Dynasty Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Week Eight

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In case you are reading this, there is one bit of information to know before you start reading names. Just like last year’s series, we will be utilizing player rostership percentages, courtesy of real dynasty rosters from 1,700 MFL leagues. While this may not be entirely accurate for every individual league, it is very reflective of how managers view who is worthy or not of a roster spot. Now that that’s covered, let’s dive into the waiver wire after Week 7!

Players to double-check availability and immediately add:

• Jameis Winston, QB CLE
• Sean Tucker, RB TB
• Jauan Jennings, WR SF
• Ricky Pearsall, WR SF
• Theo Johnson, TE NYG
• Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE CAR

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB CLE

As I’m sure everyone knows, the big quarterback injury this week was Deshaun Watson tearing his Achilles. And while everyone has been stashing Jameis Winston and I mentioned him as a double-check player in case he’s still on waivers, the actual backup quarterback this week was Dorian Thompson-Robinson up until his injury.

Now, I do believe that Winston is the starting quarterback moving forward, even if DTR is healthy, but I still think he’s worth an add on the off chance he actually is the starter, or at the very least, he’s one injury closer to really being the starter. He’s not an overly amazing passer, but he does offer the rushing upside we covet for fantasy, including 44 rushing yards this week in limited time – he’s worth an add in superflex leagues.

Mason Rudolph, QB TEN

In more quarterback injuries news, Will Levis was inactive this week for the Titans, so Mason Rudolph got the start. He wasn’t overly spectacular against a solid Bills defense, but 215 yards and a touchdown isn’t terrible if you really needed a spot starter, and he did throw 40 times, so if we’re getting that kind of volume from him, there is some uspide there for some 20-point fantasy weeks. Depending on the severity of Levis’s AC sprain, which is to his throwing arm, Rudolph could find himself as the starter for a couple more weeks, and in superflex leagues, every starter is worth a roster spot.

Marcus Mariota, QB WAS

And the final quarterback I wanted to touch on this week is Mariota, who is now the backup to Jayden Daniels in Washington. Daniels left the game early this week with an injury, and Mariota was able to put up 200 yards and two touchdowns in his stead, plus an extra 34 rushing yards for nearly 20 fantasy points off the bench. The Commanders did say that Daniels’ injury was not severe and because they were blowing out the Panthers from almost the start of the game, they didn’t want to risk him coming back in and getting hurt more, which is encouraging for Daniels managers.

But this game is at least an indication to me that Mariota should be rostered in every superflex league, ESPECIALLY if you have Daniels. Should Daniels’ injury actually be worse than believed, or he aggravates the injury in practice or another game later on, Mariota is one of the better backups in the league with a ton of experience and rushing upside, especially in a now high-powered Washington offense. Don’t wait for Daniels to actually get hurt and miss time, pick up Mariota now.

D’Ernest Johnson, RB JAC

Moving on to running back, I think I’ve mentioned Johnson for a couple of weeks now, but with Travis Etienne actually hurt enough to be inactive, Johnson is the direct handcuff to Tank Bigsby, plus offers receiving upside for PPR leagues. He actually had 10 PPR fantasy points this week as the change-of-pace guy and hauled in three catches for 34 yards. I know people who had to spot-start Johnson in dynasty leagues because of injuries and bye weeks this week.

This kind of reminds me of what we saw early on from Alexander Mattison and Dare Ogunbowale as the 1bs who grew into the 1s as they got more opportunity. I don’t think Johnson will overpower Bigsby, but if Bigsby were to get hurt while Etienne is hurt, Johnson would have the backfield entirely to himself, and that’s well worth a roster spot.

Cedric Tillman, WR CLE

Now at wide receiver, the big add for the week is Browns wide receiver Tillman, who appears to be the direct replacement for Amari Cooper in this offense, and what a game he had. 12 targets, which was second on the team behind David Njoku, eight receptions, 81 yards, 16.1 PPR fantasy points. It’s unfortunate that this could have been Cooper’s stat line without Deshaun Watson, but hey, he’s got Josh Allen now and so we get Tillman seeing huge target numbers and producing well. Especially if Jameis Winston is the starter for the remainder of the year, he’s going to love a huge target like Tillman on the outside whether he’s actually open or not, so Tillman needs to be rostered everywhere!

Mecole Hardman, WR KC

Alright, another week, another Chiefs wide receiver getting hurt, and another week where that just does not matter for Patrick Mahomes because he just keeps on winning. But with JuJu Smith-Schuster leaving the game with a hamstring injury, the assumption would be that *SOMEONE* fills the WR1 role that Rashee Rice originally had and then Smith-Schuster filled in week six, and my bet for that would be Mecole Hardman now. He didn’t have any tremendous numbers this week, only one catch on two targets, but he did have an end-around rushing touchdown and he’s got more experience in the NFL and this offense than basically anyone else besides Travis Kelce. He may not end up doing anything, but as the most available player in this article, I think he’s worth a shot.

Jacob Cowing, WR SF

And finally, sticking with the Chiefs-Niners game, the Niners receiving corps seemed decimated by injuries and illnesses this week, with Deebo Samuel coming into the game sick and barely playing, and then Brandon Aiyuk getting carted off after taking a monster hit, and all of this while Jauan Jennings was inactive with a hip injury himself. Of course, George Kittle would be a big winner to any more missed games from receivers, plus it was nice to finally see Ricky Pearsall, but don’t forget about the Niners other rookie receiver Cowing, who had two receptions for 50 yards, including a nice 41-yard grab that honestly should’ve been a touchdown if Purdy didn’t underthrow him. If he’s still available on waivers, he’s a very fun dart throw at the end of your bench that could be a nice stash heading into 2025.