Wide Receivers — Week 8 Fantasy Football Start/Sit
Tight Ends — Week 8 Fantasy Football Start/Sit
Fantasy Football Start ’em, Sit ’em: Week 8 RBs
Start: Rhamondre Stevenson Fantasy Outlook vs. Dolphins
New England’s offensive line is not good, and Stevenson’s lack of production on the ground through the first seven games provides evidence for this claim. He did manage to find the end zone in the first matchup against the Miami Dolphins this season, saving an otherwise underwhelming performance.
If the Patriots are going to compete in South Florida, it’s clear that Stevenson will need to be involved in the game plan. With 11 receptions on 12 total targets over the last two games, there appears to be a PPR floor that owners can rely on. His talent and volume make it difficult to justify his RB26 ranking in the ECR, especially considering some of the names ahead of him.
Start: Kareem Hunt Fantasy Outlook vs. Seahawks
Heading into Week 8, Hunt is presumably in line for an increased workload. Fellow back Jerome Ford has not practiced all week and is expected to miss the Browns’ Week 8 contest with an injury. The question then becomes how the team will divvy up touches between Hunt and Pierre Strong. Although the former is battling a thigh injury of his own, he should be good to go for Sunday.
With the Browns’ quarterback situation also in flux, the offense figures to flow through the RBs yet again this week. In terms of the matchup, the Seattle Seahawks have been tough against opposing backs this season. However, they have not faced very many solid rushing offenses. With the expectation being that Hunt will operate as Cleveland’s top back, he should have a great chance to exceed his ECR ranking.
Sit: D’Onta Foreman Fantasy Outlook vs. Chargers
There are two key downsides to trusting Foreman to provide mid-level RB2 production this week. The first is that Johnson is now out of concussion protocol. Having previously surpassed Foreman on the depth chart as the more explosive back, he figures to get his fair share of touches if not lead the Bears’ backfield altogether on Sunday.
The other factor is the situation and matchup. To be fair, the Los Angeles Chargers defense has been very underwhelming against the position and in general relative to the talent on the unit. That said, this is certainly a tougher matchup than last week’s contest against Las Vegas. Being on the road with a former Division II QB under center, Chicago’s entire offense could struggle.
Sit: Darrell Henderson Fantasy Outlook vs. Cowboys
Darrell Henderson made the jump right from the practice squad to being the lead RB for the Los Angeles Rams last week. He rewarded fantasy managers who deployed him with a double-digit performance while playing 57% of the snaps. After the game, the Rams immediately reverted him to the practice squad.
Now, Henderson will certainly be back on the active roster for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. However, having a role and being ranked as the RB21 in the ECR are two very different levels of thinking. The Rams’ top two backs remain sidelined, but any of Royce Freeman, Zach Evans and Myles Gaskin could see increased run this week.
Henderson may have seen 18 carries last week, but the fact that he only played 57% of the snaps doesn’t indicate that he has a chokehold on the top role. This is also a much tougher matchup, as the Cowboys come in allowing the eight-fewest PPR points per game to opposing RBs. L.A.’s backfield situation is simply too cloudy to trust in fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em. Check out our fantasy football rankings to see if you have a better option available.
