Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire: Gus Edwards Re-Emerges as a Top Free-Agent Add

With the 2022 NFL season soon to reach its midpoint, most fantasy managers should have an idea of how their teams will fare in the upcoming playoffs.

If you are below .500, it isn't too late to turn your season around. It won't be easy, but making a series of shrewd waiver-wire moves over the next few weeks could provide you with the pieces you need to make a run.

Even if you are sitting atop the league standings, utilizing waivers to overturn the bottom of your bench and keep high-end talent away from your potential postseason opponents could make the difference between winning a championship and getting eliminated early.

With that in mind, here are five players you will want to target on waivers in Week 8.

All suggested pickups are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues.

DraftKings DFS Value: $5,700

Daniel Jones hasn't been a fantasy star by any stretch, but the New York Giants quarterback is limiting his mistakes and keeping drives alive with smart throws. He's also capitalizing on what the defense is giving him, putting up just enough yardage and scores to work his way into startable territory for fantasy purposes.

Surprisingly, the Duke product's Week 7 performance was the third-highest-scoring outing at the QB position heading into Monday night. Jones tallied a commendable 28.78 fantasy points while completing 19 of 30 passes for 202 yards and a score.

Most of Jones' production came on the ground as the 25-year-old torched the Jacksonville Jaguars defense for 107 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Given Jones has been taking off often—he's notched at least nine totes in four of his seven starts and hasn't rushed fewer than six times in a game this year—he has upside for more big dual-threat showings.

With a juicy Week 8 clash on tap with the sieve-like Seattle Seahawks defense, a unit that gives up over 20 points per game to opposing QBs, Jones could once again shine as one of the highest-scoring players at his position.

Don't count on him to become an every-week fantasy starter, but the Big Blue signal-caller could help tremendously as a matchup-based bye week or injury fill-in.

DraftKings DFS Value: $5,400

Gus Edwards seems to pop up as a top waiver-wire pickup every year. That trend isn't changing in 2022 after the Baltimore Ravens back burst onto the scene with 66 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries in his season debut.

The fifth-year man out of Rutgers spent the first six weeks of the campaign on the PUP list while recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season. His return came at the perfect time for Baltimore, who placed starting running back J.K. Dobbins on injured reserve Saturday to have his own hobbled knee cleaned up.

While Baltimore leaned on Kenyan Drake to shoulder the rushing load when Dobbins departed in the first half of last week's matchup with the New York Giants, the coaching staff opted to heavily feature Edwards in a Week 7 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Fantasy managers should still be concerned about a committee approach, but Edwards could soon earn the lion's share of the workload after Drake followed up an explosive outing of 119 rushing yards on 10 carries with a disappointing five yards despite seeing one more carry.

PPR managers shouldn't expect the Bus to be much of a pass-catcher—his career high is nine receptions in a season, and he failed to reel in his lone target Sunday—but if he can stay healthy, Edwards will have weekly RB2 upside for as long as Dobbins remains sidelined.

DraftKings DFS Value: $5,300

Fantasy managers watched eagerly Sunday as the Carolina Panthers played their first game since dealing Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers, attempting to glean information on how interim head coach Steve Wilks would divvy up the totes and targets vacated by the superstar running back.

Prior to being traded, McCaffrey was one of the most heavily utilized backs in football. Over the first six weeks of the campaign, he had racked up 85 carries and 43 targets, while no other RB on Carolina's roster garnered more than 12 rushes or two targets.

It appears the Panthers will go with D'Onta Foreman as their top back in wake of the blockbuster trade.

Foreman paced the Carolina backfield with 15 rushes in a shocking 21-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. The veteran was highly effective with his touches, amassing an eye-popping 118 rushing yards.

While former backup Chuba Hubbard drew the start and was more involved than he had been in 2022, he ended the day with six fewer carries than Foreman despite putting up a commendable 63 yards and finding pay dirt.

Neither back saw much volume in the passing game. Hubbard saw three targets compared to Foreman's two, but the backup picked up 27 yards on his two catches compared to the starter's 10 yards on two receptions.

While both Foreman and Hubbard should be rostered, managers will want to prioritize the former when making their waiver-wire claims this week thanks to how well he played Sunday.

It's worth noting Hubbard didn't finish the Week 7 game because of an ankle injury. While it was reportedly minor, it could put him behind—at least in the near term—in this hotly contested battle for McCaffrey's touches.

DraftKings DFS Value: N/A

Jameson Williams was one of the prized receivers in a loaded 2022 draft, but unlike many of his first-round counterparts in the class, the Alabama product hasn't made his way onto the field.

While that isn't likely to change in Week 8, managers will want to put in a speculative claim for the Detroit Lions wideout after head coach Dan Campbell said Williams is expected to suit up this season.

Campbell said last week Williams has been "turning the corner over the last month" and is "really coming on," noting that he's "optimistic" the 21-year-old will be in the lineup this year.

Given how gutted the Detroit receiving corps has been by injury, Williams could step right into a feature role when he makes his debut.

Rising star Amon-Ra St. Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 4 that has forced him to miss time and limited his effectiveness, DJ Chark has been placed on injured reserve with ankle issues and Josh Reynold is playing through knee problems.

Detroit had one of the hottest passing offenses in the league early in the season, but the squad has been struggling lately because of these ailments.

After throwing 11 touchdowns against three interceptions over the first four games of 2022, quarterback Jared Goff has matched that interception mark in the last two contests while failing to record a scoring strike.

Williams' return may come too late to lead the Lions into the playoff hunt, but he could be featured as the team attempts to integrate the rookie and see what it has in a prospect who came off the board at No. 12 overall.

Any fantasy manager who has the bench space to stash Williams while he finishes rehabbing should do so soon. Waiting beyond Week 8 could be too late, as he will quickly become one of the hottest waiver targets when he's officially activated off IR.

DraftKings DFS Value: N/A

Greg Dulcich spent the first five weeks of his NFL career stuck on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury in offseason workouts.

The Denver Broncos' third-round pick exploded onto the scene in his Week 6 debut, hauling in two of three targets for 44 yards and a touchdown. He had a major role in Denver's slumping offense, logging 71 percent of the offensive snaps against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dulcich saw his snap share dip in Week 7 versus the New York Jets, but the 22-year-old's usage soared. The UCLA product was a bright spot for the Broncos in a disappointing 16-9 defeat, tying for the second-most targets (nine) and ranking behind only Jerry Jeudy in receptions (six) and receiving yards (51).

It's clear the Broncos will keep Dulcich heavily involved as they try to jump-start their flailing passing attack. Denver ranks dead last in scoring, averaging a concerning 14.3 points per game.

The 6'4", 245-pound tight end provides a big, skilled target who can help move the chains and rack up touchdowns. As long as he continues to see a large percentage of snaps and healthy number of targets, Dulcich should produce at a high level.

Considering the dearth of quality tight ends in fantasy football, Dulcich is a must-roster waiver-wire addition heading into a Week 8 showdown in London with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Managers who missed out on one of the superstars in the draft and have been streaming tight ends should make Dulcich (who is primed to see his rostered rate skyrocket from a meager 11 percent) one of their highest-priority pickups this week before he's gone.

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