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Waiver Wire
Week 8 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire
The waiver wire is one of the most important keys to finding success in the world of fantasy football. I'll do my best to help you manage the waiver wire to scoop up the players who can help bring you fantasy glory each and every week. If you play in a deeper, more competitive league, and all 12 of these players are already owned, be sure to check out my weekly "Deep Dive" waiver wire column for some high-upside players to aim for heading into Week 8. The Bills, Jaguars, Eagles and Washington are on their bye week, so plenty of owners will be looking for spot starts this week. Some of the players below will certainly fit that bill. For more specific FAAB questions, hit me up on Twitter.

Today sucked. After waiting for weeks to see Arian Foster back in action, we've now lost him for the rest of the season with a torn Achilles. That opens the door for Alfred Blue to see more touches once again. The Texans tried to go with a true committee for the first two weeks of the season, but turned the backfield over to Blue in Week 3 and he responded with 139 rushing yards and a touchdown. There's still the risk of vulturing from Chris Polk and Jonathan Grimes, but the best bet for a reliable fantasy asset to emerge from this backfield is Blue. While he's owned in a surprising amount of NFL.com leagues, if he's on the waiver wire in your league make sure he's one of the top priorities this week. FAAB suggestion: 25-30 percent

I've been pounding the table for Diggs for the last few weeks now, so I sure hope you listened. If not, acquiring him this week just got a whole lot more difficult after he posted 108 yards and a spectacular touchdown. Seriously, CLICK HERE to watch his touchdown if you haven't seen it yet. Diggs has quickly emerged as the Vikings' top wide receiver, out-playing even Mike Wallace. Teddy Bridgewater has taken notice, too, feeding his talented young rookie 28 targets over the last three games (the most on the team). Diggs needs to be picked up immediately, and has a nice matchup next week against the Bears. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent

Man, a lot of people unnecessarily jumped ship on Reed while he was injured. When healthy, he's one of the league's best tight ends and he proved that again today. His 49 targets (13 today) in five games are more than Jimmy Graham has all season. Reed is a matchup nightmare and a threat in the red zone, giving him great upside, while the volume of looks he receives from Kirk Cousins gives him a safe week-to-week floor. Washington has it's bye next, which means you can maybe wait until the following week to scoop up Reed. However, I'd advise against that. Get him now if he's available, and be ready to deploy him for the rest of the season as your TE1. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent

West was the most added player on NFL.com Fantasy after Jamaal Charles suffered his season-ending ACL tear. He was then the most dropped player over the last week after he disappointed (severely) in his debut as the starter. Well, those who kept their faith in West were rewarded this week with a 139-total yard, one-touchdown game against the Steelers. West averaged five yards per carry and looked pretty good in the process -- or at least good enough to keep Knile Davis at bay. If you need RB help, West should be one of the top priorities this week along with Blue. He has a clear path to touches in an offense that typically funnels through the running back. FAAB Suggestion: 20-25 percent

While I'm among the few who still believe in Eddie Lacy, I will also advise you to pick up Starks. Mike McCarthy described the backfield as being a 1-2 punch before the team's bye, and said that he wouldn't give one back 20-plus carries. But then he also said Lacy was banged up and needed to get healthy. Oh, and he said all of this last year too when Lacy was struggling, only to feed his big back with all of the touches down the stretch. Still, Starks is the more explosive athlete, and has proven he can succeed in this offense. If he does earn a more stable share of touches down the stretch, he'll be on the RB2 radar as a key contributor in one of the league's top offenses. He's one of the best bench-stash backs with league-winning upside if the chips fall into place for him the rest of the season. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent

With Jeremy Maclin a somewhat surprising scratch from Sunday's game, Wilson was forced into a more featured role once again, and performed pretty well. Over the last two weeks, Wilson has caught six of his 12 targets for 128 yards and a touchdown. Those aren't eye-popping numbers, but in an Alex Smith-led passing attack, they'll do. While Chris Conley was the one who found the end zone in Week 7, I like Wilson as the better season-long prospect. Maclin could return next week, but he was out this week with concussion symptoms, which can linger. Wilson is worth adding cheaply this week off waivers for Maclin owners or in case you need a plug-and-play wide receiver in deeper leagues (if Maclin sits again in Week 8). FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent

