Waiver Favors: 2019 Week 8 Fantasy Football Pickups

By Ha Kung Wong  Week 6 Fantasy Football Pickups

Twitter: @FBGarbageTime

As I do every year over the last 7 years, I’m back to help with some waiver wire adds via my weekly Waiver Favors article!  I’m assuming if you’re a returning reader, you won your fantasy football championship last year, so congratulations!

But it’s a new year, so I’ll make a couple suggestions after Week 8 of the 2019 fantasy football season.  You’re welcome.  Again.

As usual, all pickups are available in at least 50% of Yahoo standard fantasy football leagues (with some minor exceptions) as of Sunday evening.

Tra Carson

RB – Detroit Lions – 0% Owned

After Kerryon Johnson went to IR, everyone thought Ty Johnson would get the first crack at early down work.  And although he was on the field for more snaps, it was Tra Carson, who was just claimed off waivers, would get the start and had more carries with 12 for 34 yards.  The Lions backfield is a mess, and there’s a distinct possibility that the Lions decide to pick up an RB before the Tuesday trade deadline, but Carson has some speculative potential in 14-team leagues and deeper if not.

Zach Zenner

RB – Arizona Cardinals – 0% Owned

Zach Zenner may be the last man standing.  Chase Edmonds broke out in a big way in Week 8 with David Johnson barely playing, but then pulled up with hamstring injury himself leaving just Zenner in the backfield.  He didn’t do much with one rush once for zero yards and one reception for 13 receiving yards.  Alfred Morris is also back there, but pass catching backs do well in Arizona, and with the short turn around to Thursday Night Football, there’s a good chance that Edmonds won’t clear to play.  So if you’re depending a Cardinal RB, better grab Zenner, plus he’s a decent bye week speculative play in all 14-team leagues or deeper.

Danny Amendola

WR – Detroit Lions – 9% Owned

And speaking of the Lions, the REAL winner from the Kerryon Johnson injury wasn’t a RB at all — it was actually Danny Amendola, who managed to catch all 8 of his targets for 95 yards in Week 8.  That’s back to back weeks with 8 receptions, as he caught 8 of a whopping 11 targets for 105 yards in Week 7.  If this keeps up, Amendola has some potential in 12-team PPR leagues and deeper.

Chris Conley

WR – Jacksonville Jaguar – 2% Owned

Gardner Minshew has been pretty terrific of late, and Chris Conley is starting to benefit.  He managed to catch 4 of 7 targets for 103 yards and a TD in Week 8.  Sure, almost all of it came from one 70-yard catch and run TD, but this breakout follows up on a piling up 83 yards in Week 7, so maybe there’s something to this.  Feel free to speculate in 16-team leagues and deeper, particularly if Dede Westbrook remains banged up.

Josh Reynolds

WR – Los Angeles Rams – 0% Owned

Brandin Cook took a hart hit and ended up sitting out the entirety of the game with a concussion.  Maybe he manages to get back, but in his absence, Josh Reynolds caught 3 of 8 targets for 73 yards and a TD.  There’s a bye week coming up, so Cooks has extra time to get right, but if you have some bench space in 16-team leagues or deeper, he might be worth the stash.

Russell Gage

WR – Atlanta Falcons – 0% Owned

Mohammed Sanu went to the Patriots, so who was going to step up to the WR3 spot for the Falcons?  The answer was Russell Gage, who caught 7 of 9 targets for 58 yards in Week 8.  Sure, it was from Matt Schaub, not Matt Ryan, and the Falcons were constantly in catch-up mode in Week 8, so who knows how it goes once Ryan gets healthy, but there was word earlier in the week that Gage would get first crack at WR3 duties and it turned out to be true.  If you’re desperate for a WR5/Flex in a 16-team league, you could do worse.

Jonnu Smith

TE – Tennessee Titans – 19% Owned

Delanie Walker is still on the shelf with an ankle injury, and Jonnu Smith took advantage of the opportunity by snagging 6 of 7 targets for 78 receiving yards and a TD in Week 8. He also managed at least 55 receiving yards in two of his three games, so perhaps he’s going to get some run.  If Walker remains out, Smith is viable at a really weak TE position in 12-team leagues or deeper.

UPDATE for Sunday and Monday Night Football

Jaylen Samuels

RB – Pittsburgh Steelers – 19% Owned

I previously told James Conner owners to pickup Jaylen Samuels and that’s been the case for awhile, even when he went out to get his knee scoped (he’s been in the list below forever). But here’s a reminder that Conner gets injured frequently, and a late shoulder injury on Monday Night Football might end up being serious, so go get Samuels now when you can.  He’s recovering from the scope and was not active in Week 8, but should be back in Week 9.

And here’s who I’ve recommended in previous weeks that I still think deserve a look:

10-Team Leagues

QBs – Gardner Minshew

WRs – John Brown, Terry McClaurin

12-Team Leagues

QBs – Jimmy Garoppolo

RBs – Chase Edmonds, Carlos Hyde, Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Williams

WRs – Cole Beasley (PPR), Marquise Brown, DJ Chark Jr., Mecole Hardman, DK Metcalf, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, Golden Tate, Preston Williams

TE – Gerald Everett, Chris Herndon

14-Team Leagues

QBs – Kyle Allen, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, Ryan Tannehill

RBs – Ty Johnson, Ronald Jones II, Jaylen Samuels, Ito Smith, Mark Walton

WRs – A.J. Brown, Jamison Crowder (PPR), Corey Davis, Alex Erickson, Diontae Johnson, Demarcus Robinson, Mohamed Sanu, Auden Tate, Demaryius Thomas

TE – Noah Fant, Darren Fells

16-Team Leagues

RB – Raheem Mostert, Darrel Williams

WR – Phillip Dorsett, Zach Pascal

TE – Dawson Knox, Ricky Seals-Jones

Check back every week for more Waiver Favors!