Week 8 Waivers
Bye weeks are piling up, injuries are mounting, and five rostered-in-under-half-of-leagues names just gave us reasons to act. Here’s who to grab before your league-mates do.
Yo! Real quick, before we get to the picks →
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Now, on to the picks…
#5: Jonah Coleman (RB- DEN)
24.2% rostered in ESPN leagues
Coleman came back from a month on IR and went straight to the front of Denver’s backfield line.
Handled a 50% snap rate in his return, saw three opportunities before RJ Harvey got his first look, and led the Broncos in carries (9 for 54, plus 2 catches for 15)
Entered the league with a true three-down profile, and Sean Payton specifically praised his pass protection earlier this summer
JK Dobbins has missed significant time in multiple seasons, and Harvey is showing he’s still developing parts of his game
The Chiefs have been one of the toughest defenses in the NFL against running backs, so treat Coleman as a high-upside handcuff for now. If Dobbins goes down again, he’s the one you want behind one of the league’s best offensive lines.
#4: Hunter Henry (TE - NE)
47.2% rostered in ESPN leagues
With the Patriots’ receiver room thinning out, Henry has become Drake Maye’s safety blanket.
Caught all seven of his targets for 71 yards in Week 7, his first game this season with more than five targets
New England is now without Romeo Doubs, and A.J. Brown hasn’t looked like himself, so Maye has been leaning on his tight ends and backs, especially Thursday night, when 234 of Maye’s 321 passing yards went to those positions
Henry scored touchdowns in Weeks 5 and 6, and drew 22 red zone targets last season, third-most among tight ends
Up next is a Miami defense that’s been one of the weakest in the league against tight ends. If you’re struggling at the position, Henry is a plug-and-play streamer with red zone juice.
#3: Kaelon Black (RB - SF)
21.9% rostered in ESPN leagues
The 49ers are banged up on offense, and Black showed what he can do when Christian McCaffrey left the field during the Week 7 loss.
Ran 12 times for 63 yards and a long touchdown in Week 7 after McCaffrey missed the end of the first half with a thigh injury
Out-carried McCaffrey 14 to 10 in his Week 1 debut and has earned the trust of Kyle Shanahan and his running backs coach
Beat out Jordan James in camp, who entered the summer as the 49ers’ RB2
San Francisco runs an offense built for backs to succeed, which makes Black one of the best handcuffs in fantasy. If you’re thin at RB, he’s a must-add at 21.9% rostered.
#2: KC Concepcion (WR - CLE)
42.9% rostered in ESPN leagues
After weeks of steady volume with not enough payoff to match, the first-round rookie finally broke out.
Caught 8 of 10 targets for 129 yards against the Titans and added 23 yards on three rushes. His previous season high was 64 yards
Has led the Browns in targets in back-to-back games, mostly on designed short-area throws
Cleveland has a top-10 neutral pass rate, and Concepcion averaged more than 7 yards after the catch per reception in college
Pittsburgh has been one of the friendlier matchups for receivers. If the Browns keep drawing up short targets for him, Concepcion becomes a weekly PPR asset. Grab him before he passes the 50% rostered mark.
#1: Omar Cooper Jr. (WR - NYJ)
34.7% rostered in ESPN leagues
Cooper’s two-game streak is now too strong to dismiss.
He’s the first rookie in Jets history with back-to-back games of 100+ receiving yards and a touchdown (6-103-1 in Week 6, then 5-115-1 in Week 7)
He’s an electric deep threat, with catches of 60 and 52 yards last week. He ran a 4.42 at the Combine and led the Big Ten at 21.2 yards per catch in 2024
The Jets traded up to take him in the first round, and he’s now sharing WR1 duties with Garrett Wilson at worst
At just 34.7% rostered, Cooper is the top priority on the wire this week. A healthy first-rounder with this kind of big-play ability doesn’t stay available for long.
That’s the list. Put your bids in early because these five players won’t last.
-Joe
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