Week 8 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Top Picks for Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith

Welcome back to the weekend waiver wire rankings for fantasy football Week 8 of the 2025 season. Below you'll find our freshly-updated waiver wire rankings for the weekend, including players like Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith, Darnell Mooney, David Njoku, Jaylin Noel. These waiver wire rankings will help guide you through waiver wire decisions you may need for injured players, bye-week crunches, or if you're just looking for a streamer or bench stash with upside.

As injury updates come in throughout the week, and roster percentages increase as players are picked up, we adjust our waiver wire rankings and you can find those below. Will Jaylin Noel, Jayden Higgins, Dalton Schultz or someone else emerge as a viable fantasy start with Nico Collins ruled out? Is now the right time to stash Trey Benson in leagues with IR spots? Is Xavier Legette emerging as a reliable fantasy football WR? Which players are worth adding and starting as priorities for Week 8?

These Week 8 waiver wire rankings are updated for the weekend by Nick Mariano, The News Pulse's lead fantasy football analyst and forecaster. For those who are not familiar, he brings you his weekly waiver wire rankings and priority adds for the top 85 options to consider across various positions and league sizes. Good luck in Week 8 on the waiver wire and in your matchups!

Who To Pick Up for Fantasy Football Week 8? Quarterbacks (QB) and Defenses (D/ST) are grouped together at the bottom of the list:

Rank Player Name Pos. % Ros. Baller Move 1 Oronde Gadsden TE 61 Add in All Leagues 2 Kyle Monangai RB 39 Add in All Leagues 3 Woody Marks RB 64 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues 4 Josh Downs WR 50 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues 5 Trey Benson RB 55 Add in 10+ Team Leagues 6 Darnell Mooney WR 38 Add in 10+ Team Leagues 7 Harold Fannin Jr. TE 47 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues 8 Tyler Allgeier RB 43 Add in 10+ Team Leagues 9 Nick Chubb RB 63 Add in 10+ Team Leagues 10 Brashard Smith RB 17 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues 11 David Njoku TE 61 Add in 10+ Team Leagues 12 Tre Tucker WR 39 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues 13 Keon Coleman WR 61 Add in 10+ Team Leagues 14 Dalton Schultz TE 34 Add in 10+ Team Leagues 15 Tez Johnson WR 51 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues 16 Kayshon Boutte WR 39 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues 17 Jaylin Noel WR 6 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 18 Troy Franklin WR 34 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 19 Marvin Mims Jr. WR 32 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 20 Kendrick Bourne WR 30 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 21 Isaiah Davis RB 8 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 22 Bam Knight RB 19 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 23 Alec Pierce WR 28 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 24 Xavier Legette WR 19 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 25 Chris Godwin WR 58 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 26 Marquise Brown WR 44 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 27 Mason Taylor TE 30 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 28 Sterling Shepard WR 13 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 29 Jayden Higgins WR 17 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 30 Luther Burden III WR 10 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 31 Elic Ayomanor WR 25 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 32 Tyjae Spears RB 30 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 33 Cade Otton TE 63 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 34 Juwan Johnson TE 32 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 35 Kenneth Gainwell RB 40 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues 36 Colston Loveland TE 22 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 37 Theo Johnson TE 24 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 38 Rashod Bateman WR 22 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 39 Jaydon Blue RB 10 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 40 Malik Washington WR 14 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 41 Chimere Dike WR 5 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 42 Xavier Hutchinson WR 0 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 43 Christian Watson WR 14 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 44 Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB 47 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 45 Jonnu Smith TE 20 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 46 Chris Moore WR 1 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 47 Pat Freiermuth TE 13 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 48 Brian Robinson Jr. RB 28 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 49 Emanuel Wilson RB 6 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 50 Sean Tucker RB 8 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 51 Devin Neal RB 4 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 52 Jeremy McNichols RB 3 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 53 Jalen Coker WR 7 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 54 Josh Reynolds WR 2 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 55 Brandon Aiyuk WR 42 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 56 Noah Fant TE 4 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 57 Jordan Whittington WR 5 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 58 Lil'Jordan Humphrey WR 0 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 59 Ollie Gordon II RB 11 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 60 Luke McCaffrey WR 13 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 61 Parker Washington WR 0 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 62 Michael Wilson WR 3 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 63 Taysom Hill TE 4 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 64 Jaylin Lane WR 0 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 65 Tanner Conner TE 0 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 66 Jalin Hyatt WR 0 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues 67 Jaxson Dart QB 61 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 68 Joe Flacco QB 49 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 69 Marcus Mariota QB 9 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 70 Trevor Lawrence QB 43 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 71 Sam Darnold QB 38 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 72 Aaron Rodgers QB 41 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 73 C.J. Stroud QB 56 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 74 Mac Jones QB 9 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 75 Kirk Cousins QB 3 Add in 2QB Leagues 76 Spencer Rattler QB 12 Add in 2QB Leagues 77 Justin Fields QB 2 Add in 2QB Leagues 78 Dillon Gabriel QB 4 Add in 2QB Leagues 79 Andy Dalton QB 5 Add in 2QB Leagues 80 Buffalo Bills DST 52 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 81 Atlanta Falcons DST 56 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 82 Tampa Bay Buccaneers DST 48 Add in 12+ Team Leagues 83 San Francisco 49ers DST 20 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 84 Cincinnati Bengals DST 40 Add in 14+ Team Leagues 85 Houston Texans DST 56 Add in 14+ Team Leagues

