It was another brutal Sunday in the health department, with Jordan Love and Stefon Diggs among the players exiting with injuries.
The good news: If you're reading this, your fantasy team is probably still in the playoff race as we approach midseason!
The bad news for some managers: Byes are back, with the 49ers and Steelers getting Week 9 off and four squads apiece due for a breather in Weeks 10 and 11.
There's always work to be done and seasons to be saved on waivers, so let's get wired.
The only rule here: Players must be rostered in less than 60 percent of NFL.com leagues to be eligible for the list.
QUARTERBACKS
ROSTERED: 49%
With Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back in the fold, Stafford is getting his groove back. He posted a season-high 24.76 fantasy points against the Vikings last Thursday night, making him the fantasy QB5 for the week entering Monday Night Football. It was the first time his top two wide receivers were both active since Week 1. Now Stafford has a mini-bye to get ready for a Seahawks defense that has been a middle-of-the-pack unit against QBs in fantasy this season. I know it’s been a tough 2024 campaign for the 36-year-old, given the injury issues on the offensive line and at receiver for Los Angeles, but he has a chance to be at least a low-end fantasy QB1 in the second half of the season with better health luck. The Kupp trade rumors are fading away.
ROSTERED: 14%
I feel like it’s flown a bit under the radar, but Nix has quickly gone from looking like an overwhelmed rookie to a blossoming star. He’s averaging 21.9 FPPG over the last four weeks. After struggling to take care of the ball early on this season, he has only one turnover in his last six games. Also, he’s making plays with his legs, rushing for either a TD or 60-plus yards in each of the last four. Now he has a matchup against a Ravens defense that is a shell of its former self, having just been sliced and diced by Jameis Winston. Nix should absolutely be more widely rostered.
ROSTERED: 10%
If Carr returns from his oblique injury this week, he immediately becomes an enticing option for managers looking for a streamer because he’ll be playing against a Panthers defense that doesn’t stop anyone these days. The Saints’ offense collapsed with Carr sidelined for the past few weeks, scoring 18 points in the last two contests combined, but it was a very different story back in Week 1, when Carr dropped 21.3 fantasy points on Carolina. The Panthers have allowed 19.6 or more fantasy points to three of the last four QBs to finish games against them, so keep an eye on Carr’s status this week. Head coach Dennis Allen has said there's a chance of Carr returning for this one.
ROSTERED: 0.4%
I told you last week I was intrigued to see what Kevin Stefanski would be able to do with a new quarterback under center, and he didn’t disappoint. It’s been a minute, but Winston is back on the fantasy radar after making his first start since Week 3 of the 2022 season. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft gave the Browns the spark they had been sorely lacking all year, throwing for 334 yards -- the most of any QB in Week 8 through Sunday -- and three TDs with only one turnover, good for 23.56 fantasy points. He is the fantasy QB7 this week heading into Monday Night Football. Winston’s long track record tells us there will be some bad with the good, but if your roster is looking shaky at QB, this is a high-risk, high-reward option. He’ll have a tougher matchup in Week 9, though, with the Chargers visiting Cleveland.
RUNNING BACKS
ROSTERED: 9%
It’s not a good week to need running back help on the waiver wire. Allgeier -- the clear RB2 behind Bijan Robinson in Atlanta -- might be your best option. He has scored just 8.8 fantasy points in his last two games combined, but we don’t have to look far back to see what he’s capable of against a poor run defense. He shredded the Panthers for 19.8 points in Week 6 and has a golden matchup against the porous Cowboys in Week 9. Allgeier has seen 12-plus carries in two of the past three games, so the volume is there. I would not be afraid to take a chance on him versus Dallas in deep leagues.
ROSTERED: 2%
Guerendo, who was featured in this space a couple weeks ago, had a big game (19.2 fantasy points) after stepping in for the injured Jordan Mason on Sunday night. However, with the 49ers on bye in Week 9, all eyes now turn to Christian McCaffrey, who has been targeting Week 10 for his season debut. Guerendo could be the third-string RB by the time the Niners play next, if both Mason and McCaffrey are back. The rookie might be worth targeting as a handcuff for fantasy managers in deeper leagues, but McCaffrey figures to be the only startable San Francisco back if he does indeed return and is able to handle a full workload on Nov. 10.
WIDE RECEIVERS
ROSTERED: 53%
The rookie wideout graciously backed up the 16.5-point performance that earned him a spot in this space a week ago by outdoing himself with five catches for 70 yards and a TD against the Seahawks (18 points). It seems like any fears about Coleman potentially taking a step back due to the acquisition of Amari Cooper can be safely dismissed. Quite the opposite has taken place, with Coleman flourishing and seeing twice as many targets as Cooper since the veteran joined the team before Week 7. Josh Allen seems to like throwing to the youngster, which means you should pick Coleman up before it’s too late.
