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
Get ready to dominate with this dynasty startup draft strategy guide, here to lead you to optimal roster construction, from Kacey Kasem. Joining a brand new dynasty fantasy football league is one of a fantasy manager’s most exciting experiences. You’re building a team that you hope will compete not just this year but for years
The dust hasn’t even settled from Round 1 of the NFL Draft yet, but fear not! We’ve got you covered with winners and losers from Day 1. So, who do we like a bit more, who do we like a bit less, and who are some veterans who came out ahead? Lemme tell you ’bout
One of the oldest tropes in fantasy football is the third-year breakout wide receiver. We’ve been incredibly spoiled through the beginning part of this decade with immediate wide receiver stars like Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Malik Nabers, Garrett Wilson, Brandon Aiyuk, and others. We can’t expect every receiver to pay immediate dividends for their real-life NFL
Can you smell it in the air? No, not spring, although that’s nice, too. It’s the 2025 season! The NFL Draft is the real kickoff of the fantasy football prep season, and when so many dormant dynasty leagues come back to life. It’s almost poetic. We understand if you’re just waking up to the NFL,
Get ready to dominate with this fantasy football best ball stacking strategy guide, here to lead you to optimal roster construction, from Kacey Kasem. Best ball = chef’s kiss. You get to draft a team, close your laptop, and (hopefully) win some money. It’s fantasy football without the weekly lineup stress. No start/sit decisions, no
Buy-low, sell-high, you’ve heard it time and again. It could be talking stocks, fantasy football assets, or even your cuts of blue jeans! No matter the context, we need to ensure we’re buying the right assets, and that’s what we’re here to help you do. Now that the dust has had a little time to
Zero RB. (No, don’t leave!) For a decade and change, this fantasy football draft strategy has been incredibly polarizing. It’s made that one guy in your 12-team league into the league pariah. It has separated loved ones from their families in search of their new Zero RB star — sorry, the answer was NOT
Every so often, this game we play reminds us as a fantasy community that not only should we be paying attention to rookie QBs, but we should be actively targeting them. 2024 was one such year, thanks to Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Caleb Williams. Can we expect the same output with the 2025 QB class
“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
