Week 8 · 2026 · through Week 7

Week 8 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire

By Kevin Chovanec · Updated Oct 27, 2026

Pickups ranked by Week 7 usage, with how each player's role changed since Weeks 1–5.

Byes: HOU, NO, NYG, SF. Claims run Wednesday in most leagues. ESPN roster % as of Oct 27, 1:11 PM PT. Trend = Sleeper trending adds, last 24 hours, pulled Oct 27, 1:11 PM PT; trending is what people are adding, not a recommendation. Bids are % of a $100 FAAB budget and are our opinion.

Injury news can change before claims run. Check Wednesday's practice reports.

Board table

Week 8 waiver board. Sort by any column; filter by position. Wk 7 opps = carries + targets. Role = share of team targets (WR, TE) or carries (RB) in games played, Weeks 1–5 → Weeks 6–7.
#	Player	Pos	Team · Wk 8	ESPN %	Sleeper trend	Wk 7 snaps	Wk 7 opps	Role: Wk 1–5 → 6–7	Our bid (opinion)
1	KC Concepcion	WR	CLE @ PIT	43.0%	#5	79%	13	20% to 27% tgt	Add 10–15%
2	Omar Cooper Jr.	WR	NYJ vs LV	34.9%	#11	64%	5	4% to 21% tgt	Add 8–12%
3	Jonah Coleman	RB	DEN vs KC	24.2%	#7	49%	11	24% to 38% car	Add 8–12%
4	Malik Willis	QB	MIA vs NE	6.3%	#34	–	–	–	Streamer 3–6%
5	Hunter Henry	TE	NE @ MIA	47.2%	#17	76%	7	13% to 20% tgt	Streamer 3–6%
6	Kaelon Black	RB	SF Bye (Wk 9 vs LV)	21.8%	#10	47%	15	29% to 41% car	Stash 4–8% (stash)
7	Seth McGowan	RB	IND @ JAX	4.0%	#4	33%	12	13% to 25% car	Speculative 1–3%

KC Concepcion WR · CLE @ PIT · 43.0% rostered (ESPN) · Sleeper add #5

Add Our bid: 10–15% (opinion)

Snaps 79%
Targets 10 of 35 (29%)
Air-yard share 38%

Role change: share of team targets +7 pts

Wks 1–5 (5 games)20%

Wks 6–7 (2 games)27%

Week 7: 8 catches for 129 yards on 10 targets, plus 3 carries for 23 yards. His 10 targets led Cleveland, and he had 110 air yards (38% of the team's).

He played 81% and 79% of snaps the last two weeks. His target share went from 20% in Weeks 1–5 to 27% in Weeks 6–7.

Opinion: the top WR add this week.

Source: ESPN player news: KC Concepcion (Oct 25)

Omar Cooper Jr. WR · NYJ vs LV · 34.9% rostered (ESPN) · Sleeper add #11

Add Our bid: 8–12% (opinion)

Snaps 64%
Targets 5 of 29 (17%)
Wk 7: 5-115, 1 TD

Role change: share of team targets +17 pts

Wks 1–5 (1 game)4%

Wks 6–7 (2 games)21%

Two games back from IR (ankle), two 100-yard games: 6-103 with a TD in Week 6, 5-115 with a TD in Week 7.

The volume is lighter than the yards: 7 targets, then 5 after Adonai Mitchell returned from a finger injury. His snap share dropped from 82% to 64%. Las Vegas allows +0.14 EPA per dropback (#7 softest).

Source: ESPN player news: Omar Cooper Jr. (Oct 25) · Amanda Vogt, Jets official site, via ESPN player news (Oct 23)

Jonah Coleman RB · DEN vs KC · 24.2% rostered (ESPN) · Sleeper add #7

Add Our bid: 8–12% (opinion)

Snaps 49%
Carries 9 of 24 (38%)
Wk 7: 54 rush yds

Role change: share of team carries +14 pts

Wks 1–5 (2 games)24%

Wks 6–7 (1 game)38%

In his first game off IR (ankle), Coleman led Denver with 9 carries for 54 yards and caught 2 passes for 15. J.K. Dobbins had 6 carries (and a TD); RJ Harvey had 3.

Sean Payton said after the game that the team has "got to get (Coleman) more touches." It's still a three-back rotation, so this is a bet on the trend.

