The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Jalen McMillan.
Is Jalen McMillan Playing in Week 8?
McMillan is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Buccaneers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Jalen McMillan in Week 8?
Few things prevent Mike Evans from catching touchdown passes, but it would appear that the current state of his right hamstring is one of them. On Monday night, he dropped a 24-yard touchdown pass. While drops happen to everyone, he appeared to grab for his hamstring before the ball even hit the ground.
Whether or not he misses time will impact McMillan’s target profile, but with Chris Godwin on the shelf, the playing time appears to be locked in for the third-round rookie.
McMillan was drafted by the Bucs with the idea of him playing Robin to Evans’ Batman on the perimeter with Godwin soaking up the slot usage. That’s how he’s been used this season, albeit on very limited reps.
Percentage of targets coming on the perimeter:
- Evans: 64.4%
- McMillan: 60%
- Godwin: 30.6%
- Otton: 2.4%
This role has increased in value given the rash of injuries in Tampa Bay. He has a decent runway in Week 8 against a Falcons defense that ranks bottom five in the league in terms of defending the perimeter in passer rating, completion percentage, and touchdown rate.
The Bucs will look different this week than they have through the first seven, and that likely comes with it a new playbook. But McMillan is my favorite of the secondary options in this offense, and he’s a viable Flex play in most leagues, though it could be tough sledding after this week with the Chiefs and the 49ers up next before a Week 11 bye.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Jalen McMillan’s Fantasy Points Outlook in Week 8
McMillan is projected to score 10.6 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 2.7 receptions for 58.4 yards and 0.4 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Jalen McMillan’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Insights
Atlanta Falcons
Team: The Falcons have the league’s worst average starting field position (their own 26.8-yard line).
QB: Is Kirk Cousins getting a hang of this system? Over the past three weeks, he’s completed 70.4% of passes when blitzed (Weeks 1-4: 46.7%).
Offense: Despite the one-sided loss to the Seahawks last week, the Falcons have improved their third down conversion rate in four straight games. In Weeks 1-3, they converted 22.2% of third downs, a rate that has improved to 46.2% since.
Defense: The Falcons (50.7%) and Panthers (55.8%) are the only teams in the league allowing points on most drives this season.
Fantasy: Drake London is starting to live up to the promise when he entered the NFL – he’s been a top 20 fantasy receiver in five of the past six weeks.
Betting: Kirk Cousins has covered five straight road games (his last three with Minnesota and his first two with Atlanta).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Team: This is Tampa Bay’s fourth home game in a six-week stretch – they go on the road for five of seven contests from Week 9-Week 16.
QB: Baker Mayfield’s fourth red zone pass of Week 7 was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey. In Weeks 1-6, he was nearly perfect inside the 20-yard line: 20-of-25 with 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Offense: The Buccaneers have scored on their opening drive in four straight games, allowing this team to play with a lead more often than not.
Defense: Tampa Bay has been outscored 44-7 in second quarters over the past two games (in the other three quarters of those games, they’ve outscored the opposition 75-24).
Fantasy: Mike Evans left Week 7 with a hamstring injury that had his status in question mid-week – he turned seven targets into 23.2 PPR fantasy points against the Falcons in their Week 5 meeting.
Betting: On short rest, Baker Mayfield is 2-3 ATS when playing on the road (5-1 ATS in such spots at home).
