Week 8 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Should You Start Jonathan Taylor, Bijan Robinson, Aaron Jones, and Others?

In many fantasy football leagues, half of the regular season is in the rearview. How crazy is that? There is no better time to take a step back and evaluate what has/hasn’t worked up to this point.

On the PFN Fantasy YouTube Channel, our daily podcast guides you through the strategic nuances (waivers, trades, etc.). Today, I’m here to help you feel confident in any and all decisions you have to make ahead of locking in your Week 8 lineup.

Bye Weeks: None

Looking to make a trade in your fantasy league? Having trouble deciding who to start and who to sit? Setting DFS lineups? Check out PFN’s Free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer, Start/Sit Optimizer, and DFS Lineup Optimizer to help you make the right decision!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills

• Spread: Bills -8.5
• Total: 42
• Buccaneers implied points: 16.8
• Bills implied points: 25.3

Quarterbacks

Baker Mayfield: After completing 69.6% of his passes through four games this season, Mayfield has connected on just 58.2% over the past two weeks, lowering his floor even further. On the plus side for his weapons, his attempts per game over that stretch have risen to 39.5 (up from 31.3 through four games). Mayfield is the rare “has three viable pieces around him but holds no value of his own” fantasy QB.

There’s no real appeal here unless you have a star QB who has a Week 10 bye (Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, or Tua Tagovailoa), a week in which the Bucs host the pass-funnel Titans. If that is the situation (three games this season with a 40-yard completion and over 15 rushing yards), you can wait to address it until this time next week at the earliest.

Josh Allen: The 2023 version of Allen is an interesting one that is walking on ice to some degree in terms of his fantasy stock. Let’s first look at the good:

Multiple TD passes in four straight
Rush TD in four of his past five games
Completing a career-high 70.7% of his passes

On paper, those are great facts to have in your corner. But is the bottom closer to falling out than in years past?

Scoring on 13.8% of carries (career prior: 7%)
Under 20 rushing yards in four straight (matches career-high)
Career-low 10.6 yards per completion

I’m not here to suggest that Allen (6.1 yards per attempt over his past two games, down from 8.0 this season prior) is going to fall outside the top 10 or anything like that. But in terms of sustainable production, he’s trending out of Tier 1 at the position, and that’s a letdown, given the draft capital you spent on him this summer.

The Bills still have their bye to come, a five-week stretch that includes games against Jets, Eagles, Chiefs, and Cowboys. My rest-of-season QB tiers:

Tier 1: Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts
Tier 2: Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Justin Herbert
Tier 3: Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, and Brock Purdy

Running Backs

Rachaad White: Proof that “exciting” and “fantasy asset” are not mutually inclusive terms. White doesn’t have a carry gaining more than 13 yards this season (83 attempts) and hasn’t scored in over a month. Yet, he is coming off his third top-20 finish of the season and has at least 17 touches in five of six games.

With at least three catches in five straight games, White has been able to overcome averaging under 4.0 yards per carry in five of six games this season. White is like eating your vegetables as a kid – you don’t have to enjoy doing it, but you understand that it is good for your weekly outlook.

For the sixth time in seven games this season, White checks in as a viable RB2 for me due to his role and versatility more than his talent level.

James Cook: I have Cook ranked one spot behind White in the RB2 hierarchy this week without any teams on a bye. I think he’s a better player than White, but that doesn’t make him the better play. The run defense of Tampa Bay is their strength, and with Cook failing to reach 15 carries in all four games this month, the projectable floor is worrisome.

Last week in New England, Cook hauled in his first touchdown reception of the season and has four games with at least three catches this year. When involved in the passing game, Cook’s lack of work inside the red zone can be overlooked, but his production as a pass catcher is hit-and-miss. I’m playing Cook this week, though I’m doing so without the expectation of him winning me my matchup.

Latavius Murray: While Murray is the backup to Cook, this offense isn’t built to involve multiple running backs. For that matter, the RB1 in this offense isn’t a lock to see elite usage, and that means that even if Murray were to be called upon due to an injury, his rank would depend on the specific matchup.

Some backfields require the backup to be rostered (think San Francisco or Detroit, for example), while others (think either New York or Los Angeles teams) don’t. The Bills are in the latter group.

Wide Receivers

Mike Evans: Evans was injured in Week 4 and potentially recovering in Week 6 (after the Week 5 bye) — outside of those two games, he has scored in every game this season and is averaging 16.5 yards per catch.

A healthy Evans is a productive Evans in this Baker Mayfield-led offense, and his early 40-yard touchdown against the Falcons last week was the continuation of this match made in heaven. Against a banged-up Bills defense, there’s no reason to hesitate on Evans.

Chris Godwin: The veteran is trending in the right direction and is a fine buy option, given that he has yet to truly overwhelm a fantasy box score due to his 10-game touchdown drought (78 targets over that stretch).

In October, Godwin is vacuuming in 27.8% of the targets, clearing 65 yards in all three of those games, something he didn’t do a single time in September. He is a low-end WR2 for me who ranks in the same tier as another WR2 on his own team, Jakobi Meyers, and low-end top receivers like Terry McLaurin and Nico Collins.

Stefon Diggs: There aren’t many players in fantasy with a higher floor than Diggs (over 14.5 fantasy points in six of seven games), and that elevates him to the top tier at the position. He’s not always on the highlight shows, but he is pacing for 134 catches, 1,647 yards, and 14 touchdowns – numbers that would all be career highs.

Diggs has missed just one game in his Bills career, a level of durability that puts him on the shortlist as fantasy’s most valuable player since being moved from Minnesota.

Gabe Davis: I mentioned the recent Allen struggles through the air, and that takes food off Davis’ plate in a major way. Over the past two weeks, Davis has turned his nine targets into just 27 yards and a pair of fantasy finishes outside of the top 80. A run like this isn’t new for the home-run-hitting stylings of a player like this, but coming on the heels of a career-best four-game touchdown streak is a massive letdown.

Davis has failed to catch more than three passes in five of seven games this season, and that lands him outside of my top 36 in this favorable matchup. There are some players you need to ignore rankings for, and Daivs is one of them. Analysts rank to the mean, but the mean rarely hits with Davis: three finishes outside of the top 65 this season and three top-20 weeks.

Tight Ends

Dalton Kincaid: Four days after celebrating his 24th birthday, Kincaid set career highs across the board in New England by catching all eight of his targets for 75 yards. I’m cautiously optimistic that in this offense that wants nothing to do with a WR3, Kincaid can emerge as a weekly play.

I have him penciled in as TE12 this week, understanding that the scoring equity is low due to the functionality of this offense (not to mention that Dawson Knox had a touchdown taken off the board last week due to offensive pass interference).

Proceed with caution (Weeks 1-6: 23.6 receiving yards per game), though the pedigree is there in an offense that could desperately use a reliable secondary pass catcher.

Los Angeles Rams at Dallas Cowboys

• Spread: Cowboys -6.5
• Total: 45
• Rams implied points: 19.3
• Cowboys implied points: 25.8

Quarterbacks

Matthew Stafford: Given the excitement around Puka Nacua and the return of Cooper Kupp, it’s easy not to be aware that Stafford has one – count’em: one – game with multiple touchdown passes this season. And that’s not even the oddest Stafford split:

Weeks 1-4 (without Kupp): 307.3 passing yards per game
Weeks 5-7 (with Kupp): 226.3

Other than lacking yardage through the air, touchdown equity, or rushing upside, Stafford is a viable fantasy option. He’s easily outside of my top 15 QBs this week and joins Mayfield in that “two viable pass catchers, no personal value” tier at the position.

Dak Prescott: Recency bias is a helluva drug. The last time we saw Prescott was on prime time (Week 6: MNF at LAC), and he showed out. He was fantasy’s top quarterback for the week with 272 passing yards and a touchdown on top of 10 fantasy points scored with his legs. He played a great game and got Dallas the win.

That doesn’t matter this week. The Rams are an above-average defense in preventing yards through the air, and the rushing production isn’t something near sustainable – Prescott had 4.5 points on the ground through five weeks to open this season.

Week 6 was Prescott’s first top-15 finishes of the season, and I think you’d be lucky if he made it back-to-back performances at that level.

Running Backs

Kyren Williams: Last weekend, Williams (ankle) was placed on injured reserve and will thus be out for the next three games (four weeks due to the Week 10 bye). That means he can return to action in Week 12 against the Cardinals and hopefully round into form for the fantasy playoffs.

For forward-thinking managers, the Rams do get the Giants on extended rest during the fantasy Super Bowl (Week 17). If Williams’ manager is in win-now mode and interested in selling off Los Angeles’ bell cow, you’d be well served to listen.

Darrell Henderson: Last weekend, the Rams activated Henderson and elected to feature him (39-29 snap edge over Royce Freeman) in his 2023 debut. With little heads up that he would be dressed, let alone relied upon, Henderson was given 20 opportunities (rush attempts plus targets) against the Steelers. He rewarded bold fantasy managers with a RB15 finish.

Of course, this matchup is a little bit tougher. Instead of getting the sixth-worst per-carry run defense, this week, Henderson faces a rested Cowboys defense that has missed the second-fewest tackles per game this season.

Expecting a repeat performance (66 yards and a touchdown) is a bit optimistic, but he does profile as the lead in this backfield. That means 15-18 touches, a role that is good enough to land him as a solid Flex play in my Week 8 rankings.

Royce Freeman: It was Freeman, not Henderson, who led this team in rushing last week, and he looked good in the process. He picked up at least four yards on eight of his 12 carries and was on the field for Los Angeles’ final drive as they tried to level the score.

Henderson started last week and with a hefty workload. I have a hard time thinking that isn’t the case this week as well. Freeman’s secondary role isn’t one I am targeting in this matchup (outside of my top 35 at the position), but he very much deserves to remain rostered. He could emerge as a viable option next week against the Packers when bye weeks kick back in.

Zach Evans: Zip. Zero. Evans wasn’t on the field for an offensive snap in Week 7, a week that started with him profiling as the starter. Life comes at you fast.

There’s no reason to keep Evans rostered in fantasy leagues. Given the hoops they went through to beef up their backfield last week, I’m not sure why the Rams roster him.

Tony Pollard: Dallas’ bell cow has been disappointing of late; there’s just no two ways about it. He doesn’t have a top-10 finish since his RB5 finish in Week 1 against the Giants. Forget a top-10 performance; he hasn’t found the end zone since that game.

He saved you in Week 6 with a late 60-yard reception, and his pace for 71 receptions is impressive, but being under 4.0 yards per carry is a problem. We expected explosive plays on a regular basis this season, but he hasn’t had a run gain more than 16 yards in October.

On the plus side, he has accounted for 76.6% of Dallas’ RB touches. He’s run into a stacked back on 17.7% of his carries, and that’s proven to be a tough way to make a living. His role and single-play upside keep him in the must-start territory, and the hope is that with Prescott trending up, defenses will change how they approach this offense.

I remain in on Pollard and would very much look to acquire his services now that we are past the bye.

Wide Receivers

Cooper Kupp: The Game 3 blues? After consecutive 15+ point games to open his season, Kupp fell flat last week with as many drops as catches on his way to a disappointing 3.4-point performance. In his third game last season, after a pair of 25+ point contests, Kupp gave you just 6.4 points against the Cardinals.

