A swarm of injury bugs swept through the NFL in Week 7, but never fear! The Week 8 Waiver Wire is here to help you pluck out the stingers.
QUARTERBACKS
Brady Quinn, KC – Quinn will start for the Chiefs in place of Matt Cassel this week. Have they considered just direct-snapping to Jamaal Charles on every play?
Chad Henne, JAC – After Blaine Gabbert left in the second quarter of Sunday’s loss against the Raiders, Henne took the field and did Chad Henne things, completing 9-of-20 for 71 measly yards en route to blowing a 14-point lead. I imagine the Jags will do everything they can to get Gabbert ready for Week 8, but if he sits and you’re a desperate owner in a 2-QB league, Henne may be your only option.
Colin Kaepernick, SF – Alex Smith was ineffective yet again in Week 7, albeit on a short week against a very good Seahawks defense. If Smith doesn’t recapture the magic of his 2011 season soon, the Niners will have to start thinking about making the switch to Kaepernick. It may not happen at all this season, but those of you in keeper leagues might want to stash Kaepernick now on the chance that he becomes the starter next season.
RUNNING BACKS
Rashad Jennings, JAC – Jennings will be the consensus #1 waiver claim this week after Maurice Jones-Drew injured his foot on Sunday. Only the managers with top waiver priority or full FAAB wallets will score Jennings, so I won’t spend a whole lot of time discussing Jennings. Did I draft Jennings on approximately 90% of my teams in the preseason? Next question. Did I drop Jennings after he got hurt in Week 1 and MJD reclaimed the starting role? Next question. Am I bitter that I now have to watch Jennings land on a bunch of other teams with higher waiver claims in my leagues? Next question. Am I really Drew Rosenhausing this blurb right now? Next question.
Jonathan Dwyer, PIT – Did I tout Dwyer in the preseason just as much as I touted Rashad Jennings? Next questi—Okay, you get it. Thankfully, I was able to pick up Dwyer for a few of my teams in the middle of last week. If he’s still available in your leagues, he’ll be a nice consolation prize if you miss out on Jennings.
LaRod Stephens-Howling, ARI – Stephens-Howling moved the castle that was supposed to be a stout Minnesota run defense, rushing for 104 yards and TD on Sunday, while Williams Powell took a trip to Ken Whisenhunt’s doghouse after fumbling early in the game. Unless he fumbles the starting job back to Powell, LSH has the starting job in Arizona. Still, manage your expectations for both Cardinal running backs in Week 8. The 49ers run defense won’t no-show ala the Vikings in such an important divisional game.
Andre Brown, NYG – Brown returned to the Giants’ active roster in Week 7 with 17 rushing yards, 17 receiving yards, and a score while backing up Ahmad Bradshaw. As Brown gets healthier, he will eat into Bradshaw’s playing time even more, especially around the goal line.
Montario Hardesty, CLE – In a post-game interview Sunday, Trent Richardson said “I’m not myself out there right now.” Until he figures out how to be himself, Adrian Peterson, or at the very least Michael Turner, Richardson is a shaky play and Hardesty is worth owning.
Alex Green, GB – Green struggled against the Rams, rushing 20 times for only 35 yards. This blurb is a preemptive strike against owners who would panic and drop Green for James Starks. Breaking news: Starks isn’t good. He wouldn’t have fared any better than Green in Sunday’s game. Hold onto Green one more week and see how he does against the Jags.
Jamie Harper, TEN – Harper vultured two more touchdowns on Sunday. Not every match-up will be as favorable as that one against the Bills, but dedicated goal-line backs are valuable touchdown lottery tickets in deeper leagues.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Josh Gordon, CLE – All Josh Gordon does is catch bombs for touchdowns. Sunday’s 33-yard TD was actually somewhat disappointing after Gordon’s 62-yarder and 71-yarder in Weeks 5 and 6, respectively. Unfortunately, every party has to end sometime, but it will be to cram in as many shots as possible before the regression police knock on Gordon’s door.
Brandon LaFell, CAR – After a strong start followed by a couple of quiet weeks, LaFell came out of his bye and delivered 54 yards and a TD to his fantasy owners in Week 7. Cam Newton’s reluctance to target Steve Smith in near the goal line bodes well for LaFell.
