Week 8 Waiver Wire Targets

This week, however, he made fantasy owners happy by running the ball 22 times for 110 yards and a TD against the Steelers.

We have now reached the halfway point of the football season and fantasy leagues are starting to get their playoff picture coming together.

Miller has much more value and upside than Graham, as most RB1 or RB2 running backs would when compared to a tight end. Tom Brady is still hard to pass on, as proven this past Sunday against one of the best defenses in the league.

Darren McFadden, RB, Cowboys (Bid: All remaining money) McFadden is the gem on the wire this week, and he could very well end up being the waiver wire MVP by the end of the season. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan that McFadden will be the starter this week against Seattle. Foster missed the first three games at the beggining of the season with a groin injury. So starter Joseph Randle leaves Sunday’s game in the first quarter with a strained oblique, and what happens? In a year I thought would make Luck the best player in the league, has been quite the opposite. I’d be willing to empty my budget for McFadden if he were available in any of my leagues.

Alfred Blue, RB, Houston Texans: The loss of Texans RB Arian Foster will sting many a fantasy owner this week, but Blue is here to fill in that void. That’s just four fewer carries than he had in the first four games of the season combined. His fellow big-name offseason acquisition DeMarco Murray had 18 carries for 65 yards. It’s a coin flip whether Blue or Polk or even Grimes will emerge. It’s a low-risk move that could come with a modest reward. Grab him and Chris Polk? All was not lost with Foster going down though as he did compile 117 yards and two touchdowns before tearing his Achilles. Cousins has been throwing 2 INTs per game most weeks this season, but he channeled his inner-QB and put up QB1 stats. Lamar Miller is someone you want to target, and he may come at a steep price with back to back weeks of healthy production, but a trade talk you want to be a part of. That could come as soon as Week 9, and the fact that he returned to practice last week was an indication that he will spend the minimum required time on the IR boomerang.

Still, there are plenty of appealing quarterbacks on the wire, so let’s pick five options owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues. Andrews and Bishop Sankey are caretakers provide what baseball teams refer to as organizational depth. They’re better cast in an emergency role than anything else. Cobb, who ran for more than 1,600 yards at Minnesota previous year, can be an impact player. Take a shot on him now before he becomes a popular name immediately in advance of his pro debut. It doesn’t matter if it is fantasy or reality, the Jaguars are on the rise and people are taking notice!

Question (via Twitter): What are good replacements for (Arian) Foster? The National Football League rookie has a good chance for a big game against Houston, who like the 49ers, have struggled in a big way lately. It’s a good time to step back and take stock of your team as you continue to battle your way through the bye weeks and see if there is any way to improve your team from the fantasy football waiver wire. It was his first 100-yard performance since September 15, 2013, and his first game with 10-plus carries and at least 4.0 yards per attempt since October. 26, 2014. Those were his first eight touches of the season, and the Giants have a crowded backfield. That hasn’t shown up in the box score until recently, but Amendola made a statement in the team’s wins over the Colts and Jets. He’s thrown just two touchdown passes with seven interceptions in the last three games. That’s welcome news for those teams that we’re missing key players. However, if you continue to read our advice at Gridiron Experts and make smart claims every week, you might find the next best thing. Johnson’s seen eight targets in each of his last two games, and he’s getting healthier. The opportunity will be there for Johnson, and the schedule is friendly to receivers.

Cooper has yet to have a game with fewer than four receptions or 47 yards. Diggs compiled six receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown. Those, of course, aren’t world-beating numbers, but they’re ones that should at least have your eye during the meat of the bye-week portion of the schedule. He dropped several passes in his return last weekend from a foot injury that sidelined him for the opening five games. With a ideal start to the year and a week 8 game against Indianapolis, look for Newton and Carolina to have another game scoring over 20 points and possibly the highest scoring game of the week for a QB.

Gary Barnidge is apparently the real deal. He should be a TE1 for the remainder of the season. He had a monster week with 127 yards and two touchdowns. Once he’s back out on the field, he’ll give Jameis Winston a third big red-zone target, and defenses won’t have the luxury of paying him a ton of attention with Doug Martin and Mike Evans on the field. I prefer Ebron for the rest of the season, but Seferian-Jenkins can help anyone in need.