Week 8 is almost in the books and the NFL trade deadline is on the horizon. With NFL teams putting the finishing touches on their rosters for the back nine of the regular season, fantasy managers should be doing the same on the latest run of waivers.

▶ Quarterback

J.J. McCarthy, Giants

McCarthy ripped off 243 yards in less than a quarter in Week 6. He then played four impressive quarters of football versus the Texans with 252 yards and a 71.4 percent completion percentage before the Giants’ Week 8 bye. Among quarterbacks with 50 dropbacks, McCarthy is up to 13th in EPA per play and fifth in completion percent over expected. It’s a small sample, but the results for McCarthy as a Giant have been extremely positive. Now he gets a Philly defense that is allowing the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

Malik Willis, Dolphins

Willis is starting to come online as a streaming option with multiple touchdowns (rushing and passing) in three straight games. Now he gets to take that momentum into a matchup with the best opponent for fantasy production in all of football: The Detroit Lions. They are 29th in EPA per dropback allowed and are giving up, by far, the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

Geno Smith, Jets

For real-life purposes, Smith is in the midst of a true bounce-back campaign. He’s 14th in EPA per play and seventh in CPOE. The spike weeks have also been there for Smith. He has two top-half QB1 performances this year. On the other hand, his 19-point showing on Sunday was the first time he finished anywhere between QB6 and QB16 in a week. Without any rushing production to speak of, Smith relies on efficiency spikes to get there in fantasy. He’s a high-risk bet as a streamer, but one with a demonstrated ceiling.

▶ Running Back

Tyler Allgeier, Cardinals

Allgeier is rostered in just over half of all Yahoo leagues, but he still warrants a mention. Jeremiyah Love aggravated one of his many ankle issues in Week 8 and Bam Knight left the game with a concussion, giving Allgeier the entirety of the backfield for a half. He took advantage of the situation with 147 rushing yards on just 11 attempts and 44 yards through the air. Allgeier found the end zone twice. If both backs are out for Week 9, Allgeier would be in line for a hefty workload, albeit against Seattle’s vaunted defense.

Seth McGowan, Colts

The Colts’ tenor about trading Jonathan Taylor shifted over the weekend with reports that they are now willing to move him at the right price. A blowout loss to the Jags on Sunday should only push them further toward selling off their best asset. If Taylor does find a new home, McGowan would be the next man up. Excluding some garbage time run in Week 8, McGowan is the only running back other than Taylor to even see the field for the Colts this year. At 6’/223, McGowan has the build of a workhorse running back. He also had some receiving production in college, so we could be looking at a three-down profile if Taylor is out of the picture.

Mike Washington Jr., Raiders

Ashton Jeanty was Wally Pipped by Washington on Sunday versus the Jets. Washington rushed 25 times to two carries for Jeanty, though the latter did add three catches for 64 yards. Jeanty hasn’t hit 25 carries in a game this year and only did so once as a rookie. Washington is averaging slightly more yards after contact than Jeanty this season. More importantly, he has a 7.7 percent explosive run rate compared to a dismal 1.9 percent for Jeanty. Installing Washington as the primary early-down option makes sense for the Raiders, though I’m skeptical this coaching staff is actually throwing in the towel on the team’s top-five pick from a year ago. I’m maxing out my Washington bids at 10 percent.

Chris Rodriguez, Jaguars

Bhayshul Tuten comfortably led the way in carries on Sunday with 16, but Rodriguez made the most of his six attempts by rumbling for a 28-yard score late in the contest. It was his third rushing touchdown of the past five games. Now he gets to face a Ravens team down to their third-string quarterback. The Jags will be favored by double digits. Rodriguez undoubtedly needs positive game script on his side to get on the field much, but dates with the Ravens, Titans, Giants, and Titans again over the next month should create plenty of that.

Emmett Johnson, Chiefs

Johnson erupted in Week 8 with five catches for 128 yards and a touchdown through the air. He picked up 15 yards on his lone carry. Johnson gashed the Broncos for Patrick Mahomes’ longest completion since 2021.

The bad news for Johnson is that he only ran 11 routes and Kenneth Walker still saw five targets. This was far from a takeover of the passing-catching role. Johnson’s explosive Week 8 should earn him more touches going forward, but he’s still largely a contingent bet for now.