Leonard Hankerson & Santana Moss, WAS – With Pierre Garcon still hobbled and Fred Davis now out for the season, look for Hankerson and Moss to pick up the receiving slack for Washington. Moss caught two touchdowns on Sunday, but Hankerson had twice as many targets (8 to 4), making him the better pickup going forward.
Jeremy Kerley, NYJ – Speaking of targets, Kerley caught 7 of his 11 for 120 yards. The return of Dustin Keller will help Kerley see more open looks in the weeks to come.
Chris Givens, STL – With Brandon Gibson doing his best impression of Danny Amendola, Chris Givens has taken to impersonating Brandon Gibson. It’s hard to tell if this evolutionary impersonation ladder scales to Brian Quick & Steve Smith impersonating Givens, or if Quick & Smith just aren’t very good.
Vincent Brown, SD – Brown was activated from the IR before the Chargers’ bye and should be good to go in Week 8. It remains to be seen how quickly Philip Rivers can integrate Brown into the offense, but considering the alternatives to Brown are Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal, I’m guessing it will take about 1 or 2 seconds.
***UPDATE: It turns out Vincent Brown isn’t actually eligible to return from the IR until Week 9. He’s still a nice speculative add, but he won’t be able to help you this week.
Kevin Walter, HOU – Walter found the end zone again on Sunday. He’s been inconsistent and has a bye in Week 8, but his Week 9 matchup is against the Buffalo “Our Defense Makes Even the Titans Offense Look Good” Bills. If you like to plan way ahead, Walter might be your guy.
TIGHT ENDS
Dustin Keller, TE – Keller leads all tight ends in receiving yards and trails only Rob Gronkowski in fantasy points for Week 7 (Chicago and Detroit have yet to play as of this writing), but don’t go cuckoo for Keller-puffs with your waiver claim. The Patriots are one of the worst teams in the league against fantasy tight ends and now that he’s proven he’s healthy, Keller should garner extra attention from opposing defenses.
Brandon Myers (OAK) & David Thomas (NO) – I recommended these two guys last week. Thomas caught a touchdown in Jimmy Graham’s absence. Myers only had 44 yards receiving, but he hauled in a PPR-friendly 7 passes on 10 targets.
Dallas Clark, TB – Clark caught 5 passes for 51 yards and a TD, all season-highs, on Sunday. Keep in mind that he put up those numbers in a shootout against the Swiss cheese Saints defense before you buy.
Logan Paulsen & Chris Cooley, WAS – Paulsen took over for Fred Davis when he left Sunday’s game and there are rumors that Washington will re-sign Chris Cooley sometime this week, but I wouldn’t add either unless my league rules mandated I could only use players on teams with xenophobic names.
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL UPDATE
Titus Young & Ryan Broyles, WR, DET – Nate Burleson bur-oke his leg on Monday Night, leaving the door open for Titus Young to finally live up to his preseason hype. He had 81 yards on 6 catches against the Bears, while Broyles had 51 yards and the Lions’ only TD on 3 catches. Young slots in between Kerley and Givens in my rankings above. Broyles slots in after Givens.
Kevin Smith, RB, DET – Do the Lions have running backs or fumbling backs? Mikel LeShoure & Joique Bell each coughed one up inside the red zone last night. I expect that LeShoure’s job is safe for now — aside from the fumble, he played well against a tough Bears team — but Smith is worth a stash in deeper leagues on the chance that Detroit activates him in the coming weeks. Smith slots in just ahead of Jamie Harper above.
Greg Smith writes for TheFakeFootball.com and TheFakeBaseball.com. He can be found on Twitter @gregsauce.
I do. The Packers simply don’t use their running backs very much.
Im torn between grabbing Josh Freeman or Jennings. Im healthy at both QB and RB. Eli, McCoy, R Mathews, DMC, FJones are on my roster. But I want to use Jennings as trade bait or use Freeman as Eli’s replacement week11. Jennings holds more value so go with him, right? I’d appreciate some input. Gracias
And what DST would you rather start….Giants or Cards?
