For the past few weeks we have, to an extent, been treading water with waivers. There haven’t been great options and while this week is a little bit better, it comes at the expense of just an awful week for football. The Falcons, Chargers, and Eagles look like bad football teams. The 49ers remain undefeated, but played on a surface unfit for a football game so everybody looked sloppy. David Johnson owners were screwed by the Cardinals. The Seahawks looked lost at home against Baltimore, which isn’t too shocking, but the Seahawks looked off. Not to mention, Patrick Mahomes is out for a few weeks. The list is endless. Week 7 was awful and it’s just a blessing we’ve gotten through it. It can only get better from here, right? We can only hope, but until then check out the best waiver wire options heading into Week 8!

Quarterbacks

Kirk Cousins MIN; FAAB Bid: 12-14% - This is the Kirk Cousins we’ve come to expect in fantasy football. He has 300+ passing yards in each of his last three games with ten total touchdowns in that span. Sure, the Vikings still have some tough NFC North matchups, but they don’t play the Bears again until Week 17 when most fantasy leagues are in the books. They have the Redskins on tap this Thursday, which to be honest, benefits Dalvin Cook more. But they still have games against the Chiefs, Cowboys, Seahawks, Lions (again), Chargers, and Packers. It appears as if Cousins has shaken off the rust. Don’t expect a dominant performance this week. It could be a quiet outing for Cousins because the Vikings can easily win Thursday’s game on the ground. But he’s a great play in two-quarterback/Superflex leagues over the course of the season.

Sam Darnold NYJ; FAAB Bid: 10-12% – Sam Darnold is still below 40% owned in ESPN and Yahoo leagues and now that they’ve played the Patriots, the schedule gets significantly easier for the Darnold-led Jets. They have a lot of road matchups on the horizon and it starts next week in Jacksonville, but the Jags will be without Jalen Ramsey (as they basically have been for the past few weeks) and even Andy Dalton managed to put up 276 passing yards against the Jags this past week. He also threw three interceptions, but I’ll put a little faith in Darnold going forward. Following the Jags, the Jets play the Dolphins, Giants, Redskins, Raiders, Bengals, Dolphins again, and finally the Steelers in Week 16. Not a bad stretch of games for a quarterback that could be fantasy relevant.

Matthew Stafford DET; FAAB Bid: 7-8% - The downside with Stafford is he plays in the NFC North and still has to face the Bears twice and the Vikings once more in Week 14. However, last week against the Vikings he threw for over 350 yards and four touchdowns. His inconsistency will be his undoing because he could barely muster 200 yards against a weak Philly secondary and then against the Vikings he looked like a superstar. Stafford is a human Rubik’s Cube. Over the next two weeks he’ll play the Giants and Raiders and those are two appealing matchups from a fantasy perspective.

Teddy Bridgewater NO; FAAB Bid: 6-8% - Bridgewater has been solid with Drew Brees out. The Saints are 6-1 and just put the Bears in their place this past Sunday. Bridgewater had a respectable line of 281 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. That’ll get the job done and even in four-point per passing touchdown leagues since that’s almost 20 points. His value takes a bit of a hit since Drew Brees will eventually come back and reclaim his job. If you want a longer-term option go with the next guy on this list. But the Saints play the Cardinals next week, which could present plenty of offensive opportunities for both teams.

Jacoby Brissett IND; FAAB Bid: 6-8% - I like Brissett’s prospects coming up, but don’t necessarily love them. Darnold has a better schedule by far going forward. But Brissett has multiple touchdown passes in every game this season, save for the game against Kansas City, which they won by establishing the run and dominating time of possession. He doesn’t have the biggest arm, but he can get an occasional 300+ yard performance and the 14 touchdowns to three interceptions is solid as well. The Colts face the Broncos next week, which is a rough matchup as the Broncos have been pretty good against opposing quarterbacks, but three of his next four games are at home.

Ryan Tannehill TEN; FAAB Bid: 5% The Titans beat the Chargers this past Sunday at home so there’s little reason for the Titans to go back to Marcus Mariota right now. The offensive line is still decent and next week’s matchup against Tampa Bay is a premium. The Bucs have a good defensive line that can stuff the run, but their secondary is terrible. This bodes well for Ryan Tannehill ’s prospects as he threw for over 300 yards against the Chargers on Sunday. I don’t see Tannehill finishing the season as the starting quarterback for Tennessee, but he’s usable in the short-term.

