Week 8 Waiver Wire Adds For Your 2026 Fantasy Football Team
Fantasy 101

Week 8 Waiver Wire Adds For Your 2026 Fantasy Football Team

By Optimus Staff · October 26, 2026

We're officially at the point in the fantasy football season where desperation starts to look a whole lot like strategy. Bye weeks are piling up, injuries are testing everyone's patience, and suddenly you're talking yourself into starting players you wouldn't have even considered drafting two months ago. Ah, the joys of fantasy football.

But Week 8 has a few interesting wrinkles. Jonathan Taylor's name is making the rounds in trade rumors, a handful of rookies are starting to make some noise, and there might actually be a reason to get excited about someone in the Miami Dolphins' passing offense. I know. I'm as surprised as you are.

The waiver wire might not be overflowing with superstars, but there's value to be found if you know where to look. Some of this week's adds can help you survive Sunday, while others could pay off nicely down the road. And at this point in the season, being a week early is a whole lot better than being a week late.

As a reminder:

Week 8 Waiver Wire Adds For Your 2026 Fantasy Football Team

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Quarterbacks:

Geno Smith, New York Jets | Sleeper: 27% | ESPN: 13.1% | FAAB: 3%

Yes, still Geno Smith. Last week was the perfect example of the thesis with him: Start him when the matchup is good, nail his butt to the bench when his matchup is bad. In Week 8, the matchup is once again excellent with a Las Vegas defense that once again looks like the Las Vegas of 2025. You know, the one that ended up with the 1.01 in the NFL Draft.

Is it gonna be fun to start Geno? No, no it isn't. But the Jets' passing offense is more than just Garrett Wilson now, with both Omar Cooper Jr. and Mason Taylor finding roles in the passing game, and Braelon Allen doing his best Breece Hall imitation while the star RB is ailing. Why yes, I do think, "the other Jets TE" whenever I think of Taylor, and it reminds me of this ad campaign from the 1900s, but that's neither here nor there.

Again, Geno Smith isn't someone you want to start every week. But for you streamers, or if you're a take-a-QB-early person who's dealing with a bye week or injury, Smith is a perfect option for you this week. Just be sure to put him back on the shelf for Week 9. 

Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins | Sleeper: 15% | ESPN: 6.3% | FAAB: 2%

OK, this one goes against every argument I made for Geno, so bear with me here, because Malik Willis' Week 8 matchup with New England is ROUGH. The big thing is how Miami looked coming out of the bye week. For the first time all year, they looked like they wanted to get Willis on the move to threaten with his legs, opening space in the secondary. Now, it was the Jets, and the Patriots are a much better defense. But it was still good to see.

So why get Willis now? In short, because he's probably only going to get more expensive after this week, with Miami's Week 9-12 matchups with Detroit, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and the Jets again. All of them are vulnerable defenses. Even better? Willis has rushed 27 times over his last 4 games. That stat actually hides a 2-rush outlier against Minnesota, which, as we know, eats QBs like Ezekiel Elliot eats cereal. So I'm willing to throw that one out, raising his average to over 8 attempts/game.

So if you have the roster space, Malik Willis is a decent short-term option that might have enough stink on him to sneak through cheaply. Or if you have an eye towards a future bye week and are nervous there might not be anyone left when the music stops, and you'll be stuck with *shudders* Cam Ward.

Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders | Sleeper: 10% | ESPN: 3.1% | FAAB: 1%

This one is 100% looking to the future and trying to get ahead of the curve. Because nobody is as expensive as when it's their turn, and it's not quite Mendoza's turn yet. So this is an attempt to buy before the price surge on Fernando Mendoza.

If you've paid attention to the talented rookie QBs when they get put in the starting roles, they tend to do pretty well. Think Jaxson Dart, Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels, even Drake Maye and Caleb Williams to lesser extents in their rookie years. I'm not saying Mendoza will be a top 10 fantasy QB, but based on the weapons Las Vegas has, he should be able to be at least serviceable. And if you're reading this far, you probably need a QB you can feel good about.

So why now? Because after the first few weeks, Las Vegas looked feisty; they've gone downhill and been down by big margins in each of their last three games. So Cousins has put up decent numbers, but a lot of that has been due to garbage time. Even Klint Kubiak has at least considered it:

UPDATE:

HC Klint Kubiak went on to add, "Fernando Mendoza is going to play at some point, but it's not going to be this week.

— 🏈Optimus FF News (@news.optimusfantasy.com) October 26, 2026 at 3:51 PM

Other Options:

Running Backs:

Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns | Sleeper: 15% | ESPN: 8.7% | FAAB: 3%

Dylan Sampson came off IR and showed exactly why he has a role with Cleveland. On Sampson's nine touches, he managed two plays of 15+ yards: a 19-yard run and a 22-yard catch-and-run. Is he ever gonna be a goal-line RB or a guy who touches the ball 20+ times in a game? No, absolutely not.