John Brown is a game-time decision for Monday Night Football, and his owners better hope Michael Floyd is still on the waiver wire. And if you're playing against a John Brown owner this week, go scoop up Floyd before tomorrow's game. While Floyd has a great matchup and is definitely on the WR2-3 radar this week against the Ravens, he deserves to be owned in more leagues. He has seen his usage in the offense increase significantly over the last few weeks, as he's now on the field for over 70 percent of the offensive snaps. Despite his inconsistencies over his young career, Floyd is still a very talented player (and former first-round pick). Don't leave this type of talent on the waiver wire much longer now that he's fully healthy and playing a big part in one of the league's most potent passing attacks. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent

The Amish Rifle has now posted back-to-back 20-plus point outings, and is one of the best streaming options for those who are in a bye-week pinch or live dangerously and stream QBs week to week. Next up on the slate for Fitzpatrick is a date with the Oakland Raiders. In their six games this year, the Raiders have allowed an average of 312 passing yards per game, and that includes bouts with Peyton Manning and a less than 100 percent Jay Cutler. Fitzpatrick should be able to put together another solid outing next week, making him the top streaming option on NFL.com given his 7.6 percent ownership status. In fact, he is pushing for even more than streaming consideration given his recent production and the talented weapons around him. FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent

Despite any deficiencies he might have in actual football, Ebron has been quite a stud in fantasy. He's caught a touchdown in three of his five games, and has posted at least 43 yards in every game except the one that he left with an injury. He's averaged just over six targets per game in the contests he's finished, too, and seems to have a budding rapport with Matthew Stafford. Now that he's back from injury, he needs to be owned in more leagues. He's providing a steady amount of consistency at one of fantasy's most volatile positions. FAAB Suggestion: 10 percent

I try to avoid having this column be a ho-hum stroll through obvious waiver-wire selections week after week, so that's why I'm bringing David Cobb up from my Deep Dive column in Week 8. Cobb is currently on the IR boomerang, but can return to the active roster in Week 9. Currently, the Titans' backfield is a messy committee, with Antonio Andrews plodding on the ground as a work horse, Dexter McCluster filling the change-of-pace role, and Bishop Sankey serving as the ghost. No one has emerged as a leader, which opens the door for Cobb. He was the most explosive runner on the team in the preseason, and was on course to earn more carries prior to his calf injury landing him on IR. If you're needy at RB or looking for a high-upside bench stash, target Cobb this week. Everybody will be on him next week as he gets ready to come back, which is why savvy owners will beat the rest of their leaguemates to the punch and grab Cobb now instead. FAAB Suggestion: 10-15 percent

Johnson finally returned from a nagging hamstring injury, and saw eight targets against the Raiders. He hauled in four of them for 50 yards, showing no ill effects of his injury. That's good news, because up next is a date with the Ravens and their porous pass defense. The Chargers offense hasn't been able to move the ball on the ground, leading to Philip Rivers slinging the rock an insane 123 times over the last two weeks. Johnson should return to being a prominent part of the passing attack next week, and faces a stellar matchup. He's a wonderful bye-week fill-in option, and deserves a roster spot in more leagues any way. FAAB Suggestion: 5-10 percent

I'm writing about Adams again (despite his high ownership percentage) for a few reasons. 1) He's coming off of his bye, so some owners may have forgotten about him, 2) he's a talented player in a high-octane offense that has been stalling without him and 3) I wanted to get to 12 players in this column instead of 11. Now, I'm not saying ALL of Green Bay's struggles are because of Adams' absence, but the team has clearly missed having a dynamic outside threat, and that's exactly the role Adams will fill when he returns to action. The team was very careful with Adams' ankle injury, but the hope is that he'll be ready to go after the bye. If his owner made the hasty decision to drop him in a bye-week pinch of his/her own, be sure to take advantage and grab Adams before he starts making some noise. FAAB Suggestion: 15-20 percent