The Wire - Week 8
By Levi Ellis
We all survived one of the toughest weeks in recent memory because of byes and injuries and we are now officially halfway through the fantasy regular season. By now you should have a pretty good idea on whether your team is a playoff contender, a fringe playoff team or a lost cause. Regardless of what the answer is, we've got you covered here at DynastyPros with this week's best deep league waiver wire finds. The first thing you need to do is check to see who was dropped last week in your leagues because you are likely to find some really good players who were only dropped due to circumstances. After you've done this, take a look at our top pickups at each position listed below.
All players are listed in priority order based on position.
Bye Weeks - Baltimore & Las Vegas
(2 QB Leagues Only)
Taylor Heinicke - 25/37 268 yards, 1td, 1int, 10 carries, 95 yards, 2FL - Some people may have given up on Heinicke in recent weeks but he was back to being a good fantasy QB last week. He did have three turnovers but he also produced on the ground with 95 yards. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Case Keenum - 21/33 199 yards, 1td, 4 carries, 7 yards - There's a high probability that Baker misses another game and Case is one of the better backup QBs in the league. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Mike White - 20/32 202 yards, 1td, 2ints - If you are desperate and do not have a QB and all other 31 starting QBs are owned then maybe you grab Mike White. White is likely to be the starter the next few weeks with Wilson's knee injury. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Kenneth Gainwell - 5 carries, 20 yards, 8 targets, 4 catches, 41 yards, 1td - Check Miles Sanders injury status before making Gainwell your number one RB priority. If Sanders' ankle injury is serious then Gainwell is a top target because of his three down ability. 20% of your remaining faab budget.
D'Ernest Johnson - 22 carries, 146 yards, 1td, 2 targets, 2 catches, 22 yards - Chubb could be back this week but this is still a two back system and Hunt is on IR. Johnson looked amazing on Thursday night and he is a must own at this point. 15% of your remaining faab budget.
Khalil Herbert - 18 carries, 100 yards, 5 targets, 5 catches, 33 yards - This kid is producing even with the Bears being an absolute train wreck. Even when Montgomery comes back he may still have a role. 15% of your remaining faab budget.
Devontae Booker - 14 carries, 51 yards, 1td, 3 targets, 2 catches, 15 yards - Barkley is out a few more weeks and Booker is the primary back. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Brandon Bolden - 2 carries, 0 yards, 7 targets, 6 catches, 79 yards, 1td - I never believed that Bolden would remain the pass catching back for more than a week or two but he has and he's producing. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Samaje Perine - 11 carries, 52 yards, 1td, 1 target, 1 catch, 23 yards - Perine has had a career resurgence since joining Cincinnati and with Mixon consistently banged up he's a guy that should be owned. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Boston Scott - 7 carries, 24 yards, 1td, 2 targets, 1 catch, 5 yards - Only if Miles Sanders misses time and only as a dart throw. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Devonta Freeman - 4 carries, 14 yards, 1td, 3 targets, 3 catches, 25 yards - Baltimore seems like to Freeman the best after Murray so he should still have a small role. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
JJ Taylor - 9 carries, 21 yards, 2tds, 1 target, 1 catch, 5 yards - This has been the week I've been waiting for with Taylor. He may be small but he runs big and I love his energy. I'm curious to see if the Patriots will continue to use him moving forward. He's worth a stash just in case. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Ty Johnson - 5 carries, 6 yards, 7 targets, 6 catches, 65 yards - With Mike White in at QB the coaching staff seemed to think they could only throw to the RBs. If next week is a duplicate, Johnson could lead the team in targets and catches. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Possible real life trade candidates: Marlon Mack, Mark Ingram, Phillip Lindsay, & David Johnson. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
KJ Osborn - Osborn was on bye last week so people may have forgotten about him or even dropped him to put together a formidable roster last week. Osborn may be the third wheel in Minnesota but make no mistake about it, he's legit and is a must own player. 25% of your remaining faab budget.
