Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups and Free Agent Adds – All Positions

October 26, 2022

Rob's fantasy football waiver wire pickups, adds, and sleepers ahead of Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season. Free agent RB, WR, TE, QB, and D/ST to target.

I'm back for my second go around here and after many Reddit suggestions looking for some deeper options, I'm hoping we're going to be able to satisfy and help all different league sizes from 8-team leagues to 12 and 14-team leagues. As always, if you need any suggestions or advice with your waiver claims, you can always send me a DM on Twitter and give me a follow, @RobFFSlayer.

Fantasy managers shouldn't be afraid to continue churning over the last 2–4 spots on their bench. In fact, I encourage it. Keep switching out those scratch-off tickets for new scratch-off tickets. These are the players who we know within a few weeks' time if we got something or not. If you miss, take another swing. Just keep taking hacks at it. When you hit on someone, it provides you with more options and could even up a situation where you're able to trade two lesser players for a stud.

One of the things I see so many different fantasy managers forgetting to do is if you're in a league with IR spots and you have someone who is IR eligible, get them into your IR and go pick someone up. Anybody. You don't have to like them, but it's a free scratch-off ticket. If you have an open roster spot, look for someone who is IR-eligible. I'm a big fan of stashing Joshua Kelley right now. Now that we got that out of the way, let's get to the Week 8 waiver wire pickups and free agent adds for all positions. Be sure to also check out all of our fantasy football waiver wire advice, and our free new Who Should I Pickup? Waiver Wire player comparison tool, to get an edge on the competition!

Running Backs – Waiver Wire Options

Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens – 42% Rostered

This one isn't going to surprise anyone, but he needs to be No. 1 priority this week. J.K. Dobbins is now on IR and will be out for the next 4–6 weeks. He isn't eligible to return until Week 11, which would be the shortest time frame. Until then, it certainly looks like Edwards is going to be the primary ball carrier for the Baltimore Ravens.

Ravens RBs’ Week 7 snap counts and routes run (per @PFF):

Gus Edwards 23 (4)
Justice Hill 20 (7)
Kenyan Drake 17 (3)

Edwards handled 50% of the RB carries in his debut. JK Dobbins hopes to return in 4-6 weeks after having his knee scoped.

— Underdog NFL (@Underdog__NFL) October 23, 2022

In his first game of the 2022 NFL season, Edwards led the backfield in snaps, albeit just by three to Justice Hill. However, he handled 50% of the team's RB carries and found the end zone twice. Hill also fumbled, which could cost him playing time in the future. While Baltimore has always used a running back by committee, fantasy managers should expect Edwards to get 12–16 carries per game moving forward.

He won't be very involved in the passing game, but he will have a good chance to find the end zone each week on a good offense. He'll compete with Lamar Jackson for red zone carries, but Edwards' role should lock him into backend RB2 status until Dobbins returns.

Latavius Murray, Denver Broncos – 40% Rostered

Chances are if you're in a 12-team league, Murray isn't on your waiver wire, but if he is, he's someone to pay attention to if you're in need of a running back. Last week, Murray handled 15 of the team's 19 RB carries and he looked like he was going to be a workhorse in Denver's backfield. Melvin Gordon was benched and Murray appeared to be on his way to becoming a waiver wire steal. Things changed a bit in Week 7, however.

#Broncos Week 7 RB Usage

- Melvin Gordon: 52% snaps, 11 carries, 4 targets (50 yards)
- Latavius Murray: 37% snaps, 8 carries, 3 targets (23 yards)
- Mike Boone: 12% snaps, 4 carries, no targets (23 yards)

It's a mess

— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) October 23, 2022

While the end result here isn't great, Murray did get a red zone carry, which he converted for a touchdown. Gordon has largely disappointed this year and he's already coughed up the ball four times. He has not averaged more than 3.60 YPC since Week 2 and has only one game where he's had more than 60 scrimmage yards.

