8 Fantasy Football Players to Drop or Hold (Week 8 Waiver Wire)

Let’s take a look at players our analysts consider on the fringe as you weigh your fantasy football waiver wire additions for the week. And check out all of our fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 8.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Advice: Drop or Hold?

Drop Recommendations

Droppable

• Kareem Hunt (RB – KC)
• Jordan Whittington (WR – LAR)
• Chig Okonkwo (TE – TEN)

Kareem Hunt was splitting snaps and touches pretty evenly with Isiah Pacheco early in the season. But then Pacheco seemed to pull away in Week 6, out-snapping Hunt 49-19 and out-touching him 13-7. In Week 7, Hunt sustained an ankle injury that could cause him to miss time. If this were still an even backfield split, Hunt might be worth holding. But with Pacheco apparently the Chiefs’ lead running back now, and with rookie Brashard Smith starting to get more work, Hunt is droppable.

Jordan Whittington seemed like a reasonable Week 7 play with Puka Nacua out for the Rams. Whittington was targeted four times and had two catches for nine yards in the Rams’ 35-7 win over the Jaguars on Sunday. The Rams now go on bye, and Nacua is expected back in Week 9. Whittington can go back on waivers.

Chig Okonkwo is rostered in 24% of Yahoo leagues. That’s an overly generous level of rostership for a tight end who’s topped 50 yards only once this season, hasn’t scored a touchdown and plays in the worst offense in the league.

Droppable With a Chance of Regret

• Kendrick Bourne (WR – SF)
• Justin Fields (QB – NYJ)

With tight end George Kittle returning from a hamstring injury in Week 7 and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall likely to be back from a knee injury in Week 8, Bourne will slip to fifth in San Francisco’s target pecking order behind Christian McCaffrey, Kittle, Pearsall and Jauan Jennings. Bourne had consecutive 142-yard games in Weeks 5-6, but the party is coming to an end.

Perhaps the Jets now understand why the Steelers ended their Justin Fields experiment after six starts last season. Fields was pulled from his sixth start with the Jets on Sunday after completing 6-of-12 passes for 46 yards and taking three sacks in what would turn out to be a 13-6 loss to the Panthers. Fields is a terrific runner, but he’s a Canadian Football League-caliber passer. He presents a Faustian bargain for whichever team employs him, and the Jets appear to be the latest team to grow disenchanted with that bargain. It’s not clear whether Fields will start for the Jets in Week 8, or if they’ll turn to veteran Tyrod Taylor, who relieved Fields on Sunday. As much as we fantasy folk appreciate hearty quarterback rushing numbers, Fields isn’t doing enough as a passer to earn his keep.

Don’t Drop Yet

• TreVeyon Henderson (RB – NE)
• Jakobi Meyers (WR – LV)
• Darren Waller (TE – MIA)

TreVeyon Henderson was included in this section last week. We need to talk about him again. Henderson’s already disappointing role was further diminished in Week 8. The rookie played only nine snaps in the Patriots’ 31-13 win over the Titans. Rhamondre Stevenson had 20 touches in that game. Henderson had two carries and zero targets. If your league has shallow benches and you’re scrambling to fill lineup spots in a six-team bye week, you might have no choice but to throw Henderson overboard. But we’re continuing to urge patience. Stevenson has had major fumbling problems. Antonio Gibson is out for the year with a torn ACL. Henderson is one injury or perhaps a Stevenson fumble or two away from a workload spike. And while Henderson hasn’t flashed his talent in the NFL yet, there’s a reason he was a second-round pick. As frustrated as Henderson investors are right now, holding him is still the right move.

Jakobi Meyers missed the Raiders’ Week 7 game with knee and toe injuries. Before being sidelined, Meyers had been held to fewer than 40 receiving yards in three straight games. Normally a dependable possession receiver, Meyers hasn’t clicked with quarterback Geno Smith and hasn’t seemed like a great fit for Chip Kelly’s offense. It’s possible things look different when the Raiders return from their Week 8 bye and presumably have star tight end Brock Bowers healthy again. The presence of Bowers, who has been sidelined by a knee injury, could open up things for Meyers. It’s worth remembering that in the Raiders’ first two games of the season, Meyers had 14 catches on 22 targets. And there’s one other possible path to fantasy redemption for Meyers — a trade. Meyers has reportedly asked to be dealt, and the NFL trade deadline is November 4th. Hold Meyers until after Week 9.

After producing 105 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his first two games with the Dolphins, Darren Waller has 12 receiving yards and one touchdown over his last two games. Waller had a tough matchup against safety Derwin James and the Chargers in Week 7. He was shut out in Week 8, with Tua Tagovailoa throwing for only 100 yards on a wet, windy day in Cleveland, and he left Week 7’s contest with an injury. Waller has another tough matchup against the Falcons this week, if his injury isn’t serious, but he’s still a hold. Perhaps a quarterback change in Miami would do Waller some good.