Week 8 Waiver Wire: Top Adds, Drops and Long-Term Fantasy Sleeper Targets

As we head into Week 8 of the 2020 NFL season, fantasy footballers are beginning to gear op for the playoff run. Some larger leagues start their postseasons as early as Week 12 and most will be wrapped up by Week 16.

It's as important to bring the right players into the stretch run, and it's more important than ever to work the waiver wire to do so. A plethora of fantasy stars are done for the season, and managers will be dealing with byes through Week 13.

Here, we'll examine the top waiver-wire adds for Week 8, some players who can safely be dropped and a few long-term options worth keeping around for the remainder of the season.

Let's dig in.

Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland Browns

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins

Carlos Hyde, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Tevin Coleman, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Lamical Perine, RB, New York Jets

Rashard Higgins, WR, Cleveland Browns

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Preston Williams, WR, Miami Dolphins

Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

Trey Burton, TE, Indianapolis Colts

Gardner Minshew II, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Cam Newton, QB, New England Patriots

Nick Foles, QB, Chicago Bears

Joshua Kelley, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Devonta Freeman, RB, New York Giants

Odell Bekham Jr., WR, Cleveland Browns

Jerry Jeudy, WR, Denver Broncos

Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Austin Hooper, TE, Cleveland Browns

Derren Fells, TE, Houston Texans

It might not be the best idea to start Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa this week against Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams defense. However, Tagovailoa is worth picking up off the waiver wire for the remainder of the season.

Miami ranks 12th in points scored through seven weeks, and the Dolphins don't believe that the quarterback switch will slow things down.

"I've seen a lot of him in practice, how athletic he is, how incredible of a player he is," defensive end Shaq Lawson said, per ESPN's Cameron Wolfe. "You get to see it Sunday this week. It's going to be incredible. He's going to lead his team in the right way."

Tagovailoa's bye week is already out of the way, so he can be a valuable depth piece or streamer moving forward. He also has some tremendous matchups near playoff time, with the New York Jets in Week 12 and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13.

Tagovailoa is rostered in 29 percent of Yahoo leagues and 21 percent of ESPN leagues.

With Odell Beckham Jr. out for the year with a torn ACL, the Cleveland Browns need another receiver to step up and take over his production. Based on what we saw in Week 7 and in the past, that wideout will be Rashard Higgins.

With Beckham out, Higgins ended up catching six passes for 110 yards. While he might not regularly approach triple-digit yardage, his big game wasn't exactly a fluke.

During Baker Mayfield's record-setting rookie season, Higgins was one of his favorite targets. The chemistry between the two was palpable, and Higgins finished that year with 39 catches, 572 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games.

Higgins then disappeared in 2019, as head coach Freddie Kitchens seemingly refused to use him.

New head coach Kevin Stefanski doesn't seem to have the same problem with utilizing Higgins this year, and the fifth-year receiver should be good for 3-5 receptions per game moving forward. This makes him a viable flex option in point-per-reception (PPR) leagues. He has some great matchups looming with the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8 and the Houston Texans in Week 10.

Higgins is available in 97 percent of Yahoo leagues and 99 percent of ESPN leagues.

The San Francisco 49ers got off to a slow start in 2020, but they've managed to win two games in a row. Rookie wideout Brandon Aiyuk played a role in both victories. He caught two passes for just 12 yards in Week 6, but he found the end zone. In week 7, he caught six passes for 115 yards.

Back in Week 3, Aiyuk had over 100 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown. He added another ground score in Week 4.

While consistency hasn't been Aiyuk's biggest asset to this point, it's also been a problem for the 49ers in general. With quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo getting healthier and the offense finding its rhythm, Aiyuk should have more consistent production moving forward.

Aiyuk also has a wonderful fantasy matchup looming against the Seattle Seahawks and their 32nd-ranked pass defense. He also has favorable matchups against the Washington Football Team in Week 14 and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15. He's rostered in 49 percent of Yahoo leagues and just 20 percent of ESPN leagues.

*Yahoo and ESPN roster percentages from FantasyPros.