Post-waiver wire fantasy football pickups for Week 8
Don’t let the ups and (Josh) Downs of the waiver wire ruin your Week 8 matchup. Perk up your fantasy game by adding these undervalued players.
QB: Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints)
Carr threw a league-high 55 passes for 301 yards against Jacksonville on Thursday after throwing 50 times against Houston the week before.
Only five quarterbacks have thrown more passes (255) than Carr this year. His 18.44 fantasy points against the Jaguars were a season-high even though he played through injuries to his right shoulder and chest.
The 32-year-old quarterback has more time to recover after playing in last Thursday’s game. As long as he can get the ball to Alvin Kamara he should be fine. The Saint’s running back is averaging 8.75 targets per game which offers Carr a relatively safe floor in PPR leagues.
Carr is available in 66% of Yahoo! leagues.
RB: Cam Akers (Minnesota Vikings)
Akers rushed 10 times for 31 yards with three targets against the 49ers on Monday night. Running back Alexander Mattison had 10 more snaps, but Akers looked more explosive while breaking tackles against San Francisco’s third-ranked run defense.
This week he gets the Packers and the NFL’s third-worst run defense. Only the Broncos and Panthers give up more fantasy points to running backs this year. As long as Akers’ snap count continues to go up, he could have a big day at Lambeau Field.
Akers is available in 46% of Yahoo! leagues.
WR: Rashid Shaheed (New Orleans Saints)
Looking for a home run hitter at the wide receiver spot? Shaheed could fill the need. The second-year receiver had just 28 yards against the Jaguars on Thursday, but he saw a career-high eight targets.
He had two catches for 85 yards the week before and leads New Orleans’s receivers with two touchdowns and 16.3 yards per catch. The Saints travel to Indianapolis this week to face a Colts team giving up the ninth-most passing yards in the NFL.
Shaheed will always be a hit-or-miss type prospect, but his ceiling is much higher than any receiver left on the wire.
Shaheed is available in 64% of Yahoo! leagues.
TE: Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals)
McBride was our guy for Week 7, and he has even more value in Week 8. Arizona’s second-round pick in 2022 has spent his entire career playing behind veteran tight end Zach Ertz.
Both had 35 snaps and three catches against Seattle last week, but McBride had the better day averaging 9.7 yards per catch. More importantly, Ertz was just put on the IR leaving little-used Geoff Swain as McBride’s only competition.
Ertz has seen the sixth-most targets on any tight end this year. If McBride gets those looks moving forward, he won’t be available very long.
McBride is available in 93% of Yahoo! leagues.
DST: Detroit Lions
Las Vegas couldn't beat a Bears team with an undrafted free-agent rookie quarterback making his first start. They managed just 12 points against a team giving up the fifth-most points (26.9) points per game.
This week they face the Lions. Detroit gets a Raiders team that could be without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for a second straight week. Brian Hoyer threw for 129 yards with two interceptions and no scores against the Bears in relief of Garoppolo.
After an embarrassing 38-6 loss to the Ravens last week, Detroit should be highly motivated against a Raiders team averaging just 16 points per game.
The Lions defense is available in 40% of Yahoo! leagues.
K: Dustin Hopkins (Cleveland Browns)
Hopkins's 22 fantasy points in Week 7 were most in the NFL and eight more than any kicker. He leads all kickers with an average of 12.7 points per game this season. He had a career-long 58-yard field goal last week, setting an NFL record of five consecutive games with a field goal from 50 yards or more.
Hopkins is available in 66% of Yahoo! leagues.
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