Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Players to drop for your Week 8 pickups

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/fantasy-football-waiver-wire-players-to-drop-for-your-week-8-pickups-153632514.html

We have a whopping six teams on bye this week, which may make things a bit trickier as far as drops go. It’s the halfway point of the fantasy football season, and we should always be looking for roster improvements, so cutting players who aren’t producing is a necessary evil.

[Upgrade to Fantasy Plus and gain your edge in player projections and much more]

TreVeyon Henderson, RB – Patriots

For those who’ve been holding onto hope for TreVeyon Henderson to reach the potential we saw during the preseason, it’s over. Time of Death – Week 7. He faced a Titans defense that had allowed the NFL’s most rushing touchdowns to RBs (9) heading into the contest, and the Patriots dominated in a blowout, yet the rookie saw just two touches, in a favorable game script, to Rhamondre Stevenson’s 20.

Henderson currently sits as the RB50 in half-PPR scoring on a per-game basis, averaging a mere 5.6 a tilt. He can be held onto in dynasty leagues, of course, and as a pure backup in redraft moving forward, but if you want to eliminate the headache from week-to-week, let him go to torture other managers.

Justin Fields, QB – Jets

Rostered by 75% of Yahoo managers, Justin Fields got benched at halftime of last week’s contest against Carolina after putting up a 6-46-0 line. Fields has thrown for a total of just 91 yards in his last six quarters, which is obviously not ideal.

He still boasts that rushing upside, but it’s not enough for fantasy starter status, plus New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn may decide to go with Tyrod Taylor, considering they are winless so far in 2025. There are more viable options out there to stream if Fields has been your starter.

[Visit 4for4 for more fantasy football analysis]

Kareem Hunt, RB – Chiefs

Week 7’s touch distribution for the Kansas City backfield was 19 for Brashard Smith, 16 for Isiah Pacheco, and a measly four for Kareem Hunt. The game was a blowout, so Andy Reid could have been kicking the tires on the rookie, but considering Smith saw all five of his targets when the starters were on the field, things are looking bleaker for Hunt as anything more than a touchdown-dependent reliever.

Luke McCaffrey, WR – Commanders

He was a popular waiver wire pickup last week with both Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr. on ice due to injury, but Luke McCaffrey was only targeted twice and didn’t haul in either ball. Instead, the passing game went through Zach Ertz, Jaylin Lane and Chris Moore, who had seven six, and five targets, respectively.

While McCaffrey will continue to be rotational, his role will be reduced even more once Samuel returns, and now QB Jayden Daniels could be impacted by a hamstring issue, which doesn’t help his overall outlook.

Michael Mayer, TE – Raiders

He served his purpose as a desperate fill-in in Week 6 with 50 yards and a score, but Michael Mayer dropped a brutal 1.5 in half-PPR scoring against the Chiefs as the TE41 on the week. The Raiders are off this weekend, and head coach Pete Carroll has already stated that Brock Bowers will be back in Week 9.

Even if Bowers isn’t able to get back, Las Vegas’ remaining schedule is rough for TEs, as five of its remaining opponents are among the top 11 in TE schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed (aFPA), with games against the Eagles (third), Texans (fifth), and Giants (11th) slotted for the fantasy playoffs.

The waiver wire has some nice young emerging options like Chargers’ Oronde Gadsden II or Giants’ Theo Johnson to add rather than pray for a decent floor from Mayer moving forward.

More Drops: Michael Carter, Emanuel Wilson, Jordan Whittington, Ollie Gordon II, Chig Okonkwo