Can someone call the NFL schedulers for me? Why on earth did we have to suffer through six teams on bye in week 7 just to have zero teams on bye in week 8. That being said, week 8 is a nice little oasis in the sea of bye weeks that is the middle of the NFL Season.
We’re over halfway through the fantasy regular season at this point yet we’re still learning new information and watching player’s roles on teams change. This is the time of year to pay attention to upward trends on disappointing players. Look for the wide receiver whose snap share has increased dramatically but hasn’t seen the production yet. Look for the backup running backs behind older or injury prone starters. Look for the rookies who may see their first opportunities for significant playing time over the back half of the season.
Fantasy values are far from sticky and we’ll see multiple players dramatically increase (and decrease) before the end of the season. We’re trying to get ahead of those increases and get those players on our roster before the rest of the league catches on.
Wide Receivers
Josh Downs (52% Rostered)
After a slow start to his rookie year, 3rd round pick Josh Downs has taken on a larger role in this Colt’s offense. He’s had three weeks in a row of at least 6 targets and no less than 13 PPR fantasy points.
Don’t expect Downs to surpass Michael Pittman as the team’s leading receiver, but it does appear as if his role in this offense is secure and can only grow as the season progresses. Downs can be viewed as a WR2/3 depending on matchup.
Kendrick Bourne (39% Rostered)
Kendrick Bourne was doing his best Sammy Watkins impersonation until Week 6 of this year. Blow up week 1 with a multi-touchdown game and then disappear. Luckily for fantasy managers, Mac Jones remembered in Week 6 that Kendrick Bourne is his best receiving weapon and he carried that lesson over into week 7.
Back-to-back top 15 wide receiver weeks, with 7 and 11 targets respectively. Next week the Patriots head to Miami to play one of the highest powered offenses in the league. If the Patriots stand a chance, they’ll have to throw the ball a ton to keep up. Kendrick Bourne should be in line for a hefty target volume in week 8.
Jalin Hyatt (25% Rostered)
After seeing more than 46% of the snaps just once in the first 5 weeks, Jalin Hyatt has been on the field for more than 70% of the snaps over the last two weeks. While he’s starting to consistently see the field more, the production hasn’t quite caught up yet.
Hyatt brings a dimension to the game that the Giants desperately need, a big play threat on the field. If this Giants’ offense is to turn it around, Hyatt will likely be a part of that. If you have room on your bench, add Hyatt before his production catches up to his new elevated usage.
Running Backs
Darrell Henderson (37% Rostered)
My bad on Zach Evans y’all, that one really didn’t work out in all of the leagues I started him in during the bye-pocalypse of week 7. It didn’t work out because Darrell Henderson was activated from the practice squad Saturday and then was the Rams’ clear lead back on Sunday. Henderson has familiarity with this offense so there was little learning curve before he could plug right in.
Henderson should likely remain the lead back so long as Kyren Williams is out, so at least three more weeks. That being said, Royce Freeman looks to get some work as well during that time. If Henderson shows out during this time period, he could see usage even upon the return of Kyren Williams.
Emari Demercado (20% Rostered)
I know Demercado burned us a couple weeks ago but the tables were turned in week 7 as he led the Cardinals backfield with 13 carries. Keontay Ingram confusingly got no carries after leading the team in carries in week 6.
Demercado carries significant risk as the Cardinals don’t seem committed to a single back while James Conner is out, but signs are pointing in his direction. In a decent matchup against Baltimore in week 8, you can put Demercado in your lineup in a pinch.
Tyjae Spears (50% Rostered)
Tyjae Spears continues to earn snaps on a team that has Derrick Henry. While his touches were limited the last time we saw him in week 6 against Baltimore, Spears is carving out a role on this team.
I’m not yet ready to start Tyjae Spears, but get him on your bench while he’s flying under the radar due to the Titans’ bye week. Spears will likely continue to earn more work away from Derrick Henry as the season progresses.
Tight Ends
Dalton Kincaid (41% Rostered)
The year of the rookie tight end continued as Dalton Kincaid had his first big game of the season in the Bills’ loss to the New England Patriots. Kincaid caught all 8 of his targets for 75 yards, good enough for TE7 on the week in PPR formats.
With Dawson Knox potentially sidelined for an undetermined amount of time due to wrist surgery, Kincaid could be looking at an opportunity to continue his week 7 successes into the rest of the season.
Logan Thomas (48% Rostered)
Thomas continues to be a preferred target of Sam Howell and that should continue in a week 8 matchup against the Eagles. Thomas has gotten at least 6 targets in half of his games this season and scored a TD in two of them. While this doesn’t sound like much, it’s enough to make him TE13 on the season in PPR leagues.
With Sam Howell set to likely see a lot of pressure in week 8, expect Thomas to be heavily involved over the middle of the field. Thomas is a nice Safety Valve for Howell and Howell will likely need that in week 8.
Quarterbacks
Kyler Murray (48% Rostered)
While the Joshua Dobbs experience got off to a hot start this season, it’s simmered down over the past couple of weeks. The timing of it works out nicely because we just received news that Kyler Murray will likely be back on the field by week 10.
With the Cardinals offense running surprisingly well to start the season, the upside of Kyler Murray is immense. Let’s not forget who Kyler Murray is for fantasy. This dude, that people seemingly want to leave for dead on the waiver wire, was a top 12 QB in 8 of 11 starts just last season. In 2021, he was a top 12 QB in 7 of 13 starts and a top 15 QB in 11 of 13 starts.
Kyler Murray is good for fantasy football and he’s just sitting out there in a majority of leagues. Pick him up. Put him in your IR spot. Enjoy your top 12 QB for the rest of the season when he comes back in week 10.
Tyson Bagent (7% Rostered)
This is for my friends out there feeling a little desperate. This is for the people in a work league where everyone rosters 3+ QBs. This is for the people that like a little risk in their life.
Bagent is not my 2nd favorite QB on the wire this week, but I wanted to highlight that he is startable in week 8. Bagent turned in an underwhelming fantasy performance in Chicago’s big win against the Raiders, but he’s got arguably the most QB friendly matchup in the Chargers in week 8.
Fields isn’t expected to be out long term, but if you need a week 8 spot start Bagent can get you across this finish line in a good matchup.
Other Streamers
- Gardner Minshew (13% Rostered)
- Bryce Young (24% Rostered)
- Zach Wilson (8% Rostered)
- Mac Jones (13% Rostered)
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