MORE: Cooper Kupp’s Fantasy Value

Nobody is perfect. After that dud last season, Kupp cleared 19 points in each of his next two games, one of which was against Dallas (seven catches for 125 yards and a touchdown). Nothing has changed over the past week for me — Kupp is a top-five fantasy receiver who should be counted on with the utmost confidence.

Puka Nacua: Last week was just another jaw-dropping performance from the rookie. Frankly, it has become the status quo. His eight-catch, 154-yard performance against Pittsburgh included a catch-of-the-year candidate and continued excellence in terms of earning targets. He leads the league in route wins through Week 7.

He has cleared 115 receiving yards in the majority of games and finds new ways to impress on a weekly basis. In a year where standout WR2s are having their fair share of problems (Tee Higgins, DeVonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle come to mind), Nacua seems to be inevitable.

I understand that Kupp had a down week and that Nacua was held in check the week prior, but this duo is shaping up to be the one fantasy managers can most count on – both are top-15 plays for me this week. I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Tutu Atwell: He gets credit for the 31-yard TD last week, but are we sure that was even intended for him? He ranked fourth on this team in route participation last week (65.6%) and has just four catches (eight targets) in the three games since Kupp returned.

I’m not sure he needs to remain rostered, but with three scores in his past five games, my guess is that your league mates will think higher of him than I do. If you can pair Atwell with another player for a minor upgrade, I would.

Could you pull off Atwell and Adam Thielen for an underachieving star like Chris Olave? Maybe Atwell and Alvin Kamara could land you Tony Pollard? I’d consider testing the waters – he’s not going to rank inside of my top 45 for the foreseeable future.

CeeDee Lamb: He checks all the spreadsheet boxes. The route win rate. The ability to separate. Take avoidance. All of it. And yet, he doesn’t have a weekly finish better than WR10 this season and has as many finishes outside of the top 30 as he does inside the top 20.

With more catches than any teammate has catches and more 20+ yard receptions than all other Cowboys combined, his alpha role isn’t in question. A.J. Brown and Ja’Marr Chase are similarly dominant receivers – they both cleared 125 yards when up against these Rams.

Lamb is a WR1 for me this week, and I remain bullish on him. The Cowboys are going to have to score in bunches during the fantasy postseason, and Lamb holds the key to them being able to do that.

Week 14 vs. Eagles
Week 15 at Bills
Week 16 at Dolphins
Week 17 vs. Lions

Brandin Cooks: He scored prior to the bye, and that resulted in easily his best performance of the season (WR19 – his first top-60 finish of the season). If you want to stash him and speculate that he is the clear-cut WR2 in this offense, fine. But you’re not starting him this week, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Michael Gallup: His 10 targets in the Week 6 win was encouraging. Or maybe it was discouraging. It took 10 looks for him to score 3.9 fantasy points, and that’s … inefficient. He has seen 28 targets over his past four games, but until he does something, those looks are empty calories.

He’s a slight underdog if you’re betting on who will be the WR2 in Dallas moving forward, and, to be honest, I’m not at all confident that winning that competition would result in consistent fantasy value.

Tight Ends

Tyler Higbee: Five catches for 45 yards.

No, that’s not the stat line from Higbee last week. That’s his total production since Kupp returned. Total. He has more name recognition than the names next to him on your waiver wire, but until name recognition puts fantasy points on the scoreboard, I’m not all that interested.

You can do much better than Higbee this week and moving forward – I don’t care how deep your league is.

Jake Ferguson: I was as guilty as anyone in boosting Ferguson up the ranks after an encouraging first four games this season (25 targets and a touchdown). I clearly forgot that it is illegal for non-elite tight ends to string productive outings together; that’s on me.

In his past two games, Fergalicious has totaled four catches and 43 yards. Such is life at the TE position. I still have him ranked at the top of the streamer tier, but if Gallup/Cooks are going to develop into legitimate threats, Ferguson could well fade off our radar before Halloween.

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

• Spread: Vikings -1
• Total: 43.5
• Vikings implied points: 22.3
• Packers implied points: 21.3

Quarterbacks

Kirk Cousins: I’d say that completing 35 of 45 passes for 378 yards and a pair of touchdowns against arguably the best team in the NFL is a good way to put those “Cousins can’t produce in prime time” narratives to rest. Captain Kirk posted his fifth top-10 finish on Monday night, this one being the most impressive considering the opponent and the absence of Justin Jefferson.

It should be noted that he had a pass to Jordan Addison that should have been intercepted but was instead turned into a 60-yard touchdown (12-point swing for fantasy managers) — sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, but luck isn’t sustainable.

The lack of rushing upside puts a fantasy cap on Cousins. But with at least 44 pass attempts in five of seven games, the floor puts him into the starter conversation, even without any teams on bye and his recent struggles at Lambeau (55.8 completion percentage with three TDs and five INTs over his past three trips).

Cousins is my QB11 for Week 8, ranking ahead of Joe Burrow.

Jordan Love: I mentioned the poor pass that resulted in a 12-point swing for Cousins’ managers last week. Love’s managers fell into 4.2 more points than they should have had, as he missed WR Romeo Doubs by so much on an end zone target that the pass glanced off of him and into WR Jayden Reed’s hands for a score.

Love is now walking on thin ice. Yes, he has been a top-12 quarterback in four of six weeks, but he’s yet to hit 260 yards through the air. Plus, a 57.5% completion percentage doesn’t point to much hope in the way of consistent production through the air. With over 20 rushing yards in four of his past five, he’s been able to patchwork his way to production, and that should continue in this favorable spot, but I’m nervous long term.

He’s my QB14 for the week and is checking in just behind Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow in a tough matchup.

Running Backs

Alexander Mattison: The bottom fell out last week against the San Francisco 49ers as the Vikings took to the air. That resulted in just 10 touches for Mattison (42 yards, 5.2 fantasy points). Prior to that dud, he had been a top-25 performer at the position in four straight games – thanks largely to volume (18-plus touches in three of four games entering Week 7).

RB Cam Akers out-carried him 10-8, despite playing 10 fewer snaps, and the broadcast was dropping hints that this backfield could be swinging in favor of the former Ram sooner than later. I still have Mattison ranked as the lead RB in Minnesota, but he is more of a Flex option this week – down from the RB2 status he has held for the past month.

Cam Akers: In his best game with the Vikings, Akers racked up 61 yards on 12 touches in a backfield that looked like a committee for the first time this season. His work on the ground was underwhelming (31 yards on 10 carries — 13 came on a single play), but a 30-yard reception helped salvage the stat line.

We joked about it when the Vikings acquired him, and we may have been right. Could another late-season Akers peak happen? He was a league-winner down the stretch last season with 100+ total yards in four straight to finish his season, and things line up nicely for him over the final seven weeks of this fantasy season.

He has matchups with the Broncos, Bears, Raiders, Bengals, Lions, and the Packers.

If Akers is, for some reason, still available in your league, open up a new tab and make that add. I’m approaching Week 8 with caution, but if his usage takes another step forward in Lambeau, he could be on the Flex radar before Thanksgiving.

Aaron Jones: Coming out of the bye, Jones remained limited against the Broncos as the Packers continue to take the cautious approach with this hamstring injury. He was productive on his 11 touches (57 yards), signaling that he’s ready for more work.

Considering that AJ Dillon (3.2 ypc) has done little this season to earn a significant role, I have Jones ranked as the RB in town to play as he checks in as a low-end RB2. His 19 carries against these Vikings picked up 160 yards in 2022, and with Love struggling after a hot start, stability in the run game is something the Packers are searching for.

AJ Dillon: With Jones still limited, Dillon was able to take advantage of a plus-matchup last weekend (95 yards on 17 touches). He ran hard and looked about as good as he has at any point this season. Yet, it would seem that his usage is more dependent on Jones’ health than anything he does on the field.

The RB position gets thin in a hurry, so if you’re in a tough spot this week, Dillon is a reasonable low-end Flex play that carries some scoring equity. His touch count is a moving target, but given how slowly the team is ramping up Jones, it would seem that a 10-12 touch floor makes sense.

Wide Receivers

Jordan Addison: The rookie receiver took a contested catch 60 yards to the house on Monday night against the 49ers, and he has scored in five of his first seven games. For some perspective, Los Angeles Rams QR Cooper Kupp and NFL great Calvin Johnson scored in four games as a rookie, while Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson scored in five games in his first year.

The long touchdown was great to see, but I was more encouraged by Cousins looking his way from the jump last week. He seems to have established himself as the preferred option to K.J. Osborn, a role that makes him a viable fantasy option — even if/when Jefferson comes off of IR.

K.J. Osborn: Osborn is on the field all the time, and that’s going to be enough to keep him on the outskirts of Flex consideration with Jefferson on the shelf, but it is becoming clear that Addison is the preferred option for the splash plays, while Osborn is more an “if-needed, take your medicine” type of option.

I don’t have anything against that role in the scope of fantasy as a whole, but on a team that already has TE T.J. Hockenson doing that, Osborn’s floor/ceiling combination isn’t going to pass the smell test entering most weeks.

He’s on the field plenty with limited upside and will be ranked next to similar players (Curtis Samuel and Wan’Dale Robinson types) moving forward. This week, that’s a few spots outside of my top 40 at the position.

Christian Watson: A knee injury took Watson out of last week’s loss at the very end, but it was an underwhelming three-for-27 performance from the burner. Even with the injury, he was on the field for 87.5% of Green Bay’s offensive snaps, but he’s been unable to get on the same page as Love (50% catch rate with 53.8% of his receiving yardage this season coming on a single catch).

This remains a plus matchup, despite what the Vikings were able to do against the 49ers on Monday night. But I need to see signs of life before betting on Watson. Assuming the knee injury doesn’t hold him out, he’s ranking as a low-end Flex alongside other WR1s in tough offensive spots like Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore and Atlanta Falcons WR Drake London.

Romeo Doubs: The touchdown Doubs scored last week was positive proof of the upside that resides in Doubs as he wrestled the ball away from one of the best corners walking planet Earth in Denver Bronco Patrick Surtain.

What he lacks is something a lot of young receivers lack — especially ones with an inexperienced QB — and that’s the ability to earn looks consistently. His target count by two game increments this season included eight targets in Weeks 1-2, 25 in Weeks 3-4, and nine targets in Weeks 5-6.

See what I mean? I don’t think the swings are going to change anytime soon, but a banged-up Christian Watson could put Doubs in position to take advantage of a favorable schedule over the next month. With or without Watson, Doubs isn’t going to crack my top 35 this week, and I’d be looking elsewhere for Flex help.

Jayden Reed: The rookie has struggled to gain much traction over the past two weeks, as this offense has sputtered (28 yards on six targets, total), but he did manage to haul in an off-target pass to Doubs last week for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

On the bright side, he was able to earn targets when given the opportunity last week. He tallied a 22.2% target share, while Watson earned a 16.7%, and Doubs earned a 14.8% share.

There have been enough sparks from Reed this season to have my interest piqued long-term, and should Watson sit, my interest in him for DFS lineups increases. But he’s a stash in deep leagues at best and not in the fantasy starter conversation.

Tight Ends

T.J. Hockenson: Hockenson was a chain-moving machine in the upset win over the 49ers, and that role is going exactly nowhere. Addison has established himself as a viable deep threat, and with that threat in the mind of defenses, Hockenson’s high volume/short yardage role is something you can bank on (pace: 114 catches and 143 targets).

In the last two weeks, without Jefferson, Hockenson earned a 27.4% target share. The first five weeks with Jefferson, he had just a 19.6% target share.