Matt Moore KC; FAAB Bid: 2-4% - This is a short-term solution if you’re looking for a Patrick Mahomes replacement, so why not grab his backup? Moore came on in for relief when Mahomes exited last Thursday’s game and he did okay against a Broncos defense that has come to life in its past few games. Moore isn’t an outstanding quarterback, but at least he has some great weapons around him with the likes of Travis Kelce , Tyreek Hill , Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson , etc. The Chiefs host the Green Bay Packers at home next week. Even if Moore gets some garbage time opportunities, he’s in a decent spot next week.

Running Backs

Chase Edmonds ARI; FAAB Bid: 25-30% - Chase Edmonds may have just told the Cardinals “Excuse me good sirs, but this is officially a committee,” because he has five touchdowns in his last three games. The Cardinals activated David Johnson and to the dismay of all his fantasy owners, they barely used him. And because of DJ’s lack of involvement, Edmonds had a field day rushing for 126 yards and three touchdowns in route to the Cardinals third straight win. And if the Cardinals keep winning when he’s playing well, why would they take the ball out of his hands? It sucks for Johnson owners, we all get that. He was a first-round pick and now might see his workload drop a bit. But Edmonds is red hot and is a flex play next week against the Saints.

Latavius Murray NO; FAAB Bid: 20% - Murray had a big day on Sunday with Alvin Kamara declared out. And the fantasy community respects the Saints much more than the Cardinals and we thank them for their service. They politely declared Kamara out on Friday and while they still don’t give a crap about fantasy football players, at least Kamara owners didn’t go through what David Johnson owners went through. Murray had an incredibly difficult matchup against the Bears and played pretty well given the circumstances. On 27 carries he rushed for 119 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His value is dependent on the severity of Kamara’s ankle injury. As of right now we’ll treat Kamara as week-to-week, but Murray should be rostered if Kamara’s out next week against Arizona.

Mark Walton MIA; FAAB Bid: 12% - I don’t necessarily like spending up this much for a running back on one of the worst offenses in football. But he did just get 15 total touches against the Bills and led the team in carries and rushing yards. He still plays for the Dolphins, but Kenyan Drake was on the field for over 60% of the team’s snaps against Buffalo and had just nine touches. Walton, by comparison, was on the field for roughly 40% of the team’s snaps and saw more work. When Walton’s on the field, there’s a good chance he’s getting the ball. Unfortunately for both running backs, Kalen Ballage continues to vulture touchdowns. But Walton’s gradually becoming more interesting by the week, and despite the offense, he should be owned at this point.

Ty Johnson DET; FAAB Bid: 7-8% - If you’re a Kerryon Johnson owner you’re obviously disappointed in the fact that he was forced to miss a majority of Sunday’s game with a knee injury. Ty Johnson came in and finished with 14 touches for 57 all-purpose yards. Those aren’t great numbers, but it’s the workload and potential opportunity you have to like for Johnson. Kerryon’s status for next week’s game is currently unknown. If you’re a Kerryon owner, you might need to pay up a little more for Ty. The Giants make for a decent matchup in Week 8.

Wide Receivers

Phillip Dorsett NE; FAAB Bid: 10% - Dorsett returned to the Patriots on Monday night and his first target from Tom Brady resulted in a 26-yard touchdown catch. Heading into halftime of Monday night, Dorsett had 16 catches on the year and four of them were touchdowns. That’s an unsustainable rate, but it’s good to see that Brady hasn’t faltered from his plan to find ways to get Dorsett the ball. Dorsett received seven and nine targets in the games leading up to his injury, so there’s clearly a solid role the Patriots have for him in this offense. He’s a Flex play going forward for your fantasy team.

Corey Davis TEN; FAAB Bid: 7-8% - Davis isn’t consistent by any means, but he proved to be one of Ryan Tannehill ’s favorite targets on Sunday. Davis caught six-of-seven targets for 90 yards and a touchdown on Sunday and gets a very favorable matchup next week against the Buccaneers’ weak secondary. Davis’ teammate, A.J. Brown, is also worthy of being rostered. He’s a very good deep threat who was targeted eight times by Tannehill on Sunday. Both guys are available in a fair amount of leagues and are flex options next week against Tampa Bay.

