Updated Waiver Wire Rankings for Week 8 (2025): Fantasy Football Pickups for Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, Alec Pierce, Jaylin Noel, Oronde Gadsden

October 22, 2025

Updated mid-week fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season. Top fantasy football free agents and streamers to add off waivers.

Week 8 is here, and the NFL season continues to fly by. In addition to injuries, fantasy managers will have to deal with bye weeks as six teams are off this week. Fantasy managers might be left scrambling, looking for not only injuries but bye week replacements. At RotoBaller HQ, we are back with more waiver wire advice with our updated waiver wire rankings for fantasy football Week 8 of the 2025 season to help fantasy managers find those injury replacements.

The Lions, Cardinals, Jaguars, Raiders, Rams, and Seahawks are on the bye in Week 8. Fantasy managers will be without some of their top starters. Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith was more involved and received 14 carries on Sunday, turning into 39 yards and reeling in all five targets for 42 yards against the Raiders. Did Smith earn himself more of a role in Kansas City's backfield? Is Kayshon Boutte quarterback Drake Maye's favorite target after catching touchdowns in back-to-back games?  Is Sterling Shepard or Tez Johnson the Bucs receiver to add with Mike Evans out for the year?

These Week 8 waiver wire rankings are updated by Nick Mariano, RotoBaller's lead fantasy football analyst and forecaster. For those who are not familiar, he brings you his weekly waiver wire rankings and priority adds for the top 85 options to consider across various positions and league sizes. Good luck in Week 8 on the waiver wire!

Who To Pick Up for Fantasy Football Week 8?

Quarterbacks (QB) and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Some of the top names include Brashard Smith, Kayshon Boutte, Oronde Gadsden, Darnell Mooney, Kyle Monangai, and Tez Johnson. We recap why these players should be on your waiver wire radar for Week 8.

Brashard Smith, RB, Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back Brashard Smith saw by far the heaviest usage of his young NFL career on Sunday, recording 14 carries for 39 yards and five catches for 42 yards in his team's 31-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. It's worth noting that there was a significant amount of garbage time in this game. Still, veteran Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (ankle) suffered an ankle injury early in the game and had to get taped up in order to return.

Even if Hunt does not miss any time due to the injury, Kansas City could lessen his workload in favor of Smith. With Hunt healthy, the Chiefs have still prioritized getting the ball in Smith's hands in the passing game, as he's seen 16 targets over his last four games. There's a possibility Smith takes over as the team's primary passing-downs back, which gives him some deep-league fantasy appeal.

Tez Johnson, WR, Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Tez Johnson continued his strong string of performances with a nice game against the Lions, and he could be lined up for more work in the future as well. Johnson had four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Lions and finished with nine targets, which was tied for second on the team. It was his second straight week with an impressive touchdown, and over the last three weeks, the seventh-round pick from Oregon has become a regular contributor in the passing game, producing nine catches for 158 yards to go with his two scores.

With Mike Evans (collarbone) out for "most of the year" according to coach Todd Bowles, Johnson should have a clear role going forward behind his fellow rookie, Emeka Egbuka. The Bucs will look to bounce back from their loss with a game in New Orleans next week before a Week 9 bye week.

Kayshon Boutte, WR, Patriots

Against the Titans on Sunday, New England Patriots third-year wide receiver Kayshon Boutte turned in his second consecutive strong fantasy performance on the back of three touchdowns in the last two games. He has put up a respectable 148 receiving yards over that span, but has done it on only seven targets. Since leading the team in targets in the season opener, he has yet to see more than five looks in any other game, averaging under three targets per game in his last six games.

Josh McDaniels' offense has long been difficult to predict for fantasy football. Still, fortunately for Boutte, by every metric, Drake Maye has been one of the best deep ball throwers in the league, adding value to each of those targets. With six teams on a Week 8 bye, Boutte becomes a high-priority waiver add wherever he's still available, and in many cases, can be plugged right into the starting lineup.

Darnell Mooney, WR, Falcons

In his first game action since Week 4 due to injury, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney was the team's leading receiver in Sunday night's 20-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, catching three of his five targets for 68 yards. While his 68 yards led the team on a night where Atlanta's offense was stuck in the mud, Mooney's targets were third behind receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. Most of the 27-year-old's production came on a 38-yard hookup with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. late in the second quarter.

Mooney and the Falcons' passing game have a get-right matchup upcoming this Sunday against the 1-6 Miami Dolphins. Still, he figures to continue to be an inconsistent boom/bust WR4/flex for fantasy football managers. Mooney has caught only 10 of his 21 targets through four games this year for 147 yards, and he has yet to find the end zone. He's currently rostered in just 29% of Yahoo leagues. Don't rule him out as a decent flex streamer this week with six teams on bye.

Oronde Gadsden, TE, Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden exploded in Sunday's game against the Colts with seven catches (nine targets) for 164 yards and a touchdown. Gadsden had been working his way into a full-time role at tight end in Los Angeles, and it's all come together over the past two weeks. He's logged a route on 77% of dropbacks in each of those games and should maintain a consistent role in the offense moving forward after a performance like this.

The 2025 fifth-round pick was winning at all levels of the field and had an unreal catch and run for 53 yards early in the third quarter. His 164 yards were the most in a game by a rookie tight end since Kyle Pitts in 2021. Gadsden should be the priority waiver add in all formats this week.

Running Backs - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Wide Receivers - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Tight Ends- Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order:

Quarterbacks - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 8:

Defenses (D/ST) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings

Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 8:

Week 8 Waiver Wire Articles

In addition to the Week 8 waiver wire rankings, here's a look at some other free waiver wire resources available at RotoBaller. Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array of fantasy football waiver wire articles to compliment our slick new Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool - bookmark that! Here are more detailed Week 8 waiver wire articles:

• Week 8 waiver wire pickups (all positions)
• Week 8 FAAB waiver wire bids
• Week 8 running back waiver wire pickups
• Week 8 wide receiver waiver wire pickups
• Week 8 tight end waiver wire pickups
• Week 8 quarterback waiver wire pickups
• Week 8 defense (D/ST) streamers and pickups
• Week 8 kicker streamers and pickups

Who Should I Pickup Tool

Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:

Who Should I Pickup for Week 8?

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Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, Alec Pierce, Jaylin Noel, Oronde Gadsden, Darnell Mooney, Brashard Smith, Kyle Monangai. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. 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.

2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, Alec Pierce, Jaylin Noel, Oronde Gadsden, Darnell Mooney, Brashard Smith, Kyle Monangai. These are some common searches for 2025 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's name. In the second box, search for the second player's 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.

Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2025. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.

Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, Alec Pierce, Jaylin Noel, Oronde Gadsden, Darnell Mooney, Brashard Smith, Kyle Monangai:

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