Week 8 Waiver Wire: Why Fantasy Owners Must Add Alfonso Smith

Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells injured his knee in his team's Week 7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the injury is thankfully much less severe than first feared, his status for Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens is in serious doubt.

Wells is the Cardinals' leading rusher, with 91 carries for 423 yards and six touchdowns this season, and has emerged as a valuable fantasy starter after a down year in 2010, when he missed three games and suffered from lower production while recovering from knee surgery.

While this injury doesn't appear to be related to that 2010 surgery, it appears to be serious enough that he may miss up to two weeks, meaning that his fantasy owners need to find a suitable replacement—and fast.

Week 7 was a tough week for fantasy running backs, with a half-dozen or more backs suffering injuries that will keep them out for anywhere between a game and the rest of the season depending on the player. The waiver wire is going to be bustling with activity this week as GMs scramble to replace backs out with injuries or on the bye.

And that's why the Cardinals' Alfonso Smith is a must-add this week. Smith is likely to get the majority of the carries this Sunday against the Ravens should Wells be out, with LaRod Stephens-Howling and Chester Taylor also making contributions.

Smith had 17 carries for 54 yards and three receptions for 21 yards when Wells was out in Week 3, and that's probably around the number of touches he should get as Wells' primary replacement.

While a committee approach is not out of the question this week, that should be taken with a grain of salt; Stephens-Howling may get a significant amount of playing time, but it will be far less than Smith's time on the field. Taylor may not see more than a few third-down touches.

The only wild card regarding Smith isn't Smith at all, but the Cardinals' Week 8 opponent. The Baltimore Ravens, undefeated at home, are coming off of an embarrassing Week 7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and are looking to rebound with a convincing win over the 1-5 Cardinals.

Regardless of the opponent, fantasy GMs in every format have serious needs at running back this week. The pickings are becoming slimmer, but with a little research and quick thinking, it's possible to grab a useful back off of the waiver wire, and I think Smith can more than fulfill your team's needs.