The New Orleans Saints will face the Los Angeles Chargers 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 TE Taysom Hill.
Is Taysom Hill Playing in Week 8?
Taysom Hill (rib) will return Sunday for his first game action since going down in Week 5. He participated in limited practice on Wednesday but fully practiced on Thursday.
Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau have been handling TE reps in the interim. However, Johnson joined Hill as limited on Wednesday’s report due to a shoulder injury and is questionable for Week 7.
We’ll continue to monitor the Saints’ 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 Taysom Hill in Week 8?
Fantasy managers may want to get cute by playing Hill at tight end, with the thought process that he could see an extended run under center and thus prove to be something of a cheat code.
I’m not fully against the idea, but facing the seventh-best red zone defense in the league (45.5% touchdown rate) makes New Orleans’ offensive weapon a bit tougher to sell.
Hill is cleared to play (ribs), and a good fit for what projects to be a physical battle, but his opportunity count is unlikely to impress, and with an implied team total of just 17 points, I think streamers can do better.
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.
Taysom Hill’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Hill is projected to score 5.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 0.6 receptions for 10.6 yards and 0.1 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Taysom Hill’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 TE PPR Rankings
1) Travis Kelce | KC (vs. BUF)
2) Dallas Goedert | PHI (vs. WAS)
3) Dalton Kincaid | BUF (at KC)
4) Zach Ertz | WAS (at PHI)
5) Noah Gray | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Dawson Knox | BUF (at KC)
7) John Bates | WAS (at PHI)
8) Grant Calcaterra | PHI (vs. WAS)
9) Ben Sinnott | WAS (at PHI)
10) Quintin Morris | BUF (at KC)
11) Peyton Hendershot | KC (vs. BUF)
12) E.J. Jenkins | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Anthony Firkser | NYJ ()
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers Insights
New Orleans Saints
Team: The Saints have lost five straight since starting 2-0. They’re the first team since the 2015 Dallas Cowboys to lose at least five in a row after starting 2-0 (that Cowboys team fell to 2-7 after starting QB Tony Romo was injured in Week 2).
Team: The Saints have won the past 11 games played in Week 8, out-scoring opponents 361-227 (+12.2 PPG) during that run.
QB: In the first two weeks of this season, Derek Carr completed 61.5% of his deep passes with a 113.0 passer rating on such passes. His numbers since (45.4 passer rating and 35% complete) look more like Spencer Rattler than an MVP candidate.
Offense: All the passing game injuries have also killed the running game. Since Week 3, the Saints are averaging 3.1 yards per carry on running back carries, second-worst in the NFL. That includes the third-fewest yards before contact per carry (2.2).
Defense: The Saints have allowed 502 rush yards in the last two games, their most in a two-game span since 1980. For the first time since 2012, New Orleans has given up 200+ rush yards in consecutive games; the last team to allow 200+ rush yards in three straight games was the 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fantasy: Alvin Kamara has not had a 10-plus-yard carry in three straight games, and over his past four, despite having a pair of rushing touchdowns, the majority (56.9%) of his fantasy points have come as a receiver.
Betting: The Saints have seen 13 of their past 14 games played on extended rest go under the projected total (most recently, Week 5 at Chiefs, a 26-13 loss with a 43.5-point closing total).
Los Angeles Chargers
Team: The average NFL game this season has seen 44.8 points scored – not a single Chargers game has reached 40 points yet.
QB: On Monday night, Justin Herbert became the first QB since Ryan Tannehill (Week 2, 2021) to throw for 345 yards without a touchdown or interception.
Offense: JK Dobbins was the story of the first two weeks this season (27 carries for 266 yards, 9.9 yards per carry), but he has failed to average even 4.0 yards per carry in the four games since, checking in under 3.0 in three of those games.
Defense: Los Angeles allows a score on just 25% of drives this season, the lowest rate in the league and 13 percentage points better than the league average.
Fantasy: The Chargers are amongst the most run-centric offenses, and on Monday night, when they took to the air, the early passes weren’t exactly going to the players on fantasy rosters – Will Dissly and Simi Fehoko saw eight of Justin Herbert’s first 10 targets.
Betting: Seven of Justin Herbert’s last eight home starts have finished under the total, including each of the past four.