If Gordon were to get hurt or find himself in the doghouse again, Murray will be the greatest beneficiary. It's also certainly possible that Murray outperforms Gordon and finds himself as the 1A. This is an ambiguous backfield and it's worth getting a share in it if possible, especially if you're hurting at running back.

Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers – 36% Rostered

This is an ugly situation. The Carolina Panthers are a mess. They have one of the worst offenses in the league. Their quarterback situation is the worst in the NFL. They just fired their head coach and their offensive coordinator is pretty terrible. All that said, we simply cannot ignore a running back who had 73 yards and a touchdown against one of the better defenses in the league.

Chuba Hubbard reportedly has an ankle injury, but with that being said: 46% snap share for Hubbard today; 54% for D'Onta Foreman. Per @numberFire's expected points model, Hubbard had a 67% Success Rate. Foreman was at 27%. Eg, big plays saved Foreman.

— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) October 23, 2022

Prior to Hubbard's injury, he had played 22 snaps compared to D'Onta Foreman's 14. The more important factor is that Hubbard led the duo in routes run and targets despite not playing at all in the fourth quarter. Why is this important? Because the Panthers are not likely to find themselves in too many positive game scripts, so you'll want to target the one who will be involved more in the passing game, and from Week 7's game, that appears to be Hubbard.

Snap rate data can lie, which is why I use these time charts.

Can tell that Chuba Hubbard was the Panthers 1a until the very end of the game (in clear positive game script) following his ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/Z9ZxWbdkOt

— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) October 24, 2022

Fantasy managers will need to look for injury updates on Hubbard's ankle injury throughout the week to determine if he is worth a waiver wire add. At this time, there's little information about the severity of the injury. If the ankle injury is believed to be serious, we can lower our interest in Hubbard, but if the injury is minor, he's worth an add.

Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 30% Rostered

Rachaad White is a top-five handcuff in the NFL. I'm not entirely convinced there's a big difference between A.J. Dillon and White. Most will tell you that Dillon has more standalone value and while, I won't dispute that, we did need to ask ourselves if Dillon's "standalone" value is actually something that matters. Why are we talking about Dillon? Because he's a 90% rostered player and White is at 30%. They each only have one game of double-digits.

The Tampa Bay offense is one of the most fantasy-friendly environments for a running back because Tom Brady dumps the ball off at a high rate. If anything were to happen to Leonard Fournette, White would walk into 5–7 targets per game at the running back position. No other running back for the Buccaneers has played a single snap all season, which makes White an elite handcuff.

After his snap share dropped last week to 22%, Rachaad White saw a 44% snap share this week. That's the highest share of his season.

— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) October 23, 2022

In their Week 7 loss to Carolina, according to PFF, White ran 21 routes to Fournette's 25. He also had two targets to Fournette's three and six carries to Fournette's eight. That's pretty close to a 50/50 split. Their workload has fluctuated throughout the season, but White's elite handcuff status is worthy of a much higher rostership percentage.

Others to Consider: Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams (30% Rostered), Sony Michel, Los Angeles Chargers (11% Rostered), Justice Hill, Baltimore Ravens (10% Rostered), DeeJay Dallas, Seattle Seahawks (7% Rostered)

Wide Receivers – Waiver Wire Options

Wan'Dale Robinson, New York Giants – 29%

Wan'Dale Robinson is another priority add for fantasy managers. He returned in Week 6 after injuring his knee in Week 1 and was clearly on a snap count, but that didn't stop him from finding the end zone. Another positive sign was the fact that he was targeted four times on just 11 routes run. With Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney constantly hurt, Robinson had a ton of opportunity inside this offense.

Wan'Dale Robinson's route participation increased from 35% in Week 6 to 81% in Week 7, per PFF data.

Led Giants w/ 27% target share & has 28% target rate (TPRR) over the last two.

Could lead Giants in targets the rest of way -- not much competition. Moves into WR3 territory.

— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) October 23, 2022

Robinson's role grow significantly in Week 7 and that led to seven targets. He had a 25% target share in Week 7 and is clearly the Giants' No. 1 wide receiver. Daniel Jones isn't the most prolific passer and the Giants' offense doesn't offer a ton of upside, but in any PPR scoring leagues, especially full-PPR, Robinson has the chance to work himself into the WR3 range. He finished with six receptions and 50 yards.

That's two good showings in back-to-back weeks and the best part, there's room for even more. He played just under 70% of the snaps in Week 7 and ran a route on 81% of the team's dropbacks. Assuming those two numbers increase as he continues to get more comfortable in the offense, he'll have even more opportunities for more fantasy production.

Robbie Anderson, Arizona Cardinals – 18% Rostered

Robbie Anderson played just 12 snaps in Arizona's Week 7 win over New Orleans. He ran seven routes and finished with just a single target. However, A.J. Green didn't play at all and they elected to use Rondale Moore on the outside where he largely struggled. This setup seems to indicate that as soon as Anderson is up to speed, he'll be the No. 2 receiver on the outside with Moore shifting back to the slot. The Cardinals are operating as one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the NFL and their lackluster defense often leads to them chasing points.

While fantasy managers need to temper their expectations with Anderson because DeAndre Hopkins is clearly going to be Kyler Murray's No. 1 target and there's still Moore and Zach Ertz in the picture, Anderson could carve out a role as Arizona's primary deep threat. If you're in a bigger league or have to start 4+ receivers on a weekly basis, Anderson should be someone that is on your radar.

He's likely to be the No. 2 outside receiver as early as next week. With the number of pass attempts this offense has on a weekly basis, it's certainly within the realm of possibility that Anderson works his way into the WR4 range.

Zay Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars – 18% Rostered

Zay Jones is often categorized as a bust. He's a journeyman receiver who has, for the most part, largely disappointed based on his draft capital all those years ago. However, Jones has found a home in Jacksonville and he's worked his way into fantasy relevance. In six games this season, Jones has seen eight or more targets in four games. In the other two games, he had five and four.

He's caught at least three balls every game and has more than 40 yards in four contests. He has three games of more than eight half-PPR points with a high of 19.5. These kinds of numbers aren't going to win you your league, but they can help mitigate a rough injury spot or the upcoming bye weeks. While the following tweet is prior to Week 7, it shows the kind of volume Jones has received thus far this season...

Grab Zay Jones if you need WR help as the bye weeks continue rolling in.

Jones very quietly has a 20.6% target share and is 17th among WRs in expected half-PPR points per game.

— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) October 19, 2022

There are likely very few receivers on your waiver wire averaging 7.5 targets per game, which equates to 128 targets over 17-games, but that's exactly what Jones is doing. He has a really tough matchup in Week 8 vs Denver but has two plus matchups in Weeks 9 and 10 against Las Vegas and Kansas City, respectively.

Tyquan Thornton, New England Patriots – 11%

When New England selected Tyquan Thornton in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, many experts and analysts deemed it a major reach, but that's all irrelevant now. He was injured to begin the season, but he made a big impact in just his second game back. While his playing time increased last week due to an injury to Kendrick Bourne, give credit to Thornton because he made the most of his opportunity.

I was not a Tyquan Thornton aficionado but there is a lot to like so far... and ultimately usage >>>

✅draft capital
✅thin depth chart
📈increasing snaps game 1 to game 2
📈versatility (3 carries)
📈red zone touches

plus we know he's got deep threat skills...

— AlfredJF (@AlfredJF) October 19, 2022

He ran 26 routes and was targeted five times. He finished with four receptions for 37 yards and one touchdown. He also received three carries, which he ran for 16 yards and another score. Nelson Agholor was also inactive last week, which opened up some additional playing time for Thornton. Fantasy managers will need to temper expectations, however.

With Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Bourne, and Agholor, it's unlikely Thornton becomes a full-time player and targets will be tough to come by as New England will likely continue to use a receiver-by-committee approach. However, his speed and ability to stretch the defense vertically could end up resulting in more playing time.

