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Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Week 8 Waiver Wire
Quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa -- He's coming back, and he's available in roughly half of CBS leagues.
Drake Maye - Another week with 20+ Fantasy points. Yeah, you should have already added the rook. Even with a brutal upcoming schedule, the upside is too tantalizing to ignore.
Bo Nix - It has been a predictably abhorrent showing of real-life QB play from the rookie, but he is scrambling a ton and faces the Panthers in Week 8.
Running Back
Jaylen Warren - He's a stud, he's finally getting healthy, and his offense may be better than we've ever seen it during Warren's time with the Steelers. Probably not a lot better, but maybe!
Kimani Vidal - I highlighted Vidal in last week's Friday newsletter where I looked at remaining schedules and rest of season rankings. I'm worried about J.K. Dobbins. He's being asked to handle the largest workload of his career and the early-season bye week means that he'll have to do so for 10+ weeks-straight.
Tyjae Spears - Similarly, I'm worried about the Titans riding Tony Pollard into the dirt. Spears could absolutely capitalize on the late-season schedule if Pollard is sidelined during that time.
Blake Corum - Same logic as Vidal. Early-season bye week + a bellcow RB1 who has an injury history has me stashing the team's RB2 everywhere.
MarShawn Lloyd - I loved Lloyd as a prospect! And Jacobs hasn't exactly impressed to this point. We could see the rook work his way into a significant role late in the season.
Kendre Miller - Maybe Alvin Kamara gets traded. Or maybe he again isn't able to handle a massive workload as the only show in town. Miller looked like he had the juice in limited action last week.
Wide Receiver
Jauan Jennings - You can watch his biggest plays right here. Even if his eruption vs. the Rams is simply removed, Jennings still is averaging over 2.00 yards per route run on the year. I found that hard to believe. He's been that good.
Here are some more notes on Jennings as a player, if you want a deeper dive:
I view him as a slightly better waiver wire add than Dontayvion Wicks was, and I don't believe any revisionist history is affecting that evaluation. The injury situation affecting Jennings feels more permanent than what Wicks was looking at with the Romeo Doubs/Christian Watson absences. The offense isn't quite as exciting as Green Bay's, but it's very close. I don't feel quite as confident in the player evaluation as I do with Wicks, but it's very close. I am content spending up to 70-75% of my starting FAAB and up to 90% of my remaining FAAB. Of course, the amount you spend should be determined based upon your own risk tolerance and the circumstances of your team. What I just outlined was the amount that I am content spending as an absolute max, meaning that I would only spend that amount if I absolutely felt the need to based on the circumstances of my team.
Rome Odunze - I usually don't include players with a rostered rate above 50%, but Odunze is sitting at just 60% and is a must-add if available. The production hasn't been huge yet, but Odunze's film tells another story. We could see a huge breakout following Chicago's Week 7 bye, starting with an awesome matchup against the Washington Commanders defense.
Rashod Bateman - The underlying information on Bateman has suggested that a breakout was possible if Baltimore passed the ball more, and we saw him make some big plays on Monday vs. the Buccaneers with Zay Flowers playing through an ankle injury. On a waiver wire with lots of WR options, you might be able to get Bateman for a near-minimum bid.
Jalen McMillan - The Bucs talked the rook up all summer long. There might not have been a more steady drumbeat out of a team about any offensive single player than McMillan during the 2024 offseason. I watched all of his preseason routes and thought he looked phenomenal. He reminded me of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but with a bit more length to stride out. He's smooth. I think that it makes sense that the slot would be the best position for him because there's more room for him to operate.
With Chris Godwin out, McMillan may see more opportunities from the slot. Sterling Shepard is the other name to bring up as likely to see more slot reps going forward. The Bucs are tied for first in the NFC South and will likely continue to push for the playoffs. If McMillan is struggling adjusting to life in the NFL, it would be no surprise to see Shepard earn Baker Mayfield's trust and become the team's top target. He's absolutely also worth targeting off the waiver wire.
According to the Fantasy Points Data Suite, McMillan has the best average separation score and route "win rate" of Tampa's receivers that aren't Godwin or Mike Evans. He's my second-most prioritized WR after Jennings on this week's waiver wire, and Shepard is my third. Trey Palmer is also worth considering adding in deep leagues. He's a perimeter field stretcher with real speed. He has not shown much ability to win routes or draw targets as a pro yet but did so prolifically during his final season in college.
Ricky Pearsall - You could push Pearsall as high as WR2 among this week's waiver wire options, but he's my fourth preference if adding a wideout that isn't purely an upside stash. I'm not even sure how much he'll see the field if both Deebo Samuel and Jennings are healthy. It's not a given that either plays in Week 8, so Pearsall is worth adding if you have a speculative spot on your bench.
Dontayvion Wicks - He only ran one fewer route than Christian Watson and was second on the team with six targets in Week 7.
Tutu Atwell - He's been super useful for Fantasy when given opportunities, and there's talk that Cooper Kupp may get traded?!
Tight End 
Hunter Henry - Week 7 marked the second game this season where we've seen the Patriots offense funnel through Hunter Henry. That type of potential is worth an add, I'd say! That's pretty rare at TE. For what it's worth, Demario Douglas has an insane 41% target share when sharing the field with Drake Maye.
Erick All - If you want a deep-league TE with sleeper upside, All might just be him.
If you did not catch the Beyond the Box Score podcast episode on FFT that I record with Adam Aizer and Dan Schneier every Monday, you can listen to that here!
Week 8 Rankings 
Quarterback
I'll sort these rankings into tiers in the Thursday update. Check back on Thursday if you want tiers.
("ECR" = expert consensus rank. These images show my rankings and how they compare to consensus, courtesy of FantasyPros)

Running Backs
I'll sort these rankings into tiers in the Thursday update. Check back on Thursday if you want tiers.
("ECR" = expert consensus rank. These images show my rankings and how they compare to consensus, courtesy of FantasyPros)
To start the week, I'm projecting as if all of the following will not play: Jonathan Taylor, Travis Etienne, Jonathon Brooks
Updated rankings are sent out on Thursday and Sunday!
Wide Receivers
I'll sort these rankings into tiers in the Thursday update. Check back on Thursday if you want tiers.
("ECR" = expert consensus rank. These images show my rankings and how they compare to consensus, courtesy of FantasyPros)
To start the week, I'm projecting as if all of the following will not play: Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, Chris Olave, Jakobi Meyers


Tight Ends
I'll sort these rankings into tiers in the Thursday update. Check back on Thursday if you want tiers.
("ECR" = expert consensus rank. These images show my rankings and how they compare to consensus, courtesy of FantasyPros)
If you have any feedback on the newsletter, feel free to send it my way! Thank you for reading! And please, do check out Beyond the Boxscore on FFT! Adam, Dan, and I put a lot of work into that podcast project and aim to make it fun and accessible for any level of NFL fan!
 
 
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