Fantasy football free agent pickups: Top options to help you survive bye-mageddon

The seventh Sunday of the NFL season featured one of the greatest fourth-quarter comebacks in league history, with the Denver Broncos somehow catching the New York Giants. Broncos QB Bo Nix scored 39.96 PPR points, nearly all of them in the final stanza. Also on Sunday, Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor tallied another three touchdowns, and a pair of Philadelphia Eagles WRs combined for 304 receiving yards, three touchdowns and 61.4 PPR points. In the night game, San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey delivered his finest game of the season.

As we get ready for Week 8, we await clarity on the status of Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels (hamstring) and prepare for “bye-mageddon.”

Each Monday, before the current NFL week ends, we will identify players available in at least 50% of ESPN standard leagues worthy of your attention, from standard formats to deeper options. The NFL is a weekly league, and player valuation and roles seldom remain stagnant. It does not matter how you acquire players for your fantasy rosters, just that you get them.

Quarterback

J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (28.2%): The Vikings slipped into last place in the NFC North with Sunday’s loss to the Eagles as backup QB Carson Wentz tossed a pair of mind-boggling interceptions. One would think McCarthy (ankle), who hasn’t played since Week 2, will start this Thursday’s game at the Los Angeles Chargers, if he’s healthy. The Chargers are among the better defenses in preventing fantasy points to QBs, but fantasy managers in SuperFlex formats must invest in McCarthy for the duration of the season.

Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals (4.9%): Well, it didn’t take long for Flacco to make this list. In his second start for the Bengals after being acquired from the Cleveland Browns, Flacco scored 25.98 PPR points in last Thursday’s stunning win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Flacco threw for 342 yards and 3 TDs, reinvigorating the dormant value of his new team’s three offensive stars (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chase Brown). Flacco faces the embarrassing New York Jets this week, so even though you will probably be moving on from him when he serves his Week 10 bye, play for the short term.

Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders (1.8%): It seems likely that Daniels will miss time as a result of his latest injury. Fantasy managers were already concerned about him holding up physically due to his slight build. Mariota scored 36.52 PPR points during starts in Weeks 3 and 4, buoyed by his ability to run. That said, facing the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night in Week 8 (then the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions) hardly seems like much fun. Go with Flacco first.

Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts

• Incredible Giants rookie Jaxson Dart (43.3%) indeed will be mentioned every week in this space until he surpasses the 50%-rostered mark. Perhaps it happens this week as the Giants play a road game in Philadelphia. Dart scored 23.6 PPR points against the Eagles in Week 6.

• Steelers starter Aaron Rodgers (27.6%) nearly matched Flacco with 22.56 PPR points. One assumes he will be quite motivated for this week’s home game against the Green Bay Packers, the franchise with which he built his Hall of Fame career. Rodgers has scored at least 17 PPR points in three of his six starts this season.

• Keep up with the news this week to see what the Vikings, Commanders, Carolina Panthers and Jets do at quarterback. Bryce Young (ankle) might have to cede starting duties this week to veteran Andy Dalton. The Jets might stick with backup Tyrod Taylor over runner Justin Fields — and that’s not appealing for fantasy. During their bye week, the Raiders might decide to bench Geno Smith in favor of Kenny Pickett, which is something those in SuperFlex formats need to watch.

Running back

Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears (4.1%): The Bears ran all over the New Orleans Saints, with starter D’Andre Swift tallying 20.8 PPR points. The rookie Monangai added 17.4 points with 81 rushing yards and a touchdown. Swift is enjoying a solid season and, although he has a history of missing the occasional game, he played in all 17 games last season. The bruising Monangai, a seventh-round pick from Rutgers, earned Sunday’s volume because the Bears wanted to run and they had a big lead, though that scenario might occur again the next few weeks versus the Bengals and Ravens.

Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (29.9%): Spears earned mention entering Week 7 after he turned nine touches into 50 yards during Week 6. On Sunday, Spears didn’t do much in the blowout loss to the New England Patriots, turning eight touches into 40 yards, but starter Tony Pollard was similarly unproductive and has only 52 rushing yards over the past two games. The Titans could give Spears a longer look.

Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts

• As with Monangai, Kansas City Chiefs rookie Brashard Smith (2.7%) is a seventh-round draft pick whom fantasy managers will notice this week because of a likely aberrant performance. Smith scored 13.1 PPR points, thanks mostly to five receptions for 42 yards, but starter Isiah Pacheco rushed for 57 yards and scored a touchdown and continues to move toward RB2 territory. The Chiefs won 31-0 over the Raiders. Smith isn’t earning many snaps in closer games. If one must choose between Monangai and Smith, go with the Bears rookie.

Wide receiver

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens (16.2%): The Ravens and Buffalo Bills both emerge from their Week 7 byes with big games this coming week. The Bills play at Carolina, but WRs Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir remain rostered in at least 68% of leagues. Bateman is not having a productive season, but with QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring) returning from three weeks off, perhaps things change. Zay Flowers is the star WR, but Bateman reached 756 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns last season.

Xavier Legette, Panthers (23.8%): Legette entered Week 7 as a noteworthy underperformer this season, scoring just 19 PPR points in his four games (he missed one contest). Then, on Sunday against the woeful Jets, Legette caught 9 of 11 targets for 92 yards and a touchdown, finally outshining rookie Tetairoa McMillan (6.3 PPR points), although he was mostly lined up against excellent CB Sauce Gardner. McMillan is the Panthers WR to roster, of course, but perhaps Legette can continue his relevance in future weeks.

