Week 8 Waiver Wire: 5 Can't-Miss Sleepers Destined for Points Bonanzas

The Week 8 waiver wire is all about one thing: running backs.

This is largely thanks to all the injuries that were visited upon some of the league's big-name backs in Week 7. Tim Hightower went down with a season-ending injury, Darren McFadden was undone by a foot injury and Mark Ingram is now dealing with a bad heel.

You get the idea. There is an unusually high number of wounded running backs out there, and their replacements are in high-demand. Of course, players who occupy other positions are in demand, too.

Not all of these waiver wire adds are going to pay immediate dividends, mind you. Some are going to fall flat, and that will invariably leave fantasy owners frustrated and cursing at the fantasy football gods.

However, some waiver wire finds are going to provide points in Week 8. Better yet, I think I might just know who they are... 

5. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Denver Broncos

In case you're wondering, we are indeed talking about the same Knowshon Moreno who was bad enough to lose Denver's starting running back job to Willis McGahee. No doubt, there are still plenty of owners out there who never want to hear Moreno's name again.

Well, too bad. There's a report out from Jeff Legwold of The Denver Post, which says that McGahee is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks with a fractured hand. As a result, Moreno has his gig back.

On the bright side, Moreno and the Broncos are going up against the Detroit Lions this weekend, who have struggled against the run in recent weeks. In fact, they've allowed a 100-yard rusher in three-straight games.

Besides, Denver's Tim Tebow-led offense seems to be a little run-heavy. The Broncos ran the ball 39 times in Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins. Expect more of the same against the Lions. 

4. Colt McCoy, QB, Cleveland Browns

I feel compelled to include at least one quarterback on this list, and Colt McCoy is really the only one I feel comfortable with.

Trust me, I have doubts, but the pieces are in place for McCoy to have a solid day on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

This is partially due to the fact that the Browns rushing attack remains in disarray. The Plain Dealer reported today that Peyton Hillis will only start against the 49ers if he's healthy enough to go. Even if Hillis does play, he'll be facing one of the league's very best rush defenses.

As such, it wouldn't surprise me if McCoy had to throw the ball a ton of times once again. He's not going to have an Aaron Rodgers-like day, but McCoy should at least be able to pad his stats. 

3. Roy Helu, RB, Washington Redskins

Full disclosure: I'm a huge Roy Helu fan. He was a joy to watch at Nebraska, and I later found out that we both come from San Ramon Valley High School. Represent.

However, that's not why I like Helu's chances to break out this weekend against the Buffalo Bills. As previously mentioned, Tim Hightower is gone for the season. That means Washington's running back duties fall to Helu and Ryan Torain.

Now, you never know what Mike Shanahan is going to do with his running backs. When I say that Helu should be in for a workload increase, I'm going out on a limb. However, he should be able to do good things with said theoretical workload increase against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The Bills have had plenty of issues with running backs this season, and were last seen letting Ahmad Bradshaw run for three touchdowns.

I guess I should also mention that you have a better chance of picking Helu up than you do Torain. A lot of fantasy owners flocked to him after he picked up 135 yards and a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams earlier this month. 

2. Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday's tilt between the Steelers and New England Patriots will feature arguably the two best quarterback-wide receiver connections in football. Pittsburgh has Ben Roethlisberger-to-Mike Wallace, and New England has Tom Brady-to-Wes Welker.

However, don't overlook Big Ben's connection with Antonio Brown. Very quietly, Brown had his first 100-yard day of the season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, and he could very well be in for a similarly productive day.

There are a couple reasons we can expect this. The first is that New England's pass defense is pretty darned atrocious. The other is that you just know the Pats offense is going to force the Steelers to throw the ball to keep up. 

1. Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans Saints

The Saints' trio of running backs achieved all sorts of awesome against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, and Pierre Thomas was right in the middle of it. He managed 57 yards on just 10 carries, on top of 68 yards on five receptions. As a whole, the Saints rushed for 236 yards.

They also saw Mark Ingram limp off the field with a heel injury. Pro Football Talk reported on Monday that Ingram is merely day-to-day, but you still have to have doubts.

Even if Ingram does play this Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, Thomas is a guy you want to have. Since the Rams have shown little interest in tackling running backs this season, it's possible that Thomas, Ingram and Darren Sproles will repeat their performance against the Colts. Shoot—they might even top it.

If Ingram doesn't play, Thomas will get extra touches. As we all know, extra touches mean extra points.