I can’t believe it is already time to talk about Week 8 fantasy football waiver wire options (very early ones, but still). The season is absolutely flying by, and the fantasy playoffs will be here before we know it.
With that in mind, it’s important to stay one step ahead of your league mates. We may be only halfway through Sunday, but let’s take a look at players who have already cemented themselves as top fantasy football pickups for Week 8.
Early Week 8 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Joe Flacco (QB – CIN) | 10.1% Rostered
The 40-year-old came to play in his second game as a Bengal, finishing with over 25 fantasy points on Thursday night against the Steelers. Joe Flacco leaned heavily on his star receivers in this one, with 257 of his 342 passing yards and all three of his touchdowns going to either Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins.
As long as he can keep feeding Chase and Higgins, Flacco should be able to find more success going forward. He isn’t necessarily an add in standard-sized leagues just yet, but he’s worth considering in deeper formats. Right now, Flacco is the 31st-most rostered quarterback in the league — that should definitely change coming off this big performance.
Chimere Dike (WR – TEN) | 1.4% Rostered
The Titans’ offense immediately looked better in their first game without Brian Callahan. And the biggest beneficiary was fourth-round rookie Chimere Dike. Coming into this week, Dike had just 26 scoreless yards through six games. He finished this game with four catches on four targets for 70 yards and a touchdown.
Going forward, it is still difficult to see Dike’s path to being a relevant option in standard-sized fantasy leagues. Even with Calvin Ridley sidelined, he was still clearly third on the team (behind Elic Ayomanor and Van Jefferson) with 24 routes on 36 Cam Ward dropbacks. However, Dike is worth stashing in deeper formats. If this offense can continue to improve under new coaching, we want to chase this flash of upside from the rookie.
Kyle Monangai (RB – CHI) | 7.1% Rostered
The seventh-round rookie out of Rutgers continues to grow his role behind D’Andre Swift in the Bears’ offense. Today, Kyle Monagai easily set a new career-high with 16.4 half-PPR fantasy points. He rushed 13 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, also adding two catches for 13 receiving yards. He also set a new career-high with a 46% snap share, playing just five fewer snaps than Swift.
If this split continues, Monangai could carve out a standalone Flex role as the 1B to Swift’s 1A. After all, we’ve seen Ben Johnson support two fantasy-viable backs before. At worst, he’s flashing talent and is the clear handcuff behind Swift in a solid Chicago offense. The combination of those possibilities makes him worth adding in all formats.
Colston Loveland (TE – CHI) | 23.5% Rostered
A first-round pick in this year’s draft, Colston Loveland hasn’t made much of a fantasy impact so far in his NFL career. He missed some time with an injury, but hasn’t been a big part of the Bears’ offense even when healthy. Coming into this week, his career-highs in route participation rate and snap share were just 48% (Week 2) and 57% (Week 1).
Even this week, Loveland didn’t do much. He finished with just three catches on four targets for 24 yards (to be fair, one of those catches was an impressive jumping snag on the sideline). However, there is a chance that the rookie will see his role going forward. Veteran tight end Cole Kmet left this game early with a back injury. If Kmet misses extended time, Loveland could finally start seeing consistent enough usage to be a relevant fantasy option. That makes him worth adding in deep formats.
Brashard Smith (RB – KC) | 6% Rostered
Brashard Smith’s final stats (81 total yards on 14 carries and five receptions) are inflated because he saw mop-up duty in what was a dominant win for the Chiefs. But the rookie was involved even before things got out of hand, especially in the passing game: He recorded four receptions and a carry in the first half.
Given that Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt continue to provide very limited juice in Kansas City’s backfield, Smith’s combination of pass-catching ability and athleticism is intriguing. He’s worth stashing if you’ve got space on your bench.
Tyrod Taylor (QB – NYJ) | 0.6% Rostered
The Jets officially pulled the plug on the Justin Fields experience today, benching him at halftime. With Fields benched, journeyman backup Tyrod Taylor stepped in as the team’s quarterback and, if we’re being honest, he didn’t look much better. In 1-QB formats, he is not worth considering at this point, with all of Fields’ downside and none of his elite upside.
But there are some deeper Superflex formats in which every single starting NFL quarterback should be rostered. There’s a chance this was a temporary decision, but right now, I assume Taylor will be the Jets’ starting quarterback going forward. At 36 years old, Taylor isn’t as mobile as he once was, but he should still add some value with his legs as well, making him slightly more intriguing than your usual backup on a terrible team.
Bonus: Andy Dalton (QB – CAR), Quinn Ewers (QB – MIA) and Kenny Pickett (QB – LV) all finished their respective teams’ games under center. Bryce Young suffered an ankle injury while Geno Smith and Tua Tagovailoa were both pulled late in very rough outings. All three of these situations are worth monitoring in formats where starting quarterbacks are worth their weight in gold.
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Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.
