Week 8 Waiver Wire: Early Pickups and Breakout Fantasy Football Candidates

Injuries are starting to pile up in the NFL after seven weeks of play, and persistent fantasy football owners will be making quick trips to the waiver wire to shore up their ailing squads and make a championship run—or at the very least, avoid the shame of last place.

As always, our Week 8 waiver-wire suggestions feature players who stand to put up points for a variety of reasons. Some are handcuffs, some had breakout performances and others are once-forgotten players in the midst of a quiet renaissance.

Let's take a look at a couple of players worth picking up at each skill position, along with a player one might consider dropping at that position to make room. 

Keep in mind, these waiver-wire players are owned in less than 40 percent of Yahoo Sports' fantasy football leagues, to accommodate for those who dare to brave 12-player leagues and up. 

Anthony Dixon, RB, Buffalo Bills

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Considering many fantasy football owners make it a point to stockpile running backs and hope that the all-purpose yardage makes them viable flex options, it's often difficult to find good help here on the waiver wire. Due to a pair of unfortunate injuries, Dixon is a high-upside running back who will fall into some lucky fantasy owners' laps.

Fred Jackson picked up a knock in the Bills' comeback win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. According to CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora, he will be out at least two weeks with a groin injury:

C.J. Spiller was the next back to go down. According to NBC Sports' ProFootballTalk, the explosive back is out for the season with a broken collarbone:

Dixon acquitted himself well as the lead back by default on Sunday, picking up 66 total yards on 16 touches.

It certainly sounds like Dixon has been waiting a long time for this opportunity. After four seasons in San Francisco, Dixon apparently came to Buffalo hoping to take on a bigger role in the offense, via ESPN's Mike Rodak:

His plans haven't quite panned out up to this point; Dixon had just 14 carries in six games heading into Sunday. The Bills can't expect too much out of veteran quarterback Kyle Orton, so look for them to rely heavily on Dixon until Jackson and Spiller recover from their injuries.

Also Worth a Look: Tre Mason, St. Louis Rams

Non-injured Player to Drop: Chris Johnson, New York Jets (Chris Ivory has a stranglehold on the starting job, and Percy Harvin could stand to get some carries.)

Allen Robinson, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

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Blake Bortles is slinging the ball around a ton in Florida, and rookie wideout Allen Robinson is often the man on the receiving end of his pretty spirals.

Robinson notched his first career touchdown in the Jags' 24-6 win over the Cleveland Browns. Bortles hit him on a deep curl route at the Bengals' 21-yard line, and Robinson shed his marker and outraced a handful of Browns defenders en route to paydirt. Robinson has seen double-digit targets twice on the season and has four games with at least five receptions.

Jaguars offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch noted his steady progress earlier in the week.

"He’s getting better every week but he’s got a ways to go. I’m sure there’s a couple of routes that he would like back," said Fisch, via ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco. "He’s had the opportunities there to continue to get the ball and continue to make plays. We’re going to continue to give him those chances. I think he’s just going to get better. I really do."

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Rookie wide receivers are highly volatile, but the Jaguars' mostly nonexistent running game—which did get a jolt from Denard "Shoelace" Robinson on Sunday—means Bortles is throwing the ball constantly this season.

He's thrown the ball at least 31 times in four of his five appearances this season, and the lone exception was Week 3 against the Colts, when he came on in the second half and still threw the ball 24 times. The Jaguars are a young team searching for any sort of identity, and they just might have a player to build around in Robinson.

Also Worth a Look: Andrew Hawkins, Cleveland Browns

Non-injured Player to Drop: Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings (Yes, he scored, but three touches doesn't bode well.)

Jermaine Gresham, TE, Cincinnati Bengals

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The tight end position is basically a crapshoot if you're not lucky enough to have a stud like Julius Thomas, Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski or Antonio Gates. This makes diving deep into the waiver wire a risky proposition, but scouring the depths for talent could be the difference between a handful of fantasy points and a big fat goose egg. 

If you're looking for a relatively safe bet, Andy Dalton is getting back in sync with tight end Jermaine Gresham. He's building up from a slow start to the season and getting plenty of snaps in place of an injured Tyler Eifert. He caught 10 passes against the Colts on Sunday, but somehow managed to get just 48 yards.

The strange stat line befuddled NFL.com's Michael Fabiano:

Still, the 12 targets is very encouraging, and Gresham did average 11.3 yards per catch in Week 6.

If nothing else, he is a decent pickup in PPR leagues and could actually improve his numbers when wide receiver A.J. Green returns to stretch out opposing defenses. However, his fantasy production will take a huge nosedive if Eifert is able to return to full strength this season.

Also Worth a Look: Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts

Non-injured Player to Drop: Larry Donnell, New York Giants (Two fourth-quarter fumbles on Sunday could translate into more snaps for Daniel Fells.)

All stats courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.