Fantasy Football Week 8 Cheat Sheet: Deep Sleepers to Grab on Waiver Wire

We've nearly reached the midpoint in the 2021 NFL season. Week 8 is set to kick off on Thursday with a pivotal matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the undefeated Arizona Cardinals.

There will be multiple fantasy standouts on the field Thursday night, but as is often the case this time of year, the football fates have thrown us a curveball. The Packers could be without wide receivers Davante Adams and Allen Lazard. Adams was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday. Lazard, who is unvaccinated, per NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, was deemed a close contact and is officially out.

Injuries will also be a factor in Week 8, and the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders are on a bye week.

We're here to help navigate the Week 8 uncertainty by running down the top 50 players—based on factors like projected role, player health and matchup—and examining three sleeper options worth targeting on the waiver wire.

All rankings and picks are based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring.

1. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

2. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

3. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

4. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

5. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

6. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

7. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

8. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

9. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

10. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Arizona Cardinals

11. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

12. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

13. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

14. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

15. Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers

16. D'Andre Swift, RB, Detroit Lions

17. A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans

18. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

19. D.J. Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers

20. James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

21. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Football Team

22. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

23. Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills

24. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

25. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

26. Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

27. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals

28. Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

29. Darrell Henderson Jr., RB, Los Angeles Rams

30. Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons

31. Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

32. Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

33. DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

34. Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys

35. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

36. Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts

37. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings

38. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

39. Antonio Brown, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

40. Matthew Stafford, QB, Los Angeles Rams

41. Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams

42. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos

43. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Buffalo Bills

44. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

45. Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans

46. Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

47. DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

48. Darrel Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

49. Marvin Jones Jr., WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

50. Chase Claypool, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

Philadelphia Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell might be the flex option to target on the wire this week. In Week 7, Gainwell caught four passes on eight targets and compiled 61 scrimmage yards with a touchdown. He should be in store for a much larger workload, as it seems that starting back Miles Sanders (ankle) is likely to sit.

"Miles will probably be down," coach Nick Sirianni said, per Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "We're week-to-week with him, so it's a stretch for him to be up this week, but we're not ruling anything out yet."

There's a chance that Sanders plays and a chance that Jordan Howard jumps from the practice squad and into a significant role. However, Gaintwell should be a strong play against a Detroit Lions defense that has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs.

Gainwell is rostered in 47 percent of Yahoo leagues and 26 percent of ESPN leagues.

Managers who took a draft flier on Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence have largely abandoned him. The Clemson product is now rostered in only 42 percent of Yahoo leagues and 35 percent of ESPN leagues.

With Lamar Jackson and Derek Carr on bye this week, now is a great time to scoop up Lawrence for a spot start. The Jaguars are coming off the bye, and Lawrence is coming off one of his best games as a pro.

Though Lawrence did lose a fumble in Week 6, he also threw for 319 yards and a touchdown. He's rushed for touchdowns in two of his last three games and has an excellent matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle did a great job of limiting New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston on Monday night, but it has mostly struggled against opposing signal-callers. On the season, the Seahawks have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

If you have the Ravens or Raiders defense on bye this week, have no fear. The Cincinnati Bengals are (possibly) here. The Cincinnati D/ST unit is rostered in 70 percent of Yahoo leagues but only 23 percent of ESPN leagues.

This means that more than three-quarters of ESPN managers are sleeping on Cincinnati. Don't be among that group. Cincinnati has been terrific this season, ranking 10th in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed. In Week 7, the Bengals held the Ravens' high-flying offense to just 17 points.

Cincinnati has also logged 19 sacks on the season, the fifth-highest total (tied) in the NFL.

To make things even better, the Bengals are playing a New York Jets team that is dead-last in scoring and will be without rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. Jets quarterbacks have thrown 11 interceptions and been sacked 20 times.

There's a real chance that Cincinnati can be pulled from the waiver wire and be the week's top D/ST.

      

*Fantasy roster information and points against via FantasyPros.