Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: Available Sleepers in Most Yahoo Leagues

Injuries, breakout performances and more once again weigh supreme on the NFL waiver wire. 

Week 8 seems especially dangerous, though. One of the biggest injury notes centers on Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer, who could miss four to six weeks. Whether owners will see someone step into such a void and produce isn't easy to say. 

The walk-on-eggshells vibe to this week really stems from Palmer's new running back, Adrian Peterson. Going from 25.4 points in a debut with a team to 3.3 will create such an atmosphere. 

Owners have to push forward, though, and there are still a few names on the add list who could turn out to be season-long solutions. At the end of the day, finding one can swing the balance of a league for good. 

Week 8 Waiver-Wire Targets

Josh McCown, QB, NYJ (20 percent owned)

Jared Goff, QB, LAR (49 percent owned)

Matt Moore, QB, MIA (5 percent owned)

T.J. Yeldon, RB, JAX (4 percent owned)

Dion Lewis, RB, NE (53 percent owned)

Latavius Murray, RB, MIN (59 percent owned)

Marlon Mack, RB, IND (47 percent owned)

Austin Ekeler, RB, LAC (36 percent owned)

Kenny Stills, WR, MIA (58 percent owned)

Jordan Matthews, WR, BUF (35 percent owned)

Ted Ginn, WR, NO (66 percent owned)

Deonte Thompson, WR, BUF (5 percent owned)

Robby Anderson, WR, NYJ (23 percent owned)

O.J. Howard, TE, TB (27 percent owned)

Tyler Kroft, TE, CIN (29 percent owned)

Jonnu Smith, TE, TEN  (1 percent owned)

Week 8 Drops

Carson Palmer, QB, ARI

Chris Ivory, RB, JAX

Orleans Darkwa, RB, NYG

Marshawn Lynch, RB, OAK

Terrelle Pryor, WR, WAS 

John Brown, WR, ARI 

Martellus Bennett, TE, GB

Add: Marlon Mack, RB, IND

Bobby Ellis/Getty Images

The Indianapolis Colts might seem like a fantasy wasteland right now, but fourth-round rookie Marlon Mack would like a word with anyone who promotes such a narrative. 

Mack feasts when the Colts are playing from behind—which happens quite often for a two-win team that has lost three games in four weeks by a combined total of 109-40.

While Mack only has one strong game under his belt checking in at 15.3 points so far, he continues to see more usage. According to Rotoworld, he played 32 (48 percent) of the snaps in Week 7 compared to Frank Gore's 22 while the Colts tried to dig out of a hole that wound up being a 27-0 loss. 

Given his versatility and the Colts' stunning lack of talent in the backfield, Mack has the feel of a matchup-free player the rest of the way. 

Drop: Marshawn Lynch, RB, OAK

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Time to let it go. 

The idea of Marshawn Lynch with the Oakland Raiders seemed great. He was rested after a year away and the team had the strong blocking necessary to make him a fantasy force.  

He's scored more than 10 points twice and checked in at 2.6 or fewer three times. 

The proverbial cherry on top now is a one-game ban for pushing an official, per ESPN's Adam Schefter: 

The Raiders are one of those teams that simply aren't as good as expected, and Lynch personifies the issue. 

It's a stinker—running back has been especially difficult this year. Lynch doesn't seem like a guy who will help.

Add: Ted Ginn, WR, NO

Butch Dill/Associated Press

How weird is 2017? 

Tedd Ginn is a must-add option with the New Orleans Saints. 

Ginn has now posted 12.9 and 14.1 points over his past two outings and sits on at least 11.9 in three of his past four appearances. He's a boom-or-bust player for the most part, though business has been booming lately for Ginn as he benefits from playing with Drew Brees and watching those around him battle injuries. 

Interestingly enough, the Saints aren't strictly using him to stretch the field like he has in the past, which has helped create some of these consistent numbers. 

RotoViz's Eric Moody illustrated this point: 

Such usage is critical here because it suggests Ginn won't stop producing simply because guys like Willie Snead get back to 100 percent. 

While wideout has seemingly endless options this year, it sure doesn't hurt to have another in the form of a big-play threat getting looks from a quarterback like Brees. 

Drop: Terrelle Pryor, WR, WAS 

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

Owners know it's time to throw in the towel when a team does. 

The Washington Redskins inked Terrelle Pryor to a one-year deal on the open market over the offseason after he posted a strong season with the Cleveland Browns. From a fantasy perspective, his getting together with Kirk Cousins would make him an even better option. 

Swing and a miss. Pryor has one double-digit game to his name this year and four outings at 3.1 points or fewer. 

Through seven weeks, Pryor comes close to leading the team in targets, yet the coaching staff had clearly seen enough. Per Rotoworld, Pryor only played 30 snaps in Week 7 while getting benched for Josh Doctson, something head coach Jay Gruden later confirmed, as captured by Raymond Summerlin: 

This isn't suggesting Pryor can't make a rebound and help the Redskins at some point this season. 

But for owners? The production wasn't there when Pryor was getting looks. They can better serve lineups by swapping Pryor out.

All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.