by Optimus Staff
Share
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 WRs 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 | WRs
*Rostership percentages courtesy of FantasyPros waiver wire rankings
Keon Coleman (WR – BUF) | 42.9%
The arrival of veteran WR Amari Cooper in Buffalo has opened the door for rookie WR Keon Coleman. Week 7 saw Coleman earn a career-high seven targets from QB Josh Allen. He hauled four of those targets for 125 receiving yards, another career-high.
While Coleman already has two TDs this year, the yardage and volume have been a concern. However, the rookie flourished with Cooper in the lineup, drawing premium coverage from the opposing team’s defense. Coleman isn’t going to be a WR1, but he provides a little stability for your flex slots in fantasy football moving forward.
Cedric Tillman (WR – CLE) | 0.8%
I wasn’t expecting to write up any Browns receiver as a waiver wire addition the rest of this season. However, things have changed in The Land of the Cleves, with Deshaun Watson done for the season.
With Watson down last week, veteran WR Cedric Tillman had a banner day, notching career highs in targets (12), receptions (8) and receiving yards (81). That banner day locked Tillman in as the PPR WR10, his highest finish in fantasy football.
There are other options for Watson’s replacement, which now appears to be veteran Jameis Winston. That said, Tillman appears as likely as WRs Jerry Jeudy or Elijah Moore to take over the receiving corps on a putrid Browns squad.
Ricky Pearsall (WR – SF) | 14.3%
Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, Florida WR Ricky Pearsall was among my favorite prospects. Unfortunately, a random mugging and consequent shooting of Pearsall delayed his NFL debut. However, it finally came last week, and the timing couldn’t be better for San Francisco.
Pearsall saw his first NFL action on a weekend when the 49ers left their home stadium as wounded as any team in the league. Illness befell start WR Deebo Samuel, landing him in the hospital with Pneumonia (he has since been released). Fellow WR Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL, ending his season, and TE George Kittle (ankle, day-to-day) was yet again banged up.
Amidst the chaos, Pearsall saw a 75 percent snap share, leading to five total targets from QB Brock Purdy. He turned those targets into three catches for 21 yards. Now, Aiyuk is done for 2024, Kittle is day-to-day, Christian McCaffrey is still persona non grata, and Deebo is unlikely to suit up in Week 8. Pearsall could be in for a quickly expanding role in San Francisco.
Jalen McMillan (WR – TB) | 3.1%
Injuries keep piling up league-wide, and the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally felt the bite in Week 8. On Monday night, QB Baker Mayfield lost his two elite WRs, Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring). While Evans is hopeful to return after a Week 11 bye, Godwin dislocated his ankle, effectively ending his 2024 season.
The obvious choice to replace some of the volume vacated by Godwin and Evans is TE Cade Otton, who is already third on the team in most receiving categories. However, rookie Jalen McMillan could also be a candidate for an increased workload. While the rookie WR hasn’t been electric so far this season, he did draw eight targets on Monday night, his most of the season. There’s always a chance he might not produce for fantasy football, but if McMillan and Mayfield click, he could be a diamond in the rough.
The Rest
Jerry Jeudy (WR – CLE) | 55.5%
Romeo Doubs (WR – GB) | 46.4%
Xavier Legette (WR – CAR) | 29.6%
Rashod Bateman (WR– BAL) | 16.4%
Troy Franklin (WR – DEN) | 3.1%
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
by Optimus Staff
Share
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 WRs 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 | WRs
*Rostership percentages courtesy of FantasyPros waiver wire rankings
Keon Coleman (WR – BUF) | 42.9%
The arrival of veteran WR Amari Cooper in Buffalo has opened the door for rookie WR Keon Coleman. Week 7 saw Coleman earn a career-high seven targets from QB Josh Allen. He hauled four of those targets for 125 receiving yards, another career-high.
While Coleman already has two TDs this year, the yardage and volume have been a concern. However, the rookie flourished with Cooper in the lineup, drawing premium coverage from the opposing team’s defense. Coleman isn’t going to be a WR1, but he provides a little stability for your flex slots in fantasy football moving forward.
Cedric Tillman (WR – CLE) | 0.8%
I wasn’t expecting to write up any Browns receiver as a waiver wire addition the rest of this season. However, things have changed in The Land of the Cleves, with Deshaun Watson done for the season.
With Watson down last week, veteran WR Cedric Tillman had a banner day, notching career highs in targets (12), receptions (8) and receiving yards (81). That banner day locked Tillman in as the PPR WR10, his highest finish in fantasy football.
There are other options for Watson’s replacement, which now appears to be veteran Jameis Winston. That said, Tillman appears as likely as WRs Jerry Jeudy or Elijah Moore to take over the receiving corps on a putrid Browns squad.
Ricky Pearsall (WR – SF) | 14.3%
Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, Florida WR Ricky Pearsall was among my favorite prospects. Unfortunately, a random mugging and consequent shooting of Pearsall delayed his NFL debut. However, it finally came last week, and the timing couldn’t be better for San Francisco.
Pearsall saw his first NFL action on a weekend when the 49ers left their home stadium as wounded as any team in the league. Illness befell start WR Deebo Samuel, landing him in the hospital with Pneumonia (he has since been released). Fellow WR Brandon Aiyuk suffered a torn ACL, ending his season, and TE George Kittle (ankle, day-to-day) was yet again banged up.
