National Football League
Fantasy football week 8 waiver wire focused on Bryce, Dixon and McKinnon
National Football League

Fantasy football week 8 waiver wire focused on Bryce, Dixon and McKinnon

Published Oct. 21, 2014 1:56 p.m. ET

The final question of my Week 7 Monday Night Football fantasy chat was perfect:

From Guest:

If {you could} redraft tonite, which player knowing what you know now outside of Murray, would you target?

Without much thought and removing the usual suspects for the sake of conversation, Jerick McKinnon was my top target.  In PPR leagues, the Vikings running back is ranked 15th in fantasy points scored among fellow running backs over the last month.  I wrote about McKinnon in late-September after his breakout game against the Falcons and suggested owners snatch him up.  At the time, he was owned in less than three percent of leagues.  Now available in 58 percent of leagues, owners' window of opportunity is about to slam shut.

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When you look at the current state of the Vikings’ offense, McKinnon has been their most productive asset.  Teddy Bridgewater has failed to pass for 190 yards in back-to-back games now, while McKinnon is averaging 14 carries and 95.5 total yards per game with no turnovers over the last month. For those still concerned about Matt Asiata’s role, he has eight carries and only two receptions in the Vikings’ last two games.  The coast is clear for you to buy stock in MCK.

Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon – widely available

C.J. Spiller is on the shelf and Fred Jackson’s groin won’t be healthy until mid-November.  This opens the door for the Bills’ to insert two off-season acquisitions into the weekly game plan.  Dixon finished with 13 carries against the Vikings in Week 7 after Spiller and Jackson were carted off.  The 13 attempts were the second-most of his career and most in a game since 2010.  However, don’t read into Dixon’s workload as a reason to avoid Brown who was a healthy scratch.

For those who have played fantasy football the last few years, Brown’s 347 rushing yards on 43 carries with four touchdowns over a two-game stretch during the 2012 season is the stuff of fantasy legend.  If not for playing behind LeSean McCoy in Philadelphia who knows what Brown could have achieved on the ground – instead we were left with what-ifs.  Until now.  Kyle Orton’s top option in the offense will remain Sammy Watkins as the two have built a rapport in recent weeks, but I believe Brown could snag 13-15 carries with Dixon adding some muscle (not conditioning) inside the red zone. 

Tre Mason – available in 93 percent of leagues

From the makers of Shanahan’d and Belichick’d comes Schottenheimer’d.  Look, we all want to love and embrace what Tre Mason accomplished in Week 7 – 18 carries for 85 yards with a score.  Heck, Mason was one of those coveted players-to-watch we wrote about this past summer as we weren’t quite sold on Zac Stacy’s role in St. Louis.  The problem with Mason’s future value is that Schottenheimer is embracing his own “hot hand” approach, which could mean Mason 80 percent of the time, Stacy 10 percent of the time and Benny Cunningham 10 percent of time before shuffling the deck the following week.

Should Mason be added off the waiver wire?  Yes.  Should the 5-foot-8 Mason be counted on to provide double digit fantasy points each week for the rest of the season?  No.

Doug Baldwin – available in 91 percent of leagues

For the first time in the regular season since his rookie campaign, Baldwin eclipsed 100 receiving yards.  But don’t think for a second the departure of Percy Harvin had everything to do with his Week 7 fantasy production.  Forty percent of Baldwin’s receiving yards against the Rams were on one catch in the first quarter (49 yards).  With Seattle playing from behind most of the game, Baldwin cashed in the rest of his production.  The Seahawks remain 29th in passing yards per game as Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch do plenty of work with their legs.  I think Baldwin is a nice add and stash for those with roster space, but can’t count on him to produce 100-yard performances each and every week within a rush-first offense.

Martavis Bryant – available

It took half the season, but my thought that rookie receiver Martavis Bryant could possess some fantasy value with the Steelers came to fruition in his first career start.  He only caught two balls for 40 yards on five targets (third-most), but found the end zone and more importantly pushed Markus Wheaton and John Brown to the waiver wire wasteland.  Big Ben needs a big target to throw to in the red zone and Bryant fits that mold.

Louis Murphy – available in 97 percent of leagues

Coming off the BYE, most owners may forget Murphy caught 16 balls on 27 targets for 206 yards with two touchdown in the previous three games.  Even with Mike Evans back in the starting lineup Week 6, Murphy found the zone.  He’s a great add in 14-team leagues where wide receivers are probably picked over.

Ryan Tannehill – available in 65 percent of leagues

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