2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 8: Tua Tagovailoa, Jauan Jennings, More

Not every week is created equally when it comes to the best waiver wire picks. Sometimes there are a bunch of great names at wide receiver, running back, quarterback, and tight end. Sometimes, you’ll have one big at one position. Sometimes, it’s a week where you are better off holding onto your money. 

This week, there are a few decent options at each position. But, depending on the depth of your league, there might be one BIG difference making name out there at wide receiver. A player that we actually watched have MASSIVE production when he got a chance earlier this year. And he just might be getting that opportunity again moving forward.

2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 8 Top Targets

If this 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 8 is your first time seeing this series, here’s a little idea of how we break it down. 

There are too many articles out there who don’t take into account YOUR team needs. Whether you just want the best player, you want someone to start now, or you are loaded and you want the best upside stashed, we have you covered. And we break it down like this:

• 2024 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 8: This is the current article where we focus on the best waiver wire picks for any format or team needs. Guys that can potentially be started now but also have season long upside.
   
• 2024 Fantasy Football Streamers Week 8: These are players that are decent starts for Week 8 but might not have great long-term upside (perhaps it’s just a good matchup or the starter has a short-term injury, for instance).
   
• 2024 Fantasy Football Stashes Week 8: These are players that are very difficult to trust in a lineup right now. But we believe in the talent and the possibility of upside down the stretch. Every year there are certain rookies or backups that get a big opportunity and run with it at some point - like Trey McBride last year.

The 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 8 you are currently looking at is free for everyone. The Week 8 waiver wire stashes and Week 8 waiver wire streamers articles are for Fantasy Alarm members only.

If you aren’t a Fantasy Alarm member yet, you can not only get 40% off your annual membership if you sign up right now or 50% off your first month with promo code LETSGO, but we are offering a 7-day free trial RIGHT NOW! You can check out everything we have to offer this week and decide if it's right for you!

P.S. At the very bottom of this article, I will update my Yin & Yang Tight End chart each week!

NFL Week 8 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

Drake Maye - New England Patriots, Yahoo: 16% | ESPN: 13% | Sleeper: 25% 

There are some misconceptions in fantasy football that players need to either be on great offenses or even be great players themselves. The reality is that sometimes great players can actually be in great offenses, but they might not even have the opportunity to put up big fantasy points if the team is not putting them in that position.

I’ve seen a year where Peyton Manning threw 49 TD passes when the Colts had a 12-4 record then the following year the team went 14-2 and he threw 28 because they did not need to throw as much. Fantasy football is a crazy game.

Drake Maye is not the best quarterback in the league. But the reality is that we rarely actually rank the best quarterback in the league, Patrick Mahomes, as the QB1 in fantasy. Drake Maye is both willing to run and he will regularly be forced to throw which puts him in the position to deliver for fantasy football.

He almost certainly will not deliver QB1 performances every week like the last two weeks, but we now know that he’s far more capable of it than Jacoby Brissett was. He needs to be rostered in every league even if you aren’t starting him against the Jets this week.

• Waiver Priority: High Priority.
• FAAB: 20-25% (or more if he starts for you right away)

Tua Tagovailoa - Miami Dolphins, Yahoo: 46% | ESPN: 26% | Sleeper: 46%

Tua dropped below the 50% rostership threshold on every platform while he was on IR dealing with a concussion. Folks didn’t know if he would return to play. But the fact of the matter here is that he has been cleared to play and he will return to action this week. 

He suffered concussions in 2022 but played all of 2023 without suffering one. We’re going to analyze this the way we would any injury - he’s back and we’re starting him based on matchups.

This week he gets the Arizona Cardinals. We had all of his weapons available with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, De’Vone Achane, Raheem Mostert, Jonnu Smith etc. He got hurt in Week 2 but, in Week 1, he threw for 338 yards. There is a very real possibility that Tua just comes back here and he’s the guy you drafted him to be. 

