Week 8 had a full slate of NFL action and it delivered in a big way. Fantasy football continues to be filled with highs, lows, and constant chaos.
After dominating the league for the entire season, the San Francisco 49ers have now lost three consecutive games, as Joe Burrow (QB – Bengals) and the Cincinnati Bengals routed the 49ers on the road in a decisive 31-17 victory. Christian McCaffery (RB – 49ers) continues to be the only player on the 49ers offense that is consistently handling touches and volume in the red zone, while the Bengals opted to spread the ball around, allowing Ja’Marr Chase (WR – Bengals) and Joe Mixon (RB – Bengals) to still deliver their upside in fantasy manager lineups.
Dallas continues to be a force at home, beating the Rams 43-20 behind Dak Prescott’s (QB – Cowboys) four touchdown passing day, while Bryce Young (QB – Panthers) willed the Carolina Panthers to their first win of the season, 15-13, with a walk-off field goal to beat C.J. Stroud (QB – Texans) and the Houston Texans. Taysom Hill (QB/TE – Saints) and Alvin Kamara (RB – Saints) led the way for New Orleans against the porous Indianapolis run defense, while the Minnesota Vikings won their third consecutive game but lost Kirk Cousins (QB – Vikings) to an Achilles tear.
Jacksonville remains undefeated at 4-0 on the road, with Trevor Lawrence (QB – Jaguars) and Travis Etienne (RB – Jaguars) shouldering the load on offense. The Eagles continued to struggle against Washington but ultimately came away with a 38-31 road win over the Commanders, with star wideout A.J. Brown (WR – Eagles) extending his frenzied pace of over 100 receiving yards, while adding multiple touchdown receptions. The biggest upset of the day came in Denver, as the Broncos ended their 16-game losing skid with a quality 24-9 outright win at home over the Chiefs, forcing Patrick Mahomes (QB – Chiefs) to throw two interceptions and zero touