Waiver Favors: Early Week 8 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

Week 8 is almost over, so we’re back to help you keep your fantasy football team competitive!

As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues as of Sunday evening.

Malcolm Floyd

WR – San Diego Chargers – 18% Owned

Malcolm Floyd

Malcolm Floyd

Malcolm Floyd is unlikely to be consistent while Keenan Allen and Antonio Gates are there, but Philip Rivers trusts him enough to target him in critical games.  For example, in Week 6 in the close game against the Green Bay Packers, Rivers targeted Floyd a whopping 12 times.  And today, Floyd snagged 4 of 6 for 92 yards and 2 TDs in a losing effort.  Waiver pickups get more sparse as the year continues, so if you’re looking for perhaps some bye week help in the future, or need a possible flex play, feel free to grab Floyd in 14-team leagues and deeper.

UPDATE – As I mentioned on Twitter, with Keenan Allen now out for the season with a lacerated kidney, both Stevie Johnson and Malcolm Floyd are prime pickups.

Nate Washington

WR – Houston Texans – 25% Owned

Nate Washington - USA Today Photo

Nate Washington – USA Today Photo

Deandre Hopkins is going to dominate targets in Houston.  But after returning from injury in Week 7 and playing WR2 with Brian Hoyer firmly entrenched at the helm, Nate Washington has been getting his fair share as well.  Sure, almost all his production in Week 7 was in garbage time, but it counts all the same in fantasy.  And today, when the Texans weren’t playing from behind for once, Washington still managed to catch 4 of 6 for 74 yards and a TD.  Cecil Shorts III may come back in Week 10, eating into his targets, but a Texans team without Arian Foster is a Texans team which will need to throw a lot to stay in games.  With the Texans actually in play to win the AFC South, you can be sure that they’ll keep their foot on the gas going forward.  Washington is worth a speculative pickup in 14-team leagues and deeper.

David Cobb

RB – Tennessee Titans – 23% Owned

David Cobb

David Cobb

Yeah, I know.  The Titans backfield is a mess, with both Antonio Andrews and Dexter McCluster getting carries.  But at least it looks like the Titans have finally given up on Bishop Sankey, as he didn’t get a single carry in Week 8.  Neither Andrews nor McCluster are the future, but the Titans actually anticipated this in drafting David Cobb in the 5th Round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

If you’re not familiar, Cobb had back to back 1,000+ yard seasons at the University of Minnesota and in fact set the single season rushing record his senior year with 1,626 yards at a 5.2 yard per carry clip.  Cobb had a chance to win the starting job with a decent preseason, but suffered a calf injury prior to the third preseason game which landed him on IR.

He just started practicing a week ago, and is eligible to return in Week 9, which, if you’ve lost track, is next week.  So if you’d like a flyer on a possible starting RB, go ahead and scoop Cobb up now.  Just keep in mind that he’s a rookie that’s missed a lot of time, and has rarely been used in the passing game while in college, so temper your expectations.

Tony Romo

QB – Dallas Cowboys – 53% Owned

Tony Romo - USA Today Sports Photo

Tony Romo – USA Today Sports Photo

Sure, he’s not eligible to return until Week 11, but he started throwing last week and his ownership is starting to climb.  Last week, when I checked on him, he was at around 47%.  He’s moved up to 53% since then and is on the rise. Recent reports indicate he won’t be practicing yet, which may put his Week 11 return in question:

But when he does come back, whether it’s Week 11 or otherwise, he’s a difference maker on offense, particularly with Dez Bryant finally healthy and playing.  If you have any concern at all regarding your QB, feel free to stash Romo now in all leagues for a possible Week 11 return.

Injury Replacements

The injuries are racking up, and Week 8 has been a real doozy.  Several high profile players suffered injuries that may or may not impact their long term availability.  So what are you to do if you lose one of these guys?  Make one of the pickups I’ve recommended, or see below for who I think you should target depending on which injury you had on your fantasy team.

Steve Smith Sr. – Torn Achilles – Out for the Season

  • Steve Smith Sr. said this would be his final year in the NFL, but he apparently turned back the clock as he was decimating the competition until this injury.  Hopefully, he decides to give it a go in 2016.  It’s clear he’s not done as a football player yet.
  • Kamar Aiken (17%) was pretty good in place of Smith earlier in the season.  I think he’ll benefit the most in terms of targets.  Worth picking up in 12-team leagues and deeper.
  • Worth looking at Chris Givens (0%) and Breshad Perriman (3%) in 16-team leagues and deeper, but both are complete flyers.

Reggie Bush – Torn MCL – Out for the Season

  • Poor Reggie Bush.  He was finally healthy and got the backfield all to himself due to a Carlos Hyde injury, and what happens?  He tears his MCL slipping out of bounds after a routine kick return.  What a tough break.  At least it appears his ACL is OK, for what that’s worth.
  • If the hand injury isn’t serious, Mike Davis (1%) is worth looking at in 14-team leagues and deeper as long as Carlos Hyde is out.
  • UPDATE:  Turns out Mike Davis has a broken hand.  So now all they have left is Kendall Gaskins.

  • Kendall Gaskins (0%) is the last man standing in San Francisco.  Worth noting if you’re really desperate in 16-team leagues and deeper.
  • UPDATE: With Pierre Thomas and Shaun Draughn getting signed, this is a full blown RBBC in San Francisco, and perhaps one not investing in, at least not right away.  Feel free, though, to stash Thomas if you want.

Le’Veon Bell – Torn MCL – Out for the Season

  • DeAngelo Williams (21%) should be owned in ALL leagues.  He was amazing without Bell, and he’ll continue to be amazing.

Matt Forte – MCL strain – Multi-Week Injury

  • The initial word is an MCL strain, which is not season ending like an ACL injury, but it usually is a multi-week issue.  I’d think Forte misses at least the next 2 weeks.
  • It’s a downgrade, but Jeremy Langford (4%) is worth noting in 12-team leagues and deeper based on volume opportunity alone.

And here are pickups from previous articles which I still recommend:

James Jones, James Starks, Tyrod Taylor, Terrance Williams, Chris Johnson, Donte Moncrief, Travis Benjamin, Ted Ginn Jr., Charles Clay, Gary Barnidge, Antonio Andrews, Allen Hurns, Tavon Austin, Willie Snead, Charcandrick West, Josh Huff, Theo Riddick, Dwayne Harris, Stefon Diggs, Benjamin Watson, Christine Michael, Michael Floyd, Darren McFadden, Eric Ebron, Alfred Blue, Chris Polk

Keep coming back for updates all week!

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