Go after Jennings over Freeman. It’s not worth carrying an unnecessary QB when there’s a potential starting RB you could own. For your defense question, I would use Arizona.
i currently have devery henderson as a wr4. is he worth dropping for hankerson or givens? the 3 are all pretty similar in that they are pretty much all or nothing deep threats so i consider them all pretty equal. However, with lance moore back and graham coming back eventually and the injuries to fred davis and garcon it would make sense to pick up one of the guys on waivers as both are at least one of their teams top two target options correct?
and i dont know much about vincent brown but it may be worth a shot?
I would stick with Henderson and save your waiver claim, at least until we know more about Jimmy Graham’s injury. Hankerson would be the add over Givens and Brown, though.
thank you. also what side do you think wins in this trade?
cj2k/harvin/r. jennings/dwyer for dmc/calvin
On volume alone, I like the CJ2K side, but it depends on who that manager would have to drop and what players are available fore the DMC side to pick up.
I was offered his Larry Fitz and Alex Green for my DMC and Britt. What should I counter with?
Starting rosters: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, W/R/T
My Team
RG3, Stafford
DMC, Lynch, Murray, D.Rich, P.Thomas
Jordy, Wallace, Britt, Cobb, Hartline
Graham
His Team
Peyton, Palmer
Foster, Forte, A.Green, Ballard, D.Brown, Powell
L.Fitz, V.Jax, Jennings, Denarius
Gates, Rudolph
With Murray dinged up, you can’t really afford to trade DMC and be stuck with Alex Green, Daryl Richardson, or Pierre Thomas as your RB2. Wide receiver is your position of strength right now, so you could counter with a straight WR-for-RB offer. Try something like Mike Wallace for Matt Forte; although, with Foster on bye this week, your leaguemate will likely be reluctant to deal Forte.
Someone dropped Mendenhall last week. Is he worth the #1 waiver priority in a .5PPR? Thank you!
That depends on who else is available and who you would drop to get him. In a vacuum, I’d say he’s not worth the #1 waiver, though.
I would likely drop kendall wright. Jennings is already owned. Others available are LSH, T. Young, Ballard, and Daryl Richardson.
In that case, I would pass on Mendy and hope either him or one of those other players you listed clears waivers. Ballard seems like the best of that bunch if you want to burn your waiver claim, though.
Is it a horribly bad idea to trade Ray Rice for McFadden this week? Really need the W, kind of thin at RB and won’t get Jennings off waivers.
Is the win this week worth decreasing your chances to win every other week? I don’t think so. Stick with Rice and find some other way to pull out a win. Perhaps Rice for DMC plus another player?
I own D. Murray and picked up F. Jones last week for a significant chunk of FA dollars. Prob won’t land Jennings but who’s the better drop: Felix, DeAngelo, or Cutler (backup to Rivers)? Other RBs are T-Rich (banged up), D. Martin, D. Brown (out another week). D-Willy has been awful but I feel like RB depth is a good thing to have…
You can safely drop DeAngelo Williams. He’s been excruciatingly bad and there are rumors that Jonathan Stewart will take on a feature role for the Panthers starting this week.
Getting sick of Bowe…considering dropping for Cobb. But I’m stacked on WRs. Low on RBs. Been trying to trade bowe but no takers. Dwyer> bowe/Cobb? Planning on using waiver (#3) on Jennings. Thoughts?
I’d rather have Bowe or Cobb than Dwyer at this point because we don’t know when Mendenhall or Redman will be back to complicate the Steelers’ backfield. As for Bowe vs. Cobb head-to-head, Bowe is still a top-20 WR so far, so I’d look to drop someone else to get Cobb. If Bowe is truly the worst of your wideouts, then the move is fine.
Working on a trade where i lose brady. Who makes the better replacement for ROS: Romo or Vick?
Vick.
Denarius or Britt this week?
Moore.
If T-Rich sits this week, how do you like Hardesty as a RB2. I have Rice on BYE, Murray injured, and T-Rich injured. FML.
Hardesty is a fine RB2 if Richardson is out.
thanks Greg!
