Week 8 Waiver Wire: Why Fantasy Football Owners Must Add Visanthe Shiancoe

Minnesota Vikings' tight end Visanthe Shiancoe is returning to relevance now that rookie quarterback Christian Ponder has taken over the team's offense.

That makes him useful to your fantasy team for the first time this season.

Shiancoe had five catches for 45 yards in Ponder's debut against the Green Bay Packers, and while that's not the most impressive number, it bodes well for his future success.

For a rookie quarterback to perform the way Ponder did against the undefeated, defending Super Bowl champions is a good sign for how he will perform in Week 8 against the much-less-difficult Carolina Panthers.

Shiancoe has had over 500 receiving yards in each of his last three seasons with the Vikings, but with Donovan McNabb as the starting quarterback, he hit few targets. Now, it appears that Ponder prefers his tight end—the safe receiver for the young quarterback.

Shiancoe is primarily useful to those fantasy GMs in deeper leagues or those who have serious bye-week needs at the position. He is not a solution for those in standard 10-team leagues.

However, should you have a need him, Shiancoe is worth adding to your roster.

Ponder will only get more comfortable as the season wears on, and now that Shiancoe has emerged as a legitimate target for him, his numbers should rise every week.

If you want to take a major risk and pick him up to start in Week 8, there are worse decisions you can make. Grabbing Shiancoe now, before he really breaks out, is a great value add should you need him.