Please make the injuries stop. In a week where we saw some outrageous performances at the running back position from Tank Bigsby, Javonte Williams and Rachaad White (seriously…this week when I don’t start him) – we also lost Brandon Aiyuk and Chris Godwin for the year, as well as seeing Mike Evans, D.K. Metcalf and rookie sensation Jayden Daniels leaving their respective games early with injuries. There is some good news on the horizon however – Tua Tagovailoa looks set to return to the field for Miami in week 8, and the rumblings of Christian McCaffrey’s season debut continue to get louder as the season progresses. Let’s take a look at some of the best waiver wire options available to plug in those gaps as we head into week 8 of the 2024 NFL season.
Rules for Selection & Order Priority
For a player to be considered to be added, they have to:
- Have an rostered % of 50% or under on ESPN
- Players below are listed by their roster %, not priority. Know your league settings. If there is a high-priority add, you’ll know.
Drake Maye (NE) 13.3% rostered
QB5 on the week, QB1 in our hearts. Rookie Drake Maye posted his second consecutive top-12 finish after throwing for 272-yards and 2 touchdowns at Wembley in New England’s defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars…their sixth in a row. Maye performed admirably despite the result, and appears to have found a real connection with tight end Hunter Henry, who he managed to find on 8-of-9 targets for 92 scoreless yards. Maye now gets to take on the hapless Jets at home in an all AFC-East clash, with the Pats looking for only their second win on the year…and their first at home. It’s perhaps unlikely Maye is forced to throw as early and as often as he was in London – but after completing 26-of-37 attempts, and staying pick free against the Jags, he should be brimming with confidence.
Russell Wilson (PIT) 5.2% rostered
There are many who would say the benching of Justin Fields after leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 4-2 start was unfair…and I am one of them – but there was no arguing with the performance of Russell Wilson on Sunday, as Mr Unlimited threw for 262-yards and 2 touchdowns, to end the week as the QB2 in his first start in the black and yellow. Russ’ completion rate was ghastly – connecting on only 16-of-29 attempts (55%) in the 37-15 drubbing of Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. Wilson had three rushing attempts for only three yards…but did scarper in for a TD midway though the 3rd quarter to pad his fantasy stats. Who knows how this offense will shake out – after all, the Jets were supposed to be a difficult matchup, and Wilson made it look easy…kind of. His connection with George Pickens looks legit, and the two will get a chance to pile more misery on Big Apple residents as this week it’s the turn of the Giants to visit Pennsylvania. Don’t expect another QB1 performance, but Russ has firmly elevated himself into streamer contention.
Also Consider – Jared Goff (48.1%), Sam Darnold (45.3%) & Jameis Winston (1.2%) rostered
Jaylen Warren (PIT) 45.1% rostered
From a man who is the RB1 on his team, to a man who maybe should be the RB1 on his team. Jaylen Warren fully returned to the Steelers’ lineup for the victory over the Jets on Sunday – after two weeks out with a knee injury, and a cameo against the Raiders in week 6, Warren saw a season high of snaps at the running back position (36%) as well as 3 of the 4 targets to rushers from Russell Wilson. Frustratingly for Warren managers, Nahee Harris has looked competent over the last two weeks, despite starting the season in a mediocre fashion. Najee has finished as the overall RB7 and RB11 in the last fortnight, finding the end zone in both occasions…but don’t be fooled. Warren’s work in the passing game gives him a relatively safe floor every week, and now that he is finally back to full strength, he should begin to carve out a more meaningful role on the ground as well. This will continue to be a RBBC until further notice, but Warren possesses upside that few others on the waivers have without an injury to another back further up the depth chart.
Alexander Mattison (LV) 42.5% rostered
You just know we’re getting into that desperate part of the season where guys like Alexander Mattison are the top pickup at the running back position on the week. In his defense, Mattison has looked good…enough. There is no disputing that this is now completely his backfield – even with the return of Zamir White, Mattison retained his stranglehold of the workhorse role, seeing 88% of the teams snaps at the position in the 20-15 loss at SoFi over the weekend. I would be less than excited plugging him into my starting lineup every week – but with the former Viking seeing a season-high 26 total opportunities against the Rams on Sunday – he is a must add in all formats. There are very few starting RBs floating around on waivers – be sure to get him added as a potential FLEX start during the byes.
Also Consider – Ray Davis (14.7%), D’Ernest Johnson (14.1%) & Audric Estime (1.2%) rostered
Jerry Jeudy/ Elijah Moore (CLE) 51.2/ 0.9% rostered
It was confirmed on Monday that Deshaun Watson has indeed torn his achilles and will be done for the season. You don’t want to see any player get hurt, and Watson is no different – but his injury has relieved Kevin Stefanski and the Browns coaching staff of some very difficult decisions as we head into the second half of the season. Sure, there are problems on the Browns’ offensive line – but Watson has been plain awful under center, and the change at QB will be a welcome one for all fantasy assets in this offense. Dorian Thompson-Robinson (remember him) was somehow the backup over Jameis Winston…but he also left the game early, suffering a finger injury on his right hand. We can assume Jameis will be the man leading the Browns from here on out, and that means we are going to see some fireworks through the air. David Njoku is the pass-catcher I want in this offense…but as he is over 80% rostered, it’s time to take a dart throw on either Jerry Jeudy or Elijah Moore. Jeudy has the talent and pedigree – but it was Moore who saw the most targets on the team after Njoku in the defeat to Cincinnati…place your bet and cross your fingers.
