Week 8 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups

Several running backs are out for Week 8, while some wide receivers who have returned from injury or illness also show up in our recommendations.

October 28, 2020 - by Jason Lisk

Another week, more star players getting hurt. In Week 7, Odell Beckham was lost for the year to a knee injury, and Chris Carson left the Seattle game with a foot injury. San Francisco continues to be a revolving door at the running back position. Meanwhile, some players are returning from injury and you should check your waiver wire to see if any have slipped through the cracks.

Here is a rundown of our top waiver wire recommendations heading to Week 8. You can read below for why we have each player on our list.

1. WR Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco
2. RB Gus Edwards, Baltimore
3. RB Tevin Coleman, San Francisco
4. RB Carlos Hyde, Seattle
5. WR Rashard Higgins, Cleveland
6. WR Sterling Shepard, New York Giants
7. WR Nelson Agholor, Las Vegas
8. RB Lamical Perine, New York Jets
9. RB JaMycal Hasty, San Francisco
10. WR Corey Davis, Tennessee

Others to Consider: 

QB Jimmy Garoppolo (good matchup at Seattle); QB Baker Mayfield (matchup vs. Las Vegas); TE Richard Rodgers (watch for news on Dallas Goedert, would be a good one-week matchup play vs Dallas); TE Harrison Bryant; WR Jalen Raegor (designated return from IR, could be back in next few weeks).

Brandon Aiyuk

Aiyuk has been productive as both a receiver and runner since returning from injury, and draws a great passing matchup this week against Seattle. So he provides both an immediate starting option this week if you need a play, and then still has the upside to provide dividends in future weeks.

Gus Edwards

With Mark Ingram being questionable this week, and not really productive to this point in the season, Gus Edwards is a decent flex option if Ingram is out, and has upside to continue to expand his role beyond Week 8.

Tevin Coleman

Coleman could be returning from injury soon, and the San Francisco backfield has been a revolving door of backs being productive but then getting hurt. We’ve seen Raheem Mostert, Jerick McKinnon, and Jeff Wilson all put up weekly top ten performances. Coleman could have plenty of opportunity for success when he returns and is a good look-ahead play.

Carlos Hyde

Hyde should be the immediate beneficiary of Chris Carson being week-to-week with a foot injury, though the initial matchup isn’t great against San Francisco, and he should be a higher priority if you just need a one-week emergency option (or have Carson).

Rashard Higgins

With Odell Beckham’s season-ending injury, Rashard Higgins should see an uptick in opportunities. The Cleveland schedule also improves quite a bit when it comes to passing matchups. Starting next week, the schedule is: Las Vegas, bye, Houston, Philadelphia, and Jacksonville. Those are all matchups where Higgins could be playable.

Sterling Shepard

Sterling Shepard returned last week, and had six catches and a touchdown. The matchup against Tampa Bay isn’t great this week, but after that, the Giants’ schedule gets far better for playing wide receivers, and the offense could be more productive due to both matchups and also getting receivers like Shepard back. He’s a potential rest-of-season WR3 option available on waiver wires.

Nelson Agholor

Agholor continued his hot run with a touchdown in three straight games. With several receiver injuries for the Raiders, Agholor has emerged as a big play option in the offense, averaging 19 yards per reception. That makes him a boom/bust option as a start, but he should still get opportunities in the short term and is a good matchup play at Cleveland in Week 8.

Lamical Perine

Perine has started to get a larger role in the offense, on the field for 70% of the snaps last week after exceeding 50% for the first time in Week 6. It’s still the Jets’ offense which limits upside, but he could move into a flex role if he supplants Frank Gore in getting the majority of touches at the running back position over the rest of the season.

JaMycal Hasty

Hasty is a big wildcard, and predicting the 49ers’ backfield usage has become as difficult as knowing how Bill Belichick will use his backfield. He could get the majority of touches. Coleman could return and play some this week. Jerick McKinnon could return to a bigger role after being limited last week. His longterm outlook is clouded, but watch the injury reports and who else is active because he could be a flex play with a good matchup against Seattle.

Corey Davis

Davis had 10 targets against the Steelers in his first game back. He didn’t do a lot with those, but his usage picked up where he left off before going on the Covid list. Davis is a boom-bust matchup play over the second half of the season.