Doing your weekly waivers in fantasy football can be more stressful than performing life-saving surgery on a loved one without any professional tools or medical knowledge. While that might be a slight exaggeration, deciding which players to add off the waiver wire each week can be stressful.

Finding and adding the right guys in shallow leagues is simple, as there are plenty of appealing options, and the waiver wire is full of talent. Unfortunately, making your waiver wire claims in deeper leagues can be a massive pain in the neck.

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However, I’m here to help by giving fantasy players six waiver wire targets they should add in deeper leagues in Week 8.

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 8

All the players in this article are rostered in under 20% of ESPN leagues.

Jameis Winston (QB – CLE): 0.4% Rostered

Anyone who saw the slow-motion replay knows Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles on Sunday, ending his season. While Dorian Thompson-Robinson was the team’s No. 2 quarterback for the first time in Week 7, many speculate the Browns made that move to keep the crowd from chanting Winston’s name when Watson struggled. However, Thompson-Robinson suffered a finger injury against the Cincinnati Bengals. While reportedly the injury isn’t significant, fantasy players should expect Winston to start moving forward.

The veteran quarterback had only 11 pass attempts in the game. However, Winston pulled Cleveland within seven points after connecting with David Njoku on a 12-yard touchdown late in the contest. He ended the game with 67 passing yards and 8.7 fantasy points. While Winston will throw awful interceptions, he has been outstanding for fantasy players, including a QB4 finish in 2019. The Browns won’t win many games this year. Yet, Winston will be a far better fantasy quarterback than Watson.

Tyler Goodson (RB – IND): 8.9% Rostered

Hopefully, Jonathan Taylor will return to the lineup in Week 8 after missing the past three games due to an ankle injury. However, fantasy players should add Goodson off the waiver wire and stash him until Taylor is off the injury report. Last week, he had 10 fewer rushing attempts than Trey Sermon. Yet, Goodson outscored him by 5.6 half-point PPR fantasy points (8.5 vs. 2.9). More importantly, Indianapolis wised up, making the second-year pro their lead running back in Week 7.

Goodson had 14 rushing attempts compared to eight for Sermon last week, outscoring him by 5.7 fantasy points (11.1 vs. 5.4). He also had the team’s only touchdown in the win over the Miami Dolphins. The second-year running back has 27 rushing attempts for 128 yards over the past three weeks, averaging 4.7 yards per attempt. Furthermore, he had seven receptions for 45 yards in the two games with Joe Flacco under center. Goodson is the top Colts running back until Taylor returns.

Ricky Pearsall (WR – SF): 5.5% Rostered

Unfortunately, the 49ers believe Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL in Week 7, ending his season. While Deebo Samuel and George Kittle will be the top two options in the passing game, Pearsall could push Jauan Jennings for the No. 3 spot in the pecking order. The first-round rookie made his NFL debut on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs after getting shot during an attempted robbery in late August.

The former Florida star didn’t have a massive NFL debut, totaling only 3.6 half-point PPR fantasy points in the loss. However, Pearsall showed potential despite playing in a difficult situation. The rookie finished third on the team with five targets behind Kittle and Aiyuk. Furthermore, Pearsall had only one fewer target than Aiyuk, totaling two more than any other wide receiver. He won’t make a massive impact immediately, but Pearsall is worth stashing in deeper leagues.

Troy Franklin (WR – DEN): 0.7% Rostered

Fantasy players know the Broncos offense is far from an elite fantasy unit. Bo Nix is more valuable as a rusher than a passer. However, Franklin is someone worth adding in deeper leagues. The rookie barely made an impact over the first five weeks, averaging three targets and 1.4 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. However, the former Oregon star has become one of Nix’s favorite targets lately, totaling a team-high nine targets over the past two contests.

Franklin has averaged 9.1 fantasy points per game over the past two weeks, totaling 7.5 or more in both matchups. More importantly, he has room to improve from here. The rookie has had only a 64.9% route participation rate over the past two games, running only two more routes than Lucas Krull. Expect Franklin to continue to improve as he earns more playing time, especially if Courtland Sutton gets dealt at the trade deadline.

Cedric Tillman (WR – CLE): 0.3% Rostered

Much has changed in Cleveland over the past week. The team will have a new starting quarterback in Week 8 after Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles on Sunday. More importantly, Amari Cooper is now a member of the Buffalo Bills, opening up targets for the rest of the Browns’ wide receiver core. While many expected Jerry Jeudy to take on a larger role, the veteran had five targets and only 2.3 half-point PPR fantasy points in Week 7.

Instead, Tillman was the receiver who stepped up. The second-year receiver had little impact as a rookie and over the first six weeks. However, he was outstanding on Sunday. Tillman finished second on the team in targets (12), only behind David Njoku (14). He caught eight passes for 81 yards and 14.1 fantasy points, scoring 33.3% more fantasy points than the rest of the wide receiver core combined. Don’t be surprised when Tillman scores double-digit fantasy points again next week.

Ja’Tavion Sanders (TE – CAR): 0.4% Rostered

Last week, I mentioned Sanders as someone fantasy players needed to add in deeper leagues and possibly start in Week 7. The rookie tight end was coming off a solid performance against the Atlanta Falcons, totaling five receptions on seven targets for 49 receiving yards and 7.4 half-point PPR fantasy points, all career highs. However, Sanders improved on those numbers against the Washington Commanders, catching all six targets for 61 receiving yards and 9.1 fantasy points.

More importantly, the rookie tight end is becoming the No. 2 option for Andy Dalton in the passing game. He has 18 targets over the past three weeks, only one fewer than Diontae Johnson. Furthermore, Sanders has 10 more targets than fellow rookie Xavier Legette over the past three weeks, including twice as many in Week 7. Head coach Dave Canales says the team is sticking with Dalton. Therefore, Sanders should continue to develop and have a second-half breakout.

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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.