Fantasy Football: Week 8 Waiver Wire Scraps

Welcome back to Fantasy Football: Week 8 Waiver Wire Scraps where we break down the top plays to grab before the Waiver Wire rush sets in. I really hope you read last week’s column where we recommended you stash Nick Chubb, let’s see what we can find this week.

Our beloved fantasy football season is about to hit its half-way point and playoff eligibility is being stolen from several teams who have failed to execute. Hopefully if you are reading this column you are still in contention, searching for any advantage you can get to help you further down the road with an eye on the Waiver Wire.

The bye week bombardment is almost among us:

"Week 8: ATL, DAL, LAC, TENWeek 9: ARI, CIN, IND, JAX, NYG, PHIWeek 10: BAL, DEN, HOU, MINWeek 11: BUF, CLE, MIA, NE, NYJ, SF"

It is time to PREPARE. Do not fall into the trap of being content with your team. There is always room to improve. The moves you make now will ultimately determine the strength of your team come playoff time. so stay active on the waiver wire.

It is also important to recognize that if you are struggling this fantasy season that there is still hope. My advice to you is to start buying wins. Make any moves possible to give your team the best chance to win every given week, even if that means giving up some season long value. You need to win now. Things could turn up for you once you’ve gotten your team’s head above water. Always pursue.

Now let’s dive into the bottom of the barrel.

Fantasy Football: Week 8 Waiver Wire Scraps – QB

Derek Carr

Owned in just 14.9% of ESPN leagues, Carr is actually a great rest of season option for people in 2QB or SuperFlex leagues. Look, I know he has been terrible. The whole offense has been shaky to say the least. Remember when Gruden was supposed to be Oakland’s savior? Yeah, me neither! The expectations are low on Carr which will most likely keep him on your waiver wire for quite some time. Also, I get it. How could Carr perform better without star wideout Amari Cooper? Carr hasn’t caught a break all season. In five out of the six games that the Raiders have played, Derek Carr has had to face a team within the top nine defenses against quarterbacks.

The only game he wasn’t facing a stellar pass defense was against a divisional opponent on the road in Los Angeles against the Chargers. We all know the Chargers defense has been under-performing and has plenty of talent in their secondary. Carr should be looking to open the floodgates of Gruden’s offense coming off of the bye week. His upcoming match-ups include defenses such as Ind, @SF, KC, Pit, and @Cin. I still believe Carr is the talented QB we saw at Fresno State and he has proven himself in the NFL before. I expect a great second half for both Carr and select Oakland pass-catchers.

Blake Bortles

It hurts to say this, but what did we really expect from Blake Bortles? He always finds out a way to Blake everything up. Blake the Snake has been consistently inconsistent as both an NFL and Fantasy Quarterback. The news surrounding Bortles not starting for the Jaguars has been flattened by coach Doug Marrone, claiming that Blake will be the guy going forward. I actually like Bortles going forward. Don’t slander me on twitter. Blake has thrown for at least 375 yards in half of the games where he was playing the entire game. One of those games was stripped of ten points because of turnovers, but still 20 points isn’t terrible for a quarterback who is regarded as the epitome of the fantasy world. After the game against Philadelphia and the Jaguars bye week, Bortles faces these teams in order: @Ind, Pit, @Buf, Ind, @Ten, Wsh, @Mia. He could be a late season saver for a lot of you multiple quarterback owners.

Fantasy Football: Week 8 Waiver Wire Scraps – Running Backs

Chris Ivory

Ivory is actually a valid pick-up every week I just don’t think people notice it. Every time the Bills game is on TV, Lesean McCoy and my father have the same exact mannerisms. The only difference is that my dad is getting up off of the couch and Shady is suffering from the continuous blows to his abused body. If McCoy is out for an extended period of time, Ivory slides right into the starting role in Buffalo, which isn’t necessarily exciting. Excitement only goes so far in Fantasy Football. Look at the differences in production between Lamar Miller and Jordan Howard. Howard was the much more exciting back coming into the season, but Miller trumps him in Half PPR leagues simply because of volume. Look out for Ivory, he could help some owners down the road. Consider picking him up if you own McCoy also.

Ronald Jones

Jones is actually someone who was a very hot commodity. For those of you who have been paying attention to Fantasy Football in June, you would know that Jones was being drafted in the sixth or seventh round of most mocks. Looking back, that phase is deemed to be ridiculous. This is considering the fact the Jones has barely had any work this season. Is it possible the Jones breaks out with the absence of Barber? I believe so. Even if it’s not necessarily a stellar game, I think Jones is a better in between the tackles runner than Barber. So if RoJo can earn some more playing time, he could turn into a touchdown reliant fantasy asset on a high scoring Bucs offense. I say touchdown reliant because I don’t see the Bucs running the ball very much considering the poor defense and the nature of the team where they always seem to be playing from behind.

Fantasy Football: Week 8 Waiver Wire Scraps _ WR/TE

Christian Kirk

Kirk is a very skilled player in an offense that has been flat-out terrible this season. The departure of Mike McCoy can do nothing but help Kirk and the Cardinals and gives me hope for the rest of the season. I believe in Josh Rosen, I believe in Christian Kirk, and I believe in the Cardinals rest-of-season schedule. Take a look at these juicy matchups: SF, @KC, Oak, @LAC, @GB, Det, @Atl. He is the best pass catcher aside from Larry Legend (who is hobbled right now) and in the future could be seen as a rich man’s Jermaine Kearse. I know that doesn’t sound very appetizing, but Kirk is a great route runner, and has the tools to be very successful in today’s NFL. In dynasty he should be swallowed up, no question. In redraft, he could be a league winner for receiver needy teams.

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Courtland Sutton

Another Rookie in this column, Sutton is definitely someone I’m looking to add on my rosters. His physical metrics and talent are the reason why he was my #2 receiver coming into this years NFL Draft. While Sutton hasn’t been overly productive, he has flashed as a red zone monster. His frame could definitely propel him into a more consistent target share in Denver’s offense. They need to score more, and he is readily available. There has been trade talks for Demaryius Thomas, which could seriously help Sutton do some damage for your fantasy team. So pick him up now, while he is only owned in 11.8% of ESPN Leagues.

Chris Herndon

This is the only Tight End to make the column this week, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone. Tight End has been horrible this year. Herndon could potentially become Sam Darnold‘s favorite red zone targets, which bodes well for both rookies. The Jets have been looking for a reliable scorer for Darnold to look to, and Herndon is continuously getting a bigger and bigger target share. He’s only owned in 3.5% of ESPN leagues and he has the most upside out of the lower tier of Tight Ends.

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