But during the bye week slog where you're scraping the bottom of the barrel for something, anything, there's value to a guy who will see consistent, even if unexciting, volume. 

Seth McGowan, Indianapolis Colts | Sleeper: 25% | ESPN: 4.0% | FAAB: 5%

I don't know if you've heard, but there are rumors that Jonathan Taylor might be traded! This is intense sarcasm, because it feels like anyone with a football platform of any sort has mentioned it in some way over the last two weeks. Now, is it likely? Probably not. Any sort of trade would be a huge cap hit for Indianapolis, per OverTheCap, but we've seen stranger things happen when teams are motivated.

But fortune favors the bold, and enter Seth McGowan. He's the clear backup to Taylor all year, and the Colts have played him enough that it's made people question why Taylor wasn't on the field. If Taylor does get dealt, this will probably be a worse offense than it already is, so McGowan probably isn't a league-winner or anything. But finding a starting RB from Week 8 onward is nothing to sneeze at.

Jonah Coleman, Denver Broncos | Sleeper: 40% | ESPN: 24.2% | FAAB: 5%

As always, good luck to you if you think you can divine what Sean Payton wants to do offensively on a game-to-game basis. I don't think even he knows.

That said, Jonah Coleman looked good in Week 7 against Arizona. Now, to be clear, it's a lot easier to look good against Arizona than it is against Kansas City, Denver's Week 8 opponent. But it's not like J.K. Dobbins and his 3.4 YPC is enough to keep anyone off the field, let alone a talented rookie. Coleman is averaging 4.9 YPC, albeit with limited playing time so far.

#Broncos Week 7 RB Usage

- Jonah Coleman: 50% snaps, 9 carries, 6 routes, 2 targets (69 yds)
- RJ Harvey: 25% snaps, 3 carries, 8 routes, 2 targets (60 yds, TD)
- J.K. Dobbins: 21% snaps, 6 carries (23 yds, TD)

— Michael F. Florio (@michaelfflorio.bsky.social) October 25, 2026 at 7:39 PM

You probably don't want to play him in a brutal Week 8 matchup, but we have limited options thanks to bye weeks and injuries. Plus, Coleman comes with a decent amount of upside if he can continue to endear himself to the Dark Lord Sean Payton.

Zonovan "Bam" Knight, Arizona Cardinals | Sleeper: 27% | ESPN: 17.1% | FAAB: 1%

Have you ever wanted to break the glass on one of those "break glass in case of emergency" boxes? That's Bam Knight. Arizona is a bad team, Knight's not a great RB, and Jeremiyah Love will be back…eventually.

But points are points, and say what you want, but Knight has looked far better with the ball in his hands than backfield running mate Tyler Allgeier. In addition, Arizona has a juicy matchup this week with Dallas and their "defense." Sometimes it's about starting the guys who have the fewest number of barriers to putting up points. In Week 8, Knight's barriers are relatively few. No, you shouldn't start him as an RB1 or anything if you can help it. But as flex plays go, you can definitely do a lot worse.

Other Options:

Wide Receivers:

Heading into Week 8, there isn't a WR that's available in the majority of leagues where we should dump +50% of our FAAB on them. That's typically the name of the game this late into the fantasy season, as fantasy-relevant WRs don't tend to be unrostered unless they've been on the IR all year and are nearing their return to the field (*ahem*, Jordyn Tyson).

A pair of rookies headline this week's write-up. While neither will be league winners, they will both be flex options for the remainder of the season. The third is a veteran who's under the radar but has run a ton of routes as an underneath option for his team.

Caleb Douglas, Miami Dolphins | Sleeper: 19% | ESPN: 9.7% | FAAB: 5-10%

After a four-game absence, Caleb Douglas was 2nd in routes run on the Dolphins with 22 routes while only playing 67% of the offensive snaps. He turned his 3 targets into 2 catches for 70 yards and 2 TDs. 

On his first TD, he ran at and broke inside of rookie CB Azareye'h Thomas for a wide-open catch in the end zone.  His second TD was on a short out route that he took 63 yards to the house. On the day, Douglas averaged 4.7 yards of separation per target, which is extremely high.

Douglas ranks 8th in receiving yards amongst the rookie WR class despite missing a large portion of the season. There isn't a clear No. 1 target on the Dolphins, which means Caleb Douglas has an opportunity to secure that role. His tape has been the best of the Dolphins WRs, but a low-powered Dolphins offense is holding him back from being anything more than a boom/bust flex option.

