Ekeler has the ability to make explosive plays and could be worth a look in the flex moving forward in deeper leagues if he can start to consistently see double-digit touches.
T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars - 1% owned
This one obviously depends on Leonard Fournette's health, plus the Jaguars have a bye week coming up, but Yeldon had 11 touches this week and would be a decent play if the Fournette injury ends up being much worse than has been let on so far. More than likely it isn't, but keep an eye on Yeldon.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Zay Jones, Buffalo Bills - 11% owned
Jones only caught two passes for 17 yards against Tampa Bay, but his nine targets were his most all year. His next three games--Raiders, Jets, Saints--provide him with a chance to finally turn those targets into real, actual, tangible numbers, right? We know he's got talent, and this upcoming stretch could be when he shows it.
Demarcus Robinson, Kansas City Chiefs - 0% owned
It really seems like every receiver Kansas City has is banged up (except for Tyreek Hill). Robinson has 13 targets and six catches over the past two games, with five of those catches coming in Week 7 against Oakland. He could start to carve out space as the Chiefs number two receiver and put up some big numbers for KC.
TIGHT ENDS
A.J. Derby, Denver Broncos - 2% owned
The Broncos played so poorly in their 21-0 loss to the Chargers that Derby's 66 yards and a fumble performance probably counts as bright spot. Denver figures to struggle again in Week 8 against the Chiefs, but Derby could again be a bright spot against a team that just allowed 107 yards to Jared Cook.
O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 13% owned
The rookie tight end caught all six of his targets and finished with 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Yes, you should be worried that Cameron Brate is the team's other tight end--Brate saw nine targets this week--and yes, you should be worried about his inconsistency, but Howard's talent presents huge mismatches and he's going to have at least a couple more big games this season.
