10 Things You Need to Know for Week 8 (#FantasyFootball)
Week 8 is upon us, and its down to the nitty gritty for those teams who started off slow. Believe it or not, after this week there are only five weeks left in the fantasy regular season. There is an opportunity to pick up some potential league winners if you play your cards right, lets take a look at my 10 things for Week 8.
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1. Le’Veon Bell and CEH will both hold fantasy value.
Although I believe that Le’Veon Bell will become more involved in the Chiefs offense as the season progresses, Clyde Edwards-Helaire owners can breath easy. CEH played 53% of snaps compared to Bells 33% Week 7 against the Broncos. As Bell becomes more comfortable in the Chiefs offense, I think a 60/40 split in CEH’s favor is what winds up happening. CEH is locked in as a high-end RB2 rest-of-season, and Bell is a low-end RB2/Flex who you’re looking for a touchdown to return value. The game’s that turn into blowouts could see Bell get more work, as the Chiefs look to keep CEH’s Fresh. This is one of those weeks, and I fully expect Bell’s “revenge game” against the Jets to include at least one touchdown. The Jets give up the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, and Bell should get plenty of work in a more-than-likely blowout.
2. Buy High on D’Andre Swift
I discussed this on the Dynasty Junkies podcast, but I felt it was a good enough point to discuss here too. D’Andre Swift has shown he can produce when given the touches, and I expect Adrian Peterson (and Matt Patricia) to be gone next year. Swift ranks fifth in fantasy points per 100 snaps for RBs at 45.5 (higher than Alvin Kamara, Derek Henry, and CMC just to name a few). He’s averaging 5.3 yards per carry and 25 targets on the season, which is only 5 more behind Marvin Jones, who plays 88% of snaps compared to Swifts 35%. Swift has averaged 18.5 fantasy points his past three games on 13 touches. He’s a beast and is only going to get better when his touches go up. He has top tier running back potential, and someone I think will be going in the first round of fantasy drafts for the foreseeable future. Swift is someone I’m completely willing to buy high on.
3. AB in TB is bad news for Mike Evans.
The Buccaneers surprised everyone and added to their already loaded wide receiving corps by signing Antonio Brown to the mix. Brown isn’t eligible to play until Week 9, but it certainly makes things interesting in Tampa Bay. You have to knock both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans down a few pegs, but I feel it hurts Evans much more. He was already struggling when Godwin is on the field, and Rob Gronkowski is starting to become a force once again. Throw AB into the mix and its stock way down for Evans. Godwin takes a slight hit but he and Brady seem to have a connection, Godwin plays in the middle of the field where Brady likes to throw the Ball. I’d also pump the breaks on Evans having a blow-up game this week with Godwin out. The only bright spot on the Giants this season has been James Bradberry, and he’s played well against opposing WR1s. If Evans does happen to have a solid week, try to trade him for whatever you can.
4. Start Henry Ruggs and Nelson Agholor.
While I do thing Henry Ruggs eventually becomes the alpha in this offense, Nelson Agholor has been the WR1 so far and is finally living up to the hype that he wasn’t able to in Philadelphia. The Raiders have a fantastic matchup against the Browns, who have given up the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. Agholor is averaging 17 points over his last three game, and is the safer options of the two. Ruggs is still only getting limited targets, but as he showed with his Week 5 performance of two catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, all he needs is one play to make your day. Both the Raiders and Browns rank in the bottom five of points allowed, and in what is projected to be a potential shootout, both Ruggs and Agholor are solid starts as WR3s.
5. Justin Herbert is the rookie QB you want.
Although Joe Burrow has been great for fantasy purposes, Justin Herbert has simply been better. Herbert is QB4 on the season in points per game and should get Austin Ekeler back before the season is over. The Chargers have a better schedule down the stretch than the Bengals, including matchups against the Dolphins, the Jets, the Falcons, and the Raiders twice. The Bengals still have to play the Steelers twice and have a bye next week. Dynasty wise I still prefer Burrow by a very small margin, but the rest of this season give me Herbert. If you are looking to win it all this year, it may be a trade you consider making. That’s if the Herbert manager is willing to give them up.
