Week 8 Fantasy Recap

Alright, Sunday Night is in the books. Thursday was Carolina at Green Bay. Bears-Seahawks is tonight, so I’m skipping it. This is Week 8 through Washington’s 27–10 win.

Eight weeks is a role. Also Lamar Jackson lasted one snap, Bucky Irving went 27-170 in a game Baker Mayfield completed zero passes, and Jahmyr Gibbs just ran over the last unbeaten team in the NFC. That’s a sentence.

Houston, New Orleans, the Giants, and San Francisco were on bye. Malik Nabers, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and Chris Olave can sit this one out. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is tonight. I’m not walking the WR1 back because we haven’t seen him yet this week.

Stock up: Jahmyr Gibbs, Bucky Irving, Bhayshul Tuten, Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Allgeier, Braelon Allen, Josh Jacobs, Drake Maye, Trey McBride, Puka Nacua, Brock Bowers, Chuba Hubbard, Matthew Golden, Christian Watson, Harold Fannin Jr., Tony Pollard, Jonah Coleman, Rashee Rice, Ladd McConkey, Adonai Mitchell, Michael Wilson, Jaylen Warren, James Cook, Dalton Kincaid, DJ Moore, Trevor Lawrence, DeMario Douglas

Stock down / caution: Lamar Jackson (IR), Tyler Huntley (turf toe), Zay Flowers, Derrick Henry, Ashton Jeanty’s rushing role, Jonathan Taylor’s carry count, Javonte Williams’s efficiency, Kyren Williams’s split, Xavier Worthy, Justin Herbert, Michael Penix Jr., Breece Hall, A.J. Brown, Hunter Henry (foot), Saquon Barkley, MarShawn Lloyd, RJ Harvey, Baker Mayfield’s box score, Kenny Gainwell (rain), Jacoby Brissett, Jalen Hurts (still IR), Drake London’s weather night, Garrett Wilson vs the new toy

The scoreboard, real quick

CAR 19–27 GB (Thu). BAL 10–36 BUF. TEN 36–43 CIN (OT). ARI 33–30 DAL (OT). MIN 15–19 DET. IND 7–42 JAX. LV 38–33 NYJ. CLE 6–27 PIT. ATL 0–16 TB. LAC 9–24 LA. KC 24–28 DEN. NE 24–19 MIA. PHI 10–27 WAS.

Monday: Bears at Seahawks, later.

Sticky things (the ones that might actually last)

Gibbs just did the Gibbs thing to Minnesota. 23-153-1 plus 2-15 on 4. That’s 157-773-8 rushing and 34-285-2 receiving through seven. Sione Vaki mixed in (11-65). Jared Goff was 18-of-25 for 176, a score, a pick. Jameson Williams hit the go-ahead (4-70-1 on 6). Amon-Ra St. Brown was 7-46 on 8. Detroit ran it down the throat of an unbeaten defense in the fourth quarter and won 19–15. I wanted Gibbs under $70 in auction because this was the profile. Eight weeks in (one bye), this is still the profile. He’s a top-3 RB. I’m not taking questions.

Irving in a monsoon. 27-170-1. Mayfield went 0-for-3. Tampa ran it 50-plus times, Kenny Gainwell went 25-140, and the Bucs became the first team in a long time to win a game without completing a pass. That’s weather. The 27 carries are not. Irving is 147-728-5 through eight. Three 100-yard nights in his last four. The 20-touch job I wanted in Week 5 is now a 25-touch job when Tampa decides throwing is optional. Start him. Gainwell’s 140 is a rain dart, not a timeshare you pay for tomorrow.

Tuten against a Colts team that looked like it wanted to be elsewhere. 16-104-1 plus 2-55-1 on 2. Trevor Lawrence went 10-of-14 for 210 and 3 scores and sat in the fourth. Liam Coen believer checking in, again. That’s 110-492-3 rushing plus 15-181-3 receiving through seven. I had Tuten in the auction plan next to Swift. This is why. Parker Washington was quiet (1-16 on 2, plus a 10-yard run). One quiet night in a 42-burger is not a fade. Tuten is the Jaguars back. Jacksonville is at Baltimore on Thursday. I’m starting him.