Sammy Watkins, Green Bay Packers – 9% Rostered

Sammy Watkins returned from a four-game IR stint to play just over 50% of the team's snaps. He had four targets, catching two of them for 36 yards. Prior to his hamstring injury, he had racked up 111 yards on seven targets in two contests. In Week 2, Watkins led the team with three receptions for 93 yards. Allen Lazard has firmly entrenched himself as the No. 1 receiver in Green Bay, but there really isn't a No. 2. Years of completely ignoring the pass-catcher position has left Aaron Rodgers with an incredibly empty cabinet of tools.

Rookie Romeo Doubs, who had an incredible offseason, has mostly struggled in the starting lineup. He has under 30 yards in four of seven games, finishing with 0 receptions in their Week 7 loss to the Commanders. He has only one game with more than 50 yards. Rodgers has often talked about needing to trust his receivers and he spoke glowingly of Watkins in the offseason.

Is it possible for Watkins to take over the No. 2 role from Doubs who has failed to make the impact many thought he could? It's certainly possible. The Packers' offense is in desperate need of an additional playmaker, especially one who threatens the defense vertically. Watkins could be that guy. It's tough to buy into the Packers' offense right now and he's definitely not usable in Week 8 with a matchup against Buffalo, but the Packers get a get-right game against the Lions' incredibly generous defense in Week 9.

Van Jefferson, Los Angeles Rams – 6% Rostered

Allen Robinson has just 17 receptions, 170 yards, and two touchdowns through six weeks. He's averaging 2.8 receptions and 28 yards per game. He's been a non-factor and one of the biggest fantasy busts of the season – again. Needless to say, head coach Sean McVay might just be looking to make a change to give their offense a spark.

Van Jefferson has been on IR overcoming an offseason knee injury. Last year, despite working as the clear No. 3 behind Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods/Odell Beckham Jr., he still finished with 89 targets, 50 receptions, 802 yards, and six touchdowns. That's an average of 47 yards per game. The other thing Jefferson does is threaten the defense downfield. He has a 14.8-yard-per-reception average in his career and would add an element to the Rams' offense that they don't currently have right now.

With how poorly Robinson played in 2021 and now to the start of 2022, it shouldn't be a surprise if Jefferson eventually works his way into the No. 2 role. Jefferson is entering his third year and made a big jump in his sophomore season going from 220 yards to the 802 yards he had last season.

If you are streaming defenses or kickers, it could be worthwhile to grab Jefferson and stash him on your IR for a week to see how Week 8 goes. If he becomes the Rams' No. 2 receiver at some point this season, he'd be on the WR3/4 radar.

Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts – 4% Rostered 

Is it finally happening? Parris Campbell has been a fantasy football sleeper each of the past three seasons. He was an exciting prospect when he was drafted out of the second round, but has been incredibly unlucky on the injury front. However, Campbell is healthy this year and over the past two weeks, he's played extremely well.

Parris Campbell had 14 targets over the first five games of the season.

Before Week 6, head coach Frank Reich said Campbell was close to a larger role.

He has 21 targets in the last two games.

— Dwain McFarland (@dwainmcfarland) October 23, 2022

He's been the clear No. 2 receiver the entire season. He's played 433 snaps to rookie Alec Pierce's 270. He's been mostly a wind-sprinter over Weeks 1–5, earning just 14 targets. However, in Weeks 6–7, he has seen 21 targets. During those two weeks, he's had 17 receptions, 127 yards, and two touchdowns. This is not the Colts' offense fantasy managers expected.

The offensive line play has been lacking and they've been unable to get Jonathan Taylor going. It's led to Matt Ryan averaging just more than 42 pass attempts per game. That kind of passing volume was not something fantasy managers were expecting this season. Many expected it to be a low passing volume with Michael Pittman commanding a large portion of it. Pittman has been the clear No. 1, but the significant increase in passing volume is allowing for guys like Campbell and Pierce to become players fantasy managers should be interested in.

Campbell's role is best suited for PPR leagues, but even in standard leagues, it's really difficult to ignore a player with 17 receptions and two touchdowns in the past two weeks.

