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- Fantasy Fallout: Week 8
By: Billy Gabelman (StatATL) and Mike Johnson (Mjohnson86)
Welcome to the Monday edition of the Daily Dose newsletter, our “Fantasy Fallout” day. In this article, you will get a quick rundown of the relevant things we learned from the week’s games from Thursday through Sunday.
We won’t talk about every single player and we usually won’t spend time on studs who go nuts (no one needs to be told to start CeeDee Lamb right now!), but rather, the idea is to update you on usage trends, injuries, and other relevant things to help your decisions with your teams.
Vikings at Rams
Puka Nacua made his return to the field after aggravating a knee injury in Week 1 and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, producing 106 yards on seven catches.
Cooper Kupp also returned from injury and had a positive impact with 51 yards and a TD. Like Nacua, he should be a weekly starter moving forward.
Matthew Stafford had his full complement of weapons back and took advantage, leading the now 3-4 Rams to four passing TDs and a 30-20 win.
Kyren Williams retained a strong grip on the backfield, turning 28 touches into 116 yards and a TD. Blake Corum had five touches and is strictly a bench stash at this point.
T.J. Hockenson didn’t suit up but was added to the active roster over the weekend. He’s an every-week starter at TE moving forward.
Packers at Jaguars
Jordan Love left the game in the third quarter with a knee/groin injury and didn’t return. A situation to monitor.
Josh Jacobs took over the game for the Packers in the second half and ended with 127 yards and two TDs on 25 rushes. If Love were to miss time, Jacobs would likely remain the centerpiece of the Packers’ offense.
Romeo Doubs led the Packers in receiving and targets for the second straight week. If Love doesn’t miss time, Doubs is a sneaky trade target.
Jaguars WR Christian Kirk broke his collarbone and will miss an extended period of time, while Brian Thomas Jr. scored another touchdown before leaving with a chest injury.
Cardinals at Dolphins
Kyler Murray produced his best game of the season, throwing for 300+ yards and two TDs as the Cards defeated the Dolphins, 28-27, on a last-second field goal.
Both Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr exploded, each surpassing 110 yards.
James Conner kept his stranglehold on the Cardinals backfield, out-touching backup RB Trey Benson, 22-1. Conner remains a weekly starter until further notice.
Tua Tagovailoa returned after a four-week absence after suffering another concussion and looked good. He can be reinstated as an every-week starter on your fantasy squad moving forward.
Both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were much more involved with Tua back under center and can be started again moving forward.
Jets at Patriots
Drake Maye left the game early with an apparent head injury and didn’t return. A situation to monitor for those who picked up Maye for some QB depth.
Braelon Allen saw 12 touches, after logging just six the past two games combined. With the Jets now 2-6, he may continue to get more run. A situation to monitor, as Allen would be a great trade target if given more opportunity.
Hunter Henry led the team in receptions for the second straight week and remains a weekly starter at the thin TE position.
Ravens at Browns
Jameis Winston started for the first time after Watson’s season-ending injury and threw for 334 yards and three TDs in a 29-24 victory. Winston is an every-week starter in Superflex leagues.
Cedric Tillman exploded for 99 yards and two TDs after posting 81 yards on 12 targets last week. If Tillman is available on your waiver wire, he should be a priority add.
Nick Chubb saw 18 opportunities against a tough Ravens run defense and appears to be getting up to speed after more than a year off. He can safely be started moving forward.
Mark Andrews recorded his fifth receiving TD in the past four games and should remain a staple in your lineups at a thin TE position.
Eagles at Bengals
For the second straight week, the Tush Push / Brotherly Shove was back as Jalen Hurts had three rushing TDs and the Eagles smashed the Bengals, 37-17.
Both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith were involved and produced 84 and 85 yards receiving, respectively, in a game where Hurts only attempted 20 passes.
Mike Gesicki led the Bengals with 73 yards on seven catches with Tee Higgins inactive. He would be a strong pickup if Higgins were to miss extended time.
Colts at Texans
Stefon Diggs left the game early with a non-contact knee injury. With Nico Collins on IR, a situation to monitor. Tank Dell and Dalton Schultz would be must-starts if Diggs were to miss extended time.
Joe Mixon surpassed 100 rushing yards with a TD, a feat he has done in every game but one this season. He remains locked in as an RB1 every week.
Jonathan Taylor rushed for 105 yards and a TD and remained the focal point of the Colts’ offense.
Josh Downs went for 109 yards and TD, coming up a foot short of a second TD. It’s his first strong game with Richardson at the helm, and while he’s volatile, he should be a weekly WR2 or WR3 on your fantasy team.
