5 Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups For Week 8

Welcome to The Big Lead's weekly fantasy football waiver wire column. It pairs wonderfully with our weekly start 'em, sit 'em columns. Just in case you wanted to satisfy the fantasy itch to the fullest extent possible. (All stats via ESPN PPR leagues)

Gus Edwards, RB, Baltimore Ravens (Available in 83 Percent of ESPN Leagues)

With JK Dobbins on IR the Ravens are generally going running back by committee, but this week showed that Edwards may end up getting the bulk of the snaps. Baltimore really likes Edwards and this is the first time he's been fully healthy in a while, so it wouldn't be shocking to see the scales tip in his favor over Kenyan Drake (suggested last week in this space -- sorry about that) and Justice Hill. He only played 36 percent of snaps in Week 7 but still managed 66 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. Edwards' lack of big-play ability hinders him, yet there are only so many solid options at running back in fantasy this year. Dobbins is out until Week 11 at the earliest so grab Edwards now while you still can.

Marquise Goodwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks (Available in 99 Percent of ESPN Leagues)

I wouldn't blame you if you didn't realize Goodwin was still in the NFL, much less that he was on the Seahawks. And yet, here we are. Goodwin caught four balls for 67 yards and two touchdowns against the Chargers this week. The only reason to think it isn't a one-off performance is DK Metcalf's knee injury, which doesn't sound like it'll knock him out for the year but certainly sounds serious enough to put his Week 8 status in jeopardy. It appears Goodwin found a connection with Geno Smith and thus it makes sense to grab him while he is extremely, extremely, extremely available.

D'Onta Foreman, RB, Carolina Panthers (Available in 64 Percent of ESPN Leagues)

Foreman was a popular pickup late in the week following the Christian McCaffrey trade and those savvy enough to do so were correct. Foreman split snaps with Chuba Hubbard and was the more effective back on Sunday, but more importantly Hubbard left the game with an ankle injury. So it might be Foreman and Foreman alone going forward. Even if it's not, the Panthers aren't going to trust any of their QBs to air it out with reckless abandon so the touches will be there for Foreman regardless.

Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants (Available in 86 Percent of ESPN Leagues)

Yes, we dare to suggest you pick up a wide receiver from the New York Giants. Robinson is now firmly a part of the gameplan after recovering from his ankle injury, catching six passes for 50 yards on eight targets against the Jaguars this week. Those aren't crazy numbers but it feels like it portends a steady diet for Robinson and the Giants have a couple of favorable matchups in terms of defenses over the next few weeks. Robinson isn't a tier-one fantasy player yet but he's worth a grab while he's still around, especially in deeper leagues.

Cade Otton, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Available in 91 Percent of ESPN Leagues)

This is our bi-monthly swing at the depressing hole that is the tight end position in fantasy football. Otton seemed to exhibit the required chemistry with Tom Brady to be consistently productive in an awful team loss to the Panthers. Cameron Brate never managed to put up big numbers, but he'll be out for a few more weeks in all likelihood so Otton will see a ton of snaps. If you don't have one of the four or five best options you may as well swing the bat with Otton and see if you can't hit a home run. Or at least a single.