Juju Smith-Schuster (KC) 46.6% rostered
Fantasy managers who picked up JuJu after his massive 130-yard game in week 5 against the Saints were forced to ensure another scoreless week from the veteran wideout…but this time it wasn’t due to the bye week. JuJu left the Chiefs’ victory over the 49ers early after aggravating the same hamstring injury that had him designated as questionable all week. Smith-Schuster got the green light to play in the game versus San Fran, but unfortunately pulled up in the first quarter without seeing a single target. The good news – the 27-year old was originally designated to return in the 3rd quarter before being downgraded to OUT…so there’s some hope that the injury isn’t too serious in the long term. The bad news – as of Tuesday morning, JuJu has already been ruled OUT for the reigning Super Bowl champions’ trip to Vegas this coming weekend, so won’t see the field until at least week 9. He’s still my favourite widely available wideout with under 50% ownership, and when healthy should be the WR1 for this offense…whenever that may be!
Jauan Jennings/ Ricky Pearsall (SF) 51.1/ 14.2% rostered
In the first of a series we’ll call Everybody Else is Hurt – may I present to you: The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver corps! We got confirmation on Monday evening that Brandon Aiyuk’s disappointing season has come to a premature end, after the $120 million man tore his ACL and MCL following a brutal collision in San Fran’s defeat to the Chiefs on Sunday night. Deebo Samuel was a late omission from the starting lineup after news of an illness surfaced – something the coaching staff later confirmed to be a pneumonia-like issue…one that required hospitalisation for the star wideout. With Aiyuk 100% done for the year, and Deebo facing an uncertain immediate future – early season darling Jauan Jennings and recently activated Ricky Pearsall will be the top-2 guys on the depth chart heading into week 8. We’ve seen Jennings thrive in the absence of team-mates already this season, and Pearsall comes with first-round draft pedigree…I’ll be targeting the latter on waivers due to his cheaper price tag and relative allure after recovering from the gun-shot incident that cost him most of his rookie season.
Jalen McMillan/ Sterling Shephard (TB) 1.4/ 0.4% rostered
Next up in our Everyone Else is Hurt series is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! In what will go down as one of the worst coaching decisions of the year (and there’s been plenty!) – Todd Bowles elected to start a very injured Mike Evans (who spent most of the week tending to a hamstring injury) – only to see the star WR leave the game after…yup, you guessed it – re-aggravating that same hamstring injury. With Evans out and the game lost, Bowles also decided to keep the team’s WR2 (and clear WR1 with Evans missing) Chris Godwin on the field deep into the fourth quarter…we know what’s coming here. Godwin suffered a painful ankle injury and as of reports coming out on Tuesday afternoon, looks set to miss the rest of the season. Early news suggests Evans will sit out the next 3-4 weeks – and in the absence of the big two in Tampa…someone has to catch the ball. The best bets would be Sterling Shephard and Jalen McMillan – the latter seeing 8 targets in the defeat to the Ravens. Don’t get your hopes up too high however – there’s a good chance Rachaad White and tight end Cade Otton are the lead receivers on this team moving forward.
Also Consider – Romeo Doubs (37.0%), Tre Tucker (17.2%) & Cedric Tillman (0.3%) rostered.
Cade Otton (TB) 42.3% rostered
We mentioned his name above, but Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otto may just be the best healthy pass-catcher they have on the roster right now…and that is a terrifying sentence to type. Otton saw double-digit targets in the Monday Night Football loss to Baltimore, hauling in 8-of-10 targets for an eye-pleasing 100-yards. With Mike Evans sidelined for a few weeks and Chris Godwin gone for the year – Otton will see himself thrust into a much larger role in this Bucs passing game. We can’t expect Baker Mayfield to attempt 45 passes every week – but Otton should be on the elite tier of tight ends when it comes to targets over the next month. He is a great pick up for anyone without a Brock Bowers, Travis Kelce or Trey McBride.
Hunter Henry (NE) 27.3% rostered
The Patriots may have just lost their sixth-straight game – their latest defeat coming at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars in their second home; Wembley Stadium – but Hunter Henry continues to deliver big performances for fantasy managers. The veteran tight end finished inside the top-8 at the position for the third time this year last weekend, posting his third double-digit fantasy point performance – hauling in 8-of-9 targets from Drake Maye for 92 scoreless yards. Henry has been very boom/bust – he has two performances as the TE27 and two as the TE39 on the year to go along with his three in the top-8; however, Henry seems to have developed a rapport with the rookie QB in these last two weeks, and in this very murky tight end landscape – any player with guaranteed targets is a worthy start on any given week.
Also Consider – Taysom Hill (20.4%) & Noah Fant (7.7%) rostered
There you have it! Any questions, or want some more specific help for your league on who to drop, just reach out. Reach out on social media, you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Or jump into our Discord server. And checkout out rankings for each Week.