Darius Slayton, New York Giants – 2% Rostered

Despite the injuries to Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, the coaching staff has been mostly reluctant to give Darius Slayton much playing time. In fact, he had been rumored to be on the chopping block this offseason. However, due to the slew of injuries, they've been obligated to put Slayton on the field and for the most part, he's played well.

Slayton played a total of 18 snaps in the first three weeks of the season but has played over 50% of the snaps since Week 4. He had seven targets, six receptions, and 79 yards in Week 5, sandwiched between games of 11 and 18 yards on just one reception. He put together another solid performance on Sunday, earning six targets and turning them into three receptions, 58 yards, and one touchdown.

They have a decent matchup next week against the Seahawks, who have given up the fourth-most points in the NFL. They have a Week 9 bye but return to action with games against the Texans and Lions, two other positive matchups. With the way Slayton has been playing, he could be a target in deeper leagues in three of the next four weeks.

Others to Consider: 

Corey Davis, New York Jets (32% Rostered) – Davis left the game early with an MCL sprain, but entering Week 6, he led the Jets in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Fantasy managers will need to monitor his injury to determine if he's a waiver wire add,

Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers (20% Rostered) - Chargers on a bye in Week 8, but Mike Williams suffered what appeared to be a significant injury, which could keep Palmer in the starting lineup. Palmer didn’t play in Week 7 due to a concussion.

Do Not Forget About High-Upside Rookies:

Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions (31% Rostered), Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders (27% Rostered), Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans (18% Rostered), Skyy Moore, Kansas City Chiefs (8% Rostered)

Tight Ends – Waiver Wire Options

Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 14% Rostered

For as long as the previous starter Cameron Brate stays out, Cade Otton is going to be a worthy streamer who could even work his way into the backend TE1 conversation. Otton got the start in Week 5 and ended up playing the most snaps and running the most routes among all skilled players for Tampa Bay – more than Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, in both categories. Think about that. He finished that game with seven targets, six receptions, and 43 yards.

Brate returned in Week 6 but left the game early and Otton moved back into the full-time tight end role. With Brate again out in Week 7, Otton played 80.5% of the team's snaps and finished with five targets. He finished with four receptions and 64 yards. In two weeks as a starter, he has 12 targets, 10 receptions, and 107 yards.

With Tom Brady behind center, fantasy managers know they're going to throw the ball at an extremely high rate, which presents a lot of opportunity for all of their pass-catchers. He has a good matchup in Week 8 against Baltimore and one of the best tight end matchups in Week 10 against Seattle. It's unknown if he'll still be the starter at that time, but for as long as he's the starter, he should be on your radar. It's also possible Otton doesn't give the ball back to Brate.

Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos – 11% Rostered

If you're looking for a more in-depth read on Cade Otton and Greg Dulcich, be sure to check out last week's article entitled, Tight End Breakouts. Dulcich played his first game of the season last week and managed to find the end zone and proved he would need to be a tight end worth talking about. After playing his first game and finishing with three targets, two receptions, 44 yards, and one touchdown, he followed that up with a nine-target performance.

His nine targets were tied for second on the team. No other tight end ran more than eight routes, while Dulcich ran 34. He caught six of his nine targets and finished with 51 yards. Through two games, he looks like he's locked in as the No. 2 or No. 3 target on any given week for the Denver Broncos. With his athleticism, he'll have plenty of opportunities to perform for fantasy managers.

Others to Consider: Daniel Bellinger, New York Giants (13% Rostered – Pay attention to his eye injury), Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints (3% Rostered), Foster Moreau, Las Vegas Raiders (6% Rostered – only due to injury to team's starter, Darren Waller)

Quarterbacks – Waiver Wire Options

Daniel Jones, New York Giants – 40% Rostered

Daniel Jones has just three fewer points than Tom Brady. He's averaging 15.1 PPG. He has two games over 21 points and does not have a single game below 12. He's been a steady performer, who because of his rushing, has had a really solid floor this season. He also happens to have a really nice schedule coming up.

