Weekend Waiver Wire Rankings for Week 8 (2025): Fantasy Football Pickups for Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith

October 25, 2025

Updated weekend fantasy football waiver wire rankings for Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season. Top fantasy football free agents and streamers to add off waivers including Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Jaylin Noel, more.

Welcome back RotoBallers to our weekend waiver wire rankings for fantasy football Week 8 of the 2025 season. Below you'll find our freshly-updated waiver wire rankings for the weekend, including players like Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith, Darnell Mooney, David Njoku, Jaylin Noel. These waiver wire rankings will help guide you through waiver wire decisions you may need for injured players, bye-week crunches, or if you're just looking for a streamer or bench stash with upside.

As injury updates come in throughout the week, and roster percentages increase as players are picked up, we adjust our waiver wire rankings and you can find those below. Will Jaylin Noel, Jayden Higgins, Dalton Schultz or someone else emerge as a viable fantasy start with Nico Collins ruled out? Is now the right time to stash Trey Benson in leagues with IR spots? Is Xavier Legette emerging as a reliable fantasy football WR? Which players are worth adding and starting as priorities for Week 8?

These Week 8 waiver wire rankings are updated for the weekend 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 and in your matchups!

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

Christian Watson, WR, Packers

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (knee) was officially activated off IR and is expected to make his season debut on Sunday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Watson had been limited in practice every day this week and said earlier in the week that his "goal and my plan is to play" in Week 8. The 26-year-old was also limited in practice all last week before ultimately being ruled out.

He hasn't played since suffering a torn ACL in Week 18 last season against the Bears, but appears to be finally ready to make his season debut on Sunday night in Pittsburgh. He will likely be on a snap count as he eases back into action, making him a risky fantasy option in Week 8, but a solid bench stash.

Kyle Monangai, RB, Bears

Chicago Bears rookie running back Kyle Monangai continues to trend upward in recent weeks. In Week 7, the seventh-round pick posted 94 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on just 15 touches, setting career highs across the board. Since the team's Week 5 bye, Monangai has played nearly 40% of the snaps, complementing starter D'Andre Swift, who has been on the field for 57%.

With Swift battling a groin injury entering Week 8, Monangai could once again see a sizable workload against a vulnerable Baltimore Ravens run defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season.

Even if Swift suits up (which is expected), Monangai carries FLEX appeal in this soft matchup, especially given his increasing role and recent production.

Trey Benson, RB, Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee) remains on injured reserve for at least another two weeks as the Cards attempt to make do with a committee ahead of Week 7 against Green Bay.

The Florida State product was a surprising addition to injured reserve after playing more than half of the Cards' Week 4 game against Seattle, though the team expects him to return this season.

The team activated running back D'Ernest Johnson this week and has previously featured a rotation that has included Michael Carter, Emari Demercado, and Bam Knight. From a fantasy perspective, it's been tough to rely upon any of them with the team cycling through so many players.

Brashard Smith, RB, Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back Brashard Smith played his highest snap share of the season in Week 7 against the Raiders and could continue to see his role expand in the coming weeks. Head coach Andy Reid spoke glowingly of Smith in Thursday's press conference, noting that "we're going to keep utilizing his talents."

The star quarterback shared a similar feeling about the rookie running back, saying, "he's made a ton of progress." The seventh-rounder out of SMU handled a season high 19 touches for 81 total yards last week against the Raiders and figures to be a big piece of the puzzle in Week 8 against the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.

Veteran running back Kareem Hunt (knee) also missed Thursday's practice, which would open up opportunities for Smith if he is unable to go. He is a viable flex play in Week 8 with many teams on bye.

Jaylin Noel, WR, Texans

Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel is coming off his best game of the season and has another great opportunity in Week 8 against the 49ers. With Christian Kirk (hamstring) on the sideline on Monday Night Football, Noel had a season-high four catches for 77 yards against the Seahawks.

With Nico Collins (concussion) also out this week, the Texans' pass-catchers are extremely unproven, making the rookie Noel potentially the team's top wide receiver. Noel has shown the ability to make plays, and he's in a good matchup since San Francisco has allowed the fourth-most receiving yards and PPR points per target to slot receivers.

The rookie from Iowa State could be set up for a true breakout game if he gets a heavy workload, and he is the WR41 in the RotoBaller rankings, putting him on the radar as a deep league option and a desperation flex play 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

For anyone unfamiliar, we release all sorts of fantasy football waiver wire articles every week. As part of that, Nick Mariano releases our waiver wire rankings list on Mondays to help you prioritize which players to target as free-agent adds off waivers.

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 Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith, Darnell Mooney, David Njoku, Jaylin Noel. 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 - Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith, Darnell Mooney, David Njoku, Jaylin Noel. 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 Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith, Darnell Mooney, David Njoku, Jaylin Noel:

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