DeVante Parker MIA; FAAB Bid: 7-8% - When a player has touchdowns in three straight games, you take notice, no matter who it is. Sure, Parker plays for the Dolphins and there’s no telling who will be the quarterback on a weekly basis. They could even make a swap mid-game. But Parker, when he plays, is averaging nearly six targets per game and he’s really made the most of them the last few weeks. It’s surprising that of all seasons, this is the one where he’s seeming to put it all together with little hope for Miami’s future.

Zach Pascal IND; FAAB Bid: 5% - The Colts have some difficult games coming up, most notably against the Broncos next week, but when Pascal’s on the field, there’s the case that he might be the Colts #2 receiver. Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle are still a dual threat at the tight end position, but Pascal still saw seven targets on Sunday and finished with six receptions for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Staying healthy will be key for Pascal, but he’s averaging 18.4 yards per catch this year so clearly he has big play potential.

Alex Erickson CIN; FAAB Bid: 3-4% - In this week’s edition of Andy Dalton ’s Favorite Target we’d like to introduce you to Alex Erickson , a glorified kick returner from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in agricultural business management. Sounds like he wants in on the CBD industry at some point. Erickson saw 14 targets on Sunday and has 20 in his last two games. He hasn’t found the end zone, but 14 targets in a game will get you noticed. Can we expect a larger workload going forward? Doubtful. Tyler Boyd still saw his usual workload and is still in the mix as well. But Erickson did finish with eight receptions for 137 yards so there might be some PPR upside.

Tight Ends

Gerald Everett LAR; FAAB Bid: 12-15% - It is surprising how fantasy players continue to drag their feet with Everett. He’s barely over 60% owned on Yahoo and was started in just 35% of leagues in a great matchup against Atlanta this past Sunday. Everett has 34 targets over his last four games with 239 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns in that span. He’s likely only available in shallow leagues at the moment, but if he’s still out there he should be rostered on every team. There are plenty of mouths to feed in Los Angeles, but at least he’s being fed regularly by Jared Goff .

Josh Hill NO; FAAB Bid: 5-6% - The FAAB Bid is a little bit high for Hill, who is basically a backup tight end. But Jared Cook missed this past Sunday’s game against the Bears, and Hill stepped in and caught all three of his targets for 43 yards and a touchdown. The Saints play the Cardinals next week and if this past Sunday reminded us of anything, it’s that the Cardinals are still terrible at defending tight ends as Rhett Ellison managed to find the end zone for the Giants. Again, Hill’s value is dependent on Cook’s status, but he could find the end zone next week if he’s the top tight end option for New Orleans.

Dallas Goedert PHI; FAAB Bid: 3-5% - I don’t like betting against Zach Ertz , but his workload is down from last year, and Goedert could be a serviceable tight end in deeper PPR leagues. He has at least nine PPR points in three of his last four games. Sure, that’s not much to write home about, hence why he’s a deep league addition. The tight end position has been a mess this year and it gets more cloudy with Patrick Mahomes out a few weeks, since Travis Kelce has just one touchdown so far. Goedert’s not the sexiest name, but he has 18 targets in his last four games, and at the tight end position you’ll take that in deep leagues.

Defense/Special Teams

Carolina Panthers (at SF) – The Panthers have a great defense and an immense pass rush. They’re coming off their bye week and will be well rested for a cross-country trip to San Francisco. What are the 49ers currently struggling with? Pass protection. Joe Staley , Mike McGlinchey , and Kyle Juszczyk are out of commission at the moment and that is great news for the Panthers who have 27 sacks through six games. San Francisco boasts a great defense as well, but their ownership spiked and they currently don’t qualify as a waiver wire addition. Carolina is under 50% owned across ESPN and Yahoo and should be owned with the upside for four-to-five sacks on Sunday.

Indianapolis Colts (vs. DEN) – Might as well take advantage of a great matchup. The Colts host the Broncos next week and the Broncos offense has four offensive touchdowns in their last three games. Not to mention, the offensive line is in shambles as they just allowed Joe Flacco to be sacked eight times last week against the Chiefs. The Chiefs were only averaging two sacks per game prior to last Thursday’s bout so this is just a bad offense in Denver.

Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. MIA) – Might as well target the Dolphins offense once again. Next week’s Monday Night Football game features these two teams and… well… it will be something to watch, if you choose to watch it. Pittsburgh’s defense has actually been good for fantasy in their last three games. In their last four games they have 15 sacks and have forced 13 turnovers and they haven’t been giving up many points. The acquisition of Minkah Fitzpatrick has paid off quickly and the Steelers will be coming off their bye. This is a great streamer because, as everybody knows, the Dolphins suck.