Week 8 is here! Another 4 teams are on bye this week, so we’ve got to replace starters from Atlanta, Dallas, the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee. While the Titans aren’t much of a loss, the other three teams all have multiple fantasy players we will surely miss.
While start/sit articles are a great guide and I encourage you to read this one, remember that every league is different, and your situation is specific to you. If you’re in a three-receiver league you probably can’t afford to sit someone like Sammy Watkins. However, in a 2 receiver league, there are at least 30 guys I like better than Watkins so you can probably sit him.
Thus, while I have Carson Wentz as a “sit” in this article if you’re in a 16-team league or a dynasty league, there’s a good chance you’re not going to find someone better on the waiver wire. Speaking of the waiver wire, make sure you’re checking yours every single week since players get dropped all the time that could be stars! Whether you’ve picked up some of these guys off the waiver wire or have them on your bench and simply must choose between two players, I’ve got you covered!
Fantasy Football Start Em Sit Em Week 8
Quarterback
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We’re still scratching our heads wondering what went wrong for Dalton in week 7. Week 8 brings another fantastic matchup for Dalton though, and I’m ready to forgive him. 5 of 6 quarterbacks to face Tampa Bay have finished top 10 in fantasy points, and Dalton should be no different. Start him with confidence and expect big numbers from Joe Mixon and A.J. Green as well.
Over the last 3 weeks, Cousins has averaged 258 yards passing and 16.3 fantasy points per game. Those are fine numbers but not awe inspiring. Conversely over the first 4 weeks of the season Cousins averaged 348 yards passing and 24 fantasy points per game. This is a home game for Cousins against a Saints team that puts up a lot of points. I expect this to be a high scoring game and like both quarterbacks in this matchup, Cousins even more than Brees.
As per usual, Winston threw a couple picks in week 7 but somehow still managed to salvage his fantasy day by throwing for a massive amount of yardage, and in this case, rushing for a touchdown. Winston always finds a way to deliver in fantasy despite his unpolished playing style. Another positive game script looks to be in the works this week when Tampa bay visits Cincinnati in what could be a very high scoring affair. Winston’s play may not be pretty, but it’s effective for fantasy.
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Wentz has been limited with a back injury early in the week, however, he should still start again the Jaguars in London. Wentz has slowly gotten back to his Pro Bowl caliber form before he was sidelined in 2017, however, the Jags are still a formidable defense despite their recent struggles. Only two quarterbacks have scored more than 20 fantasy points against the Jaguars this season. Wentz may have a solid performance but there are at least 12 better options which makes him a sit this week.
Carr has only scored above 20 fantasy points once this season, and 4 of his 7 touchdowns came in that one game. Even with a solid matchup against a poor Indy defense, Carr cannot be trusted after losing yet another offensive weapon. While he may not have been producing on a consistent basis, losing Amari Cooper significantly lowers Carr’s value outside of two-quarterback leagues. Sit him.
Manning has only posted 20+ fantasy points twice this season. The Giants are a mess on both sides of the ball and in a tough divisional game against Washington, Eli can’t be trusted. Washington has a strong pass defense, so I expect a large dose of Saquon Barkley in this matchup. It’s possible Barkley takes a short pass to the house, or Odell Beckham Jr. makes one of his patented ridiculous catches to salvage Eli’s numbers. We don’t want to rely on the skill position players to bail out their quarterback though, we want a quarterback to elevate the play of those around him, not the other way around. In a single quarterback league, there are easily 15-20 guys I would rather start than Eli. Sit him.
Running Back
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In the last 4 weeks, Richard has recorded 6-3-6-7 catches, and that was with a healthy Marshawn Lynch. Lynch is out, Cooper is gone, and the offense still has to find a way to move the ball. I expect an uptick in targets for Richard and Jared Cook. Don’t count on many rushing yards though, Richard’s highest total this season is only 24 yards so he’s not going to impress there. Standard leagues consider him a flex, but in PPR leagues Richard is a must start RB2 with upside.
Lindsay has put up double digit fantasy points in PPR every game that he’s finished this season. The only time he failed to do this was the game he was ejected. With Royce Freeman out and facing a Kansas City defense that has been exploited often this season, I expect a large dose of Lindsay. He’s a safe play for double-digit points with upside for even more since Denver will certainly be playing from behind, and he catches passes.
Chubb saw his first starting action last week and carried the ball 18 times for 80 yards and a touchdown. A very solid performance from the rookie who now has the backfield mostly to himself. Duke Johnson still will play his role as the pass-catcher but Chubb can catch as well. Pittsburgh has only given up 66.7 rushing yards per game to running backs but the volume should be there for Chubb to still find success. Consider him a solid start this week, and potentially every week going forward.
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Ingram put up a pair of touchdowns in his season debut and has everyone puffing out their chests proud of themselves for stashing him during his suspension. He followed that performance up by posting 42 yards on 14 touches with no touchdowns letting owners everywhere down. The fact of the matter is, in this backfield, there will be some Ingram weeks, and some Kamara weeks.
Both running backs can find success, but it will be hard to judge exactly which will be better on a given week. This week I would lean towards Kamara as Minnesota has a tough run defense and as mentioned earlier in this article, I like both quarterbacks. It’s very possible Ingram has a solid performance, but if you have another running back projected around the same ballpark as Ingram I would recommend going with the other guy this week.
Collins is finally starting to out-touch backfield mate Javorius “Buck” Allen, however, the red zone split remains an issue. Between the 20’s, Collins seems to be the guy, but only on rushing downs. Allen is still seeing more passing downs work and the red zone is anyone’s guess. Collins has the talent but a fumbling problem and a lack of commitment from the Ravens makes it hard to trust anyone in this backfield. Until we have more clarity Collins is a risky option that I would rather avoid is possible.