Luke Musgrave: There are eight tight ends I feel good about weekly and then a group of five that I order differently on a weekly basis to make up my streaming tier. Musgrave is firmly in the latter, thanks to a 78.6% catch rate and a solid role in an offense built around receivers who challenge defenses down the field.

The rookie has yet to clear 50 yards in a game this season, and that’s obviously not ideal. That said, given the struggles of Jordan Love and this Packers offense as a whole (30 points over their past two games against the Raiders and Broncos), I expect more high-percentage targets in the coming weeks.

The overall stat line is unimpressive at the moment, but I expect better days to come. Musgrave checks in as my TE12 this week.

Atlanta Falcons at Tennessee Titans

• Spread: Falcons -2.5
• Total: 36.5
• Falcons implied points: 19.5
• Titans implied points: 17

Quarterbacks

Desmond Ridder: Is he playing better than he did in September? Without a doubt. Does it matter for us? Nope.

Ridder has more games with zero touchdown passes (two) than he does multi-TD efforts (one). He also has more multi-INT games than multi-TD games.

The profile isn’t that of someone who matters for standard leagues, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a time and place to roll him out there. With the Falcons scheming up some valuable rushing attempts and his aDOT up 17.5% over the past three weeks, Ridder is a viable QB2 in this friendly matchup.

Will Levis: Will I be watching the second-round pick to see how comfortable he is in his first NFL action for my dynasty leagues? You bet. But the excitement ends there.

MORE: Is Will Levis Worth a Pick Up Off the Waiver Wire in Week 8?

We’re looking at a QB with a sub-2.0 touchdown-to-interception ratio in college who is starting for an offense that ranks 27th in the percentage of yards gained through the air. Fantasy managers and Levis will be treating this week — and this season, for that matter — in the same fashion as a learning experience.

Running Backs

Bijan Robinson: I understand that you were burned by Robinson last week, and I feel for you – I really do. But there was nothing you could do about that last week, and there’s no need to compound an unfortunate situation by benching this star a week later.

Robinson is an RB1 for me this week and, without a doubt, the remainder of the season. He caught at least four passes in five of six games prior to the Week 7 mess, averaging over five yards per carry in the process. Don’t get cute.

Tyler Allgeier: The second-year back racked up 75 yards on 15 carries in the season opener, but since then, he’s only recorded 226 yards on 81 carries (2.8 yards per carry with no rush gaining more than 12 yards).

Allgeier deserves to be rostered for his consistent work and potential of Robinson’s illness lingering, but the per-touch upside keeps him outside of my top 35 this week and for the rest of the season.

Derrick Henry: The final stat line in Week 6 against the tough Ravens defense looks fine (113 yards and a touchdown on 14 touches), but 63 of those yards came on a wildcat fake pitch play. Was it a thing of beauty? It was. Is it the type of play that is repeatable? Not a chance.

It’s been a struggle to find running room for Henry this season, and Tyjae Spears is clearly not going away (handled the first carry of the second half and produced a 48-yard catch late in the Week 6 loss). Henry doesn’t have a game with 20 receiving yards since Week 1, and while you’re still starting him, he’s no longer the top-10 lock he was in August.

Tyjae Spears: While the snaps share is there, and we’ve seen proof of ability (19+ yard touch in three straight games), he’s simply not involved enough to elevate to the Flex radar. You could do worse in a pinch — he’s been a top-35 RB in four of his past five — but the floor is greater than the ceiling. In fact, he finished better than RB28 in only one of those four games mentioned.

I don’t build dynasty rosters around running backs, but Spears is a nice piece for teams with an eye on the future with Henry’s contract up after this season.

Wide Receivers

Drake London: Don’t look now, but London is starting to check some boxes, despite playing for an offense that isn’t built in a way for him to thrive. In the win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, he saw an end zone target, was tackled on the 1-yard line later, and caught 6+ passes for a third consecutive week (first four weeks: 2.8 catches per game).

In this game against a pass-funnel defense, London reappears in my top 30 at the position, owning favorable usage trends to bigger names like Jacksonville Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley and Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins.

No pass catcher in Arthur Smith’s world is going to ever see the word “safe” in his profile, but London is a worthwhile Flex option this week. That should be the case until we hit Thanksgiving, at the very least. He’ll have matchups against the Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals.

DeAndre Hopkins: How much interest would you have in starting a receiver pacing for 802 yards and 65 catches who plays for a bottom-10 offense? Basically, none, right? You can find those four catches for 50 yards on the wire with relative ease and probably with more scoring equity in most cases.

That’s Hopkins if you remove the outlier Week 5 game against the Colts (his only finish better than WR40 since the first week of the season). He could be in a shadow situation (A.J. Terrell) this weekend with no signs of this offense putting him in position to succeed. With no teams on a bye, I have a hard time thinking you can’t do better than Nuk.

Treylon Burks: The 23-year-old has yet to play in October due to a nagging hamstring injury, but he is at least said to be trending in the right direction. Could you justify stashing him in a deeper league? Sure, but he’s not a must-roster at this point, and I’d be very surprised if he approaches my top 40 at any point in 2023.

Tight Ends

Kyle Pitts: It tells you all you need to know about the TE position when I can say something like “has cleared 40 yards in five of seven games” as a positive. He got there almost solely because of a single catch (39 yards – his longest since January of 2021) and that is the sort of upside we are targeting at a position that features a low floor for just about everyone.

When it comes to usage, Pitts ran a route on 61.8% of his Week 7 routes, while fellow TE Jonnu Smith ran a route 50% of the time. In a favorable matchup, he’s back inside of my top 10 at the position. What could possibly go wrong?

Jonnu Smith: The veteran TE saw a season-low three targets last week, despite holding a two-snap edge on Pitts, and that’s concerning. While I don’t doubt that he remains on the field with consistency, I’m worried about the downward-trending yardage totals (95-67-36-27 over his past four games) in an offense that doesn’t offer much scoring equity.

Smith isn’t a top-15 option for me this week. I’d rather roll the dice on youth (Jake Ferguson or Michael Mayer) or raw upside (Taysom Hill).

New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts

• Spread: Colts -1.5
• Total: 43.5
• Saints implied points: 21
• Colts implied points: 22.5

Quarterbacks

Derek Carr: It’s true that Carr has cleared 300 passing yards in consecutive games — 654 passing yards; 641 yards previous four games — but with just two touchdown tosses on 105 attempts in those games, fantasy managers have hardly noticed.

He’s not pushing down the field, and without much upside on a per-pass basis, there’s no path for him to matter in 1QB formats.

Gardner Minshew: The Mighty Mustache threw for 305 yards and a pair of 50+ yard touchdowns while running in two more in an elite fantasy performance against the best defense in the league. As impressive as last week was, considering it sustainable is a bit optimistic for my liking.

Week 7: 13.3 yards per attempt, 8.7% TD rate
First two starts: 5.6 yards per attempt, 2.0% TD rate

Minshew faces a Saints team that prefers to sit back in coverage and rely on their sure-handed tackling. That sort of defensive game plan trends Minshew closer to his first two starts than his sparkling Week 7 — landing him as a fringe top-15 QB for me this week.

Minshew’s a viable streamer due to the QBs in that tier being faced with tough matchups, but he’s not a priority plug-and-play by any means.

Running Backs

Alvin Kamara: He was a part of the team in 2019 that saw Michael Thomas haul in an NFL record 149 passes. If you gave Kamara 17 games at his current pace – 148.8 – he’d threaten that number!

He’s averaging 26 touches per game, and no fantasy manager cares that he only has one score this season because the catches are more than covering up for that flaw. Carr doesn’t appear healthy (and if he is healthy, he’s not confident). Until that changes, Kamara’s weekly floor is as high as just about anyone this side of Christian McCaffrey.

I do worry that the lack of touchdowns isn’t going to change with Jamaal Williams active. That means that if the volume dries up, there will be some floor concerns. We can address that if/when the time comes – for right now, he’s a safe RB1 who can’t be scripted out of the game.

Jamaal Williams: In his return from IR, Williams was on the field for just 22.2% of New Orleans’ snaps Thursday night against the Jaguars. He saw five carries for 14 yards in that contest and obviously doesn’t need to be considered for fantasy starting lineups.

That said, there’s a path for him to matter if he can trend closer to a 50% snap share. This is a backfield I’d keep an eye on – the heavy usage for Kamara probably isn’t sustainable, and we know that Williams carries the goal line responsibilities when he is right.

If possible, I’d keep Williams rostered prior to the Week 11 bye in hopes of his role being expanded.

Jonathan Taylor: He and Moss split 70 snaps right down the middle, and that fact might result in the trade window remaining cracked open. Pounce if you can. Dates with the Falcons and Texans loom in the final two weeks of the fantasy season, and I think there’s a good chance JT is a top-five producer when we get to that point — a price you don’t have to pay right now.

On the third drive last week, Taylor had a 19-yard reception and a five-yard gain courtesy of a direct snap. The Colts are finding ways to get him involved, and with 23 touches last week, it’s clear that there are no physical limitations.

Taylor’s a borderline RB1 for me this week and certainly ranks as such for the remainder of the season.

Zack Moss: I mentioned the snap count last week against the Browns, and that’s enough to keep Moss on the low-end Flex radar for me. But if I’m going to be elevating Taylor, that usage has to come at the expense of someone.

In Week 7, he handled the second drive of the game, an indicator that the Colts plan to keep him involved…for now.

That drive was three straight Moss dives and a punt. Not ideal, but it’s worth noting that he was the RB on the field for Minshew’s RPO 17-yard touchdown run. That was a high-leverage situation.

I’ve got Moss ranked ahead of secondary backs like Jaylen Warren, AJ Dillon, and Tyler Allgeier this week but behind some underwhelming RB1s like Gus Edwards and Alexander Mattison.

Wide Receivers

Chris Olave: A big-play threat like Olave isn’t supposed to have a higher target count (15) than the yardage of his longest reception (14). Yet, that’s what happened against Jacksonville on Thursday night in an endlessly frustrating performance.

Still, I’d trust the volume and talent. You can’t ask for much more than 10+ targets in five of seven games. Did I lower him in my ranks? Yes. Was it enough to put him anywhere near the decision line? Nope.

He has the edge in skill and opportunity over those who surround him in the WR2 tier of my ranks, giving him the greatest floor/ceiling combination.

Michael Thomas: The slot receiver saw some downfield looks and reeled in a highlight touchdown against the Jaguars. It’s growth you love to see, but his output was pretty similar to what we’ve come to expect.

He’s produced 42-65 receiving yards on 6-9 targets in all seven weeks this season, production that makes him more of a bye week Flex-filler than someone I’m actively looking to start on a regular basis.

He’s unlikely to be the reason you lose, but without much upside, Thomas is only a viable Flex option if your team is a heavy favorite.

Rashid Shaheed: For the first time this season, Shaheed has seen 6+ targets in consecutive games. Given his skill set, that’s all I need to see if I’m considering rolling the dice in an underdog situation.

For his career, Shaheed has averaged 17.0 yards per catch. If there’s a place to play him, it would be on an extended week, indoors, and against a defense that doesn’t blitz much. All of those boxes are checked this week. Assuming this offensive line can hold up better than last week, Shaheed is in a spot to potentially pay off in a big way.

MORE: Katz’s Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Picks for Week 8

I’m not doing anything crazy like labeling him the WR1 in New Orleans, but if you’re chasing upside, I could see him being the second-most useful receiver in this game. After factoring in the downside, Shaheed checks in as a strong Flex in my ranks, highest among the PFN staff.

