Week 8 Fantasy Football Studs and Duds
In Week 8 in the NFL, the teams favored by Vegas won 9 of the 13 games and covered in 6 of those 9 games. How did your fantasy league stack up against these odds? If you had many upsets, it is highly likely that the successful underdogs had some unexpected Studs, or perhaps the favored squads suffered some extra stinky Duds. Let’s take a look at the likely suspects.
For the full rundown of Week 8’s Studs & Duds, check out today’s podcast.
Studs
Quarterbacks
Deshaun Watson vs MIA
239 passing yards, 5 TDs, 14 rushing yards
Watson only completed 16 passes and still passed for 5 TDs. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad for fantasy value going forward. He’s crazy efficient, but that also screams for regression. Then again, this has been Watson’s M.O. in the league.
Cam Newton vs BAL
219 passing yards, 2 TDs, 52 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD
Anytime you can tack on 50 rushing yards and a TD onto a QB’s stats, fantasy owners are going to be happy.
Derek Carr vs IND
244 passing yards, 3 TDs, 1 rushing TD
Despite the turmoil in Oakland, Derek Carr is quietly putting together a solid campaign.
Jared Goff vs GB
295 passing yards, 3 TDs, 2pt conv
Being at the helm of one of the highest scoring offenses in the league is a good gig.
Patrick Mahomes vs DEN
303 passing yards, 4 TDs, INT
Speaking of good gigs…
Running Backs
James Conner vs CLE
24 carries, 146 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 5 receptions, 66 receiving yards
It’s too bad that everytime James Conner’s name comes up that the story isn’t really about him. Conner is an incredible success story, but on and off the field. I don’t think we can credit this young man enough for that.
Todd Gurley vs GB
25 carries, 114 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 81 receiving yards, TD, 2 pt conv
Public Service Announcement for all Gurley owners: you aren’t going to get any sympathy from your league-mates because Gurley took a knee and didn’t score another TD. You are just going to have to get over it.
Marlon Mack @ OAK
25 carries, 132 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 2 receptions, 17 receiving yards
I for one was excited in the preseason about the opportunity presented to the running game in Indianapolis once Andrew Luck returned to action. Honestly didn’t expect Mack to be the one to seize the opportunity.
Joe Mixon vs TB
21 carries, 123 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 3 receptions, 15 receiving yards
Great RB, even better matchup.
Adrian Peterson @ NYG
26 carries, 149 rushing yards, TD, 1 reception, 7 receiving yards, TD, fumble
For being an all-time great RB, Adrian Peterson doesn’t run like a graceful athlete. He has one of the strangest gaits that I can remember at a full sprint.
Wide Receivers
Marvin Jones Jr. vs SEA
7 receptions, 117 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 10 targets
Even with the emergence of Kenny Golladay and Kerryon Johnson in this passing attack, Marvin Jones is still a great downfield threat for the Lions.
Mike Evans @ CIN
6 receptions, 179 receiving yards, TD, 13 targets
This game could’ve been a complete disaster for Evans. His starting QB got benched mid-game and Evans himself left with a rough looking knee injury. All’s well that ends well.
Sammy Watkins vs DEN
8 receptions, 107 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 9 targets
Humble brag: I traded for Sammy Watkins 2 hours before kickoff and put him in my starting lineup. Yay, me!
Tyler Boyd vs TB
9 receptions, 138 receiving yards, TD, 10 targets
Boyd is currently leading the Bengals in receptions. This total is also good for 9th in the league amongst WRs.
DeAndre Hopkins vs MIA
6 receptions, 82 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 7 targets
With Will Fuller done for the year, Watson is going to be looking to Hopkins even more. Like he needed another reason.
Antonio Brown vs CLE
6 receptions, 74 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 8 targets
I have run out of synonyms for “best”.
Larry Fitzgerald vs SF
8 receptions, 102 receiving yards, TD, 12 targets, 2pt conv
Not as good as he once was, but as good once…
Tight Ends
Travis Kelce vs DEN
6 receptions, 79 receiving yards, TD, 10 targets
Travis Kelce is a good NFL TE.
Jordan Thomas vs MIA
4 receptions, 29 receiving yards, 2 TDs, 4 targets
If you’re desperate for a TE, Jordan Thomas gets the Broncos next week, fresh off getting eviscerated by Travis Kelce.
Jack Doyle @ OAK
6 receptions, 70 receiving yards, TD, 7 targets
I thought Ebron had done enough to hold off Doyle upon his return from injury.
Eric Ebron @ OAK
3 receptions, 37 receiving yards, TD, 3 targets
Guess not. Ebron saved his day with a TD, but he’s resumed his role as the TE2 for the Colts.
Jared Cook vs IND
4 receptions, 74 receiving yards, TD, 5 targets
Jared Cook is old enough to get past the bouncer at the door to enter the Raiders Locker Room. The pieces of the Raiders that survive the trade deadline should be set up for success.
Duds
Quarterbacks
Jameis Winston @ CIN
276 passing yards, TD, 4 INTs, 18 rushing yards
Oh no. Winston has gone into full self-destruct mode. He might just be taking Dirk Koetter with him.
Running Backs
Isaiah Crowell @ CHI
13 carries, 25 rushing yards, 1 reception, 13 receiving yards
Speaking of self-destructive tendencies, if you put Crowell in your starting lineups, you might want to seek intervention.
Matt Breida @ AZ
16 carries, 42 rushing yards
Considering the injury history for Breida, I think his owners are lucky that he even received 16 touches.
Chris Thompson @ NYG
3 carries, 13 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 9 receiving yards
The Giants allowed this to be an Adrian Peterson game. Chris Thompson games are coming. Jordan Reed drawing 12 targets didn’t help Thompson owners out either.
Wide Receivers
T.Y. Hilton @ OAK
1 reception, 34 receiving yards, 5 targets
The hype around Andrew Luck and the Colts offense has been growing recently. However, don’t let this distract you from who T.Y. Hilton is and has been his whole career. A volatile, high ceiling, low floor play.
Doug Baldwin @ DET
2 receptions, 26 receiving yards, 3 targets
Here’s another guy with a low floor.
JuJu Smith-Schuster vs CLE
4 receptions, 33 receiving yards, 6 targets
The Steelers dispatched the Browns comfortably in Week 8. This is a much different game script than the one that allowed Juju to hang 119 yards on the Browns in Week 1.
Kenny Golladay vs SEA
1 reception, 12 receiving yards, 1 target
A young WR in a crowded offense is going to have some growing pains. Unfortunately for Golladay owners, he has now set season lows in targets, receptions, and yards in back to back weeks.
Alshon Jeffery vs JAX (London)
4 receptions, 35 receiving yards, 5 targets
Weird things happen in London. This isn’t one of those things. WRs usually struggle against the Jaguars defense.
John Brown @ CAR
3 receptions, 28 receiving yards, 7 targets
I guess you can say that projections for Brown’s fantasy points went up in… Smoke.
Tight Ends
David Njoku @ PIT
nothing
Njoku did draw one target in the end zone. Unfortunately, Njoku also drew a defensive pass interference that broke up the play and you don’t get fantasy points for that.
Jimmy Graham @ LAR
1 reception, 21 receiving yards, 4 targets
Graham has a TD play called back in this contest. So close.
Trey Burton vs NYJ
3 receptions, 18 receiving yards, 4 targets
In the absence of Allen Robinson, I, and many others expected Burton to be more involved.