Fantasy football waiver wire targetsQuarterbacks1-WEEK PLUG and PLAYJimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks
Short and sweet, because he’s owned in about two-thirds of leagues polled, but if Garoppolo is on the wire in your league, consider him a fine play vs. the league’s worst defense of quarterbacks. Even if the rushing touchdowns by QBs are removed from the stats against Seattle, we’re looking at a top-five opponent.
Running backsPRIORITY FREE AGENTCarlos Hyde, Seattle Seahawks
Update: Hyde is dealing with hamstring tightness and could be iffy for Week 8. Consider rookie DeeJay Dallas and even Travis Homer if Hyde is unable to go.
Chris Carson suffered what is being called a mid-foot sprain, which could have season-long ramifications. Pending MRI results, the dreaded Lisfranc injury can be devastating, and even a more mild foot injury is sure to keep him out a few games. Hyde looked refreshed and healthy in Week 7 coming off of the bench, finishing with 76 offensive yards and a score on 18 touches. The Seahawks have a mixed bag of a schedule ahead, facing San Fran, at Buffalo, at the LA Rams and then back home for Arizona again in a month. Should Carson be lost for the season, Hyde is a strong RB2 candidate the rest of the way.
Wide receiversPRIORITY FREE AGENTRashard Higgins, Cleveland Browns
Odell Beckham Jr. (knee) is done for the year with a torn ACL, and the Higgins bandwagon still has a few open seats. He and Baker Mayfield demonstrated a connection in Mayfield’s 2018 rookie season, but the addition of OBJ squashed any chance of fantasy relevance for Higgins since. In Week 7, Higgins caught all six of his targets for 110 yards. Ahead, the Raiders offer a brilliant matchup before a Week 9 bye. After the vacation, Cleveland returns to face Houston, Philly, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Baltimore, and both New York teams. That’s an easily exploitable schedule, and he belongs in lineups most of those weeks.
Tight ends1-WEEK PLUG and PLAYRichard Rodgers, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys
Rodgers reprises his role in this spot from last week after a six-catch, 85-yard day vs. the Giants — a defense that had been sound at stopping the position. This week, Dallas brings the 11th-worst defense of the position to town, and Rodgers should be prominently featured once again. The Eagles are expected to get Dallas Goedert (ankle) back after the Week 9 bye, making Rodgers’ return to obscurity almost a lock.
KickersPRIORITY FREE AGENTMatt Prater, Detroit Lions
It’s kind of shocking to see Prater isn’t owned in more leagues than the 44 percent polled, but he belongs on all rosters. The Lions have a granted him at least three field goal attempts in four contests, including four kicks apiece in three of those games. There have been two games with only six combined points, but we’re still talking about 11 or more points in three-fourths of his games. Take that all day long and twice on Sundays.
Defense/specials teams1-WEEK PLUG and PLAYPhiladelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys
Even if Andy Dalton (concussion) starts, this is a fine time to deploy the Eagles at home. The Dallas offensive line is beyond decimated at this point, and there’s a good chance we see rookie quarterback Ben DiNucci make his NFL starting debut. In the past three weeks, the Cowboys have given up eight sacks, five fumbles, four interceptions and allowed a defensive touchdown. Only the Patriots have been an easier mark on a per-game basis, and they played twice in that time. The Eagles generated three takeaway and a trio of sacks in Week 7 vs. the Giants, and this defense has three or more sacks in four of the last five games.
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