Frey’s Fantasy Focus: Week Eight Waiver Wire
Josh Frey
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This week brings a bye for one of the best offenses in the NFL, Arizona, but the other three (Houston, Jacksonville, Washington) bring little to miss this week outside of Deshaun Watson. Even so, there are plenty of matchups to look at this week, and gold mines still exist on the waiver wire.
Teddy Bridgewater-Panthers QB (36.1%)
If you’re on the search for a bye replacement for Kyler Murray or Deshaun Watson, Bridgewater should be the guy you pick. Honestly, with Pittsburgh playing Baltimore and New Orleans playing Chicago, it might not be a bad idea to replace Ben Roethlisberger, Lamar Jackson, or Drew Brees with Bridgewater as well as those games could easily turn into defensive battles.
Here’s why. Over the last four games, Bridgewater has posted point totals of 26.2, 20.8, 9.4, and 19.2. The one bad game came against Chicago two weeks ago, but outside of that, he has nearly matched Patrick Mahomes in terms of fantasy output . Mahomes has averaged 20.6 points over the last four weeks, and Bridgewater has averaged 18.9 points.
With this week’s matchup being Atlanta, it’s safe to bet on another 20-plus point outing. However, if you are considering grabbing him, make a decision quickly as the Carolina/Atlanta game is Thursday night.
JaMycal Hasty- 49ers RB (36.7%)
This is a risky pick, but the upside is huge if it pans out. Jeff Wilson Jr. carried for 117 yards and three touchdowns last week, but he is out this week against Seattle. Jerrick McKinnon seems set to carry the load for San Francisco, but if that were truly the case, I would have assumed that he would have done so after Wilson left last week’s game.
Instead, after the injury Hasty carried seven times for 37 yards, and McKinnon rushed three times for -1 yards. McKinnon has been dealing with a rib injury lately, and he has only earned nine carries over the last three weeks. I expect San Francisco will name McKinnon the starter this week, but Hasty should at least split carries with McKinnon and could have his number called even more than McKinnon’s.
Consider Hasty a flex option with RB2 or even RB1 upside.
Nelson Agholor- Raiders WR (14.5%)
Over his last three games, Agholor has touchdowns in each game and double digit fantasy points. Last week, he earned nine targets and 107 yards, both team-highs. With DeAndre Hopkins on bye and Odell Beckham out for the rest of the year, consider taking a shot on Agholor this week.
He has a very favorable matchup against a Cleveland defense that just gave up 400 passing yards to the Bengals, and six different receivers had over 50 yards. The Browns have also given up the fourth most passing touchdowns this season as well, so Agholor has a great chance to continue his touchdown streak.
Consider Agholor a WR2 option this Sunday.