Douglas faces the Patriots next week before a Week 9 matchup against the Lions. The Lions are giving up the most receiving yards per game and the second most receiving TDs per game. 

Makai Lemon, Philadelphia Eagles | Sleeper: 44% | ESPN: 37.3% | FAAB: 0-10%

If you're reading this before Monday Night Football and have a "cutable" player on your roster where you can take a gamble on Lemon before kickoff, do it. Add him. Lemon is a high-end route runner who's on a team whose QB1, Tanner McKee, has the 4th-lowest average time to throw in the league of all players who've thrown a pass in 2026. 

🍋 Makai Lemon Week 5 Film Breakdown🦅

The route running and technique at the catch point are elite. Yeah, elite. He made difficult catches & was open frequently against a mean Jags D.

Routes:
Deep 7
Intermediate 12
Short 16

Curl 11
Out 8
Dig 7
Drag 2
Slant 2
Screen, Crosser, Corner, Post, Go 1 ea.

[image or embed]

— Cameron Templar (@whiteheatff.bsky.social) October 12, 2026 at 5:11 PM

A low time to throw results in short-intermediate passes, which is exactly where Makai Lemon runs the majority of his routes.

Next week the Eagles play a terrible Commanders pass defense that's allowing the 5th most receiving yards and receiving TDs per game. If Lemon pops tonight, there's a good chance he's finding his way into your lineup next week.

Lemon was a consensus top-3 WR from this year's draft class who has displayed excellent routes and hands on his rookie season tape. It's only a matter of time till he pops. If the Eagles continue to pile up losses and DeVonta Smith's hamstring injury results in him being shut down, Makai Lemon has an opportunity to be the Eagles WR1 and dominate the WR target share.

Kendrick Bourne, Arizona Cardinals | Sleeper: 28% | ESPN: 7.1% | FAAB: 0-5%

Kendrick Bourne is 22nd on the year in total routes run among WRs. His 5.5 air yards/target are the lowest of his career, which means he is primarily running short-intermediate routes that are easy for QBs to throw to. Since Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded away to the Texans, Bourne has seen an average of 7.3 targets per game, with 4.7 of his targets being quick targets.

We have a WR running a ton of easy target routes who's seeing an uptick in targets since the departure of a player in his position group. Next week he gets the burnable Cowboys defense, who are giving up the 10th most receiving yards per game and 11th most receiving TDs per game.

While Bourne won't win you your league, he'll certainly help you stay afloat. I wouldn't spend anymore than a few FAAB dollars and I wouldn't spend your waiver priority on him. Grab him after waivers clear.

Other Options:

Tight Ends:

Mason Taylor, New York Jets | ESPN 0% | Sleeper 3% | Yahoo -% | FAAB 0-3%

Friend of Optimus Fantasy, JJ Zachariason, dropped this nugget amongst his usual Monday morning data dump.

In a season where Geno Smith is on pace for as many throws as he was putting out during his good Seattle years, I want his targets, and so should you. As JJ pointed out up there, those targets have shifted Mason Taylor's way as of late. That led to Taylor putting up two touchdowns on National Tight End Day, the most superfluous of holidays (even from this tight end disciple). I do not predict a repeat performance like that, but it's not outside the realm of possibilities. Mason Taylor has received 11.7% of Geno's red zone completions; that's a number we can work with if the pass volume stays consistent. Five red zone targets in 7 games is what we love to see in the depths of the waiver wire.

Four of the next five fantasy matchups for the New York Jets are lucrative for tight ends, and with Kenyon Sadiq trending down, you need to get Mason Taylor on your roster; he's practically free. Also in Dynasty, he's a player I'm getting thrown in as a bonus on trades. He's not a big enough name to sink a trade by getting him added, and if he can help you win a few weeks, it's worth it and more.

Elijah Higgins, Arizona Cardinals | ESPN 0% | Sleeper 0% | Yahoo 0% | FAAB 0-1%

In fantasy, opportunity is king, and the departure of one Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Houston Texans has seemed to crack open the door for one Elijah Higgins. My friends, say hi again to Mr. JJ Zachariason.

As you can see, Mike LaFleur and the Arizona Cardinals have increased their tight end personnel packages post-Harrison Jr. trade, and Elijah Higgins has been the beneficiary. Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett has been underperforming somewhat; however, his completion percentage has remained consistent. And with Brissett averaging over 40 attempts per game, even a meager target share like Higgins' 4.8% is bound to be on the rise going forward.

Recommending a tight end who is second on his team's depth chart is not always a winning, or even logical, proposition. However, numero uno Trey McBride is the team's top receiver. The next three matchups are not super tight end friendly, which means those defenses are going to be all over McBride like Canadians on maple syrup. This could open up some juicy leftovers for Elijah Higgins. And what is a waiver wire pickup, if not the promise of juicy leftovers?