Michael Pittman Jr.: With consecutive top-12 finishes, it’s clear that Pittman’s ceiling is higher in a Minshew-led offense than it was with Anthony Richardson. It’s worth noting that a 75-yard TD made a complete flop week into a valuable performance (one catch for eight yards on four targets for the rest of the game), but good players make plays, and Pittman did just that against the Browns.

He also dropped a potential 15-yard TD in the fourth quarter, a play that he finishes more often than not despite a less-than-perfect pass. The combination (most weeks) of a high target count and low aDOT elevates Pittman’s floor, even if Marshon Lattimore is used as something of a shadow in this spot.

Pittman is my WR25 this week, ranking ahead of emerging stars like Jordan Addison and Rashee Rice.

Josh Downs: The 22-year-old has scored (59-yard TD last week on a free play) in consecutive weeks with Minshew opening up this offense and has hauled in 18 of 23 targets during October. Downs was Minshew’s target on his first pass against the Browns — not a surprise given the comfort he feels with the former UNC WR (over 25% of his targets have gone that direction).

It’s tough to elevate Downs into the top 30 given the depth at the position, but I do have him in the same Flex tier as both big-play receivers in the Jags/Steelers game.

Tight Ends

Taysom Hill: Like it or not, Hill has become a viable threat every week at the tight end position. He punched in a short score last week against the Jags on a direct snap, has 13 targets over the past two weeks, and is averaging over four carries per game.

If he was labeled as a WR, I wouldn’t really care about his unique usage, but as a TE, every touch elevates Hill up the tears at the toughest position to fill in fantasy sports (and yes, I spelled “tiers” wrong intentionally).

Hill serves no purpose to you if your roster is blessed with an elite producer at the TE position. He’s not a special Flex option, but if you’re in the streaming business, he’s an unquestioned target.

Could the well run dry? Of course, it could. And I believe it will with time.

This offense as a whole is going to get healthy with time, and when that is the case, Hill’s role is the one that gets squeezed. Instead of cute designed Hill keepers, Williams is plowing forward. Instead of a bubble screen to Hill on second and short, Carr is looking to stretch the field.

You get the idea. But for right now, Hill is a fine answer to the question that we all hate to ask: What am I doing at the TE position this week?

Juwan Johnson: All reports are pointing toward a Week 8 return after a pre-game hamstring injury cost Johnson four games. How close he is to full strength is a question without an answer at this point, so I’m operating as if he will be a complement to Hill as opposed to a challenger this week.

I do believe this offense has the space for a tight end to see a handful of targets on a consistent basis, making this situation one to monitor.

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

• Spread: Dolphins -9.5
• Total: 47
• Patriots implied points: 19
• Dolphins implied points: 28.5

Quarterbacks

Tua Tagovailoa: It might surprise you that Tagovailoa has more finishes as QB12 or worse than he does QB11 or better this season, but I promise you that’s a fact. To blame is his limited volume through the air with no projectable production on the ground.

Tua hasn’t thrown more than 35 passes in a game since Week 1. He’s currently averaging 30.7 attempts per game over that stretch.

Of course, not all volume is created equal. The playmakers at Tagovailoa’s disposal elevate the potential of every completion, and with a 71.2% completion percentage this season, he has proven he’s plenty capable of effectively getting the ball in the hands of his elite talent.

You’re starting Tagovailoa every single week, but I wouldn’t be opposed to moving on from him following his next big performance. In Weeks 15-17, he’s taking on the Jets, Cowboys, and the Ravens.

Running Backs

Rhamondre Stevenson: We are at 87 carries and counting this season for Stevenson without an attempt gaining more than 15 yards. A lack of splash-play potential keeps him out of my top 20 running backs on a weekly basis.

My efficiency concerns matter a little less this week than most due to the projected game script. He has 11 catches over the past two weeks and held a 20-4 edge in routes run over Ezekiel Elliott against the Buffalo Bills last week — a role that makes him a fine Flex option for me this week.

If Stevenson produces above my expectations and gives you a third-straight top-20 finish, I’d be looking to cash in this chip.

Ezekiel Elliott: Stevenson held a near 2:1 snap edge over the former Cowboy last week, resulting in a fourth-straight game under 35 rushing yards. Elliott has scored in consecutive games, but I’m not comfortable betting on touchdown-dependent options who play on a terrible offense. Call me crazy.

If you want to hold “‘Zeke” until the Week 11 bye, understanding that, over Weeks 9 and 10, eight teams go on bye, I won’t knock you. But I would be surprised if he’s a player you need to be concerned with through the off week.

Raheem Mostert: We’re starting to see some of the cracks in the Mostert profile, and that is why I’d be looking to sell him before fellow RB De’Von Achane returns from IR (two more DNPs at the minimum). In the meantime, he’s a perfectly viable RB2, thanks to a 20-plus-yard touch in each of his past six games.

Mostert has scored in all five wins this season and has failed to score in the two losses. While I am interested in moving on from him if I can get value, this isn’t a simple “sell to the highest bidder” situation. He’s going to remain involved in this high-powered offense when Achane returns — just don’t settle for anything less than top-15 RB value.

Jeff Wilson Jr.: In his season debut, Wilson played seven snaps and ran a route on all seven of them. His checkered health history with two superior backs ahead of him long term makes him nothing more than roster depth in deeper formats. Wilson getting to a 10-touch role by the end of the season feels like an overly optimistic projection.

If you want to hold him until Achane returns, I’m fine with it, but Wilson’s nowhere near starting lineups right now.

Wide Receivers

Tyreek Hill: After averaging an unfathomable 13.8 yards per target through six weeks, Hill produced just 5.9 yards per target in Philadelphia. Still, it didn’t matter – he finished as the fourth-highest-scoring receiver for the week.

A historic season remains on the radar for Hill, and with a TD in three straight games, it is clear that the NFL has no idea how to slow him down. I have zero reservations about him being my WR1 this week and for the remainder of the season.

Jaylen Waddle: Without a top-12 finish this season and four games (including last week against the Eagles) finishing as fantasy’s 30th receiver or worse, Waddle has been nothing short of disappointing up to this point. Does it continue?

In Weeks 1-3, he saw 12 catches on 16 targets, while Weeks 4-6 saw 18 catches on 25 targets. His raw involvement is ticking up slowly, and there is plenty of room for further growth. I’m in on acquiring him at a discount right now and watching it pay dividends with time.

Did you know that his first catch gaining over 20 yards will be his first in October? How crazy is that? We’re talking about a receiver who averaged 18.1 yards per catch last season.

Waddle’s role is clearly different than it was last season. But his skill profile comes with single-play upside that I think we see more of moving forward than we have up to this point.

Waddle should be locked into fantasy lineups in all formats — now go trade for him while the window is open.

Tight Ends

Hunter Henry: For the third consecutive game, Henry failed to see more than three targets as the Patriots knocked off the Bills. The game-winning touchdown went to fellow TE Mike Gesicki, so even if you were holding out hope for Henry based on his hierarchy in this passing game, you can move on. There’s no reason to be confident in a single Patriot on a weekly basis.

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.

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 has posted consecutive top-5 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.

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.

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 downside, but the role is far superior to the other jokers in this range.” Rolls right off the tongue.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers

• Spread: Jaguars -2.5
• Total: 42
• Jaguars implied points: 22.3
• Steelers implied points: 19.8

Quarterbacks

Trevor Lawrence: Despite having completed at least two-thirds of his passes in five straight and rushing for over 30 yards in three of his past four, Lawrence has yet to deliver on the fantasy promise he entered the season with. Or, at least the fantasy promise that I put on his plate.

He has yet to throw for multiple touchdowns in a game this season when not facing the Colts and has been held under 220 yards in four of his past six games. Is a rebound coming?

We know he can produce in bunches — 315+ yards and at least three scores three times in a four-game stretch last season — but at this point, his ranking does have to dip a bit. I’m hopeful that he can expose an aggressive Steelers defense this weekend before Jacksonville has its bye.

Kenny Pickett: He clearly enjoyed having Diontae Johnson back in the mix, and the rushing score helped his fantasy value, but you’re swimming upstream if you’re banking on Pickett producing for you on any sort of consistent basis.

If you’re stuck in Week 9 when byes come back into our lives, Pickett’s name will be on the list (TNF vs. TEN). But there’s no need to jump the gun and make the add now.

Running Backs

Travis Etienne Jr.: The pride of Clemson has three straight games with multiple rushing scores AND at least three receptions. He has five games with over 20 touches and is on the short list of running backs who can lead the position in scoring in any given week.

I’ve received questions this week about him being a “sell high” candidate, and while I understand the thought, I don’t think he is. If this passing game can get on track, Etienne’s volume could regress in a minor way, but this would open up more running lanes and only increase his number of scoring opportunities.

Najee Harris: Without bye weeks bumping him up the ranks, Harris is nothing more than a risky Flex play against the Jaguars. Yes, he scored his first TD of the season last week, and that allowed him to finish the week as a top-20 back for the second time in three games, but I’m not buying it.

He sees a stacked box on one-third of his carries (third-highest rate) and is pacing for easily the worst year of his career as a pass catcher. With that profile, on a team that is rarely expected to clear 20 points, where exactly is the fantasy value supposed to come?

Jacksonville allows the fourth-fewest yards per carry this season (3.6), and Harris has one game this year with 15+ carries. Volume was supposed to be the one thing we could count on from him, wasn’t it?

If you’re grasping for straws, Harris did rattle off nine straight games with over 90 total yards to end last season. Like I said, you really have to squint to plug him in (my RB30).

Jaylen Warren: I just spent nearly 200 words slandering Harris, and — he’s my preferred play in Pittsburgh’s backfield. In Diontae Johnson’s four-game absence, Warren averaged 38.5 receiving yards per game, but in his return to action … well, you had more receiving yards than Warren.

As much as I believe he’s the superior back, it doesn’t matter what I think. The Steelers have yet to give him 10 carries in a game this season, making the receiving numbers from last week all the more concerning.

If you have the luxury of holding Warren, I would, but he’s not a top-35 option this week. And until something dramatic changes, he’s going to be on the outside looking in at Flex flavors of the week at the RB position.

Wide Receivers

Christian Kirk: Remember the Week 1 dud (one catch for nine yards) in Indianapolis? That is his only game this season in which he didn’t earn at least eight targets or find the end zone.

During Jacksonville’s four-game win streak, Kirk has caught 71.9% of his targets — efficiency that is superior to his 2022 rate (63.2%) — and has come with considerable upside (29+ yard catch in all four of those games).

With Calvin Ridley only hauling in 51.4% of targets since his encouraging debut, Kirk has established himself as the safest option in this passing attack.

The Steelers have been vulnerable to top receivers this season. Anybody who has watched the Jaguars over the past month is well aware of who Lawrence identifies as his go-to option.

Calvin Ridley: It’s tough to properly illustrate just how bad Ridley has been. Frankly, it’s been painful. When a receiver like Gabe Davis struggles, the impact is minimal because it’s unlikely that you played him for all of his bad games. With Ridley, you invested heavily in him this summer, and there have been no injuries to navigate, so you’re getting burned weekly.

How bad has it been?

• Four weekly finishes outside of the top 60
• Zero 30-yard catches in the United States
• Just two catches on 10 contested targets

Without any teams on a bye this week and any recent proof that Ridley is trending out of this slump, he’s not a must-start.

