Week 8 Waiver Wire | Top Fantasy Football Pickups (2026)

by Wolf Trelles-Heard · Featured

Each week throughout the 2026 season, Wolf Trelles-Heard brings you the “must-adds” every Tuesday. In this Week 8 waiver wire breakdown, he highlights players who are worth rostering if you’ve got the room.

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Week 8 Shallow League Waiver Wire Targets

Note: This range will primarily apply to most home leagues and those with shorter benches, with players available in at least 25% of leagues. Each player is listed with their current rostered percentage and a recommended FAAB bid range for a $100 budget. All values are in reference to six-point per passing touchdown leagues with PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

Quarterback

Sam Darnold, Seahawks (39% rostered) | $3-5

Fantasy managers in need of a quarterback streamer need to do what Jameis Winston famously said: “Forgetting those that is behind… and reaching forward to what’s ahead.” Well, what’s ahead for Sam Darnold is an extremely fantasy-friendly stretch, with matchups against Chicago, Arizona, and Las Vegas over the next three weeks. All three rank in the top six of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks, so Darnold should print points.

Lately, Darnold has been mediocre in terms of fantasy scoring, but he has thrown for at least 250 yards in the past two contests. Perhaps he’s finally starting to shake off that early-season hip injury. Also, he’s throwing to Jaxon Smith-Njigba; perhaps you’ve heard of him.

Point being, Darnold has low-end QB1 upside, and he’s a must-start in Superflex formats until Seattle’s Week 11 bye.

Running Back

Rachaad White, Commanders (60% rostered) | $10-15

Check whether Rachaad White was dropped during Washington’s bye week. If so, be aggressive about adding him, as he should be a viable RB2 for the next three games with Jacory Croskey-Merritt on IR.

When we last saw White in Week 6, he turned 11 touches into 57 yards and a touchdown, good for an RB11 finish in PPR scoring. He’s an elite weapon as a receiver out of the backfield, which boosts his fantasy floor, and he should see a few more carries in the short term as well.

Spend a little more in full-PPR formats to get him, but he’s a must-add in all leagues if he’s somehow available.

Wide Receiver

Omar Cooper Jr., Jets (39% rostered) | $40-50

I know the term “league winner” gets thrown around to the point of annoyance, but we really might have one in Omar Cooper Jr. In Week 1, he had one catch for 30 yards before suffering an ankle injury just five snaps into his career. Since returning two weeks ago, here’s what he’s done: 11 catches on 12 targets for 218 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging an absurd 4.45 yards per route run since Week 6, second behind only Luther Burden (5.23).

Now, I’m not ready to say he’s the WR1 in New York. That’s still Garrett Wilson. However, Wilson has managed only six catches on nine targets for 70 scoreless yards during Cooper’s two-week bonanza. Maybe things course-correct and Wilson starts producing again soon. Or maybe Cooper, who was a first-round pick in April, is here to stay.


With the way he’s playing, it’ll be hard to keep Cooper outside the top 30 receivers each week. At the very least, he should have another strong outing against a Raiders defense that gives up 26.6 fantasy points per game to receivers.

If you’ve been sitting on FAAB until this point, time to break the bank and get the uber-talented rookie.

Tight End

Brenton Strange, Jaguars (46% rostered) | $3-5

The fantasy output hasn’t been immense, but the opportunity has been there for Brenton Strange. Jacksonville had a bye last week, but from Weeks 4-6, the former Nittany Lion was tied with Parker Washington for the team lead with 23 targets. In that span, Strange racked up 19 receptions for 207 yards and posted two TE1 finishes. For the season, Strange has a respectable 2.02 yards per route run, ninth-best among all tight ends with at least 10 receptions.

Going forward, I’d expect Strange to continue seeing enough volume to make him a borderline TE1 on a weekly basis. If you’ve been trotting out Mark Andrews, Juwan Johnson, or Jake Ferguson, drop those bums and get you some Strange for just a few FAAB.

Week 8 Standard Bench Waiver Wire Targets

Note: This range will primarily apply to most leagues with standard benches, with players available in at least 50% of leagues. Each player is listed with their current rostered percentage and a recommended FAAB bid range for a $100 budget. All values are in reference to six-point per passing touchdown leagues with PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

Quarterback

Malik Willis, Dolphins (20% rostered) | $5-7

All offseason, I was touting Malik Willis as a quarterback to take late in drafts. The reason was simple: his mobility. It looks like the rushing production is finally coming to the surface, with Willis logging eight or more carries in three of the last four games.

Last week against the Jets, he rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown while also having his best passing performance as a Dolphin, throwing for 208 yards and two scores. Willis finished as the QB4 on the week, his first top-12 finish this season.

Going forward, the upcoming schedule looks like it could produce even more fireworks, with matchups against the Patriots, Lions, Colts, Bills, and Jets once more. If you need some quarterback help, Willis is an enticing target to add off the Week 8 waiver wire.

Running Back

Jonah Coleman, Broncos (35% rostered) | $20-25

Welcome back, Jonah Coleman. Denver’s fourth-round pick wasted no time carving out a large role in a three-headed backfield with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey. Coleman played nearly half of the snaps and earned 11 touches against the Cardinals. He averaged a robust 6.0 yards per carry on nine totes while adding 15 yards through the air on two catches.

