Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire: Top QB, WR, RB and TE pickups feat. Kyler Murray 

The purpose of a waiver-wire column should be to highlight players who may be on the verge of a breakout. After all, trying to land that player after his breakout is exponentially more difficult. Additionally, waiver-wire moves should always be made to add high-upside depth for later in the season or improve your chances of winning the upcoming week.

Not all of these columns will feature a future stud or no-brainer add, but we can usually find help for our fantasy teams if we try hard enough. Furthermore, I will try to avoid recommending players coming off a 10-catch or three-touchdown game because it should be incredibly obvious to most that they need to be on a roster at that point.

The players listed below are available in at least 75 percent of ESPN leagues and stand at least a decent chance of making some kind of impact in the coming weeks.

Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: Quarterbacks

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Week 7: N/A

Murray has long been the ideal IR stash in fantasy leagues for a multitude of reasons and should have been considered as such in fantasy drafts this summer. Arizona may have never had designs on fielding a winning team in 2023, but it was a good bet that Murray would return to action at some point this season. The front office would prefer to know sooner than later if it wants to move forward with Murray or if it needs to draft a quarterback this spring.

While it may take a week or a month for Murray to find his form, Murray also boasts significantly more upside than any other quarterback available on the waiver wire at this point of the season. Furthermore, Marquise Brown, Michael Wilson, Rondale Moore and Trey McBride form a capable group of pass-catchers who have each flashed at times this season with Joshua Dobbs as their quarterback. Imagine what is possible if Murray hits the ground running.

ESPN ownership: 22.6 percent

Other potential strong add(s): Gardner Minshew, Colts (3.6 percent)

Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: Running Backs

Darrell Henderson, LA Rams

Week 7: 18 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown; one catch for five yards

Much like the Emari Demercado/Keaontay Ingram switcheroo that Arizona pulled on fantasy managers in Week 7, there is a very real chance Henderson has little to no role in Week 8 and will be dropped by fantasy managers en masse in a week or two. Henderson was not exactly efficient or effective in Week 7, but he had the one quality working in his favor against the Steelers that fantasy managers tend to value the most at running back: volume.

One danger in trusting Henderson specifically is that HC Sean McVay already parted with him once (in November of 2022) and did not see fit to bring him back until the Rams were desperate. Another potential pitfall is that he split work with journeyman Royce Freeman in Week 7 and will likely lose some work - if not most of his workload - to a more accomplished back in Myles Gaskin in the next week or two. There is also the matter of Kyren Williams (ankle) likely returning from IR in three weeks.

If there is a plus side to Henderson, however, McVay has shown a tendency to lean heavily on one back when he believes in that player. If Henderson earned that kind of favor from McVay in Week 7, then there is a strong chance Henderson will be very useful in fantasy one or two more times before Williams returns.

ESPN ownership: 12.2 percent

Other priority add(s): Emari Demercado, Cardinals (15.7 percent); Pierre Strong Jr. (0.4)

Other potential strong adds (especially in deeper leagues): Salvon Ahmed, Dolphins (7.0); Keaton Mitchell, Ravens (2.6); Rico Dowdle, Cowboys (2.4); Myles Gaskin, Rams (0.6)

Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: Wide Receivers

Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots

Week 7: Six catches for 63 yards and a touchdown on seven targets

While not exactly an afterthought, Bourne began the season firmly behind DeVante Parker and JuJu Smith-Schuster - the latter of which New England hoped was an upgrade on Jakobi Meyers - on the depth chart. This came one season after Bourne spent most of the year in then-OC Matt Patricia's doghouse, reportedly for being late to a preseason team meeting.

With Parker and Smith-Schuster being largely ineffective this season - when they have not been battling an injury of some sort - Bourne appears to have moved to the head of the group, especially after earning 18 targets over the last two contests. The great thing about Bourne is that has already proven he can produce at a high level after doing so in his first season as a Patriot in 2021 (55 catches for 800 yards and five TDs).

With at least six catches AND 60 yards in three of the four games in which he has played at least 60 percent of the snaps, Bourne has more than earned WR3/flex status until further notice.

ESPN ownership: 24.1 percent

Other priority add(s): Rashid Shaheed, Saints (18.4); Jayden Reed, Packers (17.8); Wan'Dale Robinson, Giants (12.0), Michael Wilson, Cardinals (11.0); Jalin Hyatt, Giants (2.2)

Other potential strong adds (especially in deeper leagues): Chase Claypool, Dolphins (7.7); Demario Douglas, Patriots (0.3); Tyler Scott, Bears (0.1)

Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups: Tight Ends

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

Week 7: Three catches for 29 yards on six targets

McBride's fantasy stock has been trending upward over the last two weeks as Arizona started to ramp up his playing time while taking a few snaps away from Zach Ertz. With news coming out early this week that Ertz will be placed on injured reserve due to a quad strain this week, McBride should now have a clear path to the majority of the 10 targets that go to Arizona tight ends on average each week.

Even though he was drafted by a different regime last season, the expectation has always been that McBride would be Ertz's long-term successor. He has already flashed on multiple occasions and should have ample opportunity to prove himself to the new coaching staff with Ertz on the sideline for at least the next month.

Perhaps more than any other tight end to appear in this column up to this point, McBride could easily emerge as a no-brainer weekly starter in fantasy.

ESPN ownership: 1.2 percent

Other priority add(s): Michael Mayer, Raiders (9.4 percent); Taysom Hill, Saints (5.6)

Other potential strong add(s): Tyler Conklin, Jets (13.2)