Wiz's Weekly Calls2026 NFL Week 8

Out or Doubtful

• DeVonta Smith (WR, PHI). Out, hamstring. Listed as a nonparticipant Wednesday, missed Thursday, and remained sidelined Friday. Pivot: Makai Lemon (WR, PHI), who led the team last week with Smith out, catching seven of eight targets for 67 yards and a touchdown.
• Emeka Egbuka (WR, TB). Out, foot. With the concussion no longer the issue, Egbuka's availability is now being dictated by his foot injury. Pivot: Tez Johnson (WR, TB), with more snaps coming for him alongside veteran slot man Chris Godwin.
• Brian Robinson Jr. (RB, ATL). Out, hamstring. Pivot: Bijan Robinson (RB, ATL), fire him up with confidence since nobody is stealing goal line touches.

Questionable

• A.J. Brown (WR, NE). Limited Wednesday, then missed practice Thursday and Friday, putting his availability in serious doubt ahead of a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. Lean: sit. If Brown is out, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism III, and Kyle Williams will start in three-wide sets.
• Breece Hall (RB, NYJ). Three straight limited practices, the team is calling him questionable, as they did last weekend before he was ruled out. Lean: sit. Start Braelon Allen (RB, NYJ), a great start against the Raiders, who are allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs.
• Tee Higgins (WR, CIN). Limited in Friday's practice after not being on the injury report all week with a quad issue. Lean: start if active versus Tennessee, but keep a backup ready.
• Jaylen Waddle (WR, DEN). Questionable with the chest injury he re-aggravated in Week 7. Lean: sit in 12-team leagues.

Game-time Decisions

Brown, Hall, and Higgins all play at 1 PM ET, so inactives drop 90 minutes before kickoff. Keep a late-window player in your flex as a swap option. Good news: Saquon Barkley (RB, PHI), Lamar Jackson (QB, BAL), Rashee Rice (WR, KC), and Tyler Warren (TE, IND) carry no designation and are full go.

Start

• Chase Brown (RB, CIN) over Quinshon Judkins (RB, CLE). The Bengals are 10-point home favorites with a 28.25 implied total and Brown does have at least 15 touches in every game, while Pittsburgh has allowed the third-lowest rushing success rate, and they've held Jonathan Taylor, Chase Brown and Bucky Irving to fewer than 12 fantasy points.
• Stefon Diggs (WR, WAS) over Jakobi Meyers (WR, JAX). Diggs had already established a high floor, with at least four catches and six targets in every game, but he'll have a much higher ceiling with Terry McLaurin out for the season, and the Eagles allow the second-most fantasy points per game to receivers.
• Tre Tucker (WR, LV) over Rome Odunze (WR, CHI). Tucker has 10 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 19 targets over the past two weeks, while Seattle has allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers, yielding a league-low 91.7 receiving YPG.

Sit

• Xavier Worthy (WR, KC). Worthy had 70-plus receiving yards on both sides of the Week 5 bye, but he's posted 25 or fewer in every other game this season, with just one touchdown, and now draws a stingy Denver defense.
• Aaron Jones (RB, MIN). Jones was unable to practice on Wednesday due to a knee injury, and after taking a clear backseat to Jordan Mason in Week 7, it seems like Mason will be locked into heavy usage again in Week 8.

Flex of the Week

Omar Cooper Jr. (WR, NYJ). Two consecutive weeks of earning five-plus targets and finding the end zone make him a WR3/flex play, and the Las Vegas Raiders allowing the 13th most PPG to wide receivers this year keeps the matchup friendly.

Waiver Adds

• Jonah Coleman (RB, DEN). Claim priority: HIGH He is back and played 50% of the snaps in his return, posting 9-54-0 rushing and 2-15-0 receiving in the Broncos' 30-16 win over the Cardinals, and he has a good chance to be Denver's lead back for the rest of the season.
• Omar Cooper Jr. (WR, NYJ). Claim priority: HIGH He has back-to-back games with 100 yards and a score in his return from injury, including five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown on five targets against Miami, and he gets the Raiders next.
• Antonio Williams (WR, WAS). Claim priority: MEDIUM The Commanders will not increase Stefon Diggs' role with McLaurin out, and Dan Quinn said they will look to others to step up, specifically rookie Antonio Williams, who over the last three games played about two-thirds of the offensive snaps.
• Chig Okonkwo (TE, WAS). Claim priority: LOW In his last two games before the bye, the veteran saw a combined 13 targets and recorded 129 yards as a receiver, and the McLaurin injury only opens more volume.

Drop Candidates

• Mark Andrews (TE, BAL). He has posted less than 30 receiving yards in five consecutive outings and has only once found his way into the end zone during the 2026 NFL season.
• Chris Godwin Jr. (WR, TB). He hasn't scored at all across seven games and hasn't yet eclipsed 46 receiving yards in a game, so he is a low-upside bench clog.

Deep League Stash

• Bam Knight (RB, ARI). With Jeremiyah Love sidelined, Knight led his team in rushing against Denver with seven carries for 48 yards and also caught three passes for 15 yards on five targets, giving him PPR value at 25% rostered.

Teams on Bye

Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers

Starters on Bye

• Christian McCaffrey (RB, SF). Starts in nearly every lineup, and the bye gives his thigh an extra week after Sunday's scare.
• Nico Collins (WR, HOU). A locked-in WR1 in almost all leagues.
• Malik Nabers (WR, NYG). Started everywhere coming off his 12-catch, 165-yard game in Week 6.
• Chris Olave (WR, NO). Leads the Saints in targets and is a weekly WR2 start.
• George Kittle (TE, SF). One of the few tight ends started in most leagues.

Fill-ins to Add

• Rachaad White (RB, WAS). Available in most leagues. He played 69 percent of snaps as the lead back before the bye with Jacory Croskey-Merritt on injured reserve, and he gets a banged-up Eagles defense on Sunday night in a game the Commanders are favored to win.
• Omar Cooper Jr. (WR, NYJ). Available in most leagues. The rookie has back-to-back games of 19 or more PPR points, including a 5-115-1 line in Week 7, and defenses keying on Garrett Wilson keep leaving him open.
• Jacoby Brissett (QB, ARI). Available in most leagues. With Brock Purdy and C.J. Stroud both off, he is a simple one-week stream at Dallas against a defense that gives up points, just know his hold on the job is shaky beyond this week.