Burrow just did the Burrow thing to Tennessee. 38-of-48 for 462, 5 passing scores, a rushing score, 3 picks, and a 43–36 overtime win. That’s three straight games with at least four passing touchdowns. Higgins went 10-155-2 on 11 (23.4%). Chase went 11-141-1 on 16 (34.0%). Chase Brown was 12-55 plus 8-46 on 9. Cincinnati is a passing game again, and it is a passing game that will throw it 48 times even when it turns the ball over four times. Raise the stack. London is next, in London. That’s a points-over game waiting to happen.

Allgeier with the Cardinals backfield in street clothes. Love left (ankle, again). Bam Knight left (concussion). Allgeier went 11-147-1 plus 5-44-1 on 5. Gardner Minshew replaced Jacoby Brissett and went 17-of-23 for 188 and 3 scores. Michael Wilson ate (8-111-1 on 15, 36.6%). Trey McBride was still McBride (7-72-1 on 8). I spent last year winning a league because Wilson was a waiver add. Fifteen targets in a comeback is the version of him I keep waiting for. Allgeier is the start if Love and Knight sit. McBride is the start either way. 66-544-5 on 86 targets through eight. Bank it.

Braelon keeps punching the 20-touch smash. 21-147-1 plus 2-6. Hall was questionable (quad) and inactive a fifth straight. That’s not day-to-day anymore. That’s a quad that has eaten two months. Geno Smith went 20-of-32 for 290 and 2 scores. Adonai Mitchell went 7-142-1 on 9. Garrett Wilson still led the looks (6-83 on 12, 39%). Wilson is the Jets WR1 job. Mitchell is the explosive one. Allen is an RB2 until Hall practices, and Hall has not practiced like a player who’s playing.

Jacobs got the volume I was waiting for. 21-39-1 plus 6-13-1 on 6, 71% of the snaps. That’s 1.9 a pop and 27 touches. Green Bay still threw it 41 times and won 27–19. Jordan Love went 30-of-41 for 288 and 3 scores. Golden saw 13 targets (7-79-1, 33.3%, 86% of the snaps). Watson went 8-113 on 10 in 49% of the snaps. I would rather have Watson’s explosives and Golden’s target share. You can like both. Jacobs is the Packers back. Lloyd went 3-7 in 16% of the snaps. I keep putting Lloyd on the flex radar and taking him off. Twenty-one carries is the sentence this time.

Maye made it five. 16-of-20 for 199, 2 passing scores, a rushing score, zero picks. That’s 3, then 4, then 3, then 2, then 2 again if you’re counting passing scores, and five straight with three-plus total. Hunter Henry left in the second (foot, 3-30 on 3) and did not return. DeMario Douglas punched the 48-yarder (3-76-1). Kyle Williams punched the 43-yarder. Rhamondre Stevenson was the volume (19-82 plus 3-8). A.J. Brown sat (ankle/knee). I was not starting Maye as a weekly QB2 in September. I am now. If Henry sits, Douglas is the Patriots pass catcher you actually have.

Hubbard on Thursday was the workhorse tape from Week 6, just in Green Bay. 22-81-1 plus 7-38 on 8, 92% of the snaps. Bryce Young went 23-of-41 for 209. Tetairoa McMillan saw 11 (6-58, 31%). I told you not to start Hubbard like a locked-in RB1 against Green Bay if Carolina was trailing. They weren’t trailing the whole night, and he still got 29 touches. The role is the floor. Denver is next.

Puka with Davante Adams on IR. 11-80-1 on 12 (48.0%). That’s an alpha target share in a 24–9 win. Matthew Stafford went 17-of-25 for 157, a score, a pick. Kyren Williams was 16-56-1. Blake Corum was 11-73-1. Puka is the Ram you start. Kyren is a volume RB2 with a shrinking ceiling. Corum is a real committee. Same yellow flag as last week, just quieter.

Injuries that actually change rest of season

Lamar is going on IR. Right thumb, one snap, collision on the follow-through, surgery, four-game minimum, and Jesse Minter would not rule out the rest of the year. That’s the rest-of-season fulcrum of the week. Tyler Huntley lasted long enough to go 2-of-4 for zero yards and then left with what’s being called turf toe. MRI is Monday. Joe Fagnano went 10-of-21 for 91, a pick. Flowers saw 5 targets and caught none. Henry went 11-53-1. Jacksonville is Thursday. If Huntley sits, you are starting Henry as a volume RB2 in a bad offense and you are sitting Flowers until somebody proves the target share survives an undrafted third quarterback. Fagnano is not a Superflex start. He is a situation.