Amidst the chaos, Pearsall saw a 75 percent snap share, leading to five total targets from QB Brock Purdy. He turned those targets into three catches for 21 yards. Now, Aiyuk is done for 2024, Kittle is day-to-day, Christian McCaffrey is still persona non grata, and Deebo is unlikely to suit up in Week 8. Pearsall could be in for a quickly expanding role in San Francisco.
Jalen McMillan (WR – TB) | 3.1%
Injuries keep piling up league-wide, and the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally felt the bite in Week 8. On Monday night, QB Baker Mayfield lost his two elite WRs, Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring). While Evans is hopeful to return after a Week 11 bye, Godwin dislocated his ankle, effectively ending his 2024 season.
The obvious choice to replace some of the volume vacated by Godwin and Evans is TE Cade Otton, who is already third on the team in most receiving categories. However, rookie Jalen McMillan could also be a candidate for an increased workload. While the rookie WR hasn’t been electric so far this season, he did draw eight targets on Monday night, his most of the season. There’s always a chance he might not produce for fantasy football, but if McMillan and Mayfield click, he could be a diamond in the rough.
The Rest
Jerry Jeudy (WR – CLE) | 55.5%
Romeo Doubs (WR – GB) | 46.4%
Xavier Legette (WR – CAR) | 29.6%
Rashod Bateman (WR– BAL) | 16.4%
Troy Franklin (WR – DEN) | 3.1%
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
“What is reasonable to expect from Ashton Jeanty as a rookie?” This is it, isn’t it? This is the driving question as we look forward to the 2025 fantasy football season. Like all good questions, it deserves a nuanced answer. I’m only going to look at two teams as potential landing spots, the Las Vegas
Get in tune with the Zero RB strategy with the guru himself, Kevin Tompkins! While we might be a couple of weeks out from the NFL Draft, it’s never too early to think about some of the RB situations in the NFL from a Zero RB perspective. If you’re drafting right now, you’re able to
I know, I know, I hear it too. "Even for dynasty, drafts before the NFL draft are bonkers," right? You're so super valid with that thought. So why do we do this?
First off, it provides us with feedback. Did you know that dynasty start-up drafts and redraft drafts are remarkably similar? What better way to get a leg up on redraft season than to do a dynasty startup with a bunch of friends? You get to hang out with and start talking some crap to friends, you get to see how other people value specific players, and you get to know who you like a bit more or less than everyone else. This brings us to our second point; it allows us to plan.
Every week, Kacey Kasem will bring you WR2s primed to exceed their slot in the weekly WR fantasy rankings and could help bolster your chances at fantasy football glory. Hello, wide receiver fans! Did you make it into the semi-finals this week? I hope you are one step closer to a championship win if you’re
Every week, Kacey Kasem will bring you WR2s primed to exceed their slot in the weekly WR fantasy rankings and could help bolster your chances at fantasy football glory. Wide receivers can surprise you during the fantasy playoffs, for better or worse. Sometimes, they deliver breakout performances when you need them most; other times, they
Oh em gee. Did you get your “wrap” from that music streaming service with the horrendous user interface? Me neither. I much prefer the native app on my iPhone. In fact, I’m writing this with my “Writing Juice” playlist coursing through noise-cancelling headphones. It’s a mix of my favorite tracks from Led Zeppelin, Deftones and
Every week, Kacey Kasem will bring you WR2s primed to exceed their slot in the weekly WR fantasy rankings and could help bolster your chances at fantasy football glory. The weather in Dallas has finally hit that crisp stage where beanies and hoodies become everyday staples. It’s the kind of chill that calls for fireplaces
Punctuality and punctuation get me going. Mrs. McBigTime and I have been in a partnership for so long that we shudder to imagine online dating. Not to yuck anyone’s yum, but even imagining what sort of cringy MySpace malarky I’d have on my profile makes me nauseous. “I’ll cook you dinner if you cook me
Look, in this economy, we’re all looking for bargains. Fantasy football is no different, as we’re looking to extract as much value as we can without paying a lot or anything. We know the feeling of looking through free agency or waivers on Sunday and going, “Why didn’t I start THAT guy?” after somebody produces
Every week, Kacey Kasem will bring you WR2s primed to exceed their slot in the weekly WR fantasy rankings and could help bolster your chances at fantasy football glory. The holiday season is here, and while we’re spending time with loved ones, feasting on holiday favorites, and indulging in all the football action, fantasy playoffs
The oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I baked a few weeks ago have been enshrined into the permanent rotation. Cooking and baking are like art and science, left brain and right. The former is boundless, untethered from the rules and formalities in baking. What happens if you add too much or too little of one thing
Hey folks! We cannot understate the importance of being in on Week 13’s waiver wire players early while the free agency acquisition budget (FAAB) price is cheapest (or free!), so you can add them to your roster. This is not just for adding them to your roster so your league mates don’t get them first;
Every week, Kacey Kasem will bring you WR2s primed to exceed their slot in the weekly WR fantasy rankings and could help bolster your chances at fantasy football glory. With Thanksgiving sneaking up on us, it’s time to think about the foods, the football, and, of course, the fantasy implications. Let’s be real: Thanksgiving isn’t