The Giants are on the road in Week 8 against the Seahawks, have a bye in Week 9, and then are home against the Texans and Lions, respectively, in Weeks 10 and 11. Those are three of the worst defenses in the NFL. Jones is also working with his best receiving group of the season. I know that sounds crazy, but Darius Slayton has been light years better than Kenny Golladay, who they were playing early in the year. Wan'Dale Robinson is also healthy. It's not a good receiving group, but it is better. To be fair, the bar was pretty low.

Jones has been quite steady this season and has just four turnovers this season. The reason he's been so steady is because of the way he's using his legs. He has 20 or more rushing yards in six out of seven games and 68 or more rushing yards in three out of seven.

Daniel Jones now on pace to run for 833 yards this season. Only four QBs have ever rushed for more yards in a single season in the modern era:

* Lamar Jackson
* Michael Vick
* Randall Cunningham
* Russ Wilson

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 23, 2022

With the way Jones is running, it won't take a big improvement to his passing stats before we'll have to start talking about Jones as a possible backend QB1.

Justin Fields, Chicago Bears – 34% Rostered

Due to the Chicago Bears playing tonight on Monday Night Football, the following excerpt is from last week's waiver wire article...

Don't look now, but Justin Fields has quietly had his two best fantasy performances of the season in Weeks 5 and 6. He has back-to-back games of over 17 points and he's starting to live up to some of the offseason hype fantasy managers had for him. No one was expecting Fields to be this great pocket passer, so try not to get too focused on his passing stats. More importantly, he has four straight games of 47 rushing yards or more. He's currently on pace for 799 rushing yards.

With that kind of rushing value, his passing stats do not need to increase by all that much for him to become a viable starter and even less for him to be a legit weekly streamer. While his next two opponents are not ideal – Patriots and Cowboys – from Weeks 9–12, the Bears go up against the Dolphins, Lions, Falcons, and Jets. All four are positive matchups for fantasy quarterbacks. From Weeks 1–3, Fields had just 45 pass attempts and just 297 passing yards. However, in Weeks 4–6, he's attempted 70 passes and has 572 passing yards. It's starting to come together.

Others to Consider: Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (16% Rostered)

Team Defenses – Waiver Wire Options

Indianapolis Colts – 34% Rostered

If you're streaming defenses, the Colts are a defense you can confidently start each of the next two weeks. In Week 8, they face off against the Washington Commanders and in Week 9, they'll play the New England Patriots. The Commanders have been the seventh-best matchup for fantasy defenses and the Patriots have been the eighth-best matchup.

Jacksonville Jaguars – 27% Rostered

The Jaguars have mightily disappointed the past few weeks despite positive matchups for their defense. Over the past three weeks, they've played against the Texans, Colts, and Giants. Fantasy managers likely thought they had their starting defense for the next four weeks all figured out. However, in the last three weeks, they've scored a total of 0 points. That's right, they scored six points against the Texans, -4 against the Colts, and -2 against the Giants.

So, are we really going back to the same well? I'll admit, it's a little ballsy, but the matchup is too good to ignore. They're against the Denver Broncos, who have been the fourth-best matchup for fantasy defenses. They'll either get Brett Rypien or an injury and struggling Russell Wilson. If the pickings on your waiver wire are slim, you can do worse than the Jaguars and their Week 8 matchup.

Minnesota Vikings – 16% Rostered

The Vikings' defense hasn't been great, but it hasn't been bad either. They started off with 11 points against the Packers and over the past three weeks, they've scored a total of 20 points (six, six, and eight). They have the seventh-most sacks through six weeks and have positive matchups in Weeks 8 and 9.

They'll be at home against the Cardinals in Week 8 following their bye. The Arizona offense has been extremely lackluster this season. Minnesota will have had two weeks to prepare for them. They've been mostly middle of the pack this year. In Week 9, they'll go on the road to face the Washington Commanders. They'll be starting backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke and have been the seventh-best matchup for fantasy defenses.

Others to Consider: Las Vegas Raiders (32% Rostered)

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