“Brown was activated from the IR before the Chargers’ bye and should be good to go in Week 8.”
Where was this info obtained from?!?
Please see the update below the Vincent Brown blurb. He is not eligible to return until Week 9.
Greg, it sounds like Graham has a good shot to play this week (fingers crossed) so I’m planning to use my #3 waiver position to drop Olsen and add a RB (I can always pu a decent TE later in the week). Jennings is obviously my #1 priority, but I’m trying to decide if it’s worth risking my high waiver position right now on any of the rest of these guys or just wait and grab whoever is left as a FA. If I don’t get Jennings, I’m really just looking at adding depth.
- V. Ballard (could be a sneaky play this week @TEN)
- D.Richardson
- LSH
- Tanner (I’ve got Murray and Felix is always hurt)
10 team, 1pt PPR (no flex)
QB: Romo
RB: (2) McCoy, T. Rich, LeShoure, Murray, A. Green
WR: (3) Harvin, Britt, Bowe, D. Moore, L. Moore
TE: Graham / Olsen
With Murray/T.Richardson hurt and LeShoure having an ugly match-up versus the Seahawks, picking up a running back should be a priority for you. I would rank them Jennings, Ballard, Tanner, Stephens-Howling, Richardson. Getting Jennings or Ballard is worth the waiver claim and if you miss out on them, it makes sense to get Tanner considering that you own Murray. I wouldn’t burn my waiver claim on LSH or Richardson, though.
Thanks a lot Greg. Yeah, Ballard could be a good pick at RB2 over LeShoure vs SEA. Although, other than the fumble, LeShoure did have a nice PPR game at CHI with 62 yards and 6 catches for 20.
Yeah, if you’re playing PPR, LeShoure has more value. I still think I’d play Ballard over him this week, but I’ll have a better idea when I put my rankings together tomorrow.
probably going to end up claiming Jennings but dont really need him probably looking at flipping him back to the MJD owner along with dez bryant to pull in Rowdy Roddy fair enough offer?
In my experience, managers don’t bite on offers of players that you just picked up off waivers, but you never know. That seems like a nice deal for you if you don’t need Jennings and could pick up someone else from free agency.
I am thinking of dropping Jonathan Stewart for R. Jennings. Is this a good Idea? Stewart has been useless for me since week 2.
Rumors are swirling that Stewart is about to take over as the “feature” back for the Panthers in an attempt to jump-start the team’s running game. I would look for someone else to drop, if possible, and wait to see what Stewart does this week with a supposedly increasing workload.
Actually – I am torn between Felix Jones or Jonathan Stewart for Jennings- or SHould I sit tight and forget jennings?
QB- Brees
WR – A. Brown
WR – D. Thomas
RB – F. Jones
RB Sproles
TE- Pending WW – had F davis
Flex – D. Martin
BN- D.A. Johnson BYE
BN – D. Brown
BN – J Stewart
BN D. Murray
BN A. Dalton
BN Gould
K Akers
DEF Chicago
Drop Gould or Akers. You shouldn’t carry two kickers.
considering akers bye in week 9 – is gould the better choice? Akers seems to be more consistent though
You’re in luck with Gould. He faces the Panthers this week, who allow the most points to fantasy kickers. Drop Akers and revel in the glory of only rostering one kicker.
Unless you are gifted with a high waiver priority at the beginning of the season, do you believe disregarding the “don’t pick up anyone because of so and so waiver priority” and just freely picking up whomever you want would be effective? This is especially in leagues where other league members are saving waiver priorities.
For the most part, I’m all for spending any waiver priority at any time if there’s a player you want. The later we get into the season, the less valuable that waiver priority actually becomes, so I err on the side of using it early. Yes, this is especially effective if other managers in your league are gun-shy about giving up their higher waiver priority.
This may be on the table, so what do you think of this trade in a 0.5 PPR?
I get – M.Ryan
I give – Bradshaw or Morris
Bonus points: 3 at 100 yards rushing, 85 yards receiving, 250 yards passing; 6 at 150 yards rushing, 135 yards receiving, 350 yards passing.