6. Try to trade for Miles Sanders and Nick Chubb.
Both Miles Sanders and Nick Chubb will likely be out until Week 10 at the earliest, but if you can afford to not have them for the next few weeks now is the time to trade for them. Chubb and Sanders both have fantastic rest of season schedules, including their Week 15 and 16 matchups (Chubb – NYG, NYJ; Sanders – ARZ, DAL). Look to see who rosters Sanders and Chubb, you might be able to trade for them at a discount. A desperate fantasy manager who needs a win to stay alive in the playoff race may be willing to give them up for someone who’s playing the next two weeks. It’s moves like this that set you up to bring home a fantasy championship.
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7. Will the real Josh Allen please stand up?
After a scorching start to the season with MVP talk, Josh Allen has cooled off significantly the past two weeks. While I don’t think he’s as bad as he’s played the past two games, I don’t expect him to get back to the high level of the first few weeks. Allen stayed under 20 points in Weeks 6 and 7, and he’s still QB6 on the season in points per game. Although the Bills were unable to punch it into the end-zone last week, Allen still threw for over 300 yards. Allen still has some good matchups left on his schedule (Seattle, Arizona, Los Angeles Chargers), he does have some difficult ones as well (San Francisco, Pittsburg, New England twice).
8.It’s finally Tua Time, but don’t start him yet.
The Dolphins made the shocking announcement that they were turning the starting job over to Tua Tagovailoa after their Week 6 victory over the Jets. While the entire world is excited to see what Tua can do, this isn’t the week to start him in fantasy. Tua gets to face arguably the best defensive lineman in the league in his first start, Rams DT Aaron Donald. The Rams give up the sixth-fewest fantasy opposing quarterbacks, and I fully expect the Dolphins to ease Tagovailoa in by featuring the run. I think Myles Gaskin will get a slight value bump based upon a little more volume. As far as the receivers go, young quarterbacks tend to lock onto a favorite receiver, so we will have to see who becomes Tua’s go-to guy. I think DeVante Parker and Preston William’s value will likely be unchanged, but I can see a scenario where Mike Gesicki becomes Tua’s favorite target. Tua will likely settle into the QB2 range with some growing pains along the way. But the sky is the limit, and if he is somehow floating out there on waivers in a Superflex league, stop reading this and go grab him.
9. You cant trust Cam Newton.
There were quite a few victory laps around fantasy football twitter the way Cam Newton started the season, and through two weeks he looked as good as ever. But since returning from Covid Newton has struggled significantly, throwing for a total of 255 yards, zero touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in his past two games. It’s plausible if Newton continues to play this poorly, he could lose his starting job. Cam can offset his poor passing performance with his rushing prowess, which he did in Week 6 with 76 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown, but when he doesn’t like in Week 7, his floor is less than zero (Cam scored with negative points in many formats this week). Julian Edelman is out this week and likely to land on IR, and N’Keal Harry is out as well. You simply cannot trust starting Cam Newton right now, and he belongs on your bench until further notice.
10. Carson Wentz is a league winner.
After an abysmal start to the season, Carson Wentz has turned it on as of late as has the potential to lead you to a championship. He’s scored multiple touchdowns in every game since Week 3, is coming off of two 30+ point games, and has offered a safe floor with the rushing yardage he’s chipping in. His weapons are finally getting healthy, with Jalen Reagor likely returning this week against the Cowboys, with Dallas Goedert and Miles Sanders not far behind. After the bye week, the Eagles schedule is as follows: NYG, CLE, SEA, GB, NO, ARI, DAL. That’s about as appetizing of a schedule as you can get for a quarterback in fantasy, especially facing the Cardinals and Cowboys in the fantasy semifinals and finals. If it’s not too late already, see if you can trade for Wentz. He is going to wind up on a lot of championship rosters.
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