The roster percentages for this column are updated every Friday morning, and any players from Thursday’s Falcons-Panthers game have been taken out.
Each week of the NFL season, we will identify fantasy football waiver-wire pickups specifically for those of you looking for streaming options in deeper formats (including IDP leagues). These are players available in a majority of ESPN Fantasy leagues who have enticing matchups in the week ahead that make them worthy of consideration for your lineup.
Looking to make a trade but not sure where to start? New in the ESPN App, the Trade Assistant is a matchmaking tool that assesses your team needs and depth versus every other team in your league and suggests trades for fantasy managers to either propose or dismiss.
Most trade offers: Michael Thomas (207,252 offers)
Thomas’ value continues to be a moving target as real-life trade speculation popped up this week. The Saints have nothing but fantasy-friendly opponents in December, so if you can be patient, Thomas profiles as a player to ask about.
Highest trade acceptance rate: Aaron Rodgers (10.9%)
Rodgers recovered nicely from a down Week 6 in a blowout win over the Texans and should be viewed as a difference-maker the rest of the way. His bye is in the rearview and it’s tough to argue with four home games in a five-week stretch when you need it most (Weeks 12-16).
Highest rejection rate: Antonio Brown (97%)
The idea of adding and trading Brown is easier said than done. While there is significant risk in targeting the former All-Pro, the Bucs do end the season with four straight games against bottom-seven defenses vs. fantasy WRs.
Trade Assistant with IBM Watson brought to you in partnership with ESPN
While you might notice some overlap with Field Yates’ pickup column that publishes on Mondays, an important distinction is that the options mentioned in this column are focused solely on this week’s matchup and not the players’ values for the remainder of the season.
Do you need replacement options for injured players? Or are you merely dealing with depth issues? A roundtable of fantasy analysts and NFL Nation reporters will join me to identify some choice names to consider each week.
Here are some of our favorites for Week 8:
Quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers (26.0% rostered; at Seahawks)
Speaking of historically generous pass defenses facing efficient offenses, this setup for Garoppolo should see him bounce back nicely from last week’s poor fantasy showing. Seattle is sitting 29th in pressure rate, so Jimmy G should have time to throw. Even with a depleted crew of receivers and a thin backfield, there are enough playmakers still in the mix to support Garoppolo in this soft matchup. -J.M.
Running Back
Carlos Hyde, Seattle Seahawks (44.9% rostered; vs. 49ers)
I know Hyde isn’t an exciting young back with breakout potential, but luckily there are no “style points” in fantasy. And he should definitely get the volume as long as Chris Carson is out of the lineup. Hyde had 15 carries for 68 yards and a TD in Week 7 — not to mention 1,070 yards in Houston last season. ESPN Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson said they have a couple of other pass-catching backs they might use in a rotational role, but they specifically liked Hyde in free agency because he has “the size and physicality to approximate what Carson gives Seattle on early downs.” -Mike Triplett, NFL Nation Saints reporter
Zack Moss, Buffalo Bills (36.5% rostered; vs. Patriots)
Far more efficient last week than peer Devin Singletary and with nearly equal touch and snap rates in the win over the Jets, Moss is seemingly rising in the Buffalo backfield. Earning an endorsement for a second straight week in this space, there are some key positives to consider with the rookie. Moss was the primary goal-line back earlier in the season, while the team has rarely deployed Singletary in such scenarios since the start of last season. Another angle in his favor is New England has struggled against the rush, allowing a generous 4.6 yards per carry to backs and more than 24 fantasy points per game to backfields, leaving room for both Buffalo backs to flirt with flex value this weekend. -J.M.
Wide Receiver
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (57.0% rostered; at Seahawks)
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The talented rookie wideout has everything going for him this week. He is coming off a career-best performance against a tough
EAGAN, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings placed Todd Davis on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday after the veteran linebacker tested positive for the coronavirus, a league source told ESPN.
Davis was the second Vikings player this week to go on the reserve/COVID-19 list; the team designated rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler on Wednesday. It remains unclear whether Dantzler has COVID-19 or came into close contact with someone infected with the virus.
The Vikings are now in intensive league protocols, according to coach Mike Zimmer, who said the team can still have walk-throughs, practices and virtual meetings.
Dantzler did not show up on the final injury report, so his status for Sunday’s game in Green Bay is in question. If not positive for COVID-19 or a high-risk contact, the rookie would need two negative test results taken within 24 hours of each other to be eligible to play.
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Minnesota is down to Kris Boyd, Mark Fields and rookies Jeff Gladney and Harrison Hand at cornerback for the Green Bay game after Holton Hill (foot) and Mike Hughes (neck) were ruled out for Week 8. The Vikings placed Hughes on injured reserve on Friday; he will be on the list for a minimum of three weeks.
League sources told ESPN this week that Hughes’ neck injury, suffered in the first half of the Atlanta game on Oct. 18, might lead to him being shut down for the season. Hughes has been limited to 3½ games in 2020 after an ACL tear his rookie season held him to 20 games from 2018 to 2019.
“It’s been difficult,” Zimmer said. “He hasn’t had much time on the field [with] the knee, the neck. It’s been one thing after another with him, unfortunately. He’s a good kid, he wants to play. … He’s just been hurt.”
While running back Dalvin Cook is expected to play in Green Bay after injuring his groin in Week 5, his status was changed to questionable shortly after the Vikings publicly announced the final injury report. Cook, a full participant in Friday’s practice, was not initially given an injury designation, and when asked about how the running back performed in practice this week, Zimmer said, “Good. He should be ready to go,” while noting Cook would likely have his normal workload.
The Packers already know they won’t have running back Aaron Jones and cornerback Kevin King, and they are still not sure who will kick for them on Sunday against the Vikings.
Mason Crosby, who has the longest active streak of consecutive games played among kickers (214 games), has an injury to his left calf (non-kicking leg) and his back. He did not practice Wednesday and Thursday but did some limited work Friday and is listed as questionable.
Rookie Nick Vogel is waiting in the wings if needed. Punter JK Scott also has worked on field goals this week, but he is the regular holder and the Packers don’t have a backup listed on their depth chart.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.
X-rays taken this week revealed that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew has multiple fractures and a strained ligament in his right thumb, league sources told ESPN.
Minshew has had discomfort in his thumb since Jacksonville’s Oct. 11 game at Houston, a source told ESPN. He did not tell the team about the pain until after the last game, a 39-29 loss to the Chargers, which led to a postgame X-ray in Los Angeles.
The Jaguars (1-6) didn’t know about Minshew’s injury until this week, per sources.
It is uncertain whether Minshew will be able to play when Jacksonville returns from its bye to host the Texans.