The 2014 National Football League regular season is flying by, and as the seasons and weather begin to change so does the landscape of your fantasy football roster.

With players going down with injuries left and right (lost BOTH Buffalo Bills star runners this week) and Calvin Johnson still missing time among many other players, the waiver wire couldn’t be more important to scour.

Week 8 is the last week of fairly decent bye weeks that shouldn’t truly affect your teams all that much, but with half of the league taking a week off in weeks 9 through 11 there is no better time then right now to make sure you are set up for the future. The Giants and 49ers are the only teams off this week, but that could still offer a level of stress as you begin to look for replacements in your lineups.

As always check out the players below who are owned in less than 25% of ESPN leagues. Don’t play on ESPN? That’s okay! We have percentage of ownership for both Yahoo and NFL as well  listed as (ESPN | YAHOO | NFL).

Ryan Tannehill (MIA): Notwithstanding an impressive victory over the Browns last week, the Jags still find themselves between a rock and a hard place with Tannehill (26.7 | 47 | 56) and the Dolphins coming to town this week. Although Tannehill is owned in more than 25% of leagues, his numbers are still low enough that it’s worth discussing. Ryan has averaged over 19 points per game so far this season with three straight 20-point performances with 6 touchdown passes and just under 800 yards. The Jags improved their ranking against opposing QBs with their solid back-to-back performances, but with Paul Posluszny going down with a torn pectoral it opens up a big hole for the Dolphins offense. The Jags are currently ranked 23^rd in the league against opposing QBs and have given up 12 passing touchdowns this season.

Gavin Escobar (DAL): Can you put any stock into Escobar getting looks towards the end zone? I’m ot sure just yet, but it has to be noted that it has been Escobar in back-to-back weeks who has found the end zone and not long standing veteran Jason Witten. Escobar is basically unowned in all leagues (0.8 | 4 | 2.7) but has been a solid target for Tony Romo down the middle of the field. Escobar, a second year player out of San Diego State, now has five touchdowns in his career, three of which have come in the last two games. Gavin is clearly not a must pick up, or even a start option at this point. However, in deeper leagues, Gavin should be looked at immediately, specifically if you’re in a dynasty because only God knows how long Witten will be the go-to-tight end moving forward. The Redskins are ranked 16^th against opposing TEs but did give up four touchdowns to another divisional rival a few weeks back. With how crisp the Cowboys offense is moving, look for Gavin to continue to get targets in the red zone.

Carson Palmer (ARI): After missing three games due to shoulder issues Palmer has picked right back up where he left off. With back-to-back games of at least 250 yards passing and two touchdowns, Palmer (11.2 | 47 | 17.1) has compiled 807 yards and six touchdowns with a completion percentage of just 51%. If Palmer can increase his completion percentage even by five points, his yardage and touchdown numbers will also increase, which makes him a dangerous pick up. The Eagles are arguably one of the worst defenses against QBs this year ranking 28^th and that’s only because they faced a weak Giants offense and a bye in two straight weeks. The Eagles have given up at least 210 yards in all but one game and 13 passing touchdowns so far. The Bruce Arians offense is working well for Palmer. Now we just need to hope and pray they get Larry Fitzgerald in the mix so we can sleep at night.

Kyle Orton (BUF): Another QB that can easily fit in for you if you are missing Eli Manning or Colin Kaepernick, Orton (1.1 | 7 | 0.5) has come on strong since taking over the starting job from EJ Manuel three weeks ago. Orton has assembled three games of at least 285 yards passing and two games with at least two TDs while leading the Bills to a 2 – 1 record in that time frame. Although the Jets porous secondary will certainly be a major aide to Orton’s success, the loss of both Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller will be a major factor as the Bills will need to lean on his throwing shoulder to get them through games and keep them relevant moving forward. Tthe Jets are the worst defense against opposing QBs giving up at least three passing touchdowns four times this year and two passing touchdowns three times.

Jermaine Kearse (SEA): The news of Percy Harvin being traded to the Jets last week came as a bit of a surprise to almost everyone. One of the players who will immediately take advantage of the open space in the passing game is Kearse (4.8 | 6 | 2.6). Kearse who has only averaged about 6.5 points per game so far has had at least 8 fantasy points in three straight games, including at least 50 receiving yards in his last two games. The Panthers host the Seahawks this week and will undoubtedly have an extremely angry team on their hands as the Seahawks have lost two straight games. With the Panthers giving up the 27^th most points to opposing WRs with at least 50 fantasy points in three of their last four games, Kearse is a great play in Week 8. In Kearse’s last matchup against the Panthers, he put up 49 yards and a score, and that was in a limited role. As his role continues to increase, look for those numbers to go up as well.

Scott Chandler (BUF): Sammy Watkins is the easy go-to-target for the aforementioned Orton, but with their short game almost non-existent losing both their star running backs, look for Chandler (3.6 | 5 | 1.2) to get plenty of looks. Chandler has only averaged 6.7 points per game through seven games but is two weeks removed from a six reception, 105-yard performance. Chandler, who two years ago had back-to-back six touchdown seasons, is a solid option in deeper leagues and should continue to get looks in the red zone if their running game sputters. While the Jets are one of the worst against QBs, they are almost equally as bad against TEs giving up the 25^th most points to them so far this season.

You may feel like you need to panic now that we are deep into the 2014 season. It isn’t just yet, but you certainly need to move fast to put your team in the right spot for success.

As always check me out on Sunday with your start/sit questions leading right up to game time on twitter @JustinMandaro.