Now, the odds would have it that you drafted him early and felt good about your WR corps, and subsequently neglected depth at the position. So it’s possible you don’t have an option who is higher in our PFN Consensus Rankings — in that case, cross your fingers and join me in CRISIS.

Calvin Ridley Is Struggling, Idiot Soppe

Zay Jones: This knee injury wasn’t feared to be too serious, but it continues to linger. With the Jaguars approaching their bye, it’s tough to envision a situation in which the team pushes Jones this week.

I’m cautiously holding him in leagues where I have nice depth, but if that’s not your situation, you can cut ties now to make room over the next few weeks (a matchup with the 49ers in Week 10 isn’t exactly a friendly spot following the bye).

MORE: Fantasy Football Cut List Week 8

This offense is struggling to make Ridley a consistent producer on the perimeter, making Jones’ path to fantasy relevance a difficult one. We can reevaluate this situation in a few weeks if reporting paints an optimistic picture, but right now, he’s on the chopping block in many spots.

George Pickens: The Steelers were pretty clearly looking his way whenever he faced single coverage last week, something that is going to be the case often with Diontae Johnson looking healthy. He has 100+ yards in consecutive games (doubling his career count in the process), with a 30-yard catch in three of his past four.

He’s what we wanted Gabe Davis to be this year. The target quality varies from game to game. Heck, it varies from play to play. But even in an inconsistent offense, eight targets per game with an aDOT north of 13 yards is worthy of low-end WR2 status most weeks.

This week is no different. You can consider Pickens a fantasy starter on a weekly basis for the remainder of the season, regardless of matchup.

Diontae Johnson: In his return from IR, Johnson ran a route on 85.7% of Pittsburgh’s dropbacks and looked as crisp as you could have hoped after a month off. You can feel comfortable with his health, though we know the upside is only so high given the nature of his route profile and limited scoring potential.

I have Johnson ranked outside of my top 30, slightly ahead of a player in Michael Thomas who boasts a similar overall profile.

Tight Ends

Evan Engram: At kickoff, it will have been 321 days since the last time Engram scored in a regular-season game. But guess what? At the tight end position, it’s really not the end of the world.

Thanks to his rock-solid role, Engram is able to consistently produce viable numbers without the courtesy of finding pay dirt. Of course, we’d love for him to score, but he’s one of five players at the position that offers a stable floor. Embrace it and understand two things:

1. Without scores, you’re still gaining, at minimum, on half your league.
2. If the scores come, the odds of you winning skyrocket.

Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders

• Spread: Eagles -6.5
• Total: 43.5
• Eagles implied points: 25
• Commanders implied points: 18.5

Quarterbacks

Jalen Hurts: Under “normal” circumstances, I’d be worried about Hurts having multiple touchdowns in just two of seven games, but with the Brotherly Shove emerging as the most unstoppable force in recent memory, Hurts’ floor is nothing short of elite.

He’s connecting with A.J. Brown at a historic rate, and that’s allowed him to rack up 275 passing yards in five straight after opening the season with consecutive games under 200 yards.

While it’s on my mind, hit me up @KyleSoppePFN with your most indefensible plays in sports. Here is my start to a list alongside Philadelphia’s sneak:

• Prime Shaquille O’Neal in the paint
• Lionel Messi on set pieces
• Peak Barry Bonds (2001-04)

Sam Howell: For a man on pace to shatter the sack record, Howell’s fantasy production (five finishes inside the top 15) is remarkable. In theory, the Eagles’ pass defense can be had, but that’s operating under the assumption that Washington’s receivers have time to complete even the most simple of routes.

That’s just not an assumption I’m willing to make.

The Eagles rank sixth in pressure rate despite checking in at 20th in blitz rate. That speaks to their ability to generate pressure with their front four, matching their strength with the Commanders’ most glaring weakness.

Good luck with that, Mr. Howell. If he can produce in this spot, he will be on my QB streamers piece for Week 9. I just don’t think it’s going to happen and have him ranked outside of my top 15 at the position.

Running Backs

D’Andre Swift: No point in getting cute here. On top of handling the vast majority of the groundwork, Swift out-snapped Kenneth Gainwell 50-22 last week and has at least three catches in four straight games.

The recent dip in efficiency (3.7 YPC over his past four games) has my attention when it comes to stacking up the top 12 running backs and ordering them, but it’s nothing that should make you second-guess playing him across the board.

And if you are worried about that, take comfort in the fact that the Commanders are the 10th-worst yards-per-carry defense in the NFL.

Brian Robinson Jr.: Most days without a carry gaining more than six yards and zero receptions is a complete fantasy disaster. Robinson, of course, saved his Week 7 with a touchdown. That’s what he does.

Washington’s lead back (34-26 snap edge over Antonio Gibson) has scored in five of seven games this season, allowing us to overlook the fact that his 24 carries over the past three weeks have gained just 64 yards.

His fantasy production has been greater than his usage deems sustainable, and that’s a concern, but what are your alternatives? He carries significant risk in a matchup like this, though his scoring equity keeps him in the low-end RB2 conversation, making him a starter in most situations.

Antonio Gibson: There’s simply no reason to roster him. Gibson has one game this season with more than three carries and has been held to 10 or fewer receiving yards in the majority of contests.

At this point, Gibson requires a trip to the end zone to be even remotely usable; it’s just not a great outlook for a player scoring once every 33 touches since the beginning of 2021.

Wide Receivers

A.J. Brown: The conversation about who the WR1 in Philly is long over, with Brown matching the NFL record for consecutive games with at least 125 receiving yards (five). He has a 35+ yard grab in four straight games and seems impossible to defend when opponents have to respect the versatile ground game.

He’s as good a mix of upside and volume as anyone in the league right now (it’s him and Tyreek Hill in the top tier of this list), and that’s with little help from his WR partner in crime — just imagine if opposing defenses are worried about a confident DeVonta Smith.

DeVonta Smith: For the third straight game (and the fifth time in seven weeks), Smith was held under 50 yards. Things have been tough for Smith after scoring in each of Philadelphia’s first two contests, but I think you need to wait this out and keep rolling him out there.

He ran a route on every single one of Hurts’ dropbacks last week, and this offense is built to put him in advantageous spots. With Brown on one side, Dallas Goedert demanding attention in the middle of the field, and Swift very much a threat in the horizontal passing game, Smith should have his fair share of field days.

And I think he will. Could the upcoming brutal schedule stretch (Weeks 9-14: DAL, bye, KC, BUF, SF, and DAL again) be what unlocks him as defenses shift their assets around to limit Brown? I’m trusting the talent and playing time.

I’ll go down with the ship if it wasn’t meant to be. Smith is easily a top-20 receiver for me this week.

Terry McLaurin: With 20 targets over his past two games, it looks like McLaurin is finally getting the alpha volume that we spent the first five weeks begging for — you love to see it. He’s cleared 80 yards in three of his past four (first three games this season: 42 yards per game), proving worthy of the increase in usage.

The limited scoring equity is a concern that you’re going to have to live with (five straight games without a score, trending toward his fourth consecutive season with no more than five TD receptions), but as long as the volume sustains, he’s a fantasy starter.

Everything I wrote in the Howell profile translates to McLaurin; be aware of the floor. That said, his aDOT is down 14% from last season, giving him hope at providing top-30 value on quick hitters this week.

Curtis Samuel: You can move on. Samuel has been held under 55 receiving yards in six of seven games this season, and with just one rushing yard over his past five games, the downside of his current role far outpaces the upside. He’s outside of my top 45 at the position; I’d rather take my chances and enter the Jameson Williams lottery on Monday night.

Jahan Dotson: Another Commander getting looks that’s not worth your time? You bet. On the bright side, Dotson ran a route on 85.7% of Howell dropbacks last week (level with McLaurin and well ahead of Samuel’s 53.1%). That’s a start, but nothing more.

He has one top-45 finish this season and has seen his yards per catch fall from 14.9 last season to 8.3. It’s one thing to be a big-play threat that is hit-and-miss, but with the upside being removed from his profile due to the struggles of this offensive line, you can do better.

Tight Ends

Dallas Goedert: With at least five catches in five of his past six games, Goedert has re-established himself as a Tier 3 tight end that you can feel good about. Does his usage take a hit if/when Smith gets rolling? It’s possible, but by averaging 78.7 yards over his past three (first four games: 22.0), Goedert is as viable as any option outside of the Big Three at the position.

Logan Thomas: In four of six games this season, Thomas has been a top-13 performer at the position. It’s rarely exciting, but any semblance of production is noteworthy among tight ends.

I have him ranked as my TE15 this week, understanding that he carries a low floor but could be used in the short passing game.

Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers

• Spread: Texans -3
• Total: 43.5
• Texans implied points: 23.3
• Panthers implied points: 20.3

Quarterbacks

C.J. Stroud: The volume has been reined in after a busy start to his career (91 passes through two starts, 30.5 per game since), but he remains a viable fantasy option. He has multiple touchdown passes in four of his past five games. While he’s yet to finish better than QB10 in a week this season, he’s been worse than QB13 just once since his NFL debut.

MORE: Fantasy News Tracker

Nothing about this matchup is scary. Without much promise in this run game, Stroud should continue to be a passable option that won’t be the reason you lose. He’s just as unlikely to be the reason you win, but the elevated floor holds value on the right fantasy roster.

He should be rostered if for no other reason than he gets the pass funnel Titans twice in December.

Bryce Young: The rookie is developing — that’s good to see in the grand scheme of things. It just doesn’t matter to us right now.

Young posted a QB9 finish in Week 5 against Detroit, but that’s his only top-15 finish of the season, and I expect that general profile to persist. There’s no reason to go in this direction unless you’re really trying to be different in a DFS GPP build.

For the season, Young has thrown 182 more passes than I have, yet we are tied in the number of completions gaining over 30 yards. Also hurting his ceiling is the fact that he had 51 rushing yards through two weeks and has just 14 since.

Running Backs

Dameon Pierce: Pierce doesn’t have a run gaining more than 15 yards this season, nor has he earned a top-15 finish. In fact, with four finishes outside of the top 25 at the position, Pierce has struggled to remain even remotely viable.

I would say that the game script should work as much in his favor this week as any this season, but Pierce has been held under 40 rushing yards in two of Hosuton’s three wins this season. Given the struggles of this offensive line and the lack of commitment to Pierce in the passing game (two targets per game this season), there’s just not a path to upside right now.

Pierce is an unappealing Flex option for teams that are otherwise strong. In all other situations, I’d rather take my chances on an upside receiver like Joshua Palmer or Rashee Rice.

Miles Sanders and Chuba Hubbard: Is there a rule that we have to feel good about a running back in every game? Because I don’t. Not Pierce and neither of the Panthers backs, assuming Sanders (shoulder) is active.

Prior to the bye, Hubbard totaled 90 yards and a touchdown on 20 touches in Miami — production that is great but came without much competition for work.

If that effort earns him a split moving forward, we are looking at a backfield that doesn’t matter in most fantasy leagues. This season, Carolina RBs are averaging 24.8 touches per game – that’s not enough volume to support multiple backs, especially with a rookie under center.

The only way a Panthers running back cracks my top 25 at the position is for Sanders to sit, in which case Hubbard would slot in as RB23.

Wide Receivers

Nico Collins: There is one word to describe Collins — annoying. I love the role as an alpha target earner in a pass-first offense, but the wide range of outcomes is, well, annoying.

