Week 8 of the NFL season. Considered by many fantasy fanatics to be the halfway point of re-draft leagues. While it may seem like the NFL season will go on forever, it actually flashes before our eyes. Every week counts, therefore, we do not have an abundance of time to maul over team decisions. If we become aware of an element that impacts our fantasy football teams, we need to react quickly in order to get the most out of our seasons. Here are 10 Things that we learned in week 8.
Amusement Park(er)
DeVante Parker‘s career has been quite the roller coaster ride. It may have reached new heights during Thursday Night Football. Parker produced a single-game career-best 134 receiving yards. That performance shines even brighter considering how forgettable of a season he has been having up to this point. Entering week 8, Parker only had 2 catches for 40 yards. Injuries to his teammates were a big factor as to why he received 9 targets in the most recent game. Parker has had hot and cold streaks throughout his career so perhaps he will continue to produce for the Dolphins. However, that may not be the case once Kenny Stills returns to the lineup. Week 8 was simply the reminder of Parker’s potential.
Target T.J.
With the arrival of Carlos Hyde in Jacksonville via trade, that was some doubt as to what T.J. Yeldon‘s role would be for the rest of the season. While the awaited return of Leonard Fournette looms large over this team, Yeldon’s role as a pass catcher still seems secure. In week 8, he caught 7 of 9 targets for 83 receiving yards, all of which led the team. This, in spite of the fact that Yeldon only played in 57.8% of offensive snaps, his second-lowest total of the season. That snap count will probably diminish in the event of a Fournette return. Even so, Blake Bortles is looking Yeldon’s way often. Yeldon is one of the only Jaguars worth of being started in fantasy leagues. Even if Fournette returns, he should still be playable in PPR formats. Yeldon has been either first or second on the Jaguars in targets in 6 of their 8 games this season, including this most recent contest in London.
Adams Family
Speaking of the International series, Josh Adams looked like the best Eagles RB at running the football in week 8. The coaching staff recognized this as they gave Adams the most carries (9) in the game. While he and Wendell Smallwood both had 10 total touches, Adams was certainly more efficient on the ground. His yards per carry was at 6.1 which more than doubled Smallwood’s 3.0 YPC. This was the second game in a row where Adams has had the best YPC among Philadelphia players. With the Eagles bye upcoming, Adams will have two weeks to be integrated further into the offense. Hopefully, he can be even more productive down the stretch and into the fantasy football playoffs. He has shown well enough that he is now in the ever-growing family of RBs who can be considered for a starting spot on a week-to-week basis.
Wat(kins) About Sammy
Sammy Watkins was starting to become the forgotten man in Kansas City. While it may be difficult to imagine a player with his talent being overshadowed, that is exactly what had been happening this season. With Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt and Travis Kelce as teammates, it is not too difficult to understand why. In week 8 however, Watkins reminded all of us exactly why he was drafted 4th overall in 2014. On 9 targets, Watkins received 8 passes and gained 107 yards. Those were season-highs across the board. He also caught 2 TDs, after having only 1 with the Chiefs prior to week 8. Fellow WR, Hill left the game with an injury. Should he miss any time, Watkins would instantly become an every week starter. Even after Hill’s presumed return, Watkins has enough upside to be played as a flex option most weeks.
Another (Fitz)Magic trick
We thought all doubt disappeared surrounding Jameis Winston‘s status as the starter for the Buccaneers. The 4 INTs he threw against the Bengals may have changed that. Especially the manner in which Ryan Fitzpatrick performed after Winston was benched. He completed 11 for 15 pass attempts, of which 2 were TDs. More importantly, Fitzpatrick took Tampa Bay to a tie with the Bengals. If not for a FG drive by Andy Dalton, that game may have gone into overtime. Head coach Dirk Koetter has named Fitzpatrick as the starter for week 9. Mike Evans should be hopefull as the WR has had his three highest receiving yard performances and all of his TDs in games which Fitzpatrick played. However, Koetter would not commit to a QB beyond this upcoming game. That will make it very difficult to start either QB in fantasy football.
