• Bo Nix has been a top-three quarterback: Nix has scored 88.7 fantasy points over the past four weeks, the third most among quarterbacks.
• Cedric Tillman has been the best wide receiver recently: His 47 PPR points across the past two weeks are six more than any other wide receiver.
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Estimated Reading Time: 26 minutes
With Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season nearly complete, here are the key players to target on the fantasy football waiver wire. Here, we’ll cover options for smaller and deeper leagues and also highlight the players to avoid.
Jump to a position group:
QB | RB | WR | TE
Quarterback
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (Rostered in 36.2% of leagues on ESPN)
Nix is consistently producing from a fantasy perspective. He has emerged as one of the top rushing quarterbacks in the league, with 29 carries for 149 yards and two touchdowns over the past four weeks. Nix has combined that with solid passing, notching 870 yards and seven touchdowns. That mix of passing and rushing has been good enough for a top-10 fantasy finish in three of his past four games.
Nix is arguably the best waiver option at quarterback simply because of how well he’s playing, but he also has a relatively good schedule for quarterbacks the rest of the way. On top of that, he has the best matchup for quarterbacks next week among waiver-wire options. He faces the Baltimore Ravens, who allowed the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks over the first seven weeks and just allowed a top-10 finish to Jameis Winston in Week 8.
Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (46.5%)
Darnold has been an incredibly consistent fantasy quarterback this season, averaging 17.4 points per game this season. His only bad game came against the New York Jets ‘defense. If anything, we expect him to improve going forward with tight end T.J. Hockenson activated to the 53-man roster.
Darnold has a few very favorable matchups over the next month and a half, including the Indianapolis Colts next week and the Jacksonville Jaguars the week after. He should be a clear fantasy starter in both weeks. Unfortunately, Darnold has one of the worst quarterback schedules in the fantasy playoffs, but he can still contribute to teams working to make the playoffs.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (47.7%)
Tagovailoa returned to the Dolphins’ starting lineup and was fine in his first game back. He completed 28 of 38 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown. While this was a good matchup on paper against the Arizona Cardinals, the offense was playing a lot better than in recent weeks. Tagovailoa was a top-10 fantasy quarterback last year and in Week 1. While he moves down the ranks on a per-game basis, he had some hot streaks and some cold streaks.
Tagovailoa is worth picking up in case he goes on a hot streak in the second half of the season.
Stafford has been a disappointment for most of the season, but Rams wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp returned to game action this week. They combined for 12 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown, helping Stafford to 279 passing yards and four touchdowns.
The Rams have one of the worst schedules for quarterbacks over the rest of the season, with seven straight games against top-12 teams at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks from Weeks 10-16. Regardless, Stafford was a top-five fantasy quarterback in 2021, and with his wide receivers at full strength, there is always a chance he will return to his old form.
Winston is the Cleveland Browns‘ new starting signal-caller now that Deshaun Watson is out for the season. There was some concern that Dorian Thompson-Robinson could be the starter at some point sooner rather than later, but after Winston led the Browns to victory over the Baltimore Ravens, this should be his job for the rest of the season. He completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first 300-yard performance by a Browns quarterback this season, despite the team not having Amari Cooper.
Unfortunately, the Cleveland has a terrible fantasy schedule. In the next six weeks, they face five teams in the top 10 at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks, and they have their bye week. Still, it could be worth stashing Winston for the fantasy playoffs in preparation for much more favorable matchups in Weeks 15 and 16.
Jones had a slow start to the season but ran the ball more often and had star rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers stepping up, so he averaged 16.2 points from Weeks 3 to 6. He was benched at the end of Week 7 but will start on Monday Night Football in Week 8. Ideally, he can keep running at a high rate, and the passing game can more consistently score with Nabers. At a minimum, Jones has a high rushing floor. His 50 carries over the first seven weeks were fifth most among quarterbacks.
There is no guarantee he will keep his job throughout the rest of the season, but if he does, he has the most favorable schedule for quarterbacks. The Giants face only one team that is above average at preventing fantasy points to quarterbacks. Four of their next six opponents are among the top six teams at allowing fantasy points to quarterbacks. Jones’ three matchups in the playoffs are the third-most favorable among quarterbacks.
He has the best chance among widely available quarterbacks to be a fantasy starter over the rest of the season.
Dalton missed this week after suffering an injury in a car accident and had a forgettable Week 7. But from Weeks 3-6, he scored the 19th-most points among fantasy quarterbacks. By the time Dalton is back on the field, he will ideally have Adam Thielen back at wide receiver and Jonathon Brooks as an option at running back.
Dalton is on this waiver list because of the Panthers’ schedule during the fantasy playoffs. He faces the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — three of the worst six teams at allowing fantasy points to quarterbacks. No quarterback has a better schedule over that stretch. The Panthers will likely remain a high-volume passing team, and Dalton could put up a lot of points against those teams.
Running Back
Tracy was the Giants’ primary running back in Week 7, regardless of the situation, despite Devin Singletary returning.
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