It’s time for weekly bold predictions. The point here is that if you follow the consensus, you’re probably going to have a good team. But in order to go from good to great, you have to take some chances. You have to do your homework and figure out where you can zig when the rest of your league (or at least your opponent this week) zags. In short, you need to know how and when to be bold.

We asked our analysts to provide a bold prediction for Week 8. Their answers and justifications are below.

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Fantasy Football Week 8 Bold Predictions

What is one bold fantasy prediction (player related) for the upcoming week and why could it happen?

“George Kittle is the TE1 against the Cincinnati Bengals. According to Fantasy Points Data, the veteran tight end leads the team among qualifying players in target per route run rate (31%) in the two games that either Deebo Samuel or Brandin Aiyuk has missed this year. He also led the 49ers in first-read targets during those two games. Furthermore, Kittle scored at least 10.5 half-point PPR fantasy points in both contests despite middle-of-the-road fantasy matchups. Meanwhile, the Bengals have surrendered 11.7 fantasy points per game to tight ends, the sixth-most in the NFL. They have also given up the second-most touchdowns to tight ends this season.”
– Mike Fanelli (FantasyPros)

“Breece Hall will run for 150 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants. Jets head coach Robert Saleh said a few weeks ago that there would be no more limitations on Hall’s usage, and he wasn’t kidding. In Week 5, Hall had a season-high 22 carries for 177 yards against the Broncos. In Week 6, Hall had only 12 carries for 39 yards against a tough Eagles run defense but had season highs in snaps (43) and snap share (66%). Now, Hall should be well-rested coming off a bye, and he’ll be facing a squishy Giants run defense that ranks 30th in DVOA and is giving up 5.0 yards per carry to RBs. Hall is about to go nuclear.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)

“As a New Yorker and being neutral for the Battle of MetLife, as I am calling it, this game will be fun to watch for my own personal reasons. With all of the storylines this game brings to the table it is impossible to discount how awesome this running back matchup will be, Breece Hall vs. Saquon Barkley, two of the games best. I have Breece Hall coming out on top, and I am calling for a huge day for Breece as he continues to impress as the main man for the Jets in their backfield. The Giants have struggled against running backs all year, conceding at least one touchdown to the position in every game but one. Breece will not only get one, he will get TWO touchdowns this week as the Jets beat the Giants.”
– Ed Birdsall (Talking Points Sports)

“Zay Flowers will be a top-10 fantasy receiver in Week 8. Flowers has seen his playing time and targets peak as the season has gone on and has become a consistent threat in the Raven’s pass game. This week he faces a Raiders pass defence that gives up yards in bunches and is one touchdown away from finding his way into the tiers of the elites.”
– Aaron St Denis (The League Winners)

“I believe this is the week that Jaylen Warren will have a higher snap count than Najee Harris, while also landing in the end zone and scoring more points than Najee. Najee may have had a bigger week last week, but Warren has been the better pass-catching back this season (Warren: 22 REC, 165 REC YDS; Najee: 8REC, 52 REC YDS) and his production will be needed against a Jacksonville team that is coming into this matchup with quite a bit of momentum. While Warren and Najee have identical Y/A this season (3.9), Warren has been a lot more consistent and has been trending up over the past 3 matchups (Warren: 3.6 Y/A, 4.4, 5.3; Najee: 5.1, 2.6, 3.8). Warren only has 1 Rush TD and 0 Rec TDs this season, but he will break into the end zone this week and be a high-tier RB2.”
– Brian Barker (Barker’s Fantasy Football Analysis)

“Tank Dell returns to light the Carolina secondary on fire with 120 receiving yards and two scores. In Weeks 2-4, as a full-time player, Dell was crushing. He led the team in deep targets while also finishing with at least 72 receiving yards in two of three games. The Panthers roll out zone coverage on 82.6% of their defensive plays (third-highest rate). In his three games as a full-time player, he leads the team with a 22.2% target share and 32.4% air-yard share against zone. In that span, he was second in YPRR (2.26) and first-read share (23.7%) against zone coverage on the team. Dell makes his return known loudly in Week 8. ”
– Derek Brown (FantasyPros)

“Josh Downs will finish as a top-20 fantasy WR in half-PPR scoring and flirt with top-10 results in full-PPR scoring. Frankly, this shouldn’t even be a bold prediction. Downs has finished as the WR19, WR27 and WR3 over his last three starts, all coinciding with Gardner Minshew taking over for the Indianapolis Colts. During this Week 5-7 stretch, he’s top 10 in both fantasy points and total yards amongst wideouts, and he now gets a Saints defense in Week 8, which funnels targets to opposing slot receivers. Downs should once again thrive in this security blanket, layup-target type of slot role for Indy, especially when Shane Steichen is operating this scheme to be one of the fastest-past, pass-happiest offenses in the league. Downs isn’t just catching short targets in the slot and scamming his way to full PPR top performances, either. His YAC (yards after the catch) have come in bunches, indicative of both his impressive burst score (89th percentile) and agility score (86th percentile) coming out of UNC), as well as his elite 97th percentile college target share of 34.1%. With Pittman often seeing shadow coverage and top DBs from the opposing team every week, it’s Downs who will get the advantageous matchups lined up against less talented corners, LBs and safeties. He’s already run 203 slot routes to Pittman’s 78 this season. So if you’re looking for a target-earner with a solid floor in a high-volume pass offense – as well as one with a high upside to break big plays and earn double-digit looks every week – look no further than Down, not just for Week 8 but for the rest of 2023 season. It won’t be long until the expert consensus rankers (ERC) wake up and move him to where he belongs: solid WR2 category. I’ve got him as WR20 this week, compared to a disrespectful WR38 by ECR.”
– Christopher Dell (Betting Predators)

“Odell Beckham Jr. goes for 8 receptions, 140 yards, 1 TD against the Arizona Cardinals. If Odell is healthy, he’s simply too talented not to scorch the fantasy earth versus a struggling defense like the Cardinals. The Ravens’ offense is starting to hit its stride under new offensive coordinator, Todd Monken. The conditions for the vertical passing attack will be much better this week in the controlled weather settings in the dome compared to last week where wind played a factor. Arizona seems ripe for the picking in a “get right game” for Beckham.
– Mark Ringo (Sleepers and Busts)

“Bijan Robinson will dominate the Tennessee Titans this week. He is coming off of a week where he was sick and only touched the ball one time. Tennessee does have a competent defense (holding opposing running backs to 3.6 ypc), but the offense is so bad that the Falcons should get up by enough points and pound the ball to keep the clock rolling. Look for Bijan to eclipse 135 total yards and sneak in a touchdown (or two).”
– Adam Dove (The Fantasy Couriers)

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