Dylan Sampson, Browns

Sampson returned to the lineup two weeks ago and turned nine touches into 77 yards. He was back at it again this week with seven touches and 69 yards. Sampson was targeted eight times in Week 8 and he caught six of them. Over the past two weeks, Sampson has run 43 routes to Quinshon Judkins’ 19. He has out-targeted Judkins 11-3. This is just a good old-fashioned PPR scam.

Kenneth Gainwell, Bucs

Gainwell earned a career-high 25 carries in Week 8 and posted the best rushing day of his career with 140 yards. That also came in the context of a historically bizarre game from the Bucs. They passed the ball three times and did not complete one of them. The last time an NFL team didn’t complete a pass in a game was 1974. Gainwell racked up 18 of his carries in the fourth quarter after Bucky Irving was put on ice for the day. The Bucs get the Bears on the road next week and they’re not going to run the ball 55 times. Gainwell remains a thin RB4 play for Week 9.

▶ Wide Receiver

Adonai Mitchell, Jets

After two 100-yard and one-touchdown performances from Omar Cooper Jr., it looked like the rookie was taking over the WR2 role in New York. Instead, Mitchell came back with a vengeance in Week 8, posting 142 yards and a touchdown on seven grabs. Mitchell led the Jets in catches and yards, though Garrett Wilson paced the squad with a dozen targets. Mitchell and Cooper both ran 26 routes, so it’s not clear that either one is running as the locked-in WR2 right now. It wouldn’t surprise me if they trade spike weeks going forward, but that’s still a worthwhile bet to make on a thin week for waivers.

Antonio Williams, Commanders

With Terry McLaurin done for the year, Williams stepped up on Sunday Night Football with a team-high seven targets. He also led the Commanders in catches (five) and routes (29). Williams hasn’t had a big box score since his Week 1 mini-breakout, but the usage is there for a strong second half of the season.

Malik Washington, Dolphins

The Dolphins had four players finish Week 8 with either five or six targets. None of them led the team in receiving. That was Kevin Coleman, who went for 46 yards and a touchdown on three targets. The good news for Washington is that he led the team in receptions with five and found the end zone for the first time this year. Washington has had a stable PPR floor this year, but the ceiling weeks haven’t been there. That might not change anytime soon, but he’s at least worth a look as a WR4.

Keenan Allen, Colts

Allen is available in 49 percent of Yahoo leagues, making him a “Not in My League” Hall of Famer. That number should still be rising. He has at least seven targets and five catches in four of his previous five games. Allen has caught more passes than Josh Downs in five straight contests. More importantly, Downs might not be around much longer. He is the subject of trade rumors and the Colts are looking to sell anyone with a pulse right now. Allen could rack up absurd target totals if Downs is out of the picture.

Ryan Flournoy, Cowboys

Flournoy is quietly heating up over the last month. He has 17 catches for 238 yards and two scores in his past four games. The target totals have been modest, only exceeding four in one of those contests, but Flournoy is coming alive as a strong third pass-catcher for the Cowboys. He’ll have some FLEX value for their Week 9 date with the Colts.

▶ Tight End

Greg Dulcich, Dolphins

Like Washington, there isn’t enough passing volume in Miami to support much of a ceiling for Dulcich, but he has created a solid PPR floor. Dulcich has at least four catches on five targets in four of his past five games. The Detroit matchup is also particularly awesome for him. The Lions are giving up 27.9 PPR points per game to opposing tight ends. That is seven more points than the No. 2 team.

Mike Gesicki, Bengals

Gesicki just keeps getting away with it. He has caught a pass in six games this year. He has scored in all six of those games. Gesicki spiked for 76 yards and a touchdown in the Bengals’ overtime win versus the Titans. His touchdown rate is the pinnacle of unsustainable, but a six-target showing in Week 8 gives him more of a chance of posting TE2 numbers next week. He hadn’t seen that many targets in a game since Week 1.

Michael Mayer, Raiders

Brock Bowers returned to the lineup in Week 3. Mayer has run at least 70 percent of the routes in all but one game since then. He has scored at least 10 PPR points in 4-of-6 appearances and has a 15 percent target share with Bowers active. Mayer is even coming off his best target share of the year, a 26 percent effort versus the Jets. He’s a stable TE2 bet even with Bowers putting up elite numbers.