Other Options:

Defense/Special Teams (D/STs):

Jacksonville Jaguars | Sleeper: 28% | ESPN: 27.9% | FAAB: 1-2%

The Jacksonville Jaguars defense is good, friends. Yes, their last two games before the bye were bad, but we're going to toss those out. Why? International games have been a slog, and they spent nearly two weeks in London playing two games. Before their two-week international engagement, the Jaguars D/ST unit ranked No. 4 overall in fantasy football.

Now, coming into Week 8 fresh off a bye week and some much-needed rest, the Jaguars get to host the struggling Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis is 2-5 and has lost its last three games. QB Daniel Jones is reeling, throwing three INTs for one TD in those games, and the rest of the offense isn't doing much better. 

And it's not just the Jaguars Week 8 matchup that's got me excited. After the Colts, they have five more matchups against teams in the top 12 in fantasy points allowed to defenses (at Baltimore, at Tennessee, at NYG, at Chicago, and at Houston in Week 15). They should be fresh after the bye week, and with a six-week plus-matchup schedule on the horizon, you can hold and start the Jacksonville defense indefinitely. 

Cincinnati Bengals | Sleeper: 16% | ESPN: 19% | FAAB: 0-1%

Despite being the No. 2 fantasy D/ST in points per game (10.2), behind only Minnesota through six games, the Bengals defense is still widely available. Fresh off a four-sack, one-INT game against Baltimore, the Bengals host Tennessee in Week 8, who are giving up the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing defenses over the last three weeks.

While Week 8 is a good matchup for Cincinnati, Weeks 9 and 10 are tougher, with games in Atlanta and then Pittsburgh at home, and you won't want to start them if you have other options. However, if you think your team can weather that two-game stretch, the rest of the way should be fairly smooth sailing for the Bengals defense.

Weeks 11 through 13 (at WAS, vs. NO, at CLE) are plus matchups; Week 14 against Kansas City could be tough, but it depends on which Chiefs team shows up. Then, heading into the fantasy playoffs (Weeks 15 and 16), Cincinnati has two more fantasy-viable matchups (at CAR, at IND). Week 17 is Baltimore at home, and if we're still looking at Huntley behind center, this could be a boom matchup for the fantasy championships. 

Week 8 is an easy smash start for the Bengals D/ST. They won't cost you much, if anything, on the waiver wire, and are a legitimate candidate to hold and start the rest of the 2026 fantasy football season.

Other Options:

  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers, FAAB 0-1%
  • Las Vegas Raiders, FAAB 0%
  • Green Bay Packers, FAAB 0-1%

Kickers:

Wil Lutz, Denver Broncos | Sleeper: 4% | ESPN: 4.6% | FAAB: 0-1%

It hasn't been pretty, and the media has had plenty to say about it, but the Denver Broncos are winning. Despite atrocious QB play from Bo Nix, the team is 5-2 and could tie for the division lead after a Week 8 matchup against Kansas City. The success of this team, and its ability to win close games? Yeah, that's been kicker Wil Lutz.

It's definitely not unusual to see a kicker lead a team in scoring (they get a point for every TD; those add up), but Lutz has far and away scored more than anyone on this Denver team. His 48 points are 30 ahead of the next closest Broncos player (J.K. Dobbins, 18 total points). 

Lutz has been busy as of late, too. He is the overall K7 in the last three, and he'll face Kansas City at home in Week 8. Based on what we saw Sunday from the Chiefs in a loss to Seattle, this game is shaping up to be a slogfest with a lot of kicking action. Lutz should easily slot in as a top 10 kicker this week, and given this Denver offense's inability to close drives, he should be a viable start the rest of the way, minus Denver's Week 10 bye.

Tyler Bass, Buffalo Bills | Sleeper: 13% | ESPN: 9.6% | FAAB: 0-1%

Bass is the overall K10 and is the K1 in fantasy points per game over the last three weeks (14.5), and sits on one of the best scoring offenses in the league. 

Matchups be damned, the Buffalo offense scores points. Through six games this season, the team hasn't scored fewer than 24 points in a contest. Bass has had a minimum of three XP attempts in every game except Week 4 versus New England, and has attempted at least one field goal in all but one game (Week 2, versus Detroit).

Buffalo comes off a bye week into a home matchup against a Ravens team that may still be sans Lamar Jackson, then heads on a road trip to Minnesota and New York to face the Jets before coming home to play Miami at Highmark Stadium. All of these are good matchups for Bass. After that, Buffalo will be in the hunt for a top playoff seed, and Bass will stay busy regardless of who they play. Roster Bass now and drop the kicker streaming act for the rest of the 2026 season. 

Other Options:

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