Source: Aric DiLalla, Broncos official site, via ESPN player news (Oct 25)

Malik Willis QB · MIA vs NE · 6.3% rostered (ESPN) · Sleeper add #34

Streamer Our bid: 3–6% (opinion)

Wk 7: 14/21, 208 yds
2 pass TD, 1 rush TD
NE pass D #14 of 32

Week 7: 14 of 21 for 208 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, plus a rushing TD in a 28-25 win over the Jets. He practiced fully last week after showing up on the injury report with a right thumb issue.

New England's pass defense allows +0.07 EPA per dropback, #14 of 32: about league average. Opinion: a 1-QB bye-week stream; more useful in superflex.

Source: ESPN player news: Malik Willis (Oct 21, Oct 25)

Hunter Henry TE · NE @ MIA · 47.2% rostered (ESPN) · Sleeper add #17

Streamer Our bid: 3–6% (opinion)

Snaps 76%
Targets 7 of 30 (23%)
MIA pass D #1 softest

Role change: share of team targets +7 pts

Wks 1–5 (5 games)13%

Wks 6–7 (2 games)20%

Henry caught all 7 targets for 71 yards on Thursday night. His target share is up from 13% in Weeks 1–5 to 20% in Weeks 6–7.

Miami allows +0.31 EPA per dropback, the most in the NFL through Week 7. Opinion: the best TE stream this week.

Source: ESPN player news: Hunter Henry (Oct 22)

Kaelon Black RB · SF Bye (Wk 9 vs LV) · 21.8% rostered (ESPN) · Sleeper add #10

Stash Our bid: 4–8% (stash) (opinion)

Snaps 47%
Carries 12 of 23 (52%)
Inside the 5: 3 of 4

Role change: share of team carries +12 pts

Wks 1–5 (5 games)29%

Wks 6–7 (2 games)41%

With Christian McCaffrey sidelined for the whole second quarter, Black ran 12 times for 63 yards and a touchdown, with 3 of the 49ers' 4 carries inside the 5. He also lost a fumble.

McCaffrey returned for the second half; the injury was later called a mild hamstring strain, and the 49ers expect him ready after the Week 8 bye. San Francisco is off this week, so Black is a handcuff stash, not a Week 8 start.

Source: David Lombardi, SF Standard, via ESPN player news (Oct 26) · ESPN player news: Kaelon Black (Oct 25)

Seth McGowan RB · IND @ JAX · 4.0% rostered (ESPN) · Sleeper add #4

Speculative Our bid: 1–3% (opinion)

Snaps 33%
Carries 11 of 32 (34%)
Sleeper add #4

Role change: share of team carries +12 pts

Wks 1–5 (5 games)13%

Wks 6–7 (2 games)25%

Season highs in snaps (33%) and carries (11 for 46 yards). His carry share is up from 13% in Weeks 1–5 to 25% in Weeks 6–7.

Jonathan Taylor still had 18 carries for 95 yards and a TD. McGowan is a handcuff with a growing role, not a starter while Taylor is healthy.

Source: ESPN player news: Seth McGowan (Oct 26)

Cheap adds

Greg Dulcich, TE, MIA (1.0% ESPN): 5 of Miami's 21 targets (24%), 5-86 on 65% of snaps. Deep TE stream vs NE. 0–2%
Elic Ayomanor, WR, TEN (0.1% ESPN): 89% of snaps, 7 targets (23%), 30% of the air yards. Titans are on bye in Week 9. 0–1%
Bam Knight, RB, ARI (16.5% ESPN): 7 carries and 5 targets on 53% of snaps. Jeremiyah Love (ankle) is set to practice Wednesday; if Love plays, Knight sits. 0–2%

Trending, but careful

Big on Sleeper's add list; the data says wait.

Caleb Douglas, WR, MIA: Sleeper add #1. Two touchdowns and 70 yards in his first game since Week 2 (ankle), but on 3 targets (14% of Miami's) and 68% of snaps. Opinion: a 2–4% bid at most until the targets show up.
Source: ESPN player news: Caleb Douglas (Oct 23, Oct 25)
Makai Lemon, WR, PHI: 8 of 33 targets (24%) and 91% of snaps on MNF, with DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) both out. If Smith returns, the role shrinks.
Source: ESPN player news: Makai Lemon (Oct 26) · ESPN player news: DeVonta Smith (Oct 24)
Mason Taylor, TE, NYJ: Sleeper add #20. 5 catches, 62 yards and 2 TDs on 6 targets (21%). Two TDs on five catches won't repeat often; Kenyon Sadiq also played 37% of snaps.
Source: ESPN player news: Mason Taylor (Oct 25)
Dameon Pierce, RB, PHI: 14 of 24 carries (58%) and 5 inside the 20 on MNF, mostly after Saquon Barkley left. Barkley says he expects to play Sunday, and Pierce sat out the final two possessions for a reason the team hasn't disclosed.
Source: Tim McManus, ESPN, via ESPN player news (Oct 27) · Dave Zangaro, NBC Sports Philadelphia, via ESPN player news (Oct 27)
Jaguars defense: Sleeper add #2 (28.0% on ESPN). Our model ranks them 14th of 28 this week: Indianapolis gives it away on 6.1% of plays, and Jacksonville's havoc rate (5.4%) is below the 5.5% median.

