Welcome to Week 8 of the fantasy football season! Below are some players I think you should start and some I think you should sit out. As always, your mileage may vary depending on your preferences, so don’t just blindly seat someone if you don’t have a better option!
Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers
Dak Prescott, Cowboys vs. Cardinals
Prescott has been up and down this season but is coming off a strong Monday night game against the Eagles and now faces a bad Cardinals pass defense. Arizona gave up the most adjusted yards per attempt, most receiving touchdowns, second-worst QB rating and second-most yards per completion. Prescott is ready to pick up where he left off Monday night.
Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals against Cowboys
If the Cardinals had better backups, I was worried that Brissett might end up on the bench during a game, but they don’t. This week, as long as Brissett plays the entire game, he’ll have a hard time not accumulating fantasy points. I expect the Cowboys to be able to score against the Cardinals, but Brissett will effectively try to track down the air. Dallas has by far allowed the third-worst completion percentage, seventh-worst average yards per attempt and third-worst yards per completion to opposing quarterbacks.
Kyler Murray, Vikings vs. Lions
Murray continued to play poorly last week, but the Vikings continued to win. Not trailing in games hurts Murray because he doesn’t have to run and throw to get points. This week they will face a Lions offense that should have more success than any team this year against Brian Flores’ top defense. The Lions defense is also the absolute worst at giving up fantasy points to quarterbacks. That has a lot to do with the Lions throwing away balls from the deficit, but the results are hard to ignore.
Michael Pennix Jr., Falcons at Buccaneers
Pennix Jr. has been on a tear with back-to-back three touchdown games. He’s played a lot more than you think, no doubt, but I don’t like this week’s game. The Buccaneers defense has been lights out against the run and the pass this season. Last week we saw Bryce Young completely shut down, making him look like his old self. They are certainly better against the run than against the run, but if they can slow down Bijaan Robinson, they will also slow down the effectiveness of the passing game.
Caleb Williams, Bears at Seahawks
Williams appears to be on his way to becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He may already be there, but traveling to Seattle to take on the Seahawks defense will be a big challenge. So far, the Seahawks have allowed just 144 passing yards per game, the best in the league. Only the Vikings have allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.
Bayshul Tuton/Chris Rodriguez, Jaguars vs. Colts
The Colts are going through a fire sale and just lost their best defensive player in DT Jeffrey Simmons. And even with Simon there, they still gave many yards on the ground. They currently rank third in yards per drive to a running back at 4.8. And as 9.5-point favorites at home against a tanking team, I like both Jaguars to be running backs. Tutton is off to a rough start, but Rodriguez looked good against the Texans, rushing 11 times for 55 yards in a loss. If the Jags get picked up in this one, I expect Rodriguez to be flex eligible.
Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots vs Dolphins
Stevenson is coming off his best receiving game of the season, catching 5-of-5 targets for 93 yards and a touchdown last week against the Bears. He has been in a nightmare from week to week as his workload fluctuates. However, the team doesn’t seem to be happy with what TreVeyon Henderson has done this season, as he only gave up five touchdowns in Week 7. The good news is that the Dolphins’ running back defense is bad, allowing the third-most fantasy points, the fifth-most receiving yards, and the most receiving touchdowns. I expect Stevenson to continue his work in the receiving game this week.
JK Dobbins, Broncos at Chiefs
This matchup will be tough for all of the Broncos’ running backs, of which there are many. The Chiefs have allowed the seventh-fewest fantasy points and third-best yards per carry mark at 3.6. And last week, starter Jonas Coleman returned from injury in his first game back to lead the way. Dobbins hasn’t been the same player this season, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry, and Coleman seems to be taking advantage of that. If you start anyone in this tough matchup, put Coleman over Dobbins and RJ Harvey.
Tyler Allgaier, Cowboys Cardinals
Algiers have been bad this season. With starter Jeremiah Love out with an ankle injury, he had a good chance to take over the leadoff role, but instead let the journeyman Bam Knight beat him out of action. This matchup with the Cowboys is good, but if Love can’t go again I’d rather have Knight.
Garrett Wilson, Jets vs. Raiders
Wilson started the season well, but saw his numbers drop with the arrival of rookie Omar Cooper Jr. I really like Cooper, but the 100+ yard games behind him, per touch is not sustainable. Wilson is still a true No. 1 receiver and was upset in their last game loss to the Dolphins. This is a plus matchup at home against the Raiders and I expect Geno Smith to get the most of Wilson this week.
Keenan Allen, Colts at Jaguars
Allen had 29 targets in the previous three games before the Vikings came to town. Finished with five or more receptions in each game. This week, the Colts head to Jacksonville down 9.5 points and will be forced to throw the ball away. The Jaguars will probably push Daniel Jones to throw more by taking the lead, and even if it’s close, their run defense is one of the best in the league. The Jaguars’ pass defense is decent, but they rank fourth in giving up fantasy points to wide receivers. Allen is only a PPR game, but there is room for more in this matchup.
Kendrick Bourne, Cardinals against Cowboys
The Cardinals lost Jalen Brooks to a wrist injury, which should help Bourne see a big helping of snaps this week. Bourne has seen good volume over the last three weeks with 8, 8 and 6 targets respectively. His best game was against the Lions and his worst was against the Broncos. That makes sense and he faces a pass defense this week with worse numbers than the Lions and he won’t have Brooks to worry about. I also expect Cowboys cornerback Joey Porter Jr. to spend more time with Michael Wilson, giving Bourne better matchups.
Caleb Douglas, Dolphins at Patriots
Douglas is good. Douglas could be great, but I don’t like his match this week. It’s not a given that Patriots senior CB Christian Gonzalez will follow Douglas on the field, but it’s a distinct possibility. Gonzalez has proven to be a shutdown corner when healthy this season, and I expect him to have trouble putting up efficient numbers like Douglas has with the Raiders and Jets.
Carnell Tate, Titans at Bengals
Bengals senior cornerback DJ Turner is at the top of his game this year and should spend plenty of time against rookie Tate. Last week, Zay Flowers faced the Bengals, but only allowed one reception for six yards to Flowers, eliminating Turner. Yes, you can get away from it, but flowers are used all around the formation, Tate is mostly stuck on the outside where Turner is facing.
Dallas Goedert, Eagles in Our Commanders
The Eagles are hard to believe, but Goedert’s got a good matchup here against the Chiefs. On the season, they allowed the second-most touchdowns, the fifth-most yards and the second-most touchdowns. In Week 1, Goedert caught 4-of-5 targets for 77 yards and two touchdowns against the same team. That was with Jalen Harts, of course, but Tanner McKee is targeting Goedert as he has 17 receptions in the last three games. Unfortunately, those invitations didn’t lead to many fantasy points, but I like his chances of finding the end zone this week.
TJ Hockenson, Vikings vs Lions
Kyler Murray likes to throw to tight ends and this week’s matchup makes the call. The Lions are the worst in the league in allowing fantasy points against tight ends. They allowed too many receptions, yards and touchdowns even though they already had a bye week. Eight tight ends have scored double-digit fantasy points in just six games!
Sam LaPorta, Lions vs. Vikings
It’s always hard to stay strong with good track records, as tough matches can’t always lock them down. However, the Viking defense has been so good that I worry about LaPorta this week. They were better at stopping tight ends this season as they allowed the fewest yards, receptions, touchdowns (0) and fantasy points.