He has two top-25 finishes this season, the two weeks in which he scored. They were both huge weeks (top five), and that sort of upside is intoxicating. Of course, there’s the flip side to that coin. Across the four games in which he hasn’t been a top-25 receiver, he’s finished outside the top 50 twice.

How lucky do you feel? Off of the bye, giving his rookie QB time to digest what he’s learned and his coaching staff time to pick apart a vulnerable defense, I’m in. At the very least, I think he hauls in a 25+ yard pass (something he has done in every game this season). In this spot, Houston should be in scoring position more often than usual.

I’m buying in and looking his way in DFS as well. If we catch one of those big weeks, I want it to pay off!

Tank Dell: The explosive rookie suffered a concussion in Week 5, and it forced him to miss the Week 6 win over the Saints prior to the bye. Dell has seen fewer than five targets in three of his five games, a level of inconsistency on the volume front that makes it tough to justify chasing his upside (17.1 yards per catch).

I have Schultz as the second option in this passing game. And with a limited opportunity count for the undersized Dell, I’m not interested in starting him in anything but the deepest of leagues in his return to action.

Adam Thielen: How good has the veteran been this season? Here’s one way to quantify it:

• Career with Vikings (135 games): Four games with 10 catches and a TD
• Career with Panthers (six games): Three games with 10 catches and a TD

Thielen has 49 catches this season. None of his teammates have 30 targets. With a low aDOT and a rookie under center, is there any reason to think the veteran won’t keep piling up the grabs?

He’s scored in four of his past five games, and while I don’t think that rate continues in a limited offense, the floor that his role comes preloaded with makes the touchdowns gravy.

I’m playing Thielen with confidence now and moving forward – his role meshes perfectly with how the Panthers are developing Young.

Tight Ends

Dalton Schultz: Through his first three games of the season, Schultz didn’t post a single top-25 finish at the position. Yet, in the three games prior to the Week 7 bye …

• Week 4: Three catches for 42 yards and a TD vs. PIT (TE5)
• Week 5: Seven catches for 65 yards and a TD at ATL (TE6)
• Week 6: Four catches for 61 yards and a TD vs. NO (TE2)

Of course, he’s not going to score every week, but with 17 targets over his past two games, the usage is enough to justify plugging him into your lineup this week.

Given how this offense operates, I’m considering Schultz a low-end starter moving forward. He could well solve your TE problem if he was cut loose during the bye.

Cleveland Browns at Seattle Seahawks

• Spread: Seahawks -3
• Total: 39.5
• Browns implied points: 18.3
• Seahawks implied points: 21.3

Quarterbacks

Geno Smith: This isn’t the same Smith that broke out last season, and the sooner you can come to terms with that, the sooner you can cross him off your short-term streamer radar.

He is pacing for just 147 yards on the ground, and without a 40-yard completion this season, there just aren’t enough paths to matter in our world. In addition to Smith struggling, the upcoming schedule does him no favors until Christmas Eve.

Feel free to completely ignore Smith as you search for depth at the position if your starting QB has an upcoming bye.

Running Backs

Jerome Ford: The first drive of last week’s win over the Colts was a thing of beauty for Ford managers, but that was essentially all we got prior to a leg injury that forced an early exit.

First Drive, Week 7:

Ford target
Ford eight-yard run
Ford 69-yard TD run

Kareem Hunt wasn’t efficient enough to steal this lead role from a healthy Ford outright, but with two scores (including the game-winner), we have to assume that this is a committee situation assuming health. I don’t mind this matchup, and I still prefer Ford if healthy to Hunt, but he’s a low-end Flex play that carries risk.

Kareem Hunt: The team got creative with him in close (wildcat two-yard TD on a very physical run) and trusted him with the game on the line (4th-and-goal TD from the 1-yard line with 15 seconds left in a five-point game).

You love to see those things, but his late-game usage was with Ford sidelined, so I caution against reading too much into it.

This is shaping up to be a committee when everyone is healthy, and if Ford is limited, Hunt should be viewed as the lead back. That said, Pierre Strong Jr. did finish with more snaps (22-20) and routes (9-7) than Hunt — I still think this is Hunt’s backfield should Ford sit, but be aware that it comes with some risk.

Kenneth Walker III: Five straight top-20 finishes may not feel like a big deal, but a running back that can offer a floor like that is gold these days. He was RB18 last week against the Cardinals, and that finish could have been much better had he converted either of his carries from the 1-yard line.

MORE: Fantasy Football Updated RB Rest-of-Season Rankings Week 8

Walker is a Tier 2 running back for me the rest of the season, and should continue to reward you handsomely for overlooking the drafting of Zach Charbonnet in April and embracing the discount on Walker. Well done!

Zach Charbonnet: A hamstring kept the rookie out of action last week, and with the bye already in the rearview, this is an injury he is going to have to heal on the fly. At best, Charbonnet is a handcuff option, but with two tough games coming up and health as a concern, you can cut ties if you need his roster spot for immediate help.

Wide Receivers

Amari Cooper: With at least eight targets in four of his past five games, there is hope should Cleveland’s quarterback play improve, but that’s dangerous to bet on. For the season, he owns a 51.1% catch rate and has been held under 40 yards on not one, not two, but three occasions.

The floor of this offense as a whole is simply too low to start Cooper with confidence. I have him ranked as a fringe top-30 receiver behind the trending Rashee Rice and Jordan Addison.

Elijah Moore: I’m not confident that the clear WR1 in this offense can return viable fantasy production, so there is no way I am playing the secondary option. Moore is averaging under 5.3 yards per target this season, a rate so low that he essentially requires a touchdown to rank anywhere near the top 36. With one touchdown catch since early December 2021, that’s not a profile I’m comfortable targeting.

Tyler Lockett: The regression of Smith is hurting the always-consistent Lockett to the point where he has faded outside of the top 24 at the position. The veteran has been held under 40 yards in half of his games this season, and his efficiency metrics are tanking:

7.2 yards per target (previous two seasons: 9.9)
67.5% catch rate (last season: 71.8%)

I trust the 6.7 targets per game enough to keep him as a starter for me, even in a tough matchup, but there is no denying that the floor is lower now than it has been in quite some time for Lockett.

DK Metcalf: With the rib injury from Week 2 lingering and a hip issue also nagging him, Metcalf sat out last week with the hope of returning in short order. But is he a bit overrated?

His next finish as a top-20 receiver this season will be his first, and while his floor has proven reasonably stable, the lack of a ceiling is a concern. He and Lockett are ranked in the same tier this weekend for me, and while I’m not excited about playing either, I prefer them both to players like Drake London and Amari Cooper who offer more risk.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba: The ‘Hawks are clearly committed to these three-WR formations (even without Metcalf active, Seattle had a trio of receivers post a route participation rate over 82%), and that gives JSN a shot to produce even when Lockett and Metcalf are active.

That said, it’s obvious that this passing game is broken right now, and providing value to a WR3 in such a spot is a tall ask. He’s currently my WR47, and if Metcalf were to be ruled out again, the rookie would move up 6-10 spots. I’m not counting on starting him either way in this spot.

Tight Ends

David Njoku: He saw a season-high nine targets last week in Indy, and it netted just 54 yards. With one touchdown over his past 10 games, Njoku is a TD-dependent tight end who lacks a nose for the end zone.

Counting on Njoku is like hiring an accountant without a math background. You can do it, but when it goes wrong, can you really be surprised?

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos

• Spread: Chiefs -8
• Total: 46
• Chiefs implied points: 27
• Broncos implied points: 19

Quarterbacks

Patrick Mahomes: With over 25 rushing yards in six of his seven games this season, the Mahomes production tree has grown another branch. He has completed at least 30 passes in three straight games and is threatening to have a second reliable pass catcher at his disposal — you’re living the good life if you have the luxury of plugging in Mahomes every single week.

Russell Wilson: The veteran opened the season with multiple touchdown tosses in four of five games to open the season but has failed to do so in consecutive games (including Week 6 at KC: 95 passing yards and two interceptions on 22 attempts).

After a high-volume Week 1 (27 completions vs. LV), he is averaging a mere 19.2 completions per game, and his per-pass upside isn’t nearly high enough to make that work.

This Chiefs defense is better than we thought they’d be, and that leaves Wilson off of my list of Week 8 streamers.

Running Backs

Isiah Pacheco: This team has three players you start every week with the utmost confidence. We knew Mahomes and Travis Kelce would be considered as such, but Pacheco’s ascension has been a pleasant surprise.

17 touches in five straight
TD in four of those five games
91.3% catch rate

Pacheco is a clear RB1 for the remainder of the season and is a legitimate threat to lead the position in points this week should Kansas City embrace their advantage on the ground.

Jerick McKinnon: His next game with more than five touches this season will be his first, and that should have him on waiver wires in all formats. Sure, he dominated down the stretch last season and was a league winner, but this offense is more versatile than that one.

McKinnon isn’t on my radar as a roster-worthy option this week or moving forward.

Javonte Williams: His name came up on our Tuesday podcast (trade targets) as a player set to see his value spike in the second half of the season, and I’m here for it. He held a 31-10 snap edge over Jaleel McLaughlin last week, and while Samaje Perine remains a pain (10 routes and three targets), Williams is clearly trending toward being a workhorse.

The third-year back carried the rock a season-high 15 times last week against the Packers and averaged 5.2 yards per carry two weeks ago when these two teams met for the first time.

The only reason I don’t have him ranked higher than a low-end RB2 this week is potential game flow (KC held the ball for nearly 36 minutes in the Week 6 meeting and should be playing from ahead often).

Jaleel McLaughlin: The rookie has a 20+ yard carry in three of his past four games and needs to remain rostered, but things are trending away from him, and this isn’t the type of matchup where multiple RBs can produce.

With the bye week on tap, you could get away with cutting McLaughlin if you need immediate help. If you don’t need to drop him, I wouldn’t, but it’s a reasonable course of action if you’re stuck and in need of a win.

Wide Receivers

Rashee Rice: If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck — you have yourself a duck.

If it earns targets at a WR1 level, passes the eye test as a WR1, and gets the support of his QB like a WR1 — you have yourself a WR1.

Rice was targeted seven times on 30 routes last week, while the trio of receivers behind him earned seven looks on 73 routes. The rookie has emerged as Mahomes’ top receiver and has a versatile skill set that lands him inside my top 30 again.

This isn’t a flash in the pan. Rice has been no worse than WR34 over the past three weeks, and I expect him to extend that streak to four this weekend.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling: The touchdown last week was good to see, but that’s not what has my attention as we enter the second half of the fantasy season. MVS ran a route on 76.1% of Mahomes’ dropbacks last week. That is the type of participation I want from my dart throw Flex option.

The floor will always remain low given his route pole (it’s really not a route tree, at best, it’s a route branch, but even a branch has some variation, whereas a pole does not), but he can be utilized in desperate times.

Mecole Hardman: He was only on the field for 11 snaps during his 2023 Chiefs debut, but he was targeted on three of his eight routes. His usage deserves monitoring, but no action needs to be taken right now.

Jerry Jeudy: Remember that hat trick he produced last December against the Chiefs? He hasn’t scored in the 10 games since and has only one catch this season that has gained more than 25 yards.

Jeudy clearly isn’t thrilled about the makeup of this offense, and it shows. He doesn’t have a top-30 finish this season. At this point, I need to see it before I believe it. He’s not only behind Courtland Sutton in my Week 8 ranks, he’s behind other WR2s like Joshua Palmer and Michael Thomas.