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 5-10%

NFL Week 8 Waiver Wire Running Backs

Tyrone Tracy - New York Giants, Yahoo: 57% | ESPN: 48% | Sleeper: 67%

We’ll keep this quick because we’ve said it for a couple of weeks already and he’s now above the threshold on most platforms. But Tyrone Tracy is still the priority if he is available. Devin Singletary returned, and Tracy played more than him in both phases - on run downs and pass downs. 

You only get so many of these opportunities to add these guys. The same can be said for Alexander Mattison, who has similar ownership numbers. He too looks like he could hold onto the bulk for the work for the Raiders. 

• Waiver Priority: Top
• FAAB: 15-20%

Tyler Goodson - Indianapolis Colts, Yahoo: 14% | ESPN: 9% | Sleeper: 15%

It’s a fairly weak 2024 fantasy football waiver wire for Week 8 here at the running back position. Tyler Goodson is a guy that stands out to us, however. High ankle sprains are notoriously fickle so we don’t know when Jonathan Taylor will be back or when he’ll be back to 100%. You always want to hover around guys who have lingering injuries.

Tyler Goodson has been flat out outperforming Trey Sermon. And this week he was rewarded with a bit of a role reversal with Sermon where Goodson got more of the carries and Sermon came in to spell him. As long as Taylor misses time, Goodson is a viable start. And maybe they decide to ease Taylor back in with Goodson taking some of that workload. 

• Waiver Priority: Free Add or Late Priority
• FAAB: 0%

Ray Davis - Buffalo Bills, Yahoo: 25% | ESPN: 15% | Sleeper: 29%

There are a number of viable handcuffs and handcuff plus options out there. And we’ll delve deeper into that world in our Week 8 Stashes article. But, right now, Ray Davis to us is the cream of the crop. He plays in a great offense - one that hopefully just got a little boost from Amari Cooper. 

Joe Brady has been heavy with the run calling this year. And, after his valiant effort in Week 6 filling in for James Cook, Davis got five carries this week, a reception, and even scored a 16-yard touchdown. Davis is worth a spot start as a handcuff plus and we already know what is possible if James Cook goes down. In his one start he had 152 yards from scrimmage. 

NFL Week 8 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

Jauan Jennings - San Francisco 49ers, Yahoo: 30% | ESPN: 46% | Sleeper: 36%

Alright, here we go. This is a big one. Brandon Aiyuk unfortunately suffered a season ending ACL tear. The 49ers offense uses a fullback which means there are two wide receivers that are heavily featured and one that is a part time slot player. Jennings is typically that part time slot player but, the one game that Deebo Samuel missed where he had an opportunity to step up, he did in a big way with 3 touchdowns.

There is an outside chance that they leave Jennings in his role in the slot and give that full outside role to rookie Ricky Pearsall. So, you should throw a contingency bid on Pearsall in case you don’t get Jennings. But Pearsall literally just played his first game as a 49er this week and, given the success of Jennings in the role earlier this year, we are throwing the bag at Jennings. 

• Waiver Priority: First
• FAAB: 50%+

Romeo Doubs - Green Bay Packers, Yahoo: 44% | ESPN: 37% | Sleeper: 62%

He’s rostered in a lot of leagues, and we’ve written him up in here before, but he needs a brief mention. Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks are battling for snaps. But that hasn’t had a huge effect on Romeo Doubs or Jayden Reed.  

Outside of a brief temper tantrum-based hiatus, Romeo Doubs has led this team in snaps every week. And the squeaky wheel has certainly gotten the grease the last two weeks.

• Waiver Priority: Medium Priority
• FAAB: 10-15%

Jalen McMillan - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 1% | Sleeper: 6%

We’ve had Jalen McMillan listed in the stashes article virtually all year. And the idea was simple. The Buccaneers offense has been highly consolidated between Mike Evans and Chis Godwin. If one of them goes down, there is a big opportunity for someone here.

Well, unfortunately, they both went down last night. Chris Godwin’s ankle injury especially looked bad but Evan should miss time with the hamstring as well. Some were saying pre–NFL Draft that Jalen McMillan, not Ja’Lynn Polk, should have been the second wide receiver drafted out of Washington behind Rome Odunze. Now we should get an extended look at what he can do. 

