The top 13 waiver-wire pickups for Week 8 of fantasy football

ESPN fantasy % rostered: 71.7%Week 7 stats: 146 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 22 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 24.8 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Hopefully, you picked up D'Ernest Johnson before his breakout performance in Week 7, but in case you didn't, he is still available in nearly 30% of ESPN leagues. Johnson's peak value might be limited depending on when starting running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt return from injury, but until both are back in the lineup, Johnson has done more than enough to earn himself a huge share of the workload.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 5.5%Week 7 stats: 6 receptions, 79 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 19.9 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Playing whack-a-mole with Patriots running backs is a fantasy football tradition, but Brandon Bolden could have somewhat consistent value, at least in PPR leagues. Bolden has caught 17 of his 18 targets over the past four weeks and could be a potential target for anyone facing a tough bye week soon.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 59.7%Week 7 stats: 69 rushing yards, 3 receptions, 10 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 16.9 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Starting running back Josh Jacobs left Sunday's game early due to injury, leaving the majority of the workload to fall to Kenyan Drake. Drake has scored three touchdowns over the past two weeks and could be in for even more action if Jacobs' injury isn't sorted out after the team's bye week.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 26.4%Week 7 stats: 20 rushing yards, 4 receptions, 41 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 14.1 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Miles Sanders was carted off the field on Sunday due to an ankle injury, leaving Kenneth Gainwell to step up in his stead. The rookie looked solid in the primary role and could be the lead back in Philadelphia for the next few weeks, depending on the severity of Sanders' injury. Philly backup Boston Scott could also have value in deeper leagues.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 5.3%Week 7 stats: 6 receptions, 115 receiving yards — 17.6 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Kalif Raymond has stepped up in a big way for the Lions, leading Detroit's wide receivers group in yardage in four of the team's seven games so far this season. For fantasy players, Raymond has scored at least 9.7 points in four of his past five games.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 4.6%Week 7 stats: 5 receptions, 60 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 17 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Allen Lazard has scored in two straight games and has gotten 11 targets in the Packers offense over the past two weeks, catching eight of them. Lazard could be in for another big game with the Packers set for a shootout on Thursday night against the Cardinals.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 17.2%Week 7 stats: 3 receptions, 80 receiving yards — 11 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Rookie wide receiver Rashod Bateman has seven catches for 109 yards over his first two games with the Ravens — pretty good numbers for a player in his first year that missed a ton of his offseason reps due to injury. As Bateman continues to get more comfortable in the Baltimore offense, his value should continue to rise.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 30.8%Week 7 stats: 4 receptions, 50 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 15 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Christian Kirk is averaging 13.7 fantasy points per game, good for 32nd among wide receivers so far this season. Players close to him in that ranking — Corey Davis, Michael Pittman Jr. — are rostered in 70-80% of leagues, but Kirk is still widely available. There is not a more trustworthy receiver you can find on the waiver wire than Kirk heading into more bye weeks.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 9.4%Week 7 stats: 3 receptions, 91 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns — 24.1 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: The Bengals offense is humming, and C.J. Uzomah is red hot. Uzomah has scored five touchdowns over the past four weeks and finished as the top-scoring tight end in fantasy in two of the past four weeks. If you're looking to make a switch at tight end, here's your chance.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 62.9%Week 7 stats: 3 receptions, 66 receiving yards, 1 touchdown — 16 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: Zach Ertz is another potential swap for fantasy players struggling at tight end. While Ertz was stuck playing behind Dallas Goedert in Philadelphia, he's the leading man at tight end in Arizona, and as he showed on Sunday, is ready to produce. Ertz might not be as dominant as he was three years ago, but as a part of the Cardinals offense, he has the potential to put up huge numbers.ESPN fantasy % rostered: 8.3%Week 7 stats: 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries, 4 sacks, 3 points against — 14 fantasy pointsOne thing to know: The Titans just held the Chiefs to 3 points and forced an interception and a fumble from Patrick Mahomes. Next week they face turnover-prone Colts quarterback Carson Wentz.Tua Tagovailoa (43.1% rostered) has looked sharp in his past two games from a fantasy perspective. Despite the Dolphins losing both efforts, Tagovailoa was the third-best QB in fantasy on Sunday, and 11th-best the week before. Case Keenum (2.1% rostered) also played well enough for the Browns in relief of Baker Mayfield. He should only be an option in deeper leagues or two-quarterback leagues, but if you're desperate, there are worse offenses to throw your support behind than the Browns.

The top 13 waiver-wire pickups for Week 8 of fantasy football

D'Ernest Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns

Brandon Bolden, RB, New England Patriots

Kenyan Drake, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Kalif Raymond, WR, Detroit Lions

Allen Lazard, WR, Green Bay Packers

Rashod Bateman, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Christian Kirk, WR, Arizona Cardinals

C.J. Uzomah, TE, Cincinnati Bengals

Zach Ertz, TE, Arizona Cardinals

Streaming defense: Tennessee Titans

And in case you need a quarterback...