Fantasy Football Week 8: Rankings Audit & Podcast Highlights
Week 7 was a low scoring week overall. There were a few big performances, however, it was a slow week overall. In my home league, only one team had a big week and everyone else was well below the normal weekly average.
Quarterback Rankings
Matthew Stafford kicks off the top of the QB list with the largest variances between the Ballers’. Coming into the game riding a 292 yard per game average, Stafford is set-up for a nice match-up with the Giants, who are allowing the 5th most passing yards to opposing QBs.
Tom Brady lost Josh Gordon but gained Mohamed Sanu. While that might sounds lopsided by name value, Sanu is a quality NFL WR, including being a strong blocker. The Browns pass defense is not the strongest, allowing the 22nd most points to oppose QBs. Brady comes into the week with four top-seven performances this year.
Daniel Jones might be a streaming option for some owners, but has a big variance between the Ballers’ ranks. He’s a dangerous start, considering he’s averaging just 198 yards per game since his Week 3 explosion and only one TD per game.
Runningback Rankings
There is a lot of variance down the list for RBs for Week 8, with most players sporting two or greater spot variances.
Chris Carson is getting a ton of work this year, averaging 23.6 opportunities per game. There are a few spots of variance between the Ballers rankings, while the Falcons present the middle of the road defensive matchup for Week 8.
Derrick Henry is seeing an average of 19 carries per game. The Buccaneers run defense is the one strength of their defense, ranking 3rd in the least points allowed this year.
The Patriots defense has been outstanding this year, rankings 1st in the least amount of fantasy points allowed to every position. Nick Chubb brings his 19 rushing attempts per game to Foxborough and hopes to break the trend.
On the flip side of that game, Sony Michel scored three TDs last week, after being held out of the endzone in favor of Tom Brady’s two rushing TDs in Week 6. Cleveland is giving up the fourth-most rushing yards to opposing RBs.
Al Bello/Getty Images
Wide Receiver Rankings
Tyler Lockett finds himself easily inside the top 10 as he goes to Atlanta for a matchup with the Falcons’ secondary allowing the 28th most points to opposing WRs.
The Eagles secondary has been a fantasy target all years, as they are allowing the most points to opposing WRs on the year. That brings John Brown’s ranking way up this week.
Both Odell Beckham and Allen Robinson face very difficult matchups this week and both are sporting large variances within their rankings.
Tight End Rankings
While the Giants defense has been giving up a lot of points to opposing RBs and WRs, they have allowed the 4th least points this year. T.J. Hockenson is ranked inside the top 10, but this could be a bad week for the rookie TE.
Greg Olsen has been a solid fantasy-floor TE play this year with his 18.5% target share, however, a game against the stingy 49ers defense allowing the 3rd least amount of fantasy points to opposing TEs.
Biggest Takeaways from the Week 7 Podcasts
Monday – Week 7 Studs & Stinkers + Weekly Rewind, Monday Punday
Andy’s Back! (for now) to start off the 800th episode of the show with Monday Punday. Some winners like Devin Singlecarry top the list. Weekly Rewind kicks off at 6:58 with some big injury news for some NFC North players. Fantasy Studmuffins can be found at 19:34 with Aaron Rodgers return to glory. The Stinkers of the Week segment starting at 39:52 is full of some sad performances.
Tuesday – Week 8 Waivers + Full Stream Ahead, Seeing Ghosts
Andy (O – Illness) gets the dreaded mid-week downgrade, leaving Mike and Jason go over the Patriots’ Monday Night Football trouncing of the Jets. The News and Notes segment at 10:24 has some rare trade news. This week’s Waivers segment opens at 20:42, with Dallas and Baltimore on bye. There are a lot of QB Streaming options highlighted in the Ballers’ Full Stream Ahead segment found at the 53:14 mark and finishes with the Ballers discussing some of the drop candidates to acquire one of those waiver-wire wonders. How fast can you repeat Mike’s new tongue twister? (Kirk Cousins, meet Kirk’s Cousin.)
John Autey / MediaNews Group / St. Paul Pioneer Press via Getty Images
Wednesday – Week 8 Buy/Sell + Midseason Review & TNF Preview
Fantasy Buy or Sell at 3:36 is all about some NFC West players heading into Week 8. Are you buying or selling Kyler Murray as a Top 10 QB for Week 8? The News and Notes segment opens at 10:21 and Jason is saddened by the segment intro. Mike does a live drop for the Mid-Season Review at 24:25. The Thursday Night Preview of the Giants at Patriots game closes the show starting at 53:47.
Thursday – Starts of the Week + Week 8 Breakdown, Middle School Memories
The Question of the day starts at 3:06 – “Which player reminds you most of your “middle school self” and why?” Up next is the News and Notes at 7:27 and it jam-packed with injury updates. The Fantasy Forecast opens at 16:42 discussing the following matchups:
Seahawks @ Falcons
Cardinals @ Saints
Chargers @ Bears
Jets @ Jaguars
Giants @ Lions
Buccaneers @ Titans
The Ballers’ Starts of the Week can be found at 57:20. If you are still playing in a league with Kickers, Jason’s Ironclad, Locked & Loaded, 100% Guaranteed, Boom Boom Kicker of the Week can be found at 1:05:04.
Friday – Week 8 Matchups + In-or-Out, Dad Returns!
Andy’s finally shed the OUT label, returning just in time to discuss that uninspiring Thursday Night Football game, unless you are a Dalvin Cook or Stefon Diggs owner. The Ballers fire up the In-Or-Out segment at 12:34. If your match up was not on the Thursday show, you can listen to the second half of the Fantasy Forecasts at 20:31. The 1:01:03 mark closes out the show with the Ballers on a Budget segment.
Fantasy Previews:
Eagles @ Bills
Broncos @ Colts
Bengals @ Rams
Panthers @ 49ers
Raiders @ Texans
Browns @ Patriots
Packers @ Chiefs
Dolphins @ Steelers
As we head into the fall, the weather will start to play a role in some of the games. Make sure you check back every Sunday for Eric Ludwig’s Weekly Weather Conditions article.
Weekly Articles
Rob Wilson’s Ten Things We Learned from the weekend.
Jeff Greenwood’s Trade Targets and Ammo
Matthew Betz’s Injury Recap
Aaron Larson’s Target Report
Ryan Weisse’s Snap Count Observations
Lauren Carpenter’s Waiver Wire
Ryan Weise’s Defense/Special Teams Strategy
Much of the DFS content begins to drop on Thursday’s. There are a lot of DFS focused articles, so check them all out here: https://www.thefantasyfootballers.com/dfs/
Kyle Yates’ Dynasty Report
Kyle Borgognoni’s Predicting the Top-12 QB’s
Sunday –Eric Ludwig’s Weekly Weather Conditions
Have a great weekend and best of luck in Week 7!