ROSTERED: 2%
ROSTERED: 0.3%
If you got ahead of the pack by picking up Tillman last week, that’s a job well done. He’ll have a lot more suitors after making seven catches for 99 yards and two TDs on nine targets in an upset of the Ravens. He’s now posted 18-plus fantasy points in consecutive games as the biggest beneficiary of Amari Cooper’s departure and Jameis Winston’s move into the starting lineup. While Moore isn’t producing at Tillman’s eye-popping level, he has also seen a massive jump in production, posting 26.6 points in the last two games combined. If Winston’s first start of the season is any indication of what's to come, Moore should be very useful to managers going forward after seeing a team-high 12 targets on Sunday and turning them into eight grabs for 85 yards. Tillman is worth picking up in any format, and Moore should be a priority in deeper leagues.
ROSTERED: 0%
Someone is going to need to catch passes for the Jaguars, who will be without Christian Kirk for the rest of the season and could also be missing Brian Thomas Jr. in Week 9. Kirk suffered a broken collarbone on Sunday, while Thomas will undergo an MRI on his ribs to determine whether he’ll be able to go this week, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. Those are the team’s top two players in targets, receptions and receiving yards. Somehow, the news gets even worse, as Gabe Davis is dealing with a shoulder injury. If Thomas joins Kirk on the sideline but Davis can play, Davis would be the de facto WR1 for Jacksonville against the Eagles. Either way, it looks like Washington, a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft, will be asked to step up in the slot. He made three catches for 46 yards on four targets against the Packers. While he’s not going to wow anyone with his athleticism, Washington can make tough grabs and could be Trevor Lawrence’s WR1 in Week 9.
TIGHT ENDS
ROSTERED: 45%
OK, for the last time (in this space, at least), I'm imploring you to pick up Otton if you don’t have one of the few elite fantasy tight ends. Although, I’m not sure Otton isn’t an elite fantasy tight end at this point. He is the fantasy TE1 in Week 8 heading into Monday Night Football and has been a top-five fantasy TE in each of the last two weeks. Since Week 2, Brock Bowers is the only tight end who has seen more targets (57 to 49). Mike Evans is not expected to return from injury for a while and the Bucs have a matchup in Week 9 against the Chiefs, who entered Week 8 allowing the second-most FPPG to tight ends. Go get this man!
ROSTERED: 30%
Ertz is nothing if not steady. He’s been a top-11 fantasy tight end in each of the past three weeks and scored double-digit points in all three of those games. Jayden Daniels targeted his trusty safety valve a team-high 11 times on Sunday, and he’s been targeted at least four times in all but one game this season. The Commanders have a rematch this week with the Giants, who allowed 10.2 points to Ertz the last time they faced him. The upside isn’t enormous, but Ertz is at worst a rock-solid streaming option in deeper leagues.
ROSTERED: 7%
Hill returned from a rib injury in Week 8 and saw a season-high four targets on a season-high 29 offensive snaps. He converted those chances into just 6.22 fantasy points, but perhaps that was just a warm-up. The Saints get to go up against the Panthers’ sieve-like defense in Week 9, which gives New Orleans a chance to break out of its current funk. Hill had four carries, two catches and one pass completion against the Chargers, so Klint Kubiak is embracing the tight end’s jack-of-all-trades role. There’s a high ceiling and low floor for Hill versus Carolina. He could be the perfect fit for your roster if you feel like living dangerously.
DEFENSES
ROSTERED: 31%
I know the Saints have had a rough go of it lately, but do you really want to pass up a chance to start a D/ST against the Panthers right now? Carolina did not score more than 20 points in a game in October and head coach Dave Canales wasn’t immediately ready to commit to a starting quarterback between Andy Dalton and Bryce Young after the team’s latest loss, but the results have been atrocious no matter who starts at QB. Defenses are averaging more than 10 FPPG in the last four weeks against the Panthers. New Orleans scored a season-high 14 fantasy points in its matchup against Carolina back in Week 1. The Saints are streamable this week.
ROSTERED: 11%
Washington has been one of the better fantasy defenses over the past four weeks, averaging 9.2 FPPG during that span. The Commanders had two BIG games over that stretch in matchups against two of the worst offenses in the league -- the Browns and Panthers. Yes, the schedule gods smiled on the Commanders when the slate was put together in the offseason. The going is not going to get any tougher against the Giants in Week 9. New York has 10 total points in its last two games combined heading into Monday Night Football. With Dan Quinn setting a high floor against bad offenses, Washington could pay off as a streamer this week.