Titans at Lions
In the first game without DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley saw 15 targets, turning them into 143 yards on 10 catches. The Titans’ offense isn’t good, but I’d expect Ridley to remain heavily involved moving forward.
Tony Pollard once again saw 20+ touches and remains a depth starter based solely on opportunity.
Despite the fact that Detroit stomped Tennessee, Jared Goff only attempted 15 passes. He threw for three TDs, but only for 85 yards.
Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery split carries and both had rushing TDs. Both remain weekly starters.
Falcons at Bucs
Kirk Cousins threw for 276 yards and four TDs as the Falcons took a two-game lead in the NFC South.
Kyle Pitts produced the best game of his career, with 91 yards and two TDs. He remains a weekly starter with Kirk Cousins averaging 34 pass attempts a week.
Cade Otton saw 10 targets with both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin out and converted the opportunity into 81 yards and two TDs. He’s a trade target with Godwin likely out for the year.
Bucky Irving saw 16 touches, including seven receptions, and out-touched Rachaad White yet again. He’s a borderline RB2/RB3 for teams with RB depth challenges.
Saints at Chargers
Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave had big workloads for New Orleans and should operate as the centerpieces of this offense going forward. They are the only players you can trust weekly from New Orleans at this time.
Saints QB Jake Haener came on in relief of rookie Spencer Rattler in the second half of this game. Hopefully for the sake of all Saints players and fans, Derek Carr will be back next week to face the Panthers.
Ladd McConkey is emerging as the WR1 for the Chargers, who have been throwing at an elevated rate since their Week 5 bye.
J.K. Dobbins scored a touchdown, but he continued his trend of inefficient performances as he averaged under 4.0 yards per carry for the fifth straight game. He is a low-floor option for his lead-back role. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kimani Vidal’s role grow soon.
Bills at Seahawks
James Cook dominated the box score with over 130 total yards and two touchdowns. He’s still a locked-in starter every week.
Khalil Shakir was the leading WR for Buffalo with six receptions for 99 yards, while Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid each had nice games and scored touchdowns. Meanwhile, Amari Cooper was targeted only twice. There will be a lot of production to go around for this group, but they will likely be volatile week to week.
The Seahawks’ offense played its worst game of the season and was unable to get anything going with DK Metcalf inactive and an offensive line that appears to be a huge problem. Seattle skill players should be approached with caution against any team with a solid defensive front.
Bears at Commanders
The Bears’ offense, especially the air attack, struggled for most of this game. Caleb Williams threw for only 131 yards and has thrown for over 200 yards only three times in seven games.
D’Andre Swift had another great rushing performance but failed to catch a pass and lost a goal-line carry to Roschon Johnson once again.
Jayden Daniels had another nice game that was propped up by his end-of-game Hail Mary. Prior to that, Terry McLaurin and Zach Ertz were the only players to catch more than two passes.
Chiefs at Raiders
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce got his groove back with a 10 // 90 // 1 receiving line. He is an every-week starter.
WR Xavier Worthy was inefficient with his eight targets once again, but he found the end zone late in the second half to secure the victory. He is a risky bet week to week.
RB Kareem Hunt once again had over 20 touches despite ceding more snaps to his backups than he had in the past. He continues to be a locked-in starter.
Brock Bowers had a “fine” game that looked modest due to all the big TE games this week.
Alexander Mattison once again dominated the opportunities in the Raiders’ backfield and caught five more passes. He was stuffed at the goal line multiple times as well.
Panthers at Broncos
Bryce Young looked better this week than he had to start 2024. He’s still not great, but he looks like he should at least be able to keep Panthers skill players viable.
Panthers wide receivers Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker led the team in receiving this week and are likely to continue as the top options for Carolina, who is reportedly trying to trade Diontae Johnson.
Rookie TE Ja’Tavion Sanders was relegated to a part-time role with Tommy Tremble returning this week.
Broncos WR Courtland Sutton had a nice game and the rest of the receiving production was spread among several players.
Bo Nix had his best statistical game as a pro. He’s a good option to serve as a bye week fill-in, especially in good matchups.
Cowboys at 49ers
CeeDee Lamb reminded everyone what his top-end range of outcomes looks like with his high-volume role and ability to make big plays.
Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle was a surprise inactive but what wasn’t surprising was Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott struggling to run the ball against San Francisco.
49ers RB Jordan Mason left the game with an injury once again and was replaced by rookie Isaac Guerendo. The 49ers have a bye next week and reportedly could have CMC back for Week 10, so it’s anyone’s guess what this backfield looks like in two weeks.
Rookie WR Ricky Pearsall looked terrific and made some big plays. He is someone you should look to add to your fantasy teams for the stretch run now that Brandon Aiyuk is out for the year.