Hyde has just been traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars and has only had a little over a week to learn the offense. Add in a trip overseas against a stout Eagles defense, and there are many factors that scare me away from him as a start. Blake Bortles was benched last week and as such, I expect him not to take a lot of chances in this game. Short area targets and dump off passes will likely be his game, and that benefits T.J. Yeldon. Hyde should handle any goal-line opportunities and may get some late-game volume if the Jags are able to pull ahead, but I wouldn’t count on that. With Leonard Fournette likely back in a week or two, Hyde may even be a drop candidate in the near future.
Wide Receiver
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Hilton is back! I recommended him last week as a start, and he put up two touchdowns! Now granted, yardage-wise Hilton only secured 4 catches for 25 yards so let’s not get too crazy. Andrew Luck has demonstrated his trust in Hilton has not diminished whatsoever. As long as Luck continues to sling it like he has so far this season, Hilton will be an every week start. The Oakland defense is not formidable at all and I expect Indy to put up points.
The Tampa Bay defense is as excellent a matchup for receivers as it is quarterbacks, the defense is 29th against fantasy receivers. Boyd will see rookie M.J. Stewart in coverage and Boyd should be able to win that matchup for most of the day. In home games this season, Boyd has put up 18, 6 and 22 fantasy points. I expect this game to favor the passing game and Boyd is a start in all formats. Also, if you want a DFS stack for this week, Dalton-Green-Boyd-Mixon is one of the best values available.
Tate had a disappointing week 7, however, the Lions had so much success on the ground they didn’t need to throw much. I expect that to change against Seattle who has really started coming to life on both sides of the ball. There is also the “revenge game” factor to consider here with Tate playing against his old team. Kenny Golladay is coming along very nicely and will one day be the feature option in this offense, however, Tate remains the best option in this passing game for now.
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Robinson has been a huge disappointment so far in 2018. Securing just one catch for 4 yards against New England last week certainly has left a bad taste in the mouths of his fantasy owners. Robinson has been limited with a groin injury in practice, but it hasn’t been enough to keep him out of games. Through six games, Robinson only has 25 receptions for 285 yards and two touchdowns. If he’s playing, we need to see more from him before trusting him as a starter. Bench him until further notice.
Chris Hogan has not lived up to his preseason hype at all. Other than a two-touchdown performance in week 2, Hogan did not step up during the absence of Julian Edelman like many predicted he would. During that week 2 performance Hogan still only had three receptions for 42 yards. Only once this year has Hogan gone over 70 yards and he has not scored since week 2.
Edelman and Josh Gordon have both climbed ahead of Hogan in terms of snaps and targets, not to mention “Gronk” when healthy and James White. This puts Hogan as 5th on the team at best in terms of targets and unless that changes he’s not starting for me in anything other than a desperation flex role.
Now I know we’ve talked about this. Starting DeSean Jackson is like sneaking out after your curfew. You know it’s wrong, but you’ve gotten away with it in the past. You’ve been caught, punished and told not to do it again….. but there’s a party this weekend and everyone is invited. All the cool kids will be there, and you don’t want to miss out on the action! Six weeks ago, you went out back to back weekends and everything went great! Listen to me. You had some fun. More fun than you should ever have had. Now it’s time to be responsible and stop sneaking out. It’s not worth the risk of getting caught. Keep your curfew and keep Jackson on your bench where he belongs.
Tight End
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Ebron just had his worst fantasy game of the season posting just 3 receptions for 31 yards on 7 targets. Ebron has posted double-digit fantasy production in five of seven games this season and is still a trusted target for Andrew Luck. With the return of T.Y. Hilton, and potentially Jack Doyle this Sunday, it’s likely Ebron loses some of his production, but until Doyle returns to full form, Ebron can still be trusted.
There aren’t many reliable options in Oakland these days. With Amari Cooper recently traded Cook may find himself the most targeted player on his team moving forward. Cook has less than four catches only once this year so he’s very safe in PPR. The Colts are 23rd in fantasy against tight ends, and if Oakland has any success through the air I expect that to come from Cook.
After a slow start in week 1, Burton has caught a touchdown in 4 of the last 5 weeks and has averaged 62 yards per game during that time. With the state of tight end what it is, those are top five numbers. While I wouldn’t consider him elite just yet, consider Burton a set it and forget it option going forward.
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The Ravens rank second in the NFL against passing and Olsen hasn’t been his usual self since his return from injury. At 33 years old it may take some time for Olsen to return to form and I don’t expect that to happen this week. Since his return from injury, Olsen is 6 for 53 over a 2-week period. He did score a touchdown during that time but averaging 3 receptions for 26.5 yards isn’t going to cut it. Sit Olsen for now but don’t cut him as the next couple weeks against Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh are good matchups.
Heuerman was an intriguing option after Jake Butt went down for Denver, but he hasn’t shown anything up to this point to merit continued starts in fantasy. During week 7 Heuerman was not even targeted once. You’ll never feel confident starting Heuerman, and he isn’t going to suddenly break out. Sit him, drop him, just don’t start him.
Engram’s first game back after a 3-week absence wasn’t stellar, the young tight end only caught 2 of 4 targets for 16 yards. The Giants offense has too many weapons for Eli Manning to support on a consistent basis. Between Barkley, Beckham, Shepard, and Engram, there are simply too many mouths to feed and I expect Engram to be the one who misses out more often than not.
Defense/Special teams
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New England
Washington
Indianapolis
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Minnesota
Green Bay
Cleveland