With week seven in the rear-view mirror, let’s look ahead to the best bets for your week eight waiver wire pick-ups.

QB:

Carson Wentz – With the Raiders and Ravens on a bye week, some of you may need to pick a quarter back up off the waivers, and Carson Wentz is certainly one of your best bets. Wentz is rostered in only 24.5% of leagues and is averaging 17.64 points per game. Now, that doesn’t sound totally game changing, but he is averaging 20.6 points over the last three. He has played the Ravens, Houston and 49ers, so he has faced some decent opposition in that three-game span. His worst score of the three actually came against Houston, would you believe (18.02). The Titans are up next, which presents an opportunity for Wentz to continue his strong play. I wouldn’t be too worried about what they did to Kansas City, the Colts have much better O-Line, which will give Carson ample time to get the ball out and take advantage of the weak Tennessee secondary.

RB:

Kenneth Gainwell – Gainwell is usually second in command in the Eagles back field but will be making the step up to RB1 against the Lions this coming Sunday, as Miles Sanders left the game in Vegas with an apparent ankle injury. Even with Sanders as the main RB in Philly, Gainwell has been putting up steady numbers in 2021, averaging 7.99 points per game. He has been really good in the receiving game and will now get his chance to pound that rock on an all down basis. Boston Scott is third on the depth chart and will take some touches away from KG, but that is unlikely to harm Gainwell’s value to much. Gainwell is the number one target for week 8.

Samaje Perine – Perine is currently playing second fiddle to Joe Mixon, but like Gainwell, has been putting up steady numbers in 2021, with two 14+ point performances in his last two games. Perine gets some receiving targets to go along with his decent rushing attempts per game, so has a high enough floor for a back-up RB. The Bengals face the Jets next, so there is the possibly they blow out the Jets in the first three quarters, allowing them to rest Joe Mixon and give Perine and extended workload as they run out the clock and turn the screw on New York.

Honourable mention:

David Johnson – Johnson accounted for a third of all of Houston’s offence on Sunday night. This shout is more applicable for PPR leagues.

WR:

Allen Lazard – Devante Adams fantasy owners are crying right now, as Adams is out for Green Bay’s Thursday Night Football match-up against the Cardinals. For week’s 1-5, Lazard put up dismal numbers, averaging 3.3 point per game. Over the last two weeks however, Rodgers and himself have been connecting on a much more frequent basis, with Lazard scoring 10.20 and 14.50 points respectively over his last two games. It is very important to note that Marquez Valdez Scantling has been on IR since week four and has a chance to return to the Packers line-up this Thursday. I would pick up Lazard off the waivers and keep an eye on MVS’ availability for Thursday. Lazard is still the better option, but MVS playing may be a deal breaker for some of you, depending on your WR depth.

Kalif Raymond – you’re clutching at straws if you need to pick a Lions wide receiver up off the waivers, but Raymond has been super solid for Detroit over the last few weeks. He’s averaging a solid 9.76 points for the 2021 season and on Sunday night against the Rams he put up his second highest points total of the season, with 14.60 point (21.00 points against the Bears in week 4). Goff likes him as a target, looking for him 10, 6, 2, 7 and 8 times over the last five weeks. The Eagles are up next for the Lions, and won’t make it easy for Goff & Co., but Raymond has looked good. Raymond is rostered in 0.1% of leagues, as you could have probably guessed.

Honourable mentions:

Michael Gallup – coming back off IR.

Russell Gage – The Falcons WR2 was back from injury with a bang on Sunday night against the Dolphins, logging a 14.70-point performance.

TE:

Evan Engram – the Giants TE has been subpar in 2021 to say the least, failing to log a single touchdown. He is rostered in 20.4% of leagues and has averaged 4.96 points. The good news for Engram fans is that Big Blue face the Chiefs in week eight, who have been one of the worst TE defences in 2021. Engram had a season high eight targets against Carolina on Sunday night, so I would expect Danny Dimes to continue picking him out against the porous Kansas D. My boy Mark Andrews is on bye week, so Engram is my target for the week. Just don’t tell anyone, ok.

Defence:

Cincinnati Bengals – they face the Jets in week eight.