Week #8 Waiver Watch Of Truth
Welcome back to The Waiver Watch Of Truth!
Let’s dive right in.
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones, New York Giants – After a rocky start to his career which led the Giants to decline Jones’ 5th year option, Jones has still shown inconsistency this season, but has demonstrated he’s capable of a week winning ceiling. This past week against Jacksonville Jones will finish as a Top 5 QB on the week after putting up over 28 fantasy points, getting it done with over 300 total yards through the air and on the ground. The upcoming schedule for Seattle is very favorable as they play Seattle, Houston and Detroit their next three games.
Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots – After going 2-0 in his first two starts, Zappe headed back to the bench when incumbent Mac Jones returned from his ankle injury. However it didn’t take long for Zappe to get back on the field after Jones was benched following his first 3 drives in the game. Zappe has shown a decent ceiling in a few games this year and he’s a must-add option for 2QB and Superflex leagues, and could have some decent streaming appeal in 1QB leagues.
Sam Ehlinger, Indianapolis Colts – A deeper add that probably isn’t worth grabbing in 1QB leagues, but should be gradded in 2QB/Superflex, the Colts’ announced this week that Sam Ehlinger will be the team’s starting QB for the remainder of the season. We don’t know much about Ehlinger but he had a solid career at Texas and put together a nice stat line in the pre-season. The Colts have an abundance of weapons and Ehlinger’s athleticism could provide some resolve to the Colts’ offensive line woes and possibly spark this offense.
Running Backs
Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens – There’s a good chance Edwards was added before Week 7 kickoff with the recent news of JK Dobbins heading to IR and Edwards’ activation from the PUP, but it’s worth double checking to see if he’s available, and if so, he’s by far my #1 add this week. In his first game back he didn’t see a ton of snaps, only logging a 36% snap share, but was given a ton of work, seeing 17 opportunities and turning it into 18.6 PPR points. We know the Ravens love to use a committee backfield so while I don’t foresee Edwards’ usage reaching bellcow status, you would imagine his snap share at least increases to the 50+% level and he should continue to see 15-20 opportunities per game.
Marlon Mack, Denver Broncos – This is a much deeper add you can most likely even grab for free Wednesday morning, but the Broncos’ backfield has been bitten by injuries, with Mike Boone now added to IR. The Broncos already lost Javonte Williams for the season, and seem to have shaky confidence in Melvin Gordon. The offense is uninspiring and Mack looks to be part of a 3-way committee so not a ton of ceiling here, but you could see Mack fight for some opportunities, especially if Gordon continues to be in the dog house.
Jamycal Hasty, Jacksonville Jaguars – Another deep add as the waiver wire is thin at RB this week, you can pick up Hasty for free Wednesday morning most likely. Travis Etienne is becoming a star in Jacksonville, but I doubt they give him bellcow treatment, which should put Hasty on the field for at least a few opportunities each game. He’s a good player to add if you’re the Etienne owner and you believe in handcuffing your RBs.
Wide Receivers
Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts – We’ve been waiting for the Parris Campbell breakout for years now and health has been the only thing holding him back to this point. When he’s been on the field he’s produced, and we saw his capabilities in Week 7, turning 12 targets in 10 catches for 70 yards and a score. The change at QB could muddy the waters a bit, but the Colts’ offensive line has been a disaster this season and Campbell could continue to see high volume as the short area safety outlet in the office.
Marquise Goodwin, Seattle Seahawks – The speedster has been around the NFL a while now, and now steps into a big opportunity as DK Metcalf went down to a knee injury on Sunday. Initial reports say it isn’t long-term, but he’s most likely slated to miss a few weeks. This should open up opportunity for Goodwin who made the most of his opportunity Sunday, turning in 5 targets for 4 catches, 67 yards and a 2 scores. You can’t rely on 2 touchdowns every week from Goodwin, but he should certainly be on the field a lot more which will increase his opportunity over the next few weeks.
Mecole Hardman, Kansas City Chiefs – It’s a roulette wheel every week with the Chiefs’ weapons outside of Travis Kelce, and this week Hardman’s turn for the spotlight. He provided 26 fantasy points on the back of 3 TDs, which most likely won’t ever be repeated again in his career, but saw his second highest snap percentage of the season and has put up double digit fantasy points in 3 straight weeks now. It’s always a good idea to roster pieces of high scoring offenses because they have the capability for a boom week as we saw on Sunday. Hardman can be a decent boom/bust FLEX option if you’re hit by injuries or looking for bye week replacements.
Deandre Carter/Joshua Palmer, Los Angeles Chargers – The Chargers’ wide receivers are dropping like flies, with Mike Williams the latest victim of the injury bug. Keenan Allen has been battling a hamstring injury since Week 1, and while he returned to action in Week 7, he played a very limited number of snaps. If Allen still isn’t right yet, and with Williams slated to miss 4-6 weeks from a high ankle sprain, Carter and Palmer both stand to benefit as the defacto starting WRs in LA. Palmer missed this past week with a concussion so he should be good to go in Week 9 after the Chargers’ bye week and has been a favorite of Justin Herbert’s with Allen out of the lineup, receiving 6 or more targets in 4 of the last 5 games he’s played. Carter is the smaller slot WR who came through in Week 1 when Allen went down, and then received 94% of the snaps in Week 7, by far his highest of the season. These two are worth adding to see how Allen heals up through the bye, and knowing they’ll be with Williams for an extended period.
Tight Ends
Greg Dulcich, Denver Broncos – I highlighted Dulcich last week and bringing him here again, as he continued to build on his progress in Week 7 with 9 targets for 6 catches and 51 yards. He seems to be getting more involved each week, going from 3 to 9 targets the last 2 games, and has the athleticism to turn in chunk plays for the offense. He’s worth a look if you lost Njoku or are trying to stream the TE position this season.
Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints – A riskier play with a low floor, Johnson scored twice in Week 7 which will ultimately make him one of the best TEs on the week. He’s been over 70% of snaps each of the last two games and has also gotten 5+ targets in each week as well. He surely won’t score twice each week, or even once for that matter, but he seems to be a focal point in the redzone and 5+ targets weekly from a TE isn’t bad to plug in if you’re streaming the position.
Harrison Bryant, Cleveland Browns – Bryant probably doesn’t offer a ton of upside, but could be a solid streaming option after David Njoku was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain which will sideline him for the next several weeks. Bryant was already playing around 50% of snaps with Njoku healthy, so we should see that number increase going forward.
Good luck on the wire all and as always, stay true!