DK Metcalf Injury: Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Replacement Pickups (Week 8)

With the injury to DK Metcalf, fantasy football managers are left with a potential void on their roster. Let’s check out the extent of the injury and players you can target on your waiver wire this week.

• Week 8 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Advice
• Erickson’s Week 7 Rapid Reactions & Top Performers
• Fantasy Football Heat Index
• Fantasy Football Week 7 Takeaways: Surprises & Disappointments

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

DK Metcalf Injury Outlook

DK Metcalf to undergo further testing in Seattle

DK Metcalf’s initial X-rays on his knee were negative but he will undergo further testing when the team returns to Seattle.

Fantasy Impact

Metcalf was carted off the field in Seattle’s win over the Chargers. The extent of the injury will not be known until Metcalf undergoes further testing. If Metcalf is forced to miss time, Tyler Lockett and Marquise Goodwin should see a bump in targets.

Dr. Deepak Chona’s early injury takeaways on the Week 7 Sunday night recap show:

• Being carted into the locker room. Did not return. Potential ACL injury.

Waiver Wire Replacements to Target

Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG): 29% rostered

• Next opponents: @SEA, BYE, HOU
• True value: $6
• Desperate need: $10
• Budget-minded: $3

Analysis: Robinson saw a big jump in his playing time this week. He played 69% of the Giants’ offensive snaps, running a route on 96.6% of Daniel Jones‘ pass attempts. Robinson drew a sexy 26.6% target share, leading the team with six grabs. He could be a PPR dynamo down the stretch. His next three matchups are quite good. He’ll match up with Coby Bryant (60.9% catch rate, 115.9 passer rating, per PFF), Desmond King (61.1% catch rate, 60.2 passer rating), and Mike Hughes (78.3% catch rate, 125.7 passer rating). Robinson could be a weekly WR3 staple moving forward.

Rondale Moore (ARI): 50% rostered

• Next opponents: @MIN, SEA, @LAR
• True value: $4
• Desperate need: $6
• Budget-minded: $2

Analysis: After averaging nine targets per game in Weeks 5-6, Moore laid a stink bomb in Week 7 with only two targets, one grab, and 31 receiving yards. There’s an easy explanation for this, though. With A.J. Green finally finding the pine, Moore ran 79% of his routes on the perimeter. This won’t be his short-term or long-term role, though. As soon as Week 8, the recently acquired Robbie Anderson should be a full-time player who sends Moore back to the slot, where he’s thrived since returning from injury. His next two matchups are against lesser slot corners in Chandon Sullivan (82.8% catch rate, 128.0 passer rating) and Coby Bryant (60.9% catch rate, 115.9 passer rating). Pick up Moore on the cheap if he’s available, as most people will shy away after his target share dropped to nothing with DeAndre Hopkins back in the huddle.

Parris Campbell (IND): 4% rostered

• Next opponents: WAS, @NE, @LV
• True value: $4
• Desperate need: $6
• Budget-minded: $2

Analysis: Don’t look now, but Campbell is flashing the talent that truthers like myself have always believed was there. Injuries have dogged Campbell throughout his career, but he’s finally healthy and showing why the Colts have held onto hope for so long. Over the last two games, Campbell has commanded a 22.5% target share averaging 8.5 targets and 63.5 receiving yards with scores in each game. The next few matchups for him don’t jump off the page, but if the Colts continue their pass-happy, paced-up ways, Campbell could be another weekly WR3/4 in PPR.

Tyquan Thornton (NE): 11% rostered

• Next opponents: @NYJ, IND, BYE
• True value: $3
• Desperate need: $5
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Thornton is a talented rookie with speed to burn. And he could continue to ascend in this Patriots’ passing attack, which has been pushing the ball downfield. In Week 6, Thornton saw a 16.1% target share while running a route on 79.3% of dropbacks. The next three matchups aren’t great for a receiver running about 79% of his routes on the perimeter, but Thornton’s schedule does open up after that. After Week 10, the Patriots face the Vikings, Bills, Cardinals and Raiders. Thornton has average to plus matchups with three of those four secondaries.

Garrett Wilson (NYJ): 50% rostered

• Next opponents: NE, BUF, BYE
• True value: $2
• Desperate need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: If the Jets weren’t so hell-bent on covering up Zach Wilson with rushing attempts, Garrett Wilson would be higher on this list. Corey Davis‘ injury will lead to increased opportunities for Wilson (and Elijah Moore), but with Zach Wilson‘s pass attempts being nerfed, it’s fair to wonder how much. Garrett Wilson hasn’t drawn more than five targets or finished with more than 50 receiving yards since Week 3. The next three matchups for this passing attack aren’t exactly kind either, so don’t break the bank for this rookie receiver unless we get word the Jets are scrapping the Zach Wilson endeavor for the return of Joe Flacco to the starting lineup. Only in the year 2022 would I be wishing for Flacco to start so that a passing offense can come back to life again.

Marquise Goodwin (SEA): 0% rostered

• Next opponents: NYG, @ARI, @TB
• True value: $2
• Desperate need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Goodwin makes this list after D.K. Metcalf‘s injury rocked the fantasy world in Week 7. We’re still awaiting word on the severity of Metcalf’s ailment. In the meantime, Goodwin is worth a roster spot. In Week 7, he drew an 18.5% target share while running a route on 81.5% of Geno Smith‘s pass attempts.

Elijah Moore (NYJ): 42% rostered

• Next opponents: NE, BUF, BYE
• True value: $2
• Desperate need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: With Corey Davis now sidelined with an injury, we may see Moore reintegrating into this offense. The Jets have been steadfast in their refusal to trade him. The same issues that plague Garrett Wilson‘s target volume and upside are also present for Moore. I won’t rule out Moore flashing the talent that made him an off-season darling or getting the squeaky wheel treatment with Davis out of the lineup.

Isaiah McKenzie (BUF): 40% rostered

• Next opponents: GB, @NYJ, MIN
• True value: $1
• Desperate need: $2
• Budget-minded: $0

Analysis: Despite McKenzie flashing talent and upside when he’s seen opportunities, the Bills are content to keep him in a part-time role. His 56.7% route participation is saddening, but it hasn’t stopped McKenzie from posting two top-30 wide receiver scoring weeks. Over the next three weeks, McKenzie gets two nice matchups in the slot against Michael Carter (73.1% catch rate and Chandon Sullivan (82.8% catch rate, 128.0 passer rating). Consider picking him up and flexing him in those weeks.

Stash Candidates: Jameson Williams, Robbie Anderson, Treylon Burks

I keep preaching weekly to pick up and stash Jameson Williams, but somehow he’s still only rostered in 31% of leagues. If you’re looking for a possible stretch-run league winner, Williams is it. He is in the perfect scenario for weekly shootouts with a team that has both a high-scoring offense and bottom-five defense.

Robbie Anderson‘s numbers over the last two years don’t inspire confidence, but the Panthers’ offense during that stretch has been a heaping pile of garbage. Arizona finally showed signs of life last game with DeAndre Hopkins back. At the very least, Anderson should stretch the field. Over his next five matchups, he gets three teams (MIN, SEA, LAC) that are 22nd or lower in explosive pass rate. This could lead to Anderson being a perfect bye-week plug-in in the right matchups.

Treylon Burks could make a return from the IR in Week 9. The Titans’ passing game has been floundering. Burks has flashed enough efficiency and talent at various points this season to convince us that he could provide Tennessee and your roster with some upside over the back half of the season.