Bryan Edwards - 4 targets, 3 catches, 43 yards, 1td - Edwards is one of my absolute favorite young players in the game but it just hasn't been his time yet. Las Vegas is on bye this week but when, not IF, Edwards breaks out he is a league winning type of player. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Kalif Raymond - 8 targets, 6 catches, 115 yards - He has become the most consistent and fantasy relevant WR in Detroit. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Darius Slayton - 9 targets, 5 catches, 63 yards - The Giants have to throw the ball to someone and Slayton is one of those guys who could go off for two TDs and over a hundred yards on any given week. I love the high upside that he presents but he could just as easily finish the game with twenty yards and zero scores. He's a swing for the fences kind of play. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Jamal Agnew - With DJ Chark on IR, Agnew has stepped up and has had a consistent role in the offense. He's a big play machine too which is always nice to have in your lineup. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Van Jefferson - 7 targets, 4 catches, 43 yards, 1td - Jefferson is another personal favorite of mine but he's yet to have a consistent role in the offense. After having seven targets last week though, it makes me wonder if we could soon see a more consistent role. He's worth stashing just in case Woods or Kupp get hurt. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Kendrick Bourne - 4 targets, 4 catches, 68 yards, 1/1 passing 25 yards, 1td - Bourne has pieced together a couple of nice games this year but he's still nothing more than a bye week/injury fill in guy. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Dante Pettis - 5 targets, 5 catches, 39 yards, 1td, 1/1 passing 16 yards - Pettis has had back to back good games and as long as the starting WRs continue to miss games Pettis will continue to get opportunities. 5% of your remaining faab budget.
Allen Lazard - 6 targets, 5 catches, 60 yards, 1td - I don't think Lazards role is consistent enough for my liking but he has flashed and plays with one of the best QBs in the game so you could do worse. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Mack Hollins - 3 targets, 2 catches, 13 yards, 1td - Hollins is worth a look only if Parker and Fuller still miss. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Anthony Miller - I might be the only person you will find that thinks this could actually work out with Miller in Pittsburgh. For some reason he seems like a great fit with Juju out so only time will tell if his third team will be the one. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Possible real life trade candidates: Will Fuller, N'Keal Harry, Jamison Crowder & Denzel Mims. While I think there are many other WR candidates that "could" be traded, most of those guys are already owned (Cooks, Robinson, Tim Patrick, etc). 5% of your remaining faab budget.
CJ Uzomah - 3 targets, 3 catches, 91 yards, 2tds - He's likely already owned but if not take this as a gift and scoop him up because the Jets are on tap this week. 15% of your remaining faab budget.
Pat Friermuth - Friermuth is just coming around and his role is likely to only grow with Juju being out for the year. He was on bye last week so many guys may have forgotten about him. 15% of your remaining faab budget.
Ricky Seals-Jones - 7 targets, 6 catches, 51 yards - Another week where Seals-Jones performs. As long as Logan Thomas is on IR he should produce. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Robert Tonyan - 5 targets, 4 catches, 63 yards, 1td - This guy has been irrelevant all but one game before last week. While I'm not confident things have changed after last week's game, I do think he's worth taking a shot on if your TE situation isn't looking good however the Cardinals are up this week and that will not be an easy matchup. 10% of your remaining faab budget.
Dan Arnold - Arnold was on bye last week but before that we were seeing how involved he has been in the offense since being acquired via trade. Arnold is not going to be a star but if you need someone who won't get you a zero then Arnold can probably cover you. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
MyCole Pruitt - 3 targets, 2 catches, 27 yards, 1td - Tennessee seems to like the backup TE in their passing game. Last year when Jonnu Smith was in town they kept throwing to Firkser and now that Firkser is the starter Pruitt seems to get the looks. 1% of your remaining faab budget.
Dead to Me (redraft leagues only)
Davis Mills - Tyrod is looming and the Rams are up next
Bears passing game - My money's on Nagy being the first coach fired this year
Giovani Bernard - Let's face it, he's been dead all year
Le'Veon Bell - To be fair he hasn't been "alive" since 2019
Allen Robinson - In redraft sell him for what you can, in dynasty buy low and stash him
Robby Anderson - If you've watched football this year then you know
Anthony Firkser - Maybe last season was an anomaly
On Life Support
Sam Darnold - I'm not one to overreact but he hasn't played well recently and the Watson rumors are only heating up
Melvin Gordon - Unless he gets traded it's going to be a long season for Gordon owners
Mike Davis - Patterson is making Davis irrelevant
Lions WRs not named Raymond - The least likely guy seems to be the most relevant
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