• Waiver Priority: Low to Medium
• FAAB: 10-15%

NFL Week 8 Waiver Tight End + Yin & Yang TE

YIN (Good Floor, Low Ceiling)

Zach Ertz - Washington Commanders, Yahoo: 30% | ESPN: 42% | Sleeper: 41%

Zach Ertz has not only played this role for us for 7 weeks - but he’s also played it for three years. If you are playing the Yin & Yang tight end game, the entire idea is to start one “boring but safe” guy while you look for this year’s breakout.

Zach Ertz was that last year until he got hurt (and Trey McBride won leagues). This year Zach Ertz has been reliable, especially in full PPR. He might not be the long-term answer, but he is holding it down for now.

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

Jonnu Smith - Miami Dolphins, Yahoo: 4% | ESPN: 2% | Sleeper: 7%

At the end of the day, we still think Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle lead this team in targets. But there’s basically only one scheme that allows for truly high consolidation of targets and it’s the scheme that Mike McDaniel brought over from San Francisco. 

Both teams utilize a fullback heavily which takes the WR3 off the field for a big chunk of snaps. That means more targets for the guys out there. Now, Jonnu Smith isn’t playing 90% of the snaps like George Kittle is - Jonnu plays more like 50% (even with the big target game this week, he was at 52%). 

And Jonnu isn’t as athletic as Kittle. But he’s athletic enough to rip off big chunk plays. And that’s the difference in many cases between guys that get 3-5 targets and have 30-40 yards vs guys that get 3-5 targets nd can have 70+. 

So, you could do worse than Jonnu. After his big week with the backup this week, it’s yet to be seen whether the return of Tua is a good or bad thing for Jonnu. But it should be good for the offense as a whole.

• Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add
• FAAB: 0-5%

YANG (High Risk, High Reward)

Hunter Henry - New England Patriots, Yahoo: 31% | ESPN: 27% | Sleeper: 30%

We’ve been beating this drum for weeks now. The plan has always been to stash Hunter Henry to see what the offense looks like with Drake Maye. There are just so few tight ends that have an opportunity to be a top two target on the team, we have to give ourselves a chance at upside. And yes, the touchdown was big for Week 6. 

And this week DeMario Douglas was not feeling well and had to leave the game. But he’s had 14.1 and 19.2 PPR points in the two games that Drake Maye has started. That is not something that we can just ignore. He now has two big target games with 12 in Week 2 and 9 this past week. Hunter Henry needs to be rostered. There aren’t many shoes left to drop out there that can shake things up unless guys start getting hurt. 

• Waiver Priority: Medium Priority
• FAAB: 10-15% 

Cade Otton - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Yahoo: 38% | ESPN: 7% | Sleeper: 41%

Cade Otton is making the rare switch here from the Yin side of the equation to the Yang side. He still isn’t super athletic, but he has a few things going for him that create upside. First off, he plays virtually every snap - he’s led all tight ends in route participation going all the way back through last season. He also has a gunslinging QB which brings volume to the equation. But it’s the events of last night that really move the needle.

Early in their Monday Night Football game, Mike Evans aggravated a hamstring injury. Then later on, Chris Godwin suffered what looked like a fairly serious ankle injury. Last year in games where Chris Godwin was dealing with a neck issue and then later a knee issue in the playoffs, Otton managed games of 8, 9, and 11 targets. He now has a clear path to being a top 2 target on this team. 

• Waiver Priority: Medium Priority
• FAAB: 10-15% 

Week 8 Yin & Yang Tight End

As promised, here are our updated Yin & Yang Tight End rankings going into Week 8. If you are not familiar with this strategy, the full write-up on it is available in our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Guide. The short and sweet is that, if you don’t get an elite tight end, you roster two – someone “safe” to start early on (Yin) and the highest risk, highest reward option on the bench (Yang). 

As you can see, we separate who we consider a Standalone tight end option where we only care about their bye week vs. the situations where you should roster two. You can use your own judgment on that based on your league size and you can also roster two Yang tight ends if you want to play the high risk, high rewards game or two from the Yin side if you are super conservative. 

We’ll be updating this throughout the season, not just for the 2024 fantasy football waiver wire in Week 8!