Lyon about Detroit
The Detriot Lions are making a liar out of me. After week 5, I wrote in this series that Kenny Golladay could be played most weeks. I even selected him for my Yahoo DFS article in week 8. Of course, this would be the week, where Golladay was only targeted once. Instead, Marvin Jones and Golden Tate dominated Matthew Stafford‘s attention with a combined 22 targets. Jones was especially productive with 137 yards and 2 TDs on 7 receptions. Those were season-highs across the board for him. What we learned is that it is difficult to predict which Lions WR will breakout on any given week. However, things may have just gotten a lot easier as Tate was traded to the Eagles.
Muscle Martin
Before his injury, Marshawn Lynch was performing very well in the role as the Raiders early-down, goal-line running back. In Lynch’s absence, Doug Martin saw his biggest workload of the season. In week 8, he received 13 carries. For comparison sake, Martin only had 27 rushing attempts in the preceding 6 games. He ran for 5.5 YPC so he certainly produced. I expected Jalen Richard to be the more productive RB against the Colts, especially in the passing game. Looking back on Indianapolis’ week 2 victory over Washington, we saw Adrian Peterson (the early-down back) be held to 20 yards on 11 rushing attempts. Chris Thompson however, as a pass-catching RB, gashed the Colts for 92 yards on 13 receptions. Richard did gain 64 total yards on 8 catches and 2 carries, but Martin was slightly more productive with 89 total yards. Even though he did not score a TD, Martin still got 4 red zone touches. In better matchups for his skill set, Martin is certainly worthy of a flex spot.
LeftSwitch
In the Cardinals first game with Byron Leftwich as the offensive coordinator, the team got a victory. It was an 18-15 comeback victory for Arizona who scored 15 of their points in the 4th quarter. That included a game-winning TD pass from Josh Rosen with only 34 seconds left. While Christian Kirk was the recipient of that particular TD, it was another WR that made an even bigger impact in fantasy. Larry Fitzgerald had his best game of 2018. He caught 8 receptions for 102 yards and 1 TD. Furthermore, David Johnson improved his stock by producing a season-high 41 receiving yards. While this happened against a 49ers defense that is below average in several categories, it is still an encouraging sign to see somewhat of a rejuvenation of the Cardinals offense early in Leftwich’s tenure.
Snap Pack
Looking strictly at the box score, you would say that Davante Adams is the unquestioned leader of the Packers receiving corps. In week 8, he had the most targets and his 133 receiving yards were more than double any of his teammates. If we look at offensive snap counts, however, we see that Adams played his lowest percentage of the season (76.9%). Next on the list is Marquez Valdes-Scantling with 59.6%. Perhaps the Packers were easing Geronimo Allison and Randall Cobb back into action, but both players also saw their lowest snap counts of 2018. Neither produced strong numbers, in fact, Allison was only targeted once. After Adams, the WR position seems muddled in Green Bay. Perhaps Cobb’s role will increase as the weeks roll on. As for right now, it is difficult to know what to expect from any of them in week 9 and beyond.
The Packers RB situation is a little more clear. Aaron Jones saw a season-best 61.5% of the offensive snaps. Meanwhile, Ty Montgomery and Jamaal Williams both received season-lows in that department with 11.5% and 25.0% respectively. Jones out-touched both of them combined 14-7. It appears that Jones has taken the lead on this backfield. This is even more likely after Montgomery was traded to the Baltimore Ravens.
Coliseum Blitz
Speaking of the Packers, the defense may have shown us the key to holding down the Rams offense. Green Bay often used 6 DBs and brought pass rushers and run stoppers from the secondary. That helped throw off the Los Angeles offense early in the game since they had a difficult time dissecting where blitzes were coming from. When it comes to playing the Rams receivers in fantasy, it may be wise to avoid teams that have strong run stopping abilities with only 6 men in the box.
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