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlooks

Christian Watson, WR, Packers Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (knee) was officially activated off IR and is expected to make his season debut on Sunday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Watson had been limited in practice every day this week and said earlier in the week that his "goal and my plan is to play" in Week 8. The 26-year-old was also limited in practice all last week before ultimately being ruled out. He hasn't played since suffering a torn ACL in Week 18 last season against the Bears, but appears to be finally ready to make his season debut on Sunday night in Pittsburgh. He will likely be on a snap count as he eases back into action, making him a risky fantasy option in Week 8, but a solid bench stash.

Kyle Monangai, RB, Bears Chicago Bears rookie running back Kyle Monangai continues to trend upward in recent weeks. In Week 7, the seventh-round pick posted 94 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on just 15 touches, setting career highs across the board. Since the team's Week 5 bye, Monangai has played nearly 40% of the snaps, complementing starter D'Andre Swift, who has been on the field for 57%. With Swift battling a groin injury entering Week 8, Monangai could once again see a sizable workload against a vulnerable Baltimore Ravens run defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season. Even if Swift suits up (which is expected), Monangai carries FLEX appeal in this soft matchup, especially given his increasing role and recent production.

Trey Benson, RB, Cardinals Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (knee) remains on injured reserve for at least another two weeks as the Cards attempt to make do with a committee ahead of Week 7 against Green Bay. The Florida State product was a surprising addition to injured reserve after playing more than half of the Cards' Week 4 game against Seattle, though the team expects him to return this season. The team activated running back D'Ernest Johnson this week and has previously featured a rotation that has included Michael Carter, Emari Demercado, and Bam Knight. From a fantasy perspective, it's been tough to rely upon any of them with the team cycling through so many players.

Brashard Smith, RB, Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back Brashard Smith played his highest snap share of the season in Week 7 against the Raiders and could continue to see his role expand in the coming weeks. Head coach Andy Reid spoke glowingly of Smith in Thursday's press conference, noting that "we're going to keep utilizing his talents." The star quarterback shared a similar feeling about the rookie running back, saying, "he's made a ton of progress." The seventh-rounder out of SMU handled a season high 19 touches for 81 total yards last week against the Raiders and figures to be a big piece of the puzzle in Week 8 against the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football. Veteran running back Kareem Hunt (knee) also missed Thursday's practice, which would open up opportunities for Smith if he is unable to go. He is a viable flex play in Week 8 with many teams on bye.

Jaylin Noel, WR, Texans Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel is coming off his best game of the season and has another great opportunity in Week 8 against the 49ers. With Christian Kirk (hamstring) on the sideline on Monday Night Football, Noel had a season-high four catches for 77 yards against the Seahawks. With Nico Collins (concussion) also out this week, the Texans' pass-catchers are extremely unproven, making the rookie Noel potentially the team's top wide receiver. Noel has shown the ability to make plays, and he's in a good matchup since San Francisco has allowed the fourth-most receiving yards and PPR points per target to slot receivers. The rookie from Iowa State could be set up for a true breakout game if he gets a heavy workload, and he is the WR41 in the The News Pulserankings, putting him on the radar as a deep league option and a desperation flex play this week.

Running Backs - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings Pickups are in priority order: Player Name Pos. % Ros. Baller Move Kyle Monangai RB 39 Add in All Leagues Woody Marks RB 64 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues Trey Benson RB 55 Add in 10+ Team Leagues Tyler Allgeier RB 43 Add in 10+ Team Leagues Nick Chubb RB 63 Add in 10+ Team Leagues Brashard Smith RB 17 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues Isaiah Davis RB 8 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Bam Knight RB 19 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Tyjae Spears RB 30 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Kenneth Gainwell RB 40 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Jaydon Blue RB 10 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB 47 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Brian Robinson Jr. RB 28 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Emanuel Wilson RB 6 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Sean Tucker RB 8 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Devin Neal RB 4 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Jeremy McNichols RB 3 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Ollie Gordon II RB 11 Add in 14+ Team Leagues

