Tell your friends (just not your leaguemates until next week)
by Nate Polvogt
It’s been a wild ride for fantasy football managers in 2024. The uncertainty and injuries make making intelligent decisions with your Week 8 waiver wire claims even more critical.
Here are four RBs in situations favorable for fantasy production this week and beyond. Lock these players down on your Week 8 waiver wire to shore up your rosters for a fantasy football playoff push.
Week 8 Waiver Wire Adds | RBs
*Rostership percentages courtesy of FantasyPros waiver wire rankings
Tyler Goodson (RB – IND) | 11.5%
For the sake of brevity – we all have things to do – I’ll make this simple. If you are a Jonathan Taylor manager or a manager with a deep bench and still waiting on Christian McCaffrey news that you trust – Tyler Goodson is a solid bet to stash on your roster.
For the Taylor managers, you know as well as I do that his ankles are always a concern. Rostering Goodson is insurance. Trey Sermon tried—and failed—to be the handcuff. Goodson, it is.
For the CMC managers, you know as well as I do that even if he is cleared to play, this is playing roulette with McCaffrey’s hamstrings, Achilles, ankles, and so on. His handcuffs—Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo—are widely rostered. Goodson, it is.
Ray Davis (RB – BUF) | 22.8%
When stud RB James Cook missed the Bills Week 6 contest against New York, rookie ball-carrier Ray Davis stepped in like a veteran. The stout RB from Kentucky locked in like the Terminator in Week 6 against the Jets, taking 20 carries for 97 yards and a TD on top of catching all three of his targets for 55 additional yards.
And you thought he was going to disappear.
In Week 7, Davis averaged 8.2 YPA versus Cook’s 2.67, with both scoring a touchdown. Those numbers may be skewed, given this matchup was against Tennessee. That said, Davis has shown me enough, and I think Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott would agree. You will want him on your fantasy rosters for the rest of the 2024 season.
Tyrone Tracy (RB – NYG) | 49.1%
In fantasy football, no matter the format, volume is king. As far as the New York Giants are concerned, hand the crown to rookie RB Tyrone Tracy.
It was veteran Devin Singletary‘s backfield to lose in New York when the season started, and he held steadfast until an injury sidelined him. Tracy took that two-week absence to make an impression on the Giants coaching staff, and it didn’t go away.
Singletary returned in Week 7 with a clean bill of health and saw a 21 percent snap share. Tracy, however, saw the bulk of the snaps, logging a 67 percent share.
While Singletary (5) was only a carry shy of Tracy (6) last week, the snap share says it all. If you’re okay paying a premium in FAAB, grab the Giants rookie ball carrier while you can.
D’Ernest Johnson (RB – JAC) | 9.4%
Like it or not, for practical purposes, Travis Etienne is a dead asset in fantasy football. This isn’t an indictment of his talent—it’s an observation of his level of play this season, coupled with known and lingering injuries.
Veteran RB D’Ernest Johnson doesn’t boast a “household” name. You might remember him from the four-year stint in Cleveland, where he saw occasional flashes of brilliance. Well, you might have guessed he now finds himself in Jacksonville, and with Etienne’s hamstring on the fritz, Johnson has been called into action behind second-year RB Tank Bigsby.
Johnson hasn’t been electric, but he’s been serviceable when needed. With Etienne inactive last week, Johnson logged 10 fantasy points, good enough for overall PPR RB27 – ahead of J.K. Dobbins, James Cook, Jordan Mason and Alvin Kamara. If Etienne continues to underperform, Johnson will continue to see work behind Bigsby and could provide situational flex value nearly every week.
The Rest
Tyler Allgeier (RB – ATL) | 42.1%
Kimani Vidal (RB – LAC) | 15.7%
Roschon Johnson (RB – CHI) | 16.3%
Justice Hill (RB – BAL) | 23.2%
Jaylen Warren (RB – PIT) | 51.5%
Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the lead senior analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy
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It’s been a wild ride for fantasy football managers in 2024. The uncertainty and injuries make making intelligent decisions with your Week 8 waiver wire claims even more critical.