Chimere Dike, Titans (1%): Dike, a fifth-round pick out of Florida, caught just nine passes for 26 yards through his first six games. He saw more attention on Sunday with starter Calvin Ridley (hamstring) sidelined, catching each of his four targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. We are not comfortable recommending any member of the Titans’ offense, but the speedy Dike and Elic Ayomanor (26.4%) are far more likely to be part of the team’s future than Ridley or Van Jefferson (0.3%). Perhaps QB Cam Ward starts to perform better and these rookie WRs can emerge.

Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts

• We featured Patriots starter Kayshon Boutte (27.1%) here last week — and he responded with 13.5 PPR points in the win over the Titans. However, Boutte saw only two targets, with one going for a touchdown. Boutte boasts upside because QB Drake Maye is terrific, but Boutte needs consistent volume.

• Denver’s comeback wasn’t just about Nix. WRs Marvin Mims Jr. (19.6%) and Troy Franklin (29%) combined for 28.7 PPR points. Nix and his pals should be able to score points in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys, but for now, WR Courtland Sutton is the lone safe Denver WR in fantasy.

• Commanders WRs Deebo Samuel (heel) and Terry McLaurin (quad) both missed Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys, while fill-ins Jaylin Lane (1.7%), Chris Moore (8.9%) and Robbie Chosen (0.0%) combined for nine catches and 24.5 PPR points. It is hard to recommend any of those fellows against the Chiefs, especially if Daniels is out.

Tight end

Oronde Gadsden II, Chargers (2.1%): Something positive is happening with Gadsden, the fifth-round rookie from Syracuse, as he followed up his 11.8 PPR points from Week 6 against the lowly Dolphins with 29.4 PPR points against the solid Colts. Sure, a good bit of these numbers came late in the game with the Chargers trailing, but it still happened. A converted wide receiver in college, Gadsden’s 164 receiving yards on Sunday represented, by far, the most for a tight end this season. Only five others have even surpassed 100 receiving yards in a game!

Noah Fant, Bengals (2.4%): Fant scored 14.4 PPR points against the Steelers, mainly because he turned one of his four receptions into a touchdown. With teammate Mike Gesicki (pectoral) out for at least another month, Fant has TE2 upside. He does have four-plus targets in five contests this season, albeit with three different quarterbacks.

Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts

• Saints starter Juwan Johnson (33.8%) began the season with double-digit PPR points in three consecutive games, endearing himself to myriad fantasy managers. Then he mostly disappeared for three games, and teammate Taysom Hill made his 2025 debut. Hill has only two receptions this season, so his presence cannot be why Johnson stopped producing. Then Johnson produced on Sunday. Expect more inconsistency, but the Saints should be able to throw on the Buccaneers in Week 8.

• It’s hard to recommend Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth (4.8%) or teammate Jonnu Smith (17.1%) because, well, they are teammates. Beyond that, neither had been much of a fantasy factor until Week 7. Freiermuth scored 28.1 PPR points in the wild Bengals game, but he entered play with only 15.2 PPR points for the season. Smith has 44.7 PPR points this season. Unless one of them gets injured/benched, it’s hard to see a path for fantasy relevance for either.

Bye weeks: To drop or not to drop

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Bye weeks explode in Week 8 with the Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars all off. That’s a lot of teams — and a lot of good players not playing.

• Three quarterbacks for those teams are rostered in at least 70% of ESPN standard leagues, but none are at 80%. Feel free to cut Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford and Kyler Murray (foot) if you need a fill-in for Week 8, though you might regret it later. Quarterback remains a deep position in fantasy.

• At running back, things are so different, and fantasy managers need to keep all of the relevant running backs, including Jahmyr Gibbs, Ashton Jeanty, Kyren Williams, Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet and Travis Etienne Jr. What about Cardinals RBs Michael Carter, Bam Knight and Trey Benson (knee)? This position really lacks depth, so you should probably keep all of those Cardinals around, too.

• At wide receiver, there is way more depth. Keep the obvious names (Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Brian Thomas Jr.), but what about Jakobi Meyers, Cooper Kupp, Travis Hunter and Tre Tucker? The Raiders are a mess. Move on from their WRs. Same with Kupp. I would keep Hunter rostered, especially coming off his best performance. The Jaguars face the Raiders in Week 8.

• At tight end, keep Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta and Brock Bowers (knee) rostered. Part with any others.

• The Seahawks D/ST is one of the most popular in ESPN leagues, with four double-digit PPR efforts this season. Try to keep this unit rostered, but move on from the rest, including the Lions, who face tough offenses after their bye (Vikings, Commanders, Eagles).

Defense

• The Bills (38.3%) come off their Week 7 bye to face the Panthers, and the Atlanta Falcons (18%) host the sputtering Miami Dolphins. These are wise streaming opportunities for fantasy managers, and you might want to keep these playoff units around for the rest of the season.

• Few would target the Cincinnati Bengals (2%, the least-rostered D/ST), but the Bengals host the winless Jets, so perhaps we all make an exception this week. Meanwhile, the Ravens (32.4%) aim to improve for a home game with the Bears. That one is tougher to justify.