It’s just about over! Byemagedon is finally ending! A crazy week coming in with countless injuries and a lot of good teams on bye weeks. Even this weekend, Darren Waller was a late add to the injury report and sat. With week eight upon us, the teams on bye weeks are only the Ravens and Raiders so not that bad! This list is compiled based on players under 50% rostered, and based on ESPN rostered percentages.
Running Backs
Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles, 26% rostered, 10 team priority
The big news out of the Eagles game was Miles Sanders was carted to the locker room with an ankle injury. If he is forced to miss any time, the rookie Kenneth Gainwell is set to take the majority of the shares with Boston Scott backing up. Gainwell rushed five times for 20 yards, and saw eight targets, catching four of them for 41 yards and a touchdown. Gainwell should be the top waiver claim depending on how long Sanders is out.
Brandon Bolden, New England Patriots, 6% rostered, 12 team priority
Well in a shocking twist, Rhamondre Stevenson was inactive, leaving Damien Harris as the starting back, with JJ Taylor coming in grabbing two touchdowns himself. Brandon Bolden was unphased, as he seems to have secured the James White role. He only saw two carries but did his work in the air. He caught six of seven targets for 79 yards and a touchdown. With a rookie quarterback, expect Bolden to see more work in the coming weeks.
Samaje Perine, Cincinnati Bengals, 8% rostered, 14 team priority
Samaje Perine was in because the game flow was a blowout, but it should be noted he had one less carry than Joe Mixon. Perine seems to be the goal to go back up, with Chris Evans the pass-catching back, but Perine is someone you want to roster especially if you roster Joe Mixon. He took 11 rushes for 52 yards and a touchdown and caught his only target for 23 yards.
David Johnson, Houston Texans, 30% rostered, 12-14 team priority
The Houston Texans backfield is never easy to figure out and always goes on the game flow. This Sunday, David Johnson was the productive fantasy back. He rushed seven times for 25 yards and caught 5 of 6 targets for 27 yards. Johnson is hard to trust, but in deeper leagues, he’s worth a look.
Ty Johnson, New York Jets, 4% rostered, deep-league add
Yes, yes, I am putting a New York Jet on here (ducks). Michael Carter should not be on your waiver wire. If he is, grab him! Ty Johnson took the injured Tevin Coleman’s role and had a productive fantasy day. He only rushed five times for six yards but caught six of seven targets for 65 yards. He is someone to monitor if you need a deep flex play.
Marlon Mack, Indianapolis Colts, 6% rostered, deep-league add
With the NFL trading deadline approaching, Marlon Mack’s name has been floated around a lot. If you have the space and want to be patient, throw an add for Mack. The deadline is Tuesday, November 2, so this is the last week to add him (would be traded before Wednesday waivers).
Wide Receivers
Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens, 17% rostered, 10-12 team priority
We’ve been saying for weeks to stash Rashod Bateman, and he is slowly improving each week. He caught three of six targets for 80 yards on Sunday, tying him for the yards lead with Marquise Brown. Bateman should be looked at in all formats.
AJ Green, Arizona Cardinals, 38% rostered, 12 team priority
AJ Green continues to find himself on here as a very underrated play. He caught all three of his targets Sunday for 66 yards. In a full point PPR format, Green has topped double-digit fantasy points in four out of seven games, and just missed the cut this week.
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys, 51% rostered, 10-12 team priority
With the Cowboys on a bye, it’s seeming that Michael Gallup is close to being activated off IR. Check your waiver wire, as Gallup is immediately going to be added to a high-powered offense, and pick up where he left off on his seven-target week one before leaving with an injury.
Russell Gage, Atlanta Falcons, 10% rostered, 12-14 team priority
Russell Gage has not played since week two, but he returned Sunday and acted as the second wideout in the offense. He brought in four of six targets for 67 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts are the top two targets in this offense, but Gage has back-to-back games now with six or more targets.
Allen Lazard, Green Bay Packers, 5% rostered, 12-14 team priority
Don’t look now, but Allen Lazard, last year’s popular breakout for Green Bay, is starting to string together some solid fantasy football performances. Last week he saw five targets and scored a touchdown, and on Sunday he caught five of six targets for 60 yards and another touchdown. Keep an eye on Lazard as he tries to secure the outside role in Green Bay.
Kalif Raymond, Detroit Lions, 5% rostered, 14-deep league priority
Kalif Raymond is someone who belongs on a Scott Fish roster. The Detroit Lions are not as bad as their record shows. Raymond caught six of eight targets on Sunday for 115 yards. He has seen six or more targets in four of his seven games and is becoming someone to keep an eye on in deep leagues.
Tight Ends
CJ Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals, 9% rostered, 10-12 team priority
CJ Uzomah was the perfect Darren Waller replacement today (minus the time difference). The Bengals are red hot right now, and Uzomah had himself a nice game Sunday. He caught all three of his targets for 91 yards and added two touchdowns. Next up, the Jets. Uzomah should be on the radar all over.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears, 15% rostered, 12 team priority
The Chicago Bears are bad. Allen Robinson has been completely nonexistent, but they seem to have a tight end! Cole Kmet stepped up with Jimmy Graham out. He caught five of six targets for 43 yards, showing he can be a streamable option if absolutely needed.
Ricky Seals-Jones, Washington Football Team, 47% rostered, 10-12 team priority
Ricky Seals-Jones continues to get the main bulk of the tight end targets with Logan Thomas injured. He caught six of seven targets for 51 yards on Sunday. He’s put up back-to-back double-digit fantasy weeks and continues to be a solid option as long as Logan Thomas remains out.
Evan Engram, New York Giants, 23% rostered, 12-14 team priority
Evan Engram caught six of eight targets for 44 yards on Sunday. If you talk to any Giants fan, they won’t trust Engram due to drops, but for fantasy, he is a pure desperation play if needed.
Quarterbacks
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans, 1,000,000% rostered, 2 team priority
The Titans have a new quarterback!!!! He went one for one with a five-yard touchdown! May need to add him to Superflex leagues!! (Yes, this is a joke)
Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team, 25% rostered, Superflex priority
Taylor Heinicke is a solid Superflex option. He completed 25 of 37 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown. He also added ten rushes for 95 yards. The rushing ability was a nice add-on, making him a solid Superflex play.
Tyrod Taylor, Houston Texans, 3% rostered, Superflex priority
Tyrod Taylor is supposed to resume practicing this week. With Davis Mills not exactly tearing it up, I expect Taylor to get a chance to resume his starting role. If you’re in a Superflex league, this could be an under-the-radar grab.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins, 42% rostered, 12-Superflex priority
Tua Tagovailoa hears the rumors! He responded completing 32 of 40 passes for 291 yards and four touchdowns! He also added four rushes for 29 yards. For all we know, Tua could be throwing passes to Brandin Cooks, Terry McLaurin, or Courtland Sutton next week, but for now, he’s stepped his game up.
Mike White, New York Jets, 0% rostered, Superflex only priority
Mike White should not be rostered, but if you’re in a Superflex league where you have your quarterbacks on a bye or injured, Mike White has a chance to at least fill the void. I would add players such as Tyrod Taylor before Mike White.
For more options, or questions about these, you can reach me on Twitter @NMimi. Otherwise, you can always check me out on the Stack Attack Fantasy Podcast.