Courtland Sutton: Beggars can’t be choosers in these low-octane offenses. Sutton has scored in four of his past five games, and that’s great. But with no more than six targets in four straight games, he’s walking a fine line.

He’s my top-ranked Broncos receiver but not my favorite in this game. Sutton’s profile carries more risk than most top options, and without reliability under center, he’s a middling Flex option for me in this one.

Marvin Mims Jr.: Mims ranked third among Broncos receivers in routes last week (45.2% participation), which is worth highlighting. We know the single-play upside is rare, and if the snap count trends up, there is YOLO bye week-filler potential to chase.

MORE: Dynasty Fantasy Football Week 8 Report

He’s Jameson Williams for me at the moment, but if he can push a 60% route participation rate, he’d move past that tier and inside my top 50 (think Rashid Shaheed level).

Tight Ends

Travis Kelce: With 31 catches over the past three weeks, Kelce continues to cruise. He has been a top-five producer at the position in five of his six games this season and continues to age like fine wine.

Baltimore Ravens at Arizona Cardinals

• Spread: Ravens -8
• Total: 44
• Ravens implied points: 26
• Cardinals implied points: 18

Quarterbacks

Lamar Jackson: Jackson put himself back on the MVP radar with a truly dominating effort (357 passing yards and three TDs with 36 yards and a score on the ground) against a Lions defense that entered the week as the fourth-best defense in the league on a per-play basis.

His first touchdown pass was not only a thing of beauty but a demonstration of growth. As he used his athletic tools to keep defenders at bay, he kept his eyes downfield and eventually found Nelson Agholor for the 12-yard score.

Jackson has completed at least 70% of his passes in six of seven games under Todd Monken. When you combine that with the floor created by his rushing abilities, we are getting close to adding Jackson to the top tier of fantasy signal-callers.

At the very least, Jackson is proving to be a great asset based on what you paid on draft day and could be a league-winner — the Ravens host the Dolphins in a potential shootout in Week 17.

Kyler Murray: I understand the thought process in scooping up Murray and hoping for the best, but it’s not for me. Not only do we not know when he is going to debut or the form he will be in, but the Cards have the Steelers, a bye week, and the 49ers in Weeks 13-15.

The idea of adding his upside to your roster makes sense on paper, I’m just not sure we see it materialize in 2023.

Running Backs

Gus Edwards: Not only was Edwards given the first carry of last week’s impressive win over the Lions, he was featured throughout. Even better? He recorded an 80-yard reception. Let me say that again. Eighty. Yards. Not bad for a player who, entering last week, averaged under 3.6 receiving yards per game for his career.

This isn’t a bell-cow situation. It’s one with specific roles, and Edwards just happened to run hot with the big play. For the game, he and Justice Hill each played 30 snaps, with Edwards holding a 10-carry edge and Hill running 14 more routes.

Justice Hill: I personally think Hill is a decent player, but with just four carries and one target last week, it’s clear that the team prefers Edwards for their lead role.

I noted Hill’s edge in the pass game role, and he was the target of Jackson’s first pass last week, so there’s a niche in this upward-trending offense for HIll. That said, he means more for Baltimore than he does for us. He should remain rostered, but only as depth.

Keaontay Ingram: Easy come, easy go. He looked like the leader of this backfield in Week 6 but didn’t play a single snap last week. You can hold onto him for one more week if you want to confirm that he has been written out of their offensive plans, but it’s not needed. Ingram is a cut candidate if you’re in a roster pinch.

Emari Demercado: There was no confusion last week as to who the Cardinals wanted leading their backfield. The rookie held a 53-12 snap edge over Damien Williams in the loss to Seattle, racking up 75 yards on 17 touches in the process.

He’s in the low-end Flex tier for me this week, alongside players like Najee Harris and Dameon Pierce. It’s not a fun range to deal with, but projected touch count holds value at this point in the decision-making process.

Wide Receivers

Zay Flowers: He’s a rich man’s Rashee Rice. That is, he’s the top receiver in a strong offense that is paced by a tight end. The reason I prefer him to Rice is the reliance on the pass game (and the concentration of it) in Baltimore.

That’s not to say Kansas City doesn’t rely on the passing game, but they have a stable workhorse RB that is capable of producing, a luxury the Ravens don’t have.

I also have more faith in Mahomes spreading the ball around than I do Jackson. Flowers should be locked in as a fine WR2 moving forward, a ranking I feel good about given Jackson’s form.

Rashod Bateman: There is no fantasy spin here, I just want to give him a shoutout for seeing exactly three targets in all six of his games this season. In a sport where seemingly anything can happen, Bateman has been our guiding light. For that, we thank you. But we don’t roster you.

Odell Beckham Jr.: He was involved early (three catches for 35 yards on four targets in the first quarter), which was nice to see, but it didn’t last (two catches for 14 yards the rest of the way). Of course, the game script played a part in Baltimore’s limited aggression through the air as their beatdown of the Lions wore on.

OBJ finished with a team-high seven targets — easily his highest count of the season. Is this the start of something? I’m not buying it. Not yet. This team has been functioning just fine without a WR2, and I expect that to continue.

But could Beckham be a one-week rental in Week 9? These receivers are on bye:

Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton
Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk
Christian Kirk, Calvin Ridley, and Zay Jones
Amon-Ra St. Brown

Maybe. And if those WRs are on your roster and you’re willing to roll the dice on OBJ, I’d recommend waiting until after waivers pass this week (zero teams on a bye) and scooping him up for free with Week 9 as your target.

Marquise Brown: After hitting at least five catches in three straight games, Hollywood has failed to reach that number in each of his past three and has been held under 65 yards in six of seven games this season. We are learning that not all offenses need to have a viable option in the passing game, and that is how I have it ranked this week. Brown is my WR35.

Rondale Moore: With 10 carries over the past three weeks, there are touches to chase if you’re really in a bind, but outside of that, there’s no reason to go this direction. Moore has yet to hit 35 receiving yards in a game this season and is an afterthought in a passing game that lacks upside.

Tight Ends

Mark Andrews: We’ve yet to see the volume-spike week (4-6 catches in every game this season), but the splash plays have been a nice addition to the profile (20+ yard receptions in five of six games).

Could we see one of those massive games coming with a confident Jackson? It’s certainly possible. I’ll have some DFS exposure this week as part of Baltimore double and triple stacks.

Trey McBride: With Zach Ertz placed on IR this week, the door is open for McBride to emerge as a viable streamer. These two split the snaps and routes right down the middle last week and without a ton of depth beyond them at the position, McBride’s playing time should put him in a spot to produce.

MORE: Should You Pick Up Trey McBride This Week?

I don’t quite have him as a top-15 play this week, though I will be tracking his usage this weekend to see if there is something there as we enter the second half of the fantasy season.

Cincinnati Bengals at San Francisco 49ers

• Spread: 49ers -5.5
• Total: 45
• Bengals implied points: 19.8
• 49ers implied points: 25.3

Quarterbacks

Joe Burrow: His top two QB finishes came in the two weeks prior to the Week 6 bye, and that’s great, but not all NFC West defenses are created equal. Burrow completed 60 of 81 passes with five touchdowns over those two games against the Cardinals and Seahawks — efficiency that is unlikely to be sustained in this spot.

I want to be optimistic that a healthy version of Burrow can return top-10 value on a regular basis — but is it going to happen? We are looking at only one plus-matchup over the next month, and with road games against the Steelers and Chiefs during the final two weeks of the fantasy postseason, I’m not so sure.

Brock Purdy: The fantasy production wasn’t there for Purdy on Monday night (272 passing yards but just one TD and two interceptions), nor was the end result (22-17 loss at Minnesota), but I actually thought he showed well for roughly 80% of the game.

Following the loss, Purdy was placed in concussion protocol, but he was able to pass through as fast as anyone we’ve seen this season and will be active. He’s a fine QB2 in formats where you can play multiple, but isn’t of interest to me in your standard format (I much prefer the C.J. Stroud’s, Jared Goff’s, and Bryce Young’s of the world this week).

Running Backs

Joe Mixon: He has been exactly what we thought James Conner would be this season: consistent usage with only marginal returns. Despite averaging 18.7 touches per game this season, Mixon has yet to finish a single week better than RB15 and only has one score on his 2023 ledger.

With no competition for work in an offense that we hope has its best games ahead of it, Mixon is going to be a lineup staple. He faces light boxes nearly 60% of the time due to the fear that Ja’Marr Chase puts on defenses, something that will guide him to better days ahead. This is obviously a tough spot, and he’s a middling RB2 for me, but should he struggle, rest assured that the Mixon manager will have a trade offer to consider!

Christian McCaffrey: Was that a compromised version of CMC last week? We weren’t positive that he’d be active against the Vikings, and all he did was handle 18 touches, rack up 96 yards, and score twice. The league has no answer for him right now, and with the way this offense operates, why would we expect that to change?

Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason: I think both are worth stashing if you have the room, given that they are a single injury away from being a fantasy asset. I prefer Mitchell over Mason, but both would be interesting options if McCaffrey were to get dinged up.

Wide Receivers

Ja’Marr Chase: The skill set here is no secret, and with him on a 207-target pace, there’s simply no way around locking in Chase. Yes, it’s a tough matchup, but this month alone, we saw an alpha receiver in Amari Cooper go over 100 yards and a big athlete in Michael Wilson score twice against the Niners.

Is Chase not both of those things? There’s a lower floor in play this week than most for Chase, but the ceiling is still there, and with Burrow peppering him with targets, the mean outcome is still a positive one in all formats.

Tee Higgins: One. One top-75 finish this season. He is battling a rib injury that could continue to limit him moving forward, but he seems determined to work his way through it. With Cincy coming off of its bye, I’m cautiously optimistic that we see a reasonably healthy version of Higgins.

By no means is he a must-play in this spot, but he shouldn’t be completely dismissed with this entire offense getting a chance to get healthy. I have him ranked just behind the struggling Calvin Ridley and outside of my top 25 at the position — not a sentence I thought I’d be typing in October.

Deebo Samuel: News broke over the weekend that Samuel is dealing with a hairline fracture in his shoulder and will miss this game at the very least. The 49ers do go on their bye next week, so the prevailing hope is that Samuel will be ready to roll coming out of that (Week 10 at JAX).

Samuel had a pair of top-15 finishes at the position early, but he’s been disappointing since, likely the result of being at less than full strength. This creates an interesting buying window for managers with the ability to be patient — the 49ers are likely going to be fighting for the top seed in the NFC late into the season, putting them in position to be aggressive with their star receiver late in the fantasy season.

Brandon Aiyuk: He was heavily used in the first half before disappearing in the second half last week in a game in which San Francisco never really got comfortable. For his career, his volume and efficiency both improve when Samuel sits, trends that have him ranked as a fringe WR1 for me this week.

The upside is too great to ignore and with Purdy now set to start, you can plug in Aiyuk with the utmost confidence against an aggressive defense.

Tight Ends

George Kittle: To live the Kittle experience is to love the Kittle experience. He has rotated a strong game with a dud game for six straight, and if you’re a buyer of patterns, that doesn’t paint a pretty picture.

If you’re a buyer in talent/role, Kittle deserves to be started in all spots this week. I’m confident in this offense producing value to two pass catchers on a consistent basis — that’s a pain when all three of his top options are healthy, but that’s not currently the case.

Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Chargers

• Spread: Chargers -8.5
• Total: 46.5
• Bears implied points: 19
• Chargers implied points: 27.5

Quarterbacks

Justin Fields: He sat out last week as a result of dislocating his thumb in the loss to Minnesota in Week 6, and there is some hope that he may be able to return this week. The matchup isn’t worrisome, but limitations for an inconsistent QB certainly are.

We will see where reporting on this injury goes with time, but I won’t have him ranked above Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff or Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud this week, two options you may be able to plug and play.

Justin Herbert: In his first three games this season, Herbert completed 74.4% of his passes, but he has been held under 60% in all three games since. I’m not sweating it.

With the Bears creating pressure at the fourth-lowest rate, Herbert should be plenty comfortable in an obvious get-right spot. As a heavy favorite with two elite playmakers by his side, not to mention upside elsewhere, Herbert is a must-start in all spots.

Running Backs

Roschon Johnson: The rookie suffered a concussion on Thursday night of Week 5 and has missed the past two games as he tries to move through the league’s protocol. Khalil Herbert’s stay on IR requires him to miss this game and one more, so there is still a window for Johnson to return strong value.

If he can return to action, it’ll be a favorable spot, albeit in a committee as part of a risky offense. Assuming he’s active, Johnson would be a fringe Flex play, understanding that his touch count doesn’t carry a massive ceiling.

D’Onta Foreman: Foreman was the story of Week 7 with his 120 yards and three scores against the Raiders. That stat line makes it easy to forget that Darrynton Evans actually got the first carry of the game and finished with one more snap played in the victory.

That’s not me saying that Evans (17 touches of his own last week) is the play over Foreman. He’s not. But the committee approach in Chicago, despite their top two options being sidelined, tells me that they aren’t fully sold on Foreman as a consistent mail carrier.

This is why I’ll have Johnson ranked ahead of Foreman should he return this week, but not by much. I do think we’d be looking at a committee.

Should both play, Johnson will be a strong Flex play in my ranks, while Foreman ranks more in the Dameon Pierce class of “if you don’t have a better option” running back.

Austin Ekeler: Was Week 7 endlessly frustrating for Ekeler managers? Of course, it was.

After a month of struggling, Joshua Kelley rips off a 49-yard touchdown run and not one, not two, but seven Chargers had more receiving yards than one of the best pass-catching backs ever to play this game.

So yeah, Ekeler’s 5.1 fantasy points last week was maddening. But actionable? C’mon people. I can’t be the only one old enough to remember his zero-target season opener in 2021. He are his fantasy-point totals as a pass catcher alone in the four games following that dud.

Week 2: 10.6
Week 3: 14.2
Week 4: 10.3
Week 5: 13.8

Relax. Ekeler is nothing short of an uber-elite in this game of ours, and I’d very much expect his box score to reflect as much in this spot.

Wide Receivers

DJ Moore: After a two-game run that saw Moore pile up 361 yards and four touchdowns, the Bears top receiver has seen 17 targets yield just 105 yards (zero TDs). I wish I could say that I am optimistic about him getting back on track, but there’s more risk than reward in my opinion.

It should be noted that Moore had a touchdown in his hands last week in his lone target that hit the ground, so it’s not as if he was far away from a strong performance.

That said, counting on this passing game is not something I’m comfortable doing. Moore ranks just outside of my top 30 receivers this week, in that same frustrating tier as Tee Higgins and Calvin Ridley.

Keenan Allen: For the first time this season, Allen cost you (four catches for 55 yards). It happens to everyone, and it probably shouldn’t have happened in this spot as Herbert missed him standing in the end zone on a nine-yard pass that should have been an easy score.

Nothing actionable here: Allen is clearly a WR1 and rock-solid foundational piece in all formats.

Joshua Palmer: We didn’t think we’d get clarity on the WR2 role in Los Angeles too quickly following the Mike Williams injury, but Palmer has distanced himself to such an extent that this is no longer a competition.

He put up 133 yards on the Chiefs in defeat last week, and you could argue that it should have been even better as he made a questionable cutback choice on a 60-yard completion that resulted in him being tackled at the 9-yard line instead of potentially scoring.

He’s my second favorite receiver in this game and is a viable Flex option in deeper formats, even with zero teams on a bye.

Quentin Johnston: There is no need to keep the rookie rostered. Bench spots on your fantasy roster right now need to have either immediate upside or a path to long-term potential.

At this moment, Johnston has neither. I’m open to watching and seeing him develop into a piece that we can justify stashing; there’s just not any evidence of that being imminent right now.

Tight Ends

Cole Kmet: If you didn’t get a chance to watch the Bears last week, let me assure you that Kmet did, in fact, play. I promise. He didn’t just play; he played a ton. He was on the field for 63 snaps and ran 26 routes — that’s a bust afternoon to be invisible in the boxscore.

The passing game in Chicago is not one I am going out of my way to target, and their tight end is no exception. He has been held to under 45 receiving yards in five of six games this season, and without much scoring equity in this offense, there’s no real appeal here. Even in a fine matchup, Kmet is easily outside of my top 15 at the position.

Gerald Everett: Tight ends who wear a single-digit jersey number are 20% faster than those who don’t. OK, so that may not be true, but Everett has been producing lately with a touchdown in consecutive games as the Bolts look to iron out their pass game sans Mike Williams.

While the past two weeks have been useful, let’s not get carried away. Donald Parham remains a threat inside of the red zone, and Everett really wasn’t featured last week. Sure, he was targeted on four of nine routes, but it’s the “nine routes” portion of that sentence that worries me.

As someone with a lot of Everett exposure, I’d love to tell you that he is trending straight up and ready to be locked into weekly lineups. In reality, he’s to be viewed as a high-end streaming option that is more of a bet on this offense as a whole than the role Everett currently holds.

Las Vegas Raiders at Detroit Lions

• Spread: Lions -8
• Total: 46
• Raiders implied points: 19
• Lions implied points: 27

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff: You guys know the drill. Is Goff playing at home? If yes, play him. If not, consult advanced data before blindly benching him, but lower your expectations.

YES. This is a home game for Detroit after the beat down in Baltimore, a game in which Goff threw 53 passes without a score. I’m not counting on that to spill over to Week 8 – Goff is averaging a TD pass once every 13.7 attempts at home this season and was even better last year.

I have Goff ranked ahead of Trevor Lawrence, Week 7 superstar Kirk Cousins, and a rested Joe Burrow this week. He’s my QB7 and is worthy of your trust in all formats.

Running Backs

Josh Jacobs: Even with last week getting out of hand, he had a touchdown called back that would have made him a viable option for the week. Jacobs is an unquestioned bell cow in an offense that has some upside, a role that lands him inside my top 15 this week (and most).

David Montgomery: The Montgomery situation is a straightforward one: If he plays, you play him. Initial reporting seemed to paint a pessimistic picture of his status in the short term. Be ready to pivot if the news changes, but benching Monty is the play as we sit here today.

Jahmyr Gibbs: Reports circulated last week that Dan Campbell wanted to rely heavily on his rookie back, and that was great to hear. Sadly, confidence from the coaching staff is not a category in which fantasy points are awarded. The Lions trailed for every one of their offensive snaps against the Ravens and never had a chance to get the ground game going.

That said, Gibbs did punch in a fourth-quarter touchdown and hauled in nine of 10 targets on his way to the best fantasy performance of his young career. The game may have been wonky, but a 65-7 snap edge over Craig Reynolds wasn’t a mistake.

We can speculate how involved Gibbs will/won’t be when David Montgomery returns, but at the very least, we know he is a bell cow when Detroit’s lead back is sidelined.

Craig Reynolds: Sometimes coach-speak is B.S., and other times it’s S.B.: Simply Beautiful. I mentioned Dan Campbell’s words last week about his projected backfield usage, and it came to light — he featured Gibbs, and that left nothing on the bone for Reynolds. Even with Montgomery sidelined, he touched the ball just four times (25 yards).

Yes, this is a good matchup, and if Montgomery sits, I could see managers wanting to get cute. Don’t. You can do better at Flex than a distant secondary option (at best) in an offense that typically operates through the air at home. Reynolds can be left on waivers in favor of players with more immediate role upside.

Wide Receivers

Davante Adams: The “squeaky wheel gets the grease” saying refers to when an unhappy party is paid extra attention in an effort to quiet said part.

But what happens if the grade of oil isn’t enough to keep the specific wheel quiet? I’m not a car guy, but in theory, the wheel is still a problem, no?

All of that is to say that the Raiders entered last week’s loss in Chicago hellbent on getting their ace receiver on track (he saw the first four targets of the game during the scripted portion of the plan), and it really didn’t work. It took 12 targets to get Adams 57 yards, continuing a brutal three-week stretch that has seen him total just 131 yards and zero scores.

He has fallen down my ranks a touch, but he is still a WR1 for me. He ranks in the same range as Ja’Marr Chase in a brutal matchup (at SF) and ahead of a receiver having similar quality of target issues (Chris Olave).

Jakobi Meyers: Did you know that Meyers’ per-game production this season is greater than that of CeeDee Lamb last season (half-PPR)? Yes, he’s been that level of good — he has a score or double-digit targets in five of his six games this season.

The efficiency dipped last week with Garoppolo sitting (it took 13 targets to get him seven catches), but a late touchdown saved his day, and all scores count the same in fantasy. As a Meyers manager, I like the reporting that Adams will not be dealt this season, as he demands a high level of defensive attention.

In a perfect world, I want Garoppolo under center because it takes him fewer targets to put up the same numbers. That said, it’s pretty clear that Josh McDaniels brought in Meyers with a usage plan, and that plan isn’t going to change.

This should be a scoring environment, and that puts Meyers into the WR2 conversation.

Amon-Ra St. Brown: With a touchdown or 100 yards in every game this season, St. Brown is nothing short of elite. He’s seen 53 targets over his past four games and is as reliable as any player in our game. Embrace the semi-discount you got on the Sun God this year; that’ll be as cheap as you gain access to his services for years to come.

Jameson Williams: Much like Marvin Mims Jr. in Denver, playing time is the issue. I have no problem chasing the ceiling performance from these all-or-nothing types (heck, I spent all summer putting air in the tires of Gabe Davis), but I need them to at least be on the field. Williams ranked fourth among Lions receivers in routes run last week, and that’s just not going to get it done.

I have him one spot ahead of former Lion DJ Chark and outside of my top 50 at the position. I’d rather take my chances on Rashid Shaheed if you’re looking for dart throws with top-30 upside.

Tight Ends

Michael Mayer: While the usage has been inching in the right direction, we may have gotten over our skis in elevating Mayer after his 75-yard effort against the Patriots in Week 6. Outside of that game, he has just 54 yards this season, and with below-average play under center, how confident are we that a third pass catcher in this offense can be sustained?

That’s not to say that he’s off the streaming radar completely moving forward, but with no teams on a bye this week, Mayer is outside of my top 15 at the position.

Sam LaPorta: After the exciting start to his career, LaPorta has been held under 60 yards in four straight games and doesn’t have a 20-yard catch in consecutive contests after hauling in a 30+ yard pass in three straight.

It happens. We are talking about the tight end position. The rookie is seeing seven targets per game, and all Lions receive a nice little value bump when playing at home. LaPorta is pretty clearly a Tier 3 tight end for me (Kelce, Hockenson, and Andrews make up the top two tiers), and that means you start him weekly without a second thought.