Fantasy Football 2018: Waiver wire targets for Week 8
By Donnie Druin
Quarterbacks
Baker Mayfield vs. Pittsburgh
2018 stats: 108/187 (57.8%), 1,291 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT
ESPN Ownership: 40.6 percent
Baker Mayfield is coming off his best stat-line of 2018, going for over 200 yards passing with multiple touchdowns and zero interceptions, the first time Mayfield hasn’t turned the ball over through the air in his four weeks as starting quarterback. With Carlos Hyde out of the picture, the Browns will look to the ground game to help take pressure off the rookie and balance the offense, but as Cleveland travels to Pittsburgh, the Browns might need to air it out often to keep up with the Steelers.
Think of this waiver addition as more of a chess move rather than just looking for a simple one week plug-and-play. Mayfield faces extremely weak pass defenses in the Steelers, Chiefs and Falcons before a bye week in Week 11. Mayfield provides a solid fantasy floor (13-point low) with potentially high volume numbers in the coming three weeks. If you’re having trouble at the quarterback position, rolling the dice on Baker is a great idea.
Derek Carr vs. Indianapolis
2018 stats: 167/233 (71.7%), 1,783 yards, 7 TD, 8 INT
ESPN Ownership: 15.5 percent
A mere two players in and we’ve already hit the “oh, you desperate desperate” portion of the program. Carr’s 2018 has mirrored his 2017 self, and that’s a fantasy quarterback who simply isn’t getting the job done. Despite a 39 point performance in week four, Carr has yet to hit over 20 fantasy points in any other game this season.
Yet there is hope, at least for Week 8. Carr comes off a bye week well rested and faces a Colts defense that has been notorious for being generous to quarterbacks who aren’t named Nathan Peterman. Carr has faced some rough defenses in previous weeks, yet we know the talent is there for Carr to produce. If Derek is indeed due for a bounce-back game, all signs point towards it happening at home against the Colts.