Hall sat a fifth straight. Questionable, then inactive, and the reporting now sounds like “hoping for next week.” I have heard that sentence. Allen is the Jets back. Kansas City is next. That’s a start. Wilson stays in. Mitchell is a WR3/flex with juice if Cooper is the one who sits.

Henry (the tight end) left with a foot and did not return. Maye said he was walking around with a smile. Feet lie. Have a streamer. Eli Raridon is the name if you need a body. Brown sat again (ankle/knee). Romeo Doubs is still on IR. The Patriots passing game is Maye, Douglas, and whoever wins the 43-yard button. I’m not dumping Brown. I am not starting him until he practices.

Love left with the ankle again. Knight left with a concussion. Allgeier just went 191 yards from scrimmage and scored twice. If both guys in front of him are orange on Wednesday, Allgeier is an RB2. If Love practices, scale it. I would rather have Allgeier’s 11-147 than Love’s 9-23 on a snap count. McBride does not care which running back is in.

Harvey sat (knee). Jonah Coleman went 11-41-1 plus 4-63 on 5, including the 51-yarder that set up the go-ahead score. I told you last week to spend FAAB on him. Then he did the thing. J.K. Dobbins went 7-13. Coleman is the Broncos back to roster. He’s a flex this week at Carolina if Harvey sits again. Don’t bid like you found 2023 De'Von Achane. Do start the guy Sean Payton asked for more of.

Achane is still on IR. Ollie Gordon II went 19-69. That’s the Dolphins back. 3.6 a pop is not 25-103-1. It’s still 19 carries. Start him until Achane practices.

Emeka Egbuka sat again (foot). Chris Godwin Jr. saw 1 target in a game Tampa completed zero passes. That’s not a WR3 night. That’s weather. Sit Egbuka until he practices. Baker is a sit this week even if the rain stops, because I need to see him throw it more than three times before I stream him as a QB2.

DeVonta Smith sat (hamstring). Dontayvion Wicks sat (ankle). Makai Lemon went 6-57 on 9. Saquon Barkley played through the back (13-30-1 plus 1-24) and did not look like Monday’s 8.9-a-pop cameo. Elijah Mitchell mixed in (11-34 plus 4-3 on 6). Tanner McKee went 23-of-34 for 212, zero scores, a pick, five sacks. Hurts is still on IR. Lemon is the Eagles receiver you can actually roster. Barkley is a Wednesday. I’m not starting McKee in 1QB.

Adams is still on IR. Doubs is still on IR. Mike Evans is still Out (ribs/Achilles) and San Francisco was on bye anyway. None of those timelines moved Sunday.

Zach Charbonnet was a full participant heading into Monday Night. Emanuel Wilson went 24-100-1 last week with Charbonnet out. I’ll leave Seattle’s backfield for after kickoff. Same with Colston Loveland and D'Andre Swift.

Trending up (raise the rest-of-season number)

Gibbs, Irving, Tuten, McBride, Maye, Burrow, Higgins, Chase, Cook, Kincaid. The roles did not blink. Raise all ten.

Jacobs. Twenty-one carries, a rushing score, a receiving score, 71% of the snaps. Raise him into the weekly RB2 tier. Lloyd goes the other way.

Braelon. Fifth straight start with Hall in street clothes. Raise him into locked-in RB2. Hall is a stash, not a start.

Allgeier. One game is not 17 carries. It is 191 yards from scrimmage with both other backs leaving. Raise him into the “if the other guys sit, he’s a start” tier. That’s how late-round RBs become November RB2s.

Puka. 48% of the looks with Adams on IR. Raise the target share. The 80-yard night is not the ceiling. The 12 targets might be the floor.

Bowers. 7-92-2 on 10 (40%). I spent August telling you not to panic-sell the meniscus. Six games in, he’s a top-3 tight end again. Raise him.

Coleman. 15 touches, a score, Harvey out. Raise him into the flex conversation. Dobbins is a handcuff.

Rice. 7-53-1 on 8 in his first game back that counted. Raise him back into the WR2/3 tier. Worthy stays on the bench.

Ladd. 4-86 on 6 after the concussion and the bye. That’s not 8-100. It is a player who practiced and then produced. Highest best-ball exposure checking in again. I’m not selling him. I am starting him.

Fannin. 10-154 on 12 (30%) after 6-91. Two bounce-backs is a role. Deshaun Watson went 27-of-39 for 324 and zero scores. Stream Fannin. Don’t pay Bowers money.

