Fantasy football will turn you into an angry, bitter soul if you let it. Most of us derive more pain from the losses than pleasure from the wins. Some of us feel hatred toward the players, coaches or officials we hold responsible for our fantasy failings.
It’s no way to live.
Fantasy football is, after all, a game. Yes, there’s money and pride at stake. But this is supposed to be fun, dammit. The sport of football is enjoyable, so let’s have fun with it.
I’m trying not to dwell on the negative and to find joy in the NFL and fantasy seasons. For instance, I’m doing my best to appreciate that …
- The Dolphins are averaging nearly 35 points per game and are nearly as fun to watch as the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams.
- Fifth-round rookie Puka Nacua, who has 4.6 speed and never had a 1,000-yard season in college, is blossoming into an NFL superstar.
- Adam Thielen drank deeply from the Fountain of Youth and is pacing for a career-best season at age 33.
- Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are giving us the pleasure of watching one of the two greatest QB-TE combos of all time. (Hat tip, Tom Brady/Rob Gronkowski.)
- With more than 125 receiving yards in five consecutive games, A.J. Brown has turned into an uncoverable force of nature.
- Christian McCaffrey is on pace to score 27 touchdowns.
- Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt, two future Hall of Famers, are at the height of their powers and wrecking offenses on a weekly basis.
These things are cool regardless of whether you have any of these guys on your fantasy team(s). Savor it. This is the stuff you’ll be telling your football-loving grandkids about someday.
Don’t let Arthur Smith or anyone else steal your football joy.
As always, feel free to use these tiered rankings as a tiebreaker for your difficult lineup decisions. Beneath the tiers, I’ll offer a few brief thoughts on some of the borderline start/sit guys and some other interesting cases. Here are a few notable players this week.
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
- Waiver Wire Picks
Check out the rest of our fantasy football content 
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Week 8 Tiers & Rankings
Time to readmit Dallas Goedert into the circle of trust. After producing only 13-88-0 in his first four games, Goedert has piled up 18-236-2 in his last three. The Eagles are throwing a lot of screen passes to Goedert, and they’re working. We’d prefer more downfield usage for a big-play tight end with career averages of 11.9 yards per catch and 8.7 yards per target, but hey, we’ll take it. Start Goedert with confidence against a Washington defense that was harsh on TEs not long ago but has allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to the position this year.
Derek Carr‘s struggles are working to the advantage of Taysom Hill stakeholders. Hill has enjoyed snap shares of 60% and 58% the last two weeks, and the Saints are eager to put the ball in his hands rather than rely on Carr to move the chains. On the FantasyPros Football Podcast, I have referred to Hill as fantasy football’s equivalent of an open-ended straight-flush draw in poker, because there are a lot of ways for Hill to make a big hand. In Week 6, the Mormon Missile (an actual nickname; I can’t take credit) had one rushing attempt, one pass attempt and seven receptions. Last week, Hill had five rushing attempts and four receptions. He finished TE9 in Week 6 and TE5 in Week 7. Don’t be afraid to fire him up against the Colts this week.
Zach Ertz has been placed on IR, bolstering the fantasy value of second-year Cardinals TE Trey McBride. I’m not quite ready to throw McBride into a fantasy lineup just yet, but when QB Kyler Murray comes off injured reserve to put some teeth back into the Arizona passing game, McBride will become a more appealing fantasy option.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