Don't bid / OK to drop

Tyler Higbee, TE, LA: #2 drop on Sleeper. 3 targets (10%) in Week 7 with Davante Adams out. OK to drop in most leagues.
Roschon Johnson, RB, CHI: #3 drop on Sleeper. 14% of snaps and 2 carries on Thursday. OK to drop.
Jalen Hurts, QB, PHI: Diagnosed with blood clots in his calf and lungs and can't do football activities while on blood thinners. Drop unless you have an open IR spot.
Source: Tom Pelissero via ESPN player news (Oct 19)
Bye traps: HOU, NO, NYG, SF are off in Week 8; PIT and TEN are off in Week 9. Don't burn FAAB on a one-week fill-in from those teams.
Source: NFL schedule via nflverse (nfldata games.csv)

Already rostered in most ESPN leagues

Emanuel Wilson, RB, SEA (70.0% ESPN): 24 of 39 carries (62%), 100 yards and a TD with Zach Charbonnet (knee) inactive. Check Charbonnet's status before MNF.
Source: Curtis Crabtree, Fox 13 Seattle, via ESPN player news (Oct 23)
Tre Tucker, WR, LV (61.0% ESPN): 12 of 43 targets (28%), 5-103 and a TD. If he's free in your league, he's a top-three add.

Defense streams

Full table: Week 8 defense streamers →

Our model: defense havoc rate (sacks, INTs, fumble recoveries per play) plus the opponent's giveaway rate, Weeks 1–7. League medians: 5.5% havoc, 5.4% giveaways.

Bears @ SEA (Mon) (18.4% ESPN): Havoc on 7.2% of plays, #3 in the NFL; Seattle gives it away on 6.5%. #2 in our model.
Falcons @ TB (2.3% ESPN): Tampa Bay gives it away on 7.2% of plays, #3 in the NFL. Atlanta's havoc rate (5.7%) is just above median. Nearly free on ESPN.
Bengals vs TEN (16.2% ESPN): Havoc on 7.4% of plays, #2 in the NFL. Tennessee gives it away on 5.0%, below the median: Cincinnati's own pass rush carries this one.
Lions (deep) vs MIN (22.5% ESPN): Havoc on 6.0%; Minnesota gives it away on 6.3%. Both above the median.

Steelers (#1, 92.7% rostered) and Browns (#3, 61.1%) play each other and grade well: start them, don't stream them.

Week 8 waiver FAQ

When do Week 8 waivers process?

Wednesday in most ESPN and Sleeper leagues, but your league settings decide. Carolina and Green Bay play Thursday night, so their players lock first.

What does the FAAB range mean?

It's our suggested bid as a share of a $100 season budget. It's an opinion, not a projection. Bid more if you're desperate at the position, less if you're deep.

What is the role change column?

It compares a player's share of his team's targets (WR, TE) or carries (RB) in the games he played in Weeks 1–5 with the games he played in Weeks 6–7. A rising number means a bigger role, not just a big box score.

Where do the usage numbers come from?

Snap shares come from nflverse snap counts. Targets, air yards and carries come from nflverse play-by-play through Monday night of Week 7. Every number on this page was recomputed a second way and matched to nflverse's player stats before it went up.

Who is on bye in Week 8?

Houston, New Orleans, the Giants and San Francisco. Pittsburgh and Tennessee are off in Week 9.

Why isn't a trending player listed?

Trending only means people are adding him. If his Week 7 usage doesn't back it up, or his team is on bye, we say so in "Trending, but careful" instead of telling you to bid.

How we built this

Snap shares: nflverse snap counts. Targets, air yards and carries: nflverse play-by-play through MNF of Week 7 (carries exclude QB scrambles; kneels count, like official stats; red zone = inside the 20; goal line = inside the 5). Role change = the player's share of his team's targets (WR, TE) or carries (RB) in the games he played in Weeks 1–5 vs Weeks 6–7. Every number was recomputed from the raw files a second way and matched to nflverse's player stats. News is linked to the reporter or outlet. Roster %: ESPN. Trending: Sleeper.