After the game, head coach Sean Payton said he needs to get Coleman more touches. That’s quite the endorsement. Still, Payton has a history of saying one thing and doing another. Hopefully he follows through on this statement, though, because the rookie looks like he has the most juice as a ball carrier.


With a role that looks like it’s set to grow, Coleman is a priority grab this week. He could be a weekly FLEX play going forward if Payton makes good on his word.

Wide Receiver

Keon Coleman, Bills (37% rostered) | $3-5

D.J. Moore may be back this week for the Bills, but I’d still look to add Keon Coleman. The third-year wideout appears to have turned a corner, scoring in his last three games. From Weeks 4-6, Coleman was the WR15, averaging 15.7 PPR fantasy points per game and 2.53 yards per route run during that stretch. 

However, he saw only 13 targets in that span, and that was with Moore being sidelined for two of the three games. Nevertheless, Coleman has shown enough that he can be used as a weekly FLEX option, especially this Sunday against a Baltimore team that got dogwalked by Joe Burrow last week.

If you need receiver help, you could do worse than Coleman off the Week 8 waiver wire. He’s showing signs of life and tied to Josh Allen, which doesn’t hurt at all.

Tight End

Chigoziem Okonkwo, Commanders (19% rostered) | $3-5

I was a big fan of Chigoziem Okonkwo coming into the season and thought he had TE1 potential in Washington. After a slow start, we might finally get a chance to see that upside. Now that Terry McLaurin is out for the season, the fifth-year tight end could see a considerable bump in target volume. When McLaurin left Week 6’s contest early with a knee injury, Okonkwo led the team in first-read target share for the remainder of the game.

Across Weeks 5 and 6, Okonkwo ranked third in receiving yards (129) and sixth in catches (11) among all tight ends. I’d expect similar production going forward. He does have two tough matchups against the Eagles and Rams up next, but he should see enough volume to offset that.

Week 8 Deep League Waiver Wire Targets

Note: This range will apply to leagues with deeper benches and more experienced managers, with players available in at least 75% of leagues. Each player is listed with their current rostered percentage and a recommended FAAB bid range for a $100 budget. All values are in reference to six-point per passing touchdown leagues with PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

Quarterback

Geno Smith, Jets (19% rostered) | $2-4

Geno Smith is becoming a weekly staple in this article. If you listened to me last week and started him, you were rewarded with a QB5 finish. Against Miami, Smith had his best game of the season, tossing for 287 yards and three touchdowns against one interception.

Smith is in play again this week, with a matchup against Las Vegas, which has lost four straight games and is allowing nearly 21 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. If you need a one-week streamer, you can grab Smith for cheap and plug him into your lineup.

With Garrett Wilson and emerging rookie Omar Cooper Jr., Smith has QB1 upside in Week 8.

Running Back

Dylan Sampson, Browns (10% rostered) | $4-6

If you can’t get Rachaad White, may I interest you in the Dollar Tree version? Quinshon Judkins scored two touchdowns, but Dylan Sampson was impressive on his limited touches against the Titans. In his first action of the season, the second-year running back rushed for 45 yards on six carries and added 32 receiving yards on three catches. That’s 8.6 yards per touch — impressive any way you slice it.

Cleveland’s offense has been far more capable than expected this season. At 5-2, they aren’t seeing a ton of negative game scripts. That dings Sampson a bit, as he’s likely to see only a handful of carries while spelling Judkins. But if he can get roughly double-digit opportunities, he’ll have low-end FLEX appeal in full-PPR formats.

Wide Receiver

Caleb Douglas, Dolphins (13% rostered) | $3-5

Two catches. Two touchdowns. That’s what Caleb Douglas did on Sunday in his return to action. We’ve now seen the rookie speedster play two full games this season. In those contests, he finished with five catches for 94 yards in one and two catches for 70 yards and two scores in the other. Not bad, young Padawan. 


The high touchdown rate is not sustainable, especially in such a low-volume passing attack. Still, Douglas has looked awesome in a small sample and has emerged as Miami’s downfield threat. There are bound to be some bust weeks upcoming, but if you’re looking for some cheap spike-week potential, Douglas might be your guy.

Tight End

Eli Raridon, Patriots (2% rostered) | $2-3

He’s not the TE1 in New England — that’s still Hunter Henry — but Eli Raridon quietly has topped 50 receiving yards in two of his last three games. Last week against Chicago, he scored a touchdown on a seam route and nearly had another. Sadly, Drake Maye underthrew him on a similar route earlier in the game, resulting in an interception in the end zone.

The upcoming slate for New England’s tight ends is juicy. This week, they get Miami, which gives up the third-most fantasy points to the position (17.5). After that, it’s Green Bay and then Detroit, which is allowing the most fantasy points to tight ends (24.7).

Deep-league managers, make sure you add Raridon off the Week 8 waiver wire if you need tight end help.

Wolf Trelles-Heard is a fantasy football analyst for PlayerProfiler.

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