Wide Receivers - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings Pickups are in priority order: Player Name Pos. % Ros. Baller Move Josh Downs WR 50 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues Darnell Mooney WR 38 Add in 10+ Team Leagues Tre Tucker WR 39 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues Keon Coleman WR 61 Add in 10+ Team Leagues Tez Johnson WR 51 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues Kayshon Boutte WR 39 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues Jaylin Noel WR 6 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Troy Franklin WR 34 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Marvin Mims Jr. WR 32 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Kendrick Bourne WR 30 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Alec Pierce WR 28 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Xavier Legette WR 19 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Chris Godwin WR 58 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Marquise Brown WR 44 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Sterling Shepard WR 13 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Jayden Higgins WR 17 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Luther Burden III WR 10 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Elic Ayomanor WR 25 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Rashod Bateman WR 22 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Malik Washington WR 14 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Chimere Dike WR 5 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Xavier Hutchinson WR 0 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Christian Watson WR 14 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Chris Moore WR 1 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Jalen Coker WR 7 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Josh Reynolds WR 2 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Brandon Aiyuk WR 42 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Jordan Whittington WR 5 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Lil'Jordan Humphrey WR 0 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Luke McCaffrey WR 13 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Parker Washington WR 0 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Michael Wilson WR 3 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Jaylin Lane WR 0 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Jalin Hyatt WR 0 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues

Tight Ends - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings Pickups are in priority order: Player Name Pos. % Ros. Baller Move Oronde Gadsden TE 61 Add in All Leagues Harold Fannin Jr. TE 47 Add in 10+ Team PPR Leagues David Njoku TE 61 Add in 10+ Team Leagues Dalton Schultz TE 34 Add in 10+ Team Leagues Mason Taylor TE 30 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Cade Otton TE 63 Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues Juwan Johnson TE 32 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Colston Loveland TE 22 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Theo Johnson TE 24 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Jonnu Smith TE 20 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Pat Freiermuth TE 13 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Noah Fant TE 4 Add in 14+ Team PPR Leagues Taysom Hill TE 4 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Tanner Conner TE 0 Add in 14+ Team Leagues

Quarterbacks - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 8: Player Name Pos. % Ros. Baller Move Jaxson Dart QB 61 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Joe Flacco QB 49 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Marcus Mariota QB 9 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Trevor Lawrence QB 43 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Sam Darnold QB 38 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Aaron Rodgers QB 41 Add in 14+ Team Leagues C.J. Stroud QB 56 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Mac Jones QB 9 Add in 14+ Team Leagues Kirk Cousins QB 3 Add in 2QB Leagues Spencer Rattler QB 12 Add in 2QB Leagues Justin Fields QB 2 Add in 2QB Leagues Dillon Gabriel QB 4 Add in 2QB Leagues Andy Dalton QB 5 Add in 2QB Leagues

Defenses (D/ST) - Week 8 Waiver Wire Rankings Pickups are in priority order, with emphasis on Week 8: Player Name Pos. % Ros. Baller Move Buffalo Bills DST 52 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Atlanta Falcons DST 56 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Tampa Bay Buccaneers DST 48 Add in 12+ Team Leagues San Francisco 49ers DST 20 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Cincinnati Bengals DST 40 Add in 12+ Team Leagues Houston Texans DST 56 Add in 12+ Team Leagues

Week 8 Waiver Wire Articles In addition to the Week 8 waiver wire rankings, here's a look at some other free waiver wire resources available at The News Pulse. Each week, our NFL team puts out a complete array offantasy football waiver wire articles to compliment our slick new Who Should I Pickup? Waiver wire player comparison tool - bookmark that! Here are more detailed Week 8 waiver wire articles: Week 8 waiver wire pickups (all positions) Week 8 FAAB waiver wire bids Week 8 running back waiver wire pickups Week 8 wide receiver waiver wire pickups Week 8 tight end waiver wire pickups Week 8 quarterback waiver wire pickups Week 8 defense (D/ST) streamers and pickups Week 8 kicker streamers and pickups For anyone unfamiliar, we release all sorts of fantasy football waiver wire articles every week. As part of that, Nick Mariano releases our waiver wire rankings list on Mondays to help you prioritize which players to target as free-agent adds off waivers.

Who Should I Pickup Tool Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here: Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith, Darnell Mooney, David Njoku, Jaylin Noel . But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.

2025 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith, Darnell Mooney, David Njoku, Jaylin Noel . These are some common searches for 2025 fantasy football waiver wire pickups.

Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Pickup? button to see who the recommended waiver wire pickups are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.

Recent Improvements For Who Should I Pickup? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Pickup? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win on the waiver wire in 2025. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!

How It Works. Our The News Pulsestaff puts together their weekly fantasy football waiver wire rankings and projections based on their research, and updates them constantly throughout the week. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.

Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Christian Watson, Kyle Monangai, Trey Benson, Josh Downs, Brashard Smith, Darnell Mooney, David Njoku, Jaylin Noel :