I hope your teams had as good a Week 8 as mine. I won all three of my matches. My teams are in 5th place, 6th place and last place (ouch). But that isn't the whole story. My 5th place team has the 2nd highest total fantasy points, the most fantasy points against by a mile, and the 2nd most bench points. My 6th place team is 6-2 in a very tough division and has the highest total bench points. And my last place team has the most fantasy points against by a mile, the 4th most bench points, and just started its 1-game winning streak with a score of 124.6 (PPR, 8 players).

I mention the bench points because bench points are a sign of a team's depth and robustness. The team with a high number of bench points is more likely to be able to continue after sustaining injuries. It is also a sign of successful use of the waiver wire. We should not just be looking to find players to plug in our lineup for the current week, but we should be making use of every slot on our roster with players that we might be able to start in the future. For example, we can look ahead and figure out what weeks our team is vulnerable due to bye weeks or tough matchups, and start to fill those holes sooner than others in our league. We can never let our teams run on auto-pilot. Even if everything looks good, we need to keep fine tuning.

This week a lot of QBs went down or were replaced. If you have an extra QB on your roster, now is a good time to trade him away to a team that needs him for a player you need.

As usual, don't put too much into the fantasy point projections below. Not all sources that we use are fully updated yet. Use the descriptions and watch the news as the week goes on. Also, the first number in the parenthesis is the ranking of the defense against the position for fantasy (PPR). The higher the number the softer the defense.

Finally, these are the players that are available in my two 18-player and one 24-player roster leagues. The asterisks indicate they are available in my 24-player roster leagues. These streamer suggestions are meant for deeper leagues where normal waiver wire suggestions just aren't enough.

QB - I listed a lot of QBs this week because there are no sure starters available on waivers in my 24-deep roster league.

• Gardner Minshew, Ind @ KC (7th, 15.8) - Not going to launch your team to the next level, but is consistent and will keep you in the game.
• Mac Jones, NE v Wsh (31st, 15.1) - Jones will be throwing for his life against the Dolphins in-scoring offense and soft D in Week 9.
• Zach Wilson, NYJ v LAC (32nd, 14.8) - Against a very soft Chargers D in Week 9.
• Will Levis, Ten @ Pit (17th, 13.7) - Had an amazing first game as a rookie through 4 TDs against the Falcons. Excepted to remain the starter in Week 9, against a tougher Steelers D.
• Tyson Bagent, Chi @ NO (6th, 12.8) - This rookie will get another start as Justin Fields (thumb) will not be ready Week 9.
• Clayton Tune or Kyler Murray Ari @ Cle (5th, 10.8 or 10.9) - Joshua Dobbs is no longer starting for Atlanta. Watch the news to see if Murray will be healthy enough to play in Week 9.
• ^*P.J. Walker, Cle v Car (26th, 10.8) - Will likely remain the starter - keep an eye on Deshaun Watson's injury status.
• ^*Taylor Heinicke, Atl v Min (22nd, 10.4) - Watch to see if he is announced as the Falcons starter on Wednesday.
• ^*Mitch Trubisky, Pit v Ten (13th, 9.8) - Watch Kenny Picket's injury status. Trubisky might have a too big of an issue with turnovers to be an every week NFL starter, but it can put up some big points for fantasy.
• ^*Brett Rypien, LAR @ GB (11th, 6.2) - Watch the injury status of Matt Stafford.
• ^*Tommy Devito, NYG @ LVR (9th, 0.2) - Might start in Week 9. Keep an eye on the injury statuses of Tyrod Taylor and Daniel Jones. Jones was recently cleared for contact, so is the more likely starter for Week 9.

RB

• Emari Demercado, Ari @ Cle (10th, 10.3) - This rookie has been the Cardinals #1 back while James Conner has been out.
• Royce Freeman, LAR @ GB (26th, 8.36) - Sharing the backfield with Darrell Henderson as long as Kyren Williaams and Ronnie Rivers are sidelined.
• Zach Charbonnet, Sea @ Bal (16th, 5.8) - Rookie Charbonnet took more snaps than Kenneth Walker in Week 8, but Walker was still recovering from a calf injury and might have been on a limited snap count.
• ^*Salvon Ahmed, Mia @ KCC (9th, 3.9) - Typically gets a handful of touches.
• ^*Darrynton Evans, Chi @ NO (4th, 3.6) - Rotates with D'Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson in the Bears backfield while Khalil Herbert remains sidelined on IR.

WR

• Demario Douglas, NE v Wsh (31st, 10.1) - This rookie led the team in catches Week 8 and has 13 targets over the last two weeks. Has upside against a soft Commanders D.
• Jaxon Smith Njigba, Sea @ Bal (8th, 8.8) - This rookie had the game winning TD in Week 8. Becoming a red zone target.
• D.J. Clark, Car v Ind (18th, 7.9) - Gets a reasonably consistent low volume behind Adam Thielen and Jonathon Mingo in a underwhelming Carolina passing attack.
• ^*Noah Brown, Hou v TB (24th, 5.8) - Brown has seen an uptick in volume recently due to injures to Robert Woods and Tank Dell. It's not clear how much volume he will get if the Texans full receiving corps is healthy.
• Jake Bobo, Sea @ Bal (8th, 3.5) - This impressive UDFA rookie has scored 3 TDs in his last six games. However, his volume might decrease as D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are all healthy.
• ^*Jamison Crowder, Wsh @ NE (20, 3.4) - Has been practically non-existent all season, until last week were he caught all seven of his targets for 95 yards and a TD. Very risky play, but with a performance like that, maybe he will continue to get touches in Week 9.
• ^*Trenton Irwin, Cin v Buf (13th, 3.3) - Inconsistent volume behind Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd on the Bengals depth chart.
• ^*Khadarel Hodge, Atl v Min (28th, 2.6) - Led the Falcons in receiving last week. Seems to have better chemistry with Taylor Heinicke than Desmond Ridder. If Heinicke starts and Drake London remains sidelined, look for Hodge to see an uptick in volume.

TE

• David Njoku, Cle v Ari (2nd, 10.0) - 17 targets and 9 receptions the last two games. Had his best game of the season in Week 8.
• Trey McBride, Ari @ Cle (1st, 9.6) - With Zach Ertz on IR, the sophomore McBride started and had a career game in Week 8.
• Chigoziem Okonkwo, Ten @ Pit (7th, 7.8) - Low volume, low yardage and not very involved in the red zone.
• Cade Otton, TB @ Hou (30th, 6.7) - 12 targets in the last two weeks.
• ^*Connor Heyward, Pit v Ten (5th, 4.9) - Getting some volume while Pat Freiermuth remains sidelined on IR.
• ^*Tommy Tremble, Car v Ind (27th, 2.3) - Bryce Young continues to improve and Hayden Hurst is showing little as a pass catcher. Tremble's volume might increase.

PK

• Camerson Dicker, LAC @ NYJ (24th, 9.3)
• Greg Joseph, Min @ Atl (13th, 9.2)
• Eddy Pineiro, Car v Ind (32nd, 9.0)
• Evan McPherson, Cin v Buf (9th, 8.9)
• Blake Grupe, NO v Chi (26th, 8.5)
• Greg Zuerlein, NYJ v LAC (10th, 8.4)

Def

• Las Vegas Raiders v NYG (32nd, 7.2)
• Minnesota Vikings @ Atl (27th, 6.4)
• New York Giants @ LV (26th, 6.4)
• Cincinatti Bengals v Buf (5th, 5.6)