Golden and Watson. 13 and 10 targets. Golden’s volume is sticky. Watson’s explosives are sticky. Raise both a half-tier. I was really high on Watson in the auction plan. I’m not backing off.

Michael Wilson. 15 targets, 111, a score, Minshew. Raise him into the weekly WR3/flex tier if Minshew keeps the job. If Brissett is back, scale it. McBride is the one you don’t overthink.

Pollard. 21-117-2 after 25-129-3. Two smash weeks is a trend until it isn’t. Tennessee is on bye next week. Bank the production. Don’t raise him into the RB1 tier because of two box scores against Cincinnati and whoever Week 7 was.

Adonai Mitchell. 7-142-1. That’s a button and 9 targets. Raise him into the deep-league WR3 pile behind Wilson. I’m not paying Cooper money for one 142-yard night. I am noticing it.

Lawrence. 15.0 yards per attempt, 3 scores, sat in the fourth. Raise him into the weekly QB1 conversation in Superflex. 1QB, he’s a start when Jacksonville is this version of Liam Coen.

Trending the wrong way

Lamar’s season. One snap. Surgery. IR. Flowers’ 8-137-1 on Huntley last week needed Huntley. Fagnano is not Huntley. Sit the Ravens pass catchers until we see a quarterback who can get the ball out. Henry’s 11-53-1 is the floor in a 10-point game. That’s a volume RB2 you start because the alternative is a dart, and only if you have no better choice Thursday.

Jeanty. Two carries, 9 yards, 22 snaps, and Mike Washington Jr. went 25-83. Jeanty still ripped a 45-yard catch (3-64 on 4). I wrote in Week 1 that the receiving work was the sticky part. Eight weeks later, the rushing job is the one that’s moving the wrong way. Volume receiving is still standalone. The rushing scores are still a billboard (one through eight). I’m not dumping him. I am not treating 23-102 as the weekly baseline either. Washington is a handcuff with a real path.

Jonathan Taylor. 8-23 plus 4-24 in a 42–7 loss. First carry went 19. The rest did not. Indianapolis looks like a team in a fire sale. Don’t panic-sell a workhorse on one blowout. Do notice that 8 carries is the lowest he’s been all year. If they’re not playing to win, the ceiling shrinks. Dallas is next. That’s a bounce-back spot, not a bench.

Javonte. 24-56 after 25-155-1 on Monday. The 24 carries are sticky. 2.3 a pop is the Cowboys run game remembering who it is. Arizona just dropped 147 on that front. I’m not walking back the volume. I am not treating 155 as the weekly baseline. CeeDee Lamb still saw 11 (7-58). Start CeeDee. Start Javonte as an RB2. Don’t flex the 155.

Walker’s efficiency, round two. 21-69 plus 4-15, no score. That’s the volume I wanted after 14-36. It is not 19-128-2. Emmett Johnson went 5-128-1 on 5, mostly on a 73-yard catch. That’s a button. Walker is still the Chiefs workhorse. 141-770-6 plus 22-131-2 through seven games. I’m not dumping him. I am not treating every week like Week 1 either. The Jets are next. That’s a plus spot.

Kyren’s split is not a rumor. 16 and 11 carries, both scored, one backfield. Puka is the Ram you don’t overthink. Kyren is a committee RB1. Those exist. They’re annoying.

Herbert. 24-of-32 for 257, zero scores, two picks, and the Chargers are 0-7. Ladd came back and still couldn’t drag this offense into the end zone. I’m not dumping Ladd. I am not streaming Herbert in 1QB until the Chargers remember how to punch it in. Houston is next. That’s a get-right spot on paper. This Chargers team has been getting right on paper for two months.

Penix. 8-of-24, 125, 4 picks, 0 points. Rain. Don’t dump Drake London because of 1-8 on 6 in a monsoon. Do sit Penix. Bijan Robinson went 19-76 with Brian Robinson still out (hamstring). The volume is fine. The offense was not. Cincinnati in London is a different script. Start Bijan. Start London. Sit last week’s quarterback tape.

Worthy. 3-13 on 6 with Rice back. That’s not a WR3. That’s the third option in an offense that just blew a 11-point fourth quarter lead. Start Rice. Start Walker. Sit Worthy.

Lloyd. Jacobs played 71%. Lloyd played 16%. I have shares in the 190s that are contingent value. That’s fine. That’s what they were supposed to be in July.

