The New York Jets‘ fantasy preview evaluates the upside of their star running back, while the New York Giants‘ fantasy outlook centers around how managers should value Darren Waller as their lone roster-worthy pass catcher.
Two home teams, one game. Who should fantasy football managers target on Sunday?
New York Jets at New York Giants
- Spread: Jets -2.5
- Total: 36.5
- Jets implied points: 19.5
- Giants implied points: 17
Quarterbacks
Zach Wilson: Wilson has reached 200 passing yards just once this season and is the type of quarterback you consider benching in superflex formats for a WR4 with upside. If you’re a team in good shape and you want to get aggressive, targeting Garrett Wilson in a trade might make sense if you’re buying what Aaron Rodgers is selling.
MORE: Week 8 QB Rankings
It’s tough to know what this offense would look like under Rodgers, but with the Falcons, Texans, and Dolphins twice from Weeks 12-15, there’s a path to value if he really is progressing as speculated.
Daniel Jones: Danny Dimes has missed a pair of games as he rehabs from his neck injury. Given Tyrod Taylor’s production in the upset win over the Commanders, he might have more time to get right.
The lack of consistent playmakers outside of Saquon Barkley in this offense makes it impossible to count on the signal-caller in any capacity.
Tyrod Taylor: The Giants were held scoreless for three of four quarters last week, but Taylor was able to impress against the Commanders. He hit five different teammates for 20+ yard gains and turned his 29 pass attempts into 279 yards and a pair of scores. Sprinkle in 25 rushing yards, and he gave fantasy managers 21.7 points.
The strong showing was great to see, but the matchup with a rested Jets defense is not one I’m targeting. There are quarterbacks on your waiver wire with a better floor/ceiling combination than Taylor. If he’s still the guy come Week 9 (at Raiders, four teams on bye), we can have that conversation, but that’s not a discussion that needs to be had this week.
Running Backs
Breece Hall: Do I still have my concerns about Hall in this offense? I do, but as long as they remain competitive, his talent has a way of shining through. I expect that to be the case in this spot against one of the worst defenses in the league.
Hall, per the Week 8 Cheat Sheet, has posted consecutive top-five finishes at the position, racking up 287 total yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns in wins over the Broncos and Eagles. Over his past three games, he has five more catches than he had targets in the first three games of the season, adding a level of versatility to his profile that can make him game-script independent with time.
That’ll be more important down the road than this week, as this one should be close. Ugly, but close. With a week off and as comfortable of a road spot as you can get (rested, plus-matchup, and playing in your home stadium), there won’t be a better spot to bank on Hall for a big game the rest of the season!
Saquon Barkley: There’s no denying the risk that comes with banking on Barkley, given his reliance on the big play. But with his proven ability to rip off chunk plays (32-yard TD catch last week against the Commanders with 30 of those yards coming after the grab), he’s a lineup lock.
There’s no need to overthink things. You’re either embracing the variance and playing Barkley every week with an understanding of the risk, or you’re trading him after his 118-yard performance last week.
Wide Receivers
Garrett Wilson: Prior to the bye, Wilson posted his first top-20 week of the season — an eight-catch, 90-yard effort in the upset win over the Eagles. It was his first usable performance without a touchdown this season, an encouraging sign that maybe there is some yardage upside as this offense develops.
That’s not to say that I view him as a safe option most weeks. Under 7.0 yards per target in a low-octane offense is a tough way to make a living. But he’s a fine Flex play in a matchup like this against a defense that really struggles to generate pressure with its front four.
For this week, he has elevated from the DeAndre Hopkins tier of misery and into the Tee Higgins/Amari Cooper “I have my questions, but I’ll take my chances” tier.
Wan’Dale Robinson: The math behind Robinson holds up for PPR players who are heavy favorites and in a pinch, but the ceiling simply isn’t high enough to hold any value beyond that very specific situation.
After catching 18 balls in his first three games of the month, Robinson fell flat with a one-catch performance against Washington last week. He ranked third among Giants receivers in snaps and routes, but the two leaders (Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt) are field-stretching specialists.
MORE: Week 8 WR Rankings
Robinson’s uniqueness to this offense leads me to believe that those five-catch, 45-yard sort of performances will return.
Nobody on this offense carries much scoring equity, so Robinson’s projectable floor and ceiling really aren’t that different. Look for him to score 8-10 PPR points most weeks, and if that’s how you want to round out your roster, be my guest. He’s going to rank around Curtis Samuel most weeks, outside of my top 45, with no real upward mobility.
Darius Slayton: Right now, Slayton will be my highest-ranked Giants WR when not facing a shutdown corner. That’s just not the case this week, and he’s outside of my top 50 wide receivers.
The case for Slayton next week in Vegas is built on his upside (13.5-yard aDOT) and his role (Week 7: 83.8% of the snaps with 80.6% route participation). The floor is always going to be terrifying, but with four teams on a bye and a favorable matchup, Slayton is a reasonable stash now if you count on Broncos, Lions, 49ers, or Jaguars to fill out your skill spots.
Tight Ends
Darren Waller: He’s still a ways away from returning the production we had hoped for when we drafted Waller this summer, but with 26 targets over the past three games and his first touchdown of the season against the Commanders last week, strides are being made.
MORE: Fantasy News Tracker
In September, Waller was dangerously close to flirting with the TE streamer tier, but given his recent involvement, he’s now firmly in the Dallas Goedert tier of “I know there is a downside, but the role is far superior to the other jokers in this range.” Rolls right off the tongue.
Should You Start Garrett Wilson or Michael Thomas?
I prefer to chase upside at this point in the ranks, something that we have no proof of Michael Thomas possessing through six weeks.
If you’re looking for a floor, Thomas is the reasonable play, but assuming you’re in a competitive matchup, I’m comfortable swinging for the fences against a Giants defense that allows almost 61% of opponent yardage to come through the air.
Should You Start Darren Waller or Kyle Pitts?
Waller is one spot ahead of Kyle Pitts in my rankings. It comes primarily from his role advantage.
While I’m encouraged by some of the recent usage for Pitts, his weekly downside is greater as a result of the talent around him.
I’m worried about no one taking looks away from Waller, and at the TE position, a consistent role is enough to land you inside of my top 10.
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