Pierce’s Picks: Week 8 FA Target

Welcome back to the latest edition of Pierce’s Picks! This week, I will be analyzing a Seahawk who should be a priority waiver wire add for you, especially if the plethora of RB injuries this year has left your team scant at the position.

ADD: Carlos Hyde (RB, Seattle Seahawks)

Carlos Hyde, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in Houston last year, is only owned in 41.1% of leagues. Hyde has seen a limited workload this year in Seattle since he plays behind Chris Carson, but this week, Hyde will see a massive increase in touches and targets. In the first three games of the season, Hyde played on average 26.33% of the Seattle offense’s total snaps (Football Guys). After missing two games due to an injury, Hyde returned in Week 7, playing on 49% of the snaps (Football Guys). Consequently, he put up a respectable 16.6 PPR points (ESPN). This was due to Chris Carson leaving the first half of the Seahawks’ Week 7 tilt in Arizona, which meant that Seattle had to turn to Hyde to lead their backfield. Unfortunately, Hyde also got banged up in that game, and he has not practiced this week. However, Pete Caroll, the head coach of the Seahawks, described Hyde’s hamstring injury as “nothing major” (Rotoworld). On the other hand, Ian Rapoport, one of the most trusted NFL analysts, reported that Carson’s foot injury will likely keep him out multiple weeks. This opens up a huge opportunity for Hyde in Week 8. Seattle’s offense, led by Russell Wilson, is absolutely electric. They’re putting up an average of 33.8 PPG this year, which leads the NFL (Team Rankings). Also, they’re going to feed Hyde the ball. You don’t have to worry about Travis Homer or DeeJay Dallas—trust me. But if you don’t trust me, trust the statistics. After Chris Carson left Sunday’s game, Hyde carried the ball 12 times and saw 3 targets (ESPN). During that same time, all the other Seahawks RBs COMBINED saw a grand total of 3 carries and 2 targets (ESPN). Thus, Hyde should see plenty of opportunities to shine on Sunday, and he will most likely be in positions to get TDs throughout the game.