If you did not buy your bus ticket a couple of weeks ago when I implored you to do so, then it may be too late, or the ticket price may have gone up exponentially. After six plus weeks of PUP, my Week 8 Waiver Wire Add of the Week, Gus Edwards (BAL, 43% rostered) reintroduced himself to the Baltimore offense and it went as well as anyone not named Kenyan Drake could have imagined. The Gus Bus drove his way to 66 rushing yards and 2 TDs while leading the Ravens to a victory over the division rival Browns.
Truth be told, I missed this call on the Sunday podcast leading up to kickoff and thought Drake would carry the load for Week 7. I wanted to see what I called a ‘prove it’ game from Edwards before I was ready to place him into my lineups. Well, Edwards certainly proved his worth on Sunday with his 18 fantasy points in a Standard/Half PPR/PPR format. Mind you, Edwards will probably not be a factor in the passing game, so he though he is a must add in all formats right now, he is the MUST must add in Standard formats. This is the kind of performance that could have won a bye week matchup for your squad and will continue to pay dividends especially with J.K. Dobbins officially on the mend for 4-6 weeks. My one cause for concern with Edwards is the snap count share. Take a look at the numbers from Week 7 and you may be surprised at the fantasy numbers versus snap count.
As has been the case with the crazy 2022 fantasy season, we saw at least four more significant injuries on Sunday. The worst of which is the possible season-ending injury to rookie sensation Breece Hall. The NYJ fear Hall suffered an ACL injury and are planning for the worst. Big Game Mike Williams may only have an ankle sprain after ‘team doctor’ Keenan Allen reported a high-ankle sprain. If it is, indeed, the latter, Williams will miss multiple weeks. If it is just a simple sprain, we may see Williams in Week 9. Keep your eyes peeled for the Monday MRI results. DK Metcalf was carted off the field after an awkward landing on Sunday. Initial X-rays came back negative and like Williams, we are waiting on Monday MRI results. Lastly, Amon-Ra St. Brown came back Sunday in what could have been a nice spot for him only to get ear-holed after his first catch resulting in him landing in concussion protocol. As with all concussion, at least the more recent cases, the league will be very cautious and follow all protocols before allowing St. Brown to take the field again.
So, what do we do with all the above information? Well, we take stock and make adjustments moving into Week 8 while remembering the Chiefs and Chargers are on their bye this week.
NOTE: Rostered percentages and scoring system is based on Yahoo! PPR league scoring.
QB: Andy Dalton and/or Jameis Winston (NO, 3% & 20% rostered) –Please tell me you saw what Andy Dalton did on Thursday night. If you missed the game, Dalton literally did his best Jameis Winston impersonation with 361 yards passing, 4 TDs, 3 INTs, and a loss. Remember, this is fantasy football, so you do not care who wins the real football game. What you want from your fantasy QB is volume and a short memory. Dalton shrugged off two late first half Pick 6’s to blow up in a favorable match-up against the Cardinals. Fast forward to Week 8 and one of these two is about to face the worst defense against QBs in fantasy sports, the Las Vegas Raiders. Grab the starter once the Saints declare who will be under center and enjoy the ride.
QB: Daniel Jones (NYG, 40% rostered) – Somehow the Giants are 6-1 and Daniel Jones is not terrible though he literally has no WRs to throw to. The reemergence of Saquon Barkley has been great for fantasy owners and the Giants alike. There was a Darius Slayton sighting on Sunday and Wan’Dale Robinson looked OK while Daniel Bellinger just kept doing Daniel Bellinger things. All of that to say this…Jones is a serviceable fantasy bye week QB and if you are losing Mahomes or Herbert this week, please know you want a safe floor at QB. Jones, with his running ability, is that safe floor who can, from time to time, put up 20+ fantasy points. Just shrug your shoulders and make the move. You do not have to love the player to place him in your lineup. You just have to know you have hired him to help for one week and one week only.
Honorable Mention: Davis Mills (HOU, 7% rostered), Sam Ehlinger (IND, 1% rostered)
RB: Michael Carter (NYJ; 66% rostered) – Normally, I like to push players that are owned at/below 50% but felt it necessary to place Carter in the write-up just in case you forgot about him or assumed he was owned in all leagues as most handcuffs are. Carter is not the lead player in this article based solely on his percent rostered. He is probably the most valuable name on the waiver wire for Week 8. The main difference between Carter and other handcuff is Carter has a role outside of just the handcuff. He has been involved since kickoff of Week 1 and continues to be integral to the Jets success. I do not think Carter is Breece Hall 2.0 but do think he be a solid fantasy starter during this season of RB injuries. Where I think Carter will really help is in PPR formats as his catches will increase. We need to admit that Zach Wilson is not that good (right now) and check-downs will be the best way for him to succeed. Carter should be the recipient of most of those check-downs and should act as the primary RB1 if Hall is done for the season and for the games Hall is sure to miss even if he avoids a season-long ACL injury. Carter must be owned in all formats at this point.
RB: D’Onta Foreman (CAR, 49% rostered) – I want nothing to do with the Carolina Panthers fantasy football options except for possibly buying low on DJ Moore. If you want to be in the Panthers business (and I do not), then the guy to own is Foreman. Look at the results from Week 7 if you need to know more. Hubbard did score, but Foreman will be the workhorse and you want volume!
Honorable Mention: Isiah Pacheco (KC, 50% rostered), Tyler Allgeier (ATL, 40% rostered), DeeJay Dallas (SEA, 7% rostered)
WR: Mecole Hardman (KC; 24% rostered) – I know, I know, I know…the Chiefs are off in Week 7, but we are playing chess not checkers. The Chiefs are going to continue to score and Andy Reid will find a way to continue to use Hardman’s speed, so why not take advantage of that and stash him on his bye week when nobody is watching? Sure, we are chasing a three TD performance and that is unlikely to occur again, but it is obvious the Chiefs wants Hardman involved so we need to take notice. Add him knowing you will sit him this week and be cleared of his bye with one week’s worth of patience. He is a great fill-in for the remainder of the bye weeks.
WR: Parris Campbell (IND; 7% rostered) – I loved Campbell in best ball formats, and he is finally paying off. The reason I preferred him in best ball is because he can be a frustrating guy to start each week as you do not know when he will break out. With the bye weeks on us and the Colts leaning more on Matt Ryan than Jonathan Taylor (you read that right), now is a good time to add Campbell as bye week coverage for your Chiefs and Chargers on bye.
Honorable Mentions: Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG, 29% rostered), Darius Slayton (NYG, 2% rostered), Ben Skowronek (LAR, 2% rostered) and STASH Jameson Williams (32% rostered)
TE: Juwan Johnson (NO; 3% rostered) – Dalton loves the guy. Winston will love him, too. With Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and Adam Trautman all down to injury, Johnson stepped up with a two TD game on Thursday night. Though I do expect that every week, Johnson is fully capable of putting up solid numbers at TE. The position is so thin and week that you should be swinging for the fences whenever adding a steamer TE.
Honorable Mention: Robert Tonyan (GB, 42% rostered), Greg Dulcich (DEN, 11% rostered) Cade Otton (TB, 6% rostered)
With two high powered offenses on bye this week (Chiefs, Chargers), you need to figure out a way to survive and advance. We are basically at the halfway point in the season, and anything can happen. If your team is still in the running, and it should be, then keep your eye on the wire especially for owners that inexplicably drop players of value to stop-gap a TE, K, DST during a bye week. Example: I was able to pick up Dallas Goedert this week as the other owner dropped him for one-week filler Cade Otton. Remember, sometimes the best move is no move.
Best of luck heading into Week 4 and may the wire be with you!