25 Oct Fantasy Football: Week 8 Waiver Wire Targets
By: Mike Stromme – @stromme_93
It’s official, we have now entered bye week hell. With the Rams, Cardinals, Giants, Titans, Packers and Jaguars on bye, odds are that you’re looking for a cheap fill-in at the flex position.
While these names probably won’t win you a league; odds are, that they’re more than capable of filling a short-term void. Trust me, you’re not alone.
Anyways, here are a few names that I believe that can help you get through Week 8.
Josh Doctson, Washington Redskins:
Josh Doctson, the Redskins’ number one choice in 2016, spent the vast majority of his rookie campaign on the sidelines. Last Monday night, he did the complete opposite of that; not only did Doctson participate in 84% of offensive snaps, he played in-favour of the team’s big offensive offseason aquisition, Terrelle Pryor.
Since coming over from Cleveland, Pryor has not quite fit-in with this offense. While Doctson might not be as seasoned as Pryor, he seems to be trending upwards with the coaching staff in Washington while Pryor has seemingly fallen out of favour.
During said game, Doctson didn’t do too much (3-39-0). But, was targeted five times to Pryor’s four.
Not every high-profile WR coming out of the draft can be Odell Beckham Jr. or A.J. Green, sometimes it takes time for these guys to grow. And, it appears that Doctson will finally be given the opportunity to grow.
He’s still just 15.9% owned on ESPN.com and 33% on Yahoo.
This could be Josh Doctson’s time to shine.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins:
Much like Pierre Garcon in year’s past, Kenny Stills has been stereotyped as a small, deep-threat, nine-route
specialist. Lemme tell you something, that’s not the case.
First of all, the man is 6′-1″, 191 LBS; he’s not exactly DeSean Jackson in terms of stature. Since Week 1 of 2016, Kenny Stills has scored 12 TDs. This season, Stills has FIVE total targets inside the red zone, he has SIX all of last season and still managed to score eight times.
While his recent outburst in TDs might seem “flukey”, I believe that while averaging 1.5 TDs/game isn’t sustainable, the notion that he’s done scoring is a little extreme. He can, and will, be a viable red zone threat for this team and should be added in most formats where WR help is essential.
Stills is owned in 28.4 % of ESPN.com leagues and in just half of Yahoo leagues.
Dion Lewis, New England Patriots:
What I’m about to say is something that we fantasy enthusiasts have known for years, “there are no certainties when it comes to Belichick-led backfields.” Hell, we saw FOUR different RBs take meaningful snaps for this team last Sunday night.
However, I believe that we have one back in this backfield that could break-out in a big way. Someone who’s been an impact RB for the Patriots in the not-so distant past, and his name is Dion Lewis.
Before tearing his ACL in 2015, Dion Lewis had 49-234-2 rushing (4.8 YPC) and caught 36-388-2 on 50 targets IN JUST 7 GAMES! He was on-pace for a RB1-type of season.
Now as we all know, coming back from an injury of that magnitude can take sometime; not everyone can come back like Adrian Peterson in 2012. You could chalk-up Lewis’ 2016 season, much of which was spent recovering from surgery, to him just trying to regain his stride. Lewis in 2016 was not the same guy he was in 2015, his yards per rush decreased by 0.4.
Through seven games of 2017, Lewis has a rushing line that’s freakishly similar to the one he put-up in 2015: 43-227-2. While he won’t be as big in the passing game due to the emergence of James White, he’s inching his way closer to once again becoming the feature back.
Don’t believe me? Go back and watch the last four minutes of last week’s Sunday Nighter, it was Lewis that finished off the Atlanta Falcons. While Gillislee was out there, he proved rather ineffective and has seemingly fell out-of favour in New England. Gillislee, who hasn’t scored since Week 2, has averaged an underwhelming 3.7 yards per attempt on 87 carries. Lewis, on the other hand, has averaged a healthy 5.3 yards per rush.
Lewis is owned in 35.5% of ESPN.com leagues and 47% on Yahoo.
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