Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire: Deeper League Pickups (QB, RB, WR, TE)

October 21, 2025

Dan's top fantasy football Week 8 waiver wire pickups, sleepers, stashes for deeper leagues for 2025. His waiver targets include Joe Flacco, Kyle Monangai, Oronde Gadsden II, and more

Week 8 is setting up to be a difficult week in fantasy football between injuries and bye weeks. The fantasy season doesn’t stop, so if you are facing either issue, you will still need to put together a team to try and win.

Identifying deep sleepers on the waiver wire will be crucial to fantasy success this week. Thankfully, there are plenty of options at each position to try to navigate these challenges.

This article will focus on fantasy football players who are at or below a 40% roster rate on Yahoo! -- and can be considered deeper league waiver wire options. We'll cover a few players from the QB, RB, WR, and TE positions. Let's get to it!

Quarterback Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All QBs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less

Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals - 11% rostered

Since joining the Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Flacco has thrown for 561 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Flacco has been able to mitigate the Bengals’ offensive line woes by getting the ball out quickly to his weapons.

Among quarterbacks with 25 dropbacks over the last two weeks, Flacco has the fourth-fastest time to throw (2.31 seconds) and the fifth-lowest average depth of target (6.1). The veteran quarterback is the QB9 in fantasy points per game (22.4) since joining the team.

The Bengals have matchups against two defenses, the Jets and Bears, that can be exploited by quarterbacks in fantasy before their Week 10 bye. Flacco is worth rostering in all formats, given how well he has performed with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers - 28% rostered

Aaron Rodgers has put together his best stretch of the season since the Steelers’ Week 5 bye. Since then, the veteran quarterback has completed 44 of 64 passes (68.7%) for 484 yards, six touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Rodgers has hit 17 fantasy points three times this season, two of which have come since the bye week. The veteran quarterback’s next matchup is a revenge game against the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay has an excellent defensive line, but has struggled in the secondary so far this season, allowing 1,384 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and two interceptions in six games.

Running Back Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All RBs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less

Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears - 7% rostered

One of the significant adjustments the Bears made during their Week 5 bye was getting 2025 seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai more involved in the rushing attack. Monangai's snap share saw a minor leap in Week 6 (34.4%), but his workload (five carries for 19 yards and one reception for 25 yards) remained consistent.

In Week 7, the Bears committed to getting the rookie the ball more. As a result, he had his first fantasy relevant week of the season. Monangai saw his snap share jump even higher in Week 7, posting a career-high 45.6%. He handled 13 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown while adding two receptions (on three targets) for 13 yards.

Kyle Monangai scores his first NFL TD!

NOvsCHI on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/tlabBDz5Mb

— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025

Monangai had his first double-digit performance of the season, finishing the week with 17.4 fantasy points. The Bears’ rushing attack has been excellent since their bye week, giving both Monangai and D'Andre Swift ample opportunities to contribute to the offense. Monangai has made the most of his opportunities and should continue to see a steady workload as the complement to Swift in Chicago’s rushing attack.

Brashard Smith, Kansas City Chiefs - 6% rostered

Brashard Smith had a reliable role in the Chiefs’ pass game from Weeks 4 to 6. During that time, Smith caught nine of 11 targets for 80 yards while scoring at least five PPR points per game.

His role expanded significantly in Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders. In that game, Smith handled 14 carries for 39 yards and caught all five of his targets for 42 yards. His 13.1 PPR fantasy points were a season high.

#Chiefs RB Brashard Smith’s catches from the Raiders game. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/UDcUlmgBQs

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) October 20, 2025

It would be dangerous to assume that Smith’s expanded workload will be sticky since most of his touches on the ground came in the fourth quarter of a game the Chiefs led by 30 points. However, Smith continues to see a consistent workload in the passing offense, even after Rashee Rice returned from his six-game suspension.

Kansas City’s offense is clicking and could get out to a big lead again in Week 8, especially if Jayden Daniels is unable to play due to his hamstring injury.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All WRs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less

Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts - 9% rostered

Alec Pierce is proving that his 2024 season wasn’t a fluke. Pierce posted season-highs in targets (10), receptions (five), and receiving yards (98) for the Colts in Week 7, finishing with a season-high 14.8 fantasy points.

The concern entering the season for Pierce was the combination of his strengths as a player (downfield receiving threat), combined with Daniel Jones’s play style. So far, those concerns haven’t been too prevalent.

Pierce has three games this season with at least 10 fantasy points. The veteran receiver has posted four straight games with at least four targets and two receptions. He has had at least five targets and four receptions in three of those four games. Indianapolis has been trying to run him on more routes this season with positive results.

The Colts’ passing attack should continue to thrive in Week 8 in their second matchup against a reeling Titans’ team. In the first matchup between these teams this year, Pierce caught four of five targets for 67 yards. If he can continue to see this workload, it is only a matter of time until he finds the end zone.

Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons - 29% rostered

2025 has not been a banner year for Darnell Mooney. The veteran receiver missed the first game of the season recovering from a shoulder injury. He was starting to find his footing, but suffered a hamstring injury in Week 4 that cost him another game in Week 6 (Atlanta had its bye week in Week 5).

Mooney returned in Week 6 and finished with his highest fantasy output of the season (9.8 PPR points) with five targets, three receptions, and 68 yards.

We expected big things from Mooney this year with Michael Penix Jr. under center, given the fit between his downfield play style and Penix’s big arm. That hasn’t happened yet. But the opportunities will be there, even if the production is more boom or bust than we had hoped for.

Tight End Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

All TEs are rostered in 40% of leagues or less

Oronde Gadsden, Los Angeles Chargers - 3% rostered

The Oronde Gadsden hype in Los Angeles is real. Gadsden has taken over the receiving tight end role in Los Angeles in recent weeks, culminating in 48 routes run (78.7%) in Week 7’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. The rookie parlayed that increased role into a career day, catching seven of eight targets for 164 yards and a touchdown.

6 catches. 156 yards. 1 TD.

What a day for the rookie Oronde Gadsden 🙌

INDvsLAC on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/bpN7XuSpos

— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025

Over the last two weeks, Gadsden is second among all tight ends in targets (16), receptions (14), and air yards (140). He leads the position in receiving yards (232) during this stretch, and Gadsden is also second in fantasy points per game (21.1) while running 46.7% of his routes from the slot.

More importantly, Gadsden was able to improve upon a strong Week 6 without Quentin Johnston into even more production with a fully healthy pass-catching group in Week 7.

Expecting Gadsden to replicate his amazing Week 7 would be irresponsible. Still, he has emerged as a part of the Chargers passing attack by adding a new dimension from the tight end position. He needs to be rostered in all formats, especially with so many teams on bye in the coming weeks.

Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears - 22% rostered

Colston Loveland has struggled to emerge as a reliable pass catcher in Chicago’s passing attack to start his career, but things have begun to shift. Since Chicago’s Week 5 bye, Loveland has caught five of seven targets for 35 yards.

Loveland has consistently proved himself as a blocker this season and is seeing more opportunities as a pass catcher. His role in the offense was certainly amplified by Cole Kmet's back injury in Week 7, but things are still trending positively for the rookie tight end after the bye week.

The rookie finished third among Chicago’s pass catchers in routes run (17), behind only Rome Odunze (25) and DJ Moore (24). He also tied Moore in target share (15.4%) and first read targets (four). These are all indicators of an improved role, even if Kmet isn’t sidelined long with an injury.

Better days are on the horizon for Loveland, but he is likely flying under the radar in your fantasy leagues.

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