Week 8 of the fantasy football season brings up zero bye weeks or international games, meaning fantasy managers might take their eyes off the waiver wire slightly with all their first-choice options available, but not the smart people choosing to read this column. Each week we talk through the best options currently available in no more than 50%(ish) of Yahoo leagues, with the idea we can get a jump on our league-mates and pick these players up now without costing ourselves any of our future waiver budgets.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes Ahead of Week 9
The Chargers have switched to a pass-heavier approach since their Week 5 bye, with Justin Herbert seeing a positive pass rate over expected (PROE) for two weeks running. Unsurprisingly, this has led to Herbert having his best fantasy performances of the season with 13.7 and 14.8 PPR points, which might not sound incredible but is an improvement after averaging 10.1 in Weeks 1-3.
Herbert has had 34 and 39 pass attempts in those two games since the bye and it seems likely the coaching staff is coming around to Herbert being a good quarterback at last… who knew? Herbert is still lacking in weapons but with some vicious bye weeks on the horizon, he could well be the kind of streamable quarterback you need to carry you through those weeks.
So far Drake Maye is delivering exactly what those who believed in him thought he would — aggressive down-field throws and added fantasy value through his dual-threat ability. Maye’s catchable ball rate on passes traveling 10+ air yards ranks third among 36 signal-callers with 20+ of such attempts in 2024, which is a drastic difference from Jacoby Brissett, who ranks 33rd.
Against the Jaguars’ admittedly soft defense, Maye was accurate on 8-of-12 passes beyond 10 yards, according to Jacob Gibbs of CBS. If Ja’Lynn Polk could catch perhaps even one pass it would make Maye’s stats even stronger. Maye has been QB6 and QB12 in his two starts, there’s no reason he should be available on the waiver wire at this point.
In Week 7, Jaylen Warren tied Najee Harris in snaps at an even 50% each. While Harris has produced above expectations in many regards this year, it’s hard not to remember how 2023 ended when Warren out-snapped Harris in three of the last four games.
Warren is a target earner, with 89 catches in the last two seasons. He had 74 targets in 2023 alone. The only running backs with more were Breece Hall, Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs. As Warren gets healthier, don’t be surprised if he establishes more of a role.
Bijan Robinson is coming off his first 100-yard rushing game since Week 4 of his rookie season, but it shouldn’t deflect away from the fact Tyler Allgeier is the best backup running back in the league, outside of perhaps the Lions’ backfield. It was only Week 6 when Allgeier put up 18 rushing attempts for 105 yards and a touchdown. Allgeier averages 5.5 yards per carry and would be a top-12 running back every week if Robinson picked up an injury. He’s also an every-week Flex consideration and should be rostered in 100% of leagues.
For those decrying the suggestions in this article and muttering ‘he’s not available in my league,’ I present Khalil Herbert. The Bears backup running back is rostered in only 7% of leagues and for fair reasons given he’s scored zero fantasy points since Week 3.
The reason you should consider stashing him is that the trade deadline is looming and rumors continue to swirl Herbert could be traded by the Bears who have settled into a backfield of Roschon Johnson and D’Andre Swift. Several teams could make use of Herbert, including the Cowboys and Raiders, among others. Herbert might not be a top-tier rusher but he’s good enough that he could be very useful come the fantasy playoffs.
The Bucs likely felt content to slowly bring Jalen McMillan along in his rookie year with Chris Godwin having a career year and Mike Evans still looking excellent. That plan, however, was scrapped when the Bucs lost their top two receivers on Monday night.
McMillan scored a touchdown in his first appearance but has been quiet since, which is understandable for a rookie playing behind two stud receivers. Atlanta allows the 11th-most fantasy points to wide receivers and has a poor pass rush, which always helps Baker Mayfield to stay calm. It shouldn’t be surprising if McMillan has a strong Week 8 and becomes even more popular on waivers next week.
A week ago in this column, we talked about how Rashod Bateman had been a top-36 receiver in back-to-back weeks and mentioned he looked like a reasonable start going forward when necessary. Lo and behold, Bateman had a career game against the Buccaneers’ secondary.
Bateman has been responsible for all three of Lamar Jackson‘s longest completions this year and looks to be finally past injury issues that marred much of his first few years in the league. Bateman is unlikely to be the most reliable receiver given how the Ravens spread the ball around, but he’s displayed enough to be rostered and deployed when needed.
A week ago DeMario Douglas was hot property coming off his first career touchdown and looking set to thrive with Drake Maye at the helm. Douglas followed that up with a disappointing game for fantasy managers in London. However, let’s take a moment to remember Douglas was dealing with sickness and missed much of the game.
It seems unfair to judge Douglas too harshly for that given this is a player who managed five top-36 weekly finishes in 13 games last season, along with averaging 2.2 yards per route, which ranked 28th-best among wide receivers with 70+ targets. The Jets will be a tougher matchup for the Patriots this weekend, but their secondary is banged up and Douglas could bounce back as soon as this weekend.
DK Metcalf seems set to miss at least one week and potentially more after a nasty landing in Week 8 left him with an MCL sprain. This could be good news for Noah Fant who has been quietly improving as the season has gone along with 60+ receiving yards in three of the last five games he’s played in.
Fant has been lacking in the red zone with a single target there so far. If Fant can earn a role in Metcalf’s absence he’ll turn into a consistently usable tight end. For now, he’s a perfect backup to roster and use in the right fantasy start sit matchups.
In deeper leagues where waiver wires feature nothing but tumbleweed, take a look behind the cactuses for Ja’Tavion Sanders. Despite the quarterback turmoil in Carolina, Sanders is having a nice rookie campaign. Over the last three games, Sanders has averaged a 19.8% target share and has seen at least five targets in each game.
You’re unlikely to want to start Sanders with Bryce Young at quarterback against a tough Broncos defense this week, but trade rumors continue to swirl regarding Young’s future. If Dalton returns to the lineup, Sanders can finish the year strongly.
Green Bay Packers D/ST: 53% Rostered
The Packers’ defense has had double-digit returns in four of their seven games this year and nine interceptions to date. With them playing Jacksonville this week they could add more to those totals very soon.
Philadelphia Eagles D/ST: 54% Rostered
The Eagles’ defense hasn’t been particularly good this year and likely won’t be the rest of the way. However, when teams find themselves in shootout game scripts it can lead to errors and even average or bad defenses can benefit. Over the first four games of the year, the Eagles had a disappointing four total sacks. In the two games since, they’ve had 13. They have a favorable matchup in Week 9 when they play the Jaguars.
