By Alex Gregory
Week 8 is a bit of snooze for Waiver Wire purposes, especially with the glut of byes to key teams. No long-term studs are floating out there, although this might be the time to jump on someone like Sterling Shepherd or even Greg Olsen, if they’re still sitting there, for the stretch run.
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Jalen Richard (RB, Raiders) — Richard looks like the choice over Deandre Washington for a Week 8 replacement for Marshawn Lynch, although the split should be fairly even. Expectations for both should be tempered against a stout Buffalo defense. That said, Lynch has not looked good all season and Richard (or Washington) might break through and pick-up steam for the stretch run.
JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR, Steelers) — Although Smith-Schuster is a little dinged up at the moment, he could be a legitimate WR3 for the remainder of the season as Martavis Bryant falls deeper into his strange self-dug hole. He’s worth monitoring throughout the week, but the Lions defense has been a sieve over the past few weeks and the Steelers seem to be righting the ship in terms of putting points on the board.
Kenny Golladay (WR, Lions) — If Golladay, who has been injured for over month, can suit-up against the Steelers, he’s likely to see a good share of snaps and targets with Golden Tate still in a sling. T.J Jones, for the first time in his career, is also a consideration if Golladay’s health remains a concern heading into Sunday.
Tyrod Taylor (QB, Bills) — Taylor has the juiciest stretch-run matchups in the league and could be a terrific spot start for QBs going up against the Denver’s and Seattle’s of the league. While Taylor isn’t necessarily a go-to QB, it’s worth looking at him as a legitimate playoff starter considering a Weeks 13-16 run against the Patriots, Colts, Dolphins and Patriots.
Chiefs D/ST — The Chiefs still have playmakers all over the field and despite some week links in the secondary should dominate the Broncos suddenly inept offense who haven’t scored more than 16 points in 4 weeks. Trevor Siemian and the O-Line have been a particular mess and big plays likely await.
Greg Zuerlein (K, Rams) — I know it sounds dumb to view a kicker on a bye week as a waiver wite pickup but Zuerlein has been an absolute monster all season and regularly outscores star players. If you’re in a good position with regard to team depth, this is, strangely, something worth serious consideration.
