Waiver Favors: 2016 Week 8 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

As usual, I’m back to help with some waiver wire adds via my weekly Waiver Favors article!  All pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues (with some minor exceptions) as of Sunday evening.

Nick Foles

QB – Kansas City Chiefs – 0% Owned

Alright, before you start sending me hate mail, let me say that this pickup is only 16-team or deeper or as a backup/streamer in a two QB league.  Now that I’ve got that out of the way, coming in to relieve a concussed Alex Smith, Nick Foles completed 16-of-22 passes for 223 yards and 2 TDs in Week 8.  Sure, the Colts secondary is atrocious, but this is decent line for 3/4 of a game.  He demonstrated good rapport with his receiver with TDs to Jeremy Maclin and Tyreek Hill. He’s actually thrown 2 time more TDs than INTs across his career, and could continue to play if Smith doesn’t clear the protocol.  Only for the desperate in deep leagues, but if your waiver wire is bare with regard to QBs like it is in some of my deeper leagues, you could do worse.

Robert Kelley

RB – Washington Redskins – 35% Owned

With Matt Jones on the field and healthy, Rob Kelley was merely an upside lottery ticket, showing some flashes with his receiving TD in Week 7.  But without Matt Jones on the field, “Fat Rob” did some damage with rushing 21 times for 87 yards and a TD in Week 8. I’m not saying that he’s going to be a top 10, or even top 20 RB week to week, but he’s shown enough to be a decent RB3/FLEX as long as Jones remains out in 12 team leagues and deeper.

Mohamed Sanu

WR – Atlanta Falcons – 53% Owned

Julio Jones can’t always be open, and that’s where Mohamed Sanu comes in.  In a week where Jones couldn’t get anything going, Sanu grabbed 9 of 10 targets for 84 yards and a TD.  Of course, 50 of those yards and the TD was from the game winning drive, but it all counts the same.  And he’s now been targeted a season high 10 times in 2 of his past 3 games, also grabbing TDs both times.  It’s time to pay attention to Sanu as WR3/4 or FLEX in 12-team and deeper leagues.

J. J. Nelson

WR – Arizona Cardinals – 2% Owned

After Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals had hoped that Michael Floyd and John Brown would take a step up.  But due to injuries and just general ineffectiveness, neither have consistently filled the WR2 void for Arizona.  In steps J. J. Nelson who managed to snag 3 of 7 passes for 84 yards in Week 7, following that up with 8 of 12 passes for 79 yards and 2 TDs in Week 8.  Seems like that was enough to convince head coach Bruce Arians to anoint him the official WR2 during a post-game media session.  Who knows how long this lasts, but for the time being, Nelson is a high upside WR stash in 12-team leagues or deeper.

Andrew Hawkins

WR – Cleveland Browns – 0% Owned

This is another deep league call for 16-team leagues or deeper, but if you have some room and a need for a backup/streamer, Andrew Hawkins may be worth a gander.  Hawkins grabbed 5 of 8 targets for 31 yards and 2 TDs in Week 8, showing a great connection with current Browns QB, Josh McCown.  Even before Week 8, Hawkins was still averaging 4 targets a game, so this isn’t completely out of nowhere.  If you got a need and a bench spot, he’s worth the speculation.

Kendall Wright

WR – Tennessee Titans – 6% Owned

Remember Kendall Wright from 2013 and 2014?  One year with 1000+ yards and another with 700+ yards and 6 TDs?  Yeah, it seems like a long time ago, but he may be working his way back.  Wright missed Tennessee’s first 3 games due to a hamstring injury and has played just under 40 percent of the team’s offensive plays since returning, but has been a real difference maker in 2 of the last 3, grabbing 8 for 133 and a TD in Week 6 and 4 for 84 and a TD in Week 8. Head coach Mike Mularkey has mentioned that he intends to continue Wright’s usage rate, which means his upside may be capped at the moment, but there is certainly some potential here in 14-team and deeper leagues going forward as Marcus Mariota gets more comfortable throwing him the ball.

Russell Shepard

WR – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 3% Owned

With Vincent Jackson on IR, the Bucs needed WRs to step up.  It’s still not clear who will be the true WR2, but Russell Shepard has made a good impression so far.  He grabbed 5 of 6 targets for 77 yards and TD in Week 7, following that up with 2 of 3 targets for 23 yards and a TD in Week 8.  He didn’t get as much volume, but part of that was likely due to effects of an illegal Karl Joseph hit.  He’s an interesting speculative pick up in 14-team leagues and deeper.

And here are previous pickups I’ve mentioned that are still worthy of your consideration:

10-Team Leagues or Deeper

Carson Wentz, Terrelle Pryor, Jay Ajayi, Devontae Booker

12-Team Leagues or Deeper

Mike Wallace, Victor Cruz, Dennis Pitta, Tyrell Williams, Darren Sproles (PPR), Jamison Crowder, Kyle Rudolph, Quincy Enunwa, Cameron Meredith, Ty Montgomery (subject to injury), Mike Gillislee

14-Team Leagues or Deeper

Sam Bradford, Jerick McKinnon, Matt Asiata, Kenny Stills, Cameron Brate, Adam Thielen, Sammie Coates, Chris Hogan, Jacob Tamme, Hunter Henry, Terrance West, Robert Woods, Cole Beasley, C.J. Fiedorowicz

16-Team Leagues or Deeper

Jalen Richard (PPR), Theo Riddick (PPR), Jordan Howard

Check back every week for more Waiver Favors!