My team:
QB: Cam
WR: Nicks
WR: Dez
WR: DJax
RB: Bradshaw
RB: Morris
TE: Witten
W/R: Forte
W/R/T: Cobb
BN: Graham
BN: Jennings
BN: J.Gordon
BN: LeShoure
BN: Mendenhall
BN: Freeman
It’s also a 2-player keeper league.
Do I make the trade, and if so, who do I deal?
As much as I like Matt Ryan, your team would suffer if you gave up Bradshaw or Morris and had to depend on Jennings or LeShoure to be your RB3. I’d stick wtih Newton at QB, especially in a keeper league.
Well damn, I did the deal. Dealt Bradshaw for Ryan. The thing with our league is often receivers are just as valuable as RBs. And QBs can easily outscore everyone if they throw for 300 yards+. I’m really hoping I didn’t screw myself there.
Another Razzballer here at TFF. Nice.
don’t make the deal. your thin at rb’s. all of your rb’s reek of waiver wire and inconsistency (i dont trust forte) other than the 2 you might trade. Cam may not being doing well as of late, but on tough matchups, you can use the wire and still keep bradshaw and morris. or just trust cam. he really is a good qb. good qb’s come back. either way. dont make the trade.
Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately I didn’t get it in time. See above in my response to Greg.
Haha. Yep. I gotta hit all my fantasy sites to get a wide array of info. All of them are pretty good. Wish I woulda seen the “DON’T DO IT!” post before I clicked “accept” on that deal.
be*
I am having a hard time dropping Jermichael Finley. I have him, Olsen and Celek. There is no reason to have 3 TE’s, so in a .5PPR league which of Olsen and Celek should I drop?
Of those three, I would drop Finley. If it’s only between Olsen and Celek, I’d drop Olsen.
I had Rashad Jennings and dropped him. And then attempted to spend $750 of my $1000 FAAB to get him back. Wasn’t enough….*sigh*
Anyway…+1 PPR, facing my big rival this week and I really want to take him out.
Need to pick 1 from each.
FLEX — James Jones vs JAX, Brandon Gibson vs NE, or Shonn Greene vs MIA.
TE — Greg Olsen @ CHI or Brandon Myers @ KC.
I’m leaning Gibson and Myers here. I figure STL is gonna have to pass all 2nd half, and that Myers is a “safe” bet for 10 pts, where Olsen is not. What do you think?
While Gibson is likely to catch more passes than James Jones, I like Jones’ chances of finding the end zone better. I’d play Jones and Myers. On the other hand, if Greg Jennings plays this week, I’d use Gibson and Myers.
I have a pretty interesting dilemma that I need your help with:
Currently my RB depth looks like this:
Forte
Bush
Felix Jones
Rashad Jennings
I also have Texans D/ST which I want to keep but they are on a bye. So my plan is:
Drop Felix Jones (once Murray comes back he will see fewer carries and I can’t trust him to stay healthy and put up consistent numbers) pick up a D/ST for this week (maybe Browns or Giants) then drop that D/ST after week 8 and pick up Stephens-Howling to replace the 4th RB spot.
What do you guys think of my plan? Any suggestions for a better one? Its a 10 team standard scoring league.
Thanks.
It seems like you’re envisioning a best case scenario. How do you know LSH will be available next week? While I don’t often endorse rostering two defenses, wanting to hold onto the Texans through their bye is understandable. Your logic for dropping Felix Jones is sound and that’s a fine move if you don’t want to drop Houston (I’d pick up NYG, for what it’s worth), but don’t assume that Stephens-Howling will be available next week. With all that said, do you have a bench WR, TE, or QB you could drop instead of Jones to pick up a defense? If you QB1 or TE1 had his bye already (Brees, P. Mannings, etc.), it might be worth dropping your backup instead of dropping Jones.
So I dealt Bradshaw last night for Ryan. Here’s the team now:
QB: Ryan
WR: Nicks
WR: Dez
WR: DJax
RB: Forte
RB: Morris
TE: Witten
W/R: Cobb
W/R/T: Graham
BN: Cam
BN: Gordon
BN: G.Jennings
BN: Mendenhall
BN: LeShoure
BN: Andre Brown
Bonuses: 3 points at 100 yards rushing, 85 yards receiving, 250 yards passing; 6 points at 150 yards rushing, 135 yards receiving, 350 yards passing.