Barkley’s back. 13-30-1 is a touchdown and a yellow flag. The Giants are next. If he’s limited again, Mitchell is a dart. If he practices fully, you’re starting Saquon because he’s Saquon. I’m not pretending this is a 25-touch job until the hamstring and the back are rumors.

Baker’s zero. Historic. Funny. Not a rest-of-season identity unless Tampa keeps drawing rain. Irving is the sticky part. The zero completions are the bit.

League-winner watch

Gibbs. Seven games. 1,000-plus from scrimmage. Ten scores. That’s a top-3 RB profile, and Minnesota just confirmed it.

Irving if 25-plus carries is just Tampa when they don’t want to throw. That’s how a mid-round back becomes a championship-roster RB1.

Tuten. Liam Coen. 159 yards from scrimmage and two scores in a division game. That’s a league winner if 16-plus carries is the weekly look.

Maye, if three-plus total scores is just who he is now. Five straight. That’s how QB2s become championship-roster QB1s.

Burrow and the Higgins/Chase stack. Three straight 4-plus passing-TD games. Tight end is where seasons get won. So is a quarterback who just went 462.

Allgeier, if Love’s ankle and Knight’s concussion are a week (or more). That’s a mid-round league winner who just showed up in Week 8. Those count too.

Jacobs, now that 21 carries is the job and not the ramp. I wrote in August that he might be out half the year. I was wrong on the timeline. The volume just caught up.

JSN is still in this conversation, and he hasn’t even played yet this week. Seven weeks, 867 yards, two quarterbacks. Tonight is Chicago. I’ll leave it.

Braelon, because fifth-straight 100-yard-adjacent nights with Hall on the pine are how late-round RBs become season-long RB2s.

Puka, because Adams is not coming back this month and 48% of Stafford’s looks is an alpha.

A few more notes

Tony Pollard going back-to-back smash is noisy in the best way. Bye next week. Start him in Week 10. Don’t pay Gibbs money.

DJ Moore came back (4-82-1 on 7). Kincaid still hit (4-86-1). Cook still hit (21-80-1). Buffalo’s offense is fine. Baltimore’s is not. That’s the matchup.

Minshew throwing 3 scores in relief is a quarterback controversy, not a streaming lock. McBride and Wilson are the Cardinals you start. Brissett’s 10-of-23 for 119 is the tape that got him sat.

Justin Jefferson was 5-33-1 on 9. Kyler Murray went 17-of-29 for 210 and 2 scores. Volume is sticky. Minnesota’s offense is still not the 2024 version. Bank Jefferson. Don’t cap Murray as a QB1 until the station-to-station throws show up.

Jayden Daniels got a win (16-of-29, 217, a score). Stefon Diggs punched one in (3-38-1 on 6). That’s a floor, not a league-winner unlock. Philadelphia is a hospital. Washington is a stream if you need a QB2.

Kirk Cousins went 19-of-26 for 247, 3 passing scores, a rushing score. Bowers ate. Jeanty did not. Cousins is a Superflex start. 1QB, he’s the stream if your starter is named McKee or Fagnano.

What I’m watching

Tonight is Bears-Seahawks. If you have JSN, Caleb Williams, Swift, Loveland, Luther Burden III, or Wilson, you already know. Charbonnet was a full participant. I’ll leave it.

Thursday is Jacksonville at Baltimore. Tuten versus a Ravens team that might start Fagnano. That’s a smash if Huntley is out and a smash-adjacent if he isn’t. Flowers is a Wednesday.

Lamar’s IR clock. Four-game minimum. The season-ending sentence is the one that should make Superflex managers sit down.

Henry’s foot. Brown’s ankle. Doubs on IR. Maye at Green Bay. That’s a points-over game if New England’s passing game looks like the second half, and a TE stream if Henry doesn’t practice.

Love’s ankle, Knight’s concussion, Allgeier’s 147. Arizona at Seattle. If Allgeier is the back, he’s a start. If Love is the back, he’s a dart on a snap count.

Harvey’s knee. Coleman at Carolina. I already spent the FAAB. Now we find out if it was a role.

Ladd at Houston. Protocol is cleared. The Chargers offense is not. I’m starting Ladd anyway.

Pittsburgh and Tennessee are on bye in Week 9. Warren, Dowdle, Fannin, Pollard. Plan the bench accordingly.

And then we can talk about the rest of Week 8 after Bears-Seahawks. That one can wait.