Waiver Wire Watch: Week 8 Targets

Oct 22, 2018

I know most of you come here for the witty intro and skip all the waiver picks, so this may be a bit disappointing, but I am so excited to write about Kenjon Barner, I just can’t wait. Seriously, I am frothing at the mouth. Or maybe that’s because I have rabies? Wait. Do I have rabies? Uh, anyway, we are going to fly by the pleasantries and hop right into the good stuff.

Housekeeping time!

Throughout this series, we will be using PPR scoring, a $100 FAAB budget and a 50% threshold for player ownership. The intro to Week 1’s edition of Waiver Wire Watch (WWW) goes into far more detail about that. Please also use the linked sources to take a moment to familiarize yourself with Josh Hermsmeyer’s air yards and our own Schedule-Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA) metrics. I’m going to be using AirYards.com and aFPA more and more as the year goes on. As always, John Paulsen will edit this piece and reorder/adjust the prices as necessary.

Quarterback

Mitch Trubisky, 52% owned ($5)
Baker Mayfield, 41% owned ($3)
Joe Flacco, 42% owned ($1)

Mitch Trubisky, Chicago Bears

If you saw Chicago’s Week 7 game, you need to wipe the first half from your memory before picking up Trubisky. It was an ugly affair for the sophomore starter, as he completed only eight passes, wildly missing the mark on many, many occasions. Fortunately, he was dynamic with his feet, racking up yards in chunks and scoring a second-quarter touchdown. Despite two bad interceptions, the second half went better, pushing Trubisky up to 31.4 fantasy points on the day. That makes three straight outings with at least 27.3 points, 316 yards passing, two touchdowns and 47 yards rushing. With 245 yards on 32 attempts, the Bears quarterback is second only to Cam Newton in rushing yards among quarterbacks. We’ve seen Trubisky’s ceiling and his legs give him a high floor. That’s a pretty great combination for a guy available in almost half of Yahoo leagues.

Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns

Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Atlanta.

Enjoy Mayfield’s schedule and the 16 to 18 point floor it will give him the next three weeks.

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Flacco has been mentioned in WWW perhaps more than any other single player. It isn’t that I love the guy, it’s that there are few more competent streaming options in the league right now. If you need a quarterback for a week or two, you pick up Flacco and enjoy his 15 point floor and 25 point ceiling. There is little risk, little reward, but a whole lot of peace of mind.

Missed the Cut

Dak Prescott (35% owned) has been good of late but has a bye before facing a solid Titans defense Week 10. I have much more to share about Mr. Prescott in next week’s WWW, but for now, he’s only worth a pickup in deep leagues as a stash for Week 10 and beyond.

The Raiders return from a bye to face the Colts, who are just good enough on defense to keep me off Derek Carr (27% owned). He’s been awful this year, so I’d only consider him in the juiciest of matchups.

C.J. Beathard (9% owned) started 2018 a house of fire, but a Week 7 shellacking at the hands of the mighty Rams put an end to that. A Week 8 showdown in Arizona against one of the better pass defenses in the NFL isn’t likely to be any better for him either.