Fantasy Football Week 8 Cheat Sheet: Deep Sleepers to Grab on Waiver Wire

There can be no hesitation at this point in the NFL season when it comes to making moves with your fantasy football roster.

It's not only the injury factor or teams that have bye weeks. Fantasy owners can no longer think about the draft day investment they made based on a player's past achievements, offseason workouts or projections. It's only about production at this point in the season.

As we head into Week 8, the Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans all have the week off. We are also contending with injuries to Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (concussion protocol), New England Patriots running back Sony Michel (knee), Miami Dolphins wide receiver Albert Wilson (hip) and Houston Texans wide receiver Keke Coutee (hamstring).

There are significant moves to be made, and while we can't provide any superstars, we can present these deep sleepers. We are only recommending players who are on 40 percent of Yahoo fantasy rosters or less.

Deep sleepers

QB Case Keenum, Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs, 20 percent

QB Sam Darnold, N.Y. Jets at Chicago Bears, 9 percent

RB Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts at Oakland Raiders, 40 percent

RB Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals, 22 percent

RB LeGarrette Blount, Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks, 13 percent

WR Geronimo Allison, Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams, 38 percent

WR Tre'Quan Smith, New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings, 17 percent

WR Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers, 26 percent

TE Jesse James, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns, 13 percent

TE Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts at Oakland Raiders, 21 percent

QB Case Keenum, Denver Broncos

Fantasy owners who are in need of a quarterback can do far worse than add Keenum to their roster. That supposition makes sense based on what Keenum accomplished last year as quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, and it makes even more sense based on their opponent this week.

Keenum and the Broncos are a game away from .500 as they prepare to go to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to play the offensive juggernaut that is the Kansas City Chiefs. If the Broncos are going to compete in this game for a half or even three quarters, Keenum needs to have a sharp effort.

Given the state of the Kansas City defense, that's a strong possibility. While the Chiefs light up the scoreboard on offense, they are quite generous on defense, and they rank 32nd in yards allowed and 31st against the pass.

Keenum is not a superstar, but he is a solid quarterback who is averaging 247.3 yards per game and has thrown eight TD passes. However, the Broncos are coming off a 45-point effort against the Arizona Cardinals, and they have put together a semblance of an offense.

Keenum has two productive receivers in Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, so he has an excellent chance to have a productive game.

John Minchillo/Associated Press

RB Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are coming off an overwhelming win against the Buffalo Bills, and they get a chance to build on that performance against the Oakland Raiders, who continue to spin players off to the rest of the league.

Hines fought his way on to the roster as a fourth-round draft choice out of North Carolina State, and he is developing into a productive performer for head coach Frank Reich.

The 21-year-old has 41 carries for 160 yards and one touchdown, and he will likely get five-to-seven carries against the Raiders. He had 15 rushing attempts in the Colts' Week 5 game against the Patriots, but he is not likely to reach that figure more than once or twice through the rest of the season.

However, Hines continues to be a factor in the passing game. He has been targeted 40 times by quarterback Andrew Luck and has 32 receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns. 

Look for him to get into the end zone against the woebegone Raiders.

WR Geronimo Allison, Green Bay Packers

The Packers are getting healthier as they prepare for their Week 8 game with the powerful Los Angeles Rams.

Allison missed the Week 5 and 6 games with concussion and hamstring issues, respectively, and the Packers had a bye in Week 7. Allison is practicing, and so is fellow wideout Randall Cobb. With Davante Adams and Cobb potentially in the top two WR spots, Allison is not likely to get much attention from the Los Angeles defense.

When Allison is healthy, he has shown he can make the tough catch in clutch situations. He has caught 19 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns, and this could be a solid spot for him to sneak through a Rams defense that is concentrating on Adams, Cobb and tight end Jimmy Graham.

The prediction here is that Allison will catch at least four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

TE Jesse James, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are also coming off a bye week, and they should be in excellent shape as they take on the Cleveland Browns.

This is a rematch of the Week 1 game that saw the two teams finish in a tie as neither could make a decisive field goal in overtime. The Steelers are at home in this game, and they are likely to take out their embarrassment on an opponent that still struggles to win.

James can be a factor in the red zone because of his size and long reach, and while his numbers are not overly impressive at this point—17 receptions for 274 yards and one touchdown—we expect James to have an impact during this game against the Browns.