Here are four RBs in situations favorable for fantasy production this week and beyond. Lock these players down on your Week 8 waiver wire to shore up your rosters for a fantasy football playoff push.
Week 8 Waiver Wire Adds | RBs
*Rostership percentages courtesy of FantasyPros waiver wire rankings
Tyler Goodson (RB – IND) | 11.5%
For the sake of brevity – we all have things to do – I’ll make this simple. If you are a Jonathan Taylor manager or a manager with a deep bench and still waiting on Christian McCaffrey news that you trust – Tyler Goodson is a solid bet to stash on your roster.
For the Taylor managers, you know as well as I do that his ankles are always a concern. Rostering Goodson is insurance. Trey Sermon tried—and failed—to be the handcuff. Goodson, it is.
For the CMC managers, you know as well as I do that even if he is cleared to play, this is playing roulette with McCaffrey’s hamstrings, Achilles, ankles, and so on. His handcuffs—Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo—are widely rostered. Goodson, it is.
Ray Davis (RB – BUF) | 22.8%
When stud RB James Cook missed the Bills Week 6 contest against New York, rookie ball-carrier Ray Davis stepped in like a veteran. The stout RB from Kentucky locked in like the Terminator in Week 6 against the Jets, taking 20 carries for 97 yards and a TD on top of catching all three of his targets for 55 additional yards.
And you thought he was going to disappear.
In Week 7, Davis averaged 8.2 YPA versus Cook’s 2.67, with both scoring a touchdown. Those numbers may be skewed, given this matchup was against Tennessee. That said, Davis has shown me enough, and I think Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott would agree. You will want him on your fantasy rosters for the rest of the 2024 season.
Tyrone Tracy (RB – NYG) | 49.1%
In fantasy football, no matter the format, volume is king. As far as the New York Giants are concerned, hand the crown to rookie RB Tyrone Tracy.
It was veteran Devin Singletary‘s backfield to lose in New York when the season started, and he held steadfast until an injury sidelined him. Tracy took that two-week absence to make an impression on the Giants coaching staff, and it didn’t go away.
Singletary returned in Week 7 with a clean bill of health and saw a 21 percent snap share. Tracy, however, saw the bulk of the snaps, logging a 67 percent share.
While Singletary (5) was only a carry shy of Tracy (6) last week, the snap share says it all. If you’re okay paying a premium in FAAB, grab the Giants rookie ball carrier while you can.
D’Ernest Johnson (RB – JAC) | 9.4%
Like it or not, for practical purposes, Travis Etienne is a dead asset in fantasy football. This isn’t an indictment of his talent—it’s an observation of his level of play this season, coupled with known and lingering injuries.
Veteran RB D’Ernest Johnson doesn’t boast a “household” name. You might remember him from the four-year stint in Cleveland, where he saw occasional flashes of brilliance. Well, you might have guessed he now finds himself in Jacksonville, and with Etienne’s hamstring on the fritz, Johnson has been called into action behind second-year RB Tank Bigsby.
Johnson hasn’t been electric, but he’s been serviceable when needed. With Etienne inactive last week, Johnson logged 10 fantasy points, good enough for overall PPR RB27 – ahead of J.K. Dobbins, James Cook, Jordan Mason and Alvin Kamara. If Etienne continues to underperform, Johnson will continue to see work behind Bigsby and could provide situational flex value nearly every week.
The Rest
Tyler Allgeier (RB – ATL) | 42.1%
Kimani Vidal (RB – LAC) | 15.7%
Roschon Johnson (RB – CHI) | 16.3%
Justice Hill (RB – BAL) | 23.2%
Jaylen Warren (RB – PIT) | 51.5%
Nate Polvogt is a Co-Founder and the lead senior analyst for Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Nate on X (formerly Twitter) @NatePolvogt and on Optimus Fantasy
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