The fantasy football season has reached the halfway mark and owners continue to be squeezed by the bye weeks. Week 8 promises to be no different with four more teams on bye.
Fantasy football waiver wire, Week 8: Bye week replacements for Bills, Jaguars, Eagles, Washington
The Bills, Jaguars, Eagles and Washington are on bye this week. We look at potential one-week replacements on the waiver wire.
The Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington all get the week off. That leaves fantasy assets like LeSean McCoy, Allen Robinson and T.J. Yeldon unavailable, so fantasy owners will have to account for those absences.
To help you out, we went through the waiver wire and picked out some potential one-week streaming options. All players below are owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Quarterbacks
Players on bye: Tyrod Taylor, EJ Manuel, Blake Bortles, Sam Bradford, Kirk Cousins
Waiver wire options
Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings: Threw for his first 300-yard game of the season in Week 7. Has an appealing matchup with the Chicago Bears’ defense.
Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders: Put up big numbers against the San Diego Chargers’ poor defense, but he’ll have a much tougher matchup with the New York Jets.
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears: The Vikings’ secondary is imposing, but Cutler should benefit from Alshon Jeffery getting the bye week to rest.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, New York Jets: Keep streaming him until he gives you a reason not to. Oakland’s defense is dead last in passing yards allowed per game.
Running backs
Players on bye: LeSean McCoy, Karlos Williams, T.J. Yeldon, DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Alfred Morris, Matt Jones
Waiver wire options
Duke Johnson, Cleveland Browns: Has established himself as an every-week starter in PPR leagues.
Darren McFadden, Dallas Cowboys: Had no problem holding off Christine Michael. Will be an RB2 if Joseph Randle can’t play this week.
Charles Sims, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Still getting plenty of touches even with Doug Martin eating. Is more gameflow-dependant than most flex players, however.
Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions: With a new offensive coordinator, Riddick’s PPR value could be restored, but he’s more of a speculative add at this point.
Alfred Blue, Houston Texans: Is the next man up with Arian Foster done for the year, but beware of a committee. Blue failed to seize the starting job the last time Foster missed multiple games.
Orleans Darkwa, New York Giants: Could end up replacing Andre Williams as the goal line back, but doesn’t have much standalone value with Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen still around.
Wide receivers
Players on bye: Sammy Watkins, Percy Harvin, Robert Woods, Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Pierre Garcon, Jamison Crowder, DeSean Jackson
Waiver wire options
Tavon Austin, St. Louis Rams: Could take a screen pass to the house, could do nothing of note, so it’s a big gamble. You know the drill by now with Austin.
Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals: Competing with Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown for looks, but there should be plenty to go around as long as Carson Palmer keeps dealing.
Stevie Johnson, San Diego Chargers: Looked rusty in his return from a hamstring injury, but the Baltimore Ravens’ “defense” is too good of a matchup to not stack him with Philip Rivers.
Marvin Jones, Cincinnati Bengals: Should be owned in every 12-team league by now. Will be a huge beneficiary of A.J. Green getting all the defensive attention.
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks: Big-play potential is off the charts, but Seattle’s passing offense is too unpredictable. Still more valuable in leagues that count return yards.
Tight ends
Players on bye: Charles Clay, Julius Thomas, Zach Ertz, Jordan Reed
Waiver wire options
Ladarius Green, San Diego Chargers: Volume will dip if Antonio Gates comes back, but Green should stay on the TE2 map with San Diego abandoning the run game.
Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers: Everything about Miller’s fantasy value depends on whether Ben Roethlisberger can come back this week. He’s been unusable with Mike Vick and Landry Jones under center.
Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions: Now healthy again and making tangible progress in his second year, Ebron could benefit from Detroit’s shakeup in the coaching staff.
Benjamin Watson, New Orleans Saints: Normally I’d scream “sell high” when a 34-year-old journeyman has a career game out of nowhere, but this is the same fantasy world where something called Gary Barnidge is a must-start. Watson had 59 yards on four catches last week, so maybe it’s not a fluke after all. Stranger things have happened.
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