Guy with TRich and DMC also has MJD, Fred Davis, and Owen Daniels on BYE so he needs a little help this week. I would like to snag TRich or DMC, but I know he’s no dummy and they won’t come cheap. I was thinking of a Witten and one of LeShoure or Mendenhall for DMC or TRich, but not sure if that would get it done. Since he needs bodies, would it be out of the question to package Witten with BOTH LeShoure and Mendenhall to get one of DMC or TRich?
I’d be wary of trading for T. Richardson with his current injury concerns. The two-for-one deals for DMC seem reasonable, though. The three-for-one is a harder pill to swallow, but if you can pick up some decent players from free agency, I think that one is fine too. I always like a deal where I get the best player. Try a two-for-one first, though.
Should I be trying Vernon Davis again after last week or go with Brandon Myers?
The Cardinals are stingy against tight ends, but stick with your stud and play Davis.
Should i trade dmc (rb2) and mendy(rb3) for mccoy?
my other rbs charles jennings howling and tate
DMC and McCoy are pretty equal in value, so I don’t really understand why you would throw in another player. Stick with what you’ve got.
and i give dez and he gives maclin
Still seems like a lateral move. I don’t see the point.
I mistyped earlier. This is my correct RB depth chart:
Matt Forte
Michael Turner
Felix Jones
Rashad Jennings
Not sure why I put Bush but anyway I have a pretty solid 1-2 in Forte and Turner so I feel comfortable in my depth there but my FLEX spot needs to improve. I agree it is pretty risky to leave LSH on waivers for another week (I was surprised he wasn’t taken this week) but to get him for sure I’d have to drop either B. Lloyd (maybe more upside with Brady but has been a disappointment) or N. Washington (only consistently productive WR that sees plenty of targets on that offense). I am pretty stacked at WR though with C. Johnson, D. Thomas, Torrey Smith, Bouldin. So is picking up LSH to sure up my FLEX worth the risk if I drop a player for the extra D/ST and don’t get him back? Sorry for the long message but I thought you gave a great answer before so thanks.
I wouldn’t drop Lloyd for LSH, but Washington and Boldin are both possibilities next week when LSH isn’t playing the Niners. Washington and Boldin won’t often crack the starting lineup over your other receivers
Would you give up Andy Dalton and Michael Turner for Frank Gore. Turner is my 3rd rb behind Mccoy and Bush. I dont need Dalton cause i have P.Manning. Im in 1st place wanting to win it all this year, so just trying to hit a homerun with this trade. I dont like giving up this much, but the guys in last place and Gores his best player, so i gota make it good. he has Newton at QB who seems to be slow.
my other option is trading andre johnson or reggie wayne to a guy who has Morris, Richardson, Mcgahee, Johnson,shonne green. He has great RBs and needs a WR, I have great WRs but dont want to trade with this guy cause he is gettting better and a WR could make him better then me. I have beaten him twice.
Thanks a lot jut found the site i like it.
Im scared to trust Mannings health. Dalton has been a good back up.id hate for Manning to go down and i cant win it all because i gotta roll with Josh freeman or sam bradford rest of year.
Frank Gore has been really good so far, but he’s starting to get dinged up. Still, I would make the deal if I could pick up Kendall Hunter as insurance on Gore with your empty roster spot. It couldn’t hurt to shop Dalton or Manning around for a healthier upgrade over Turner before you make the trade, though.
thanks for help man, good thinking with hunter. I will shop around some, but i really like the dependency 49ers have on the run. especially if they bench alex smith. thanks for the help
So i currently own Sproles, I picked up Pierre Thomas 2 weeks ago and Cecil shorts last week. I am reading all the hype about Danario Alexander. With Thomas not really impressing me is it worth dumping thomas for alexander? Is there any future in thomas? Keep in mind I am 9-1-0 in my league and already clinched the playoffs.
standard scoring by the way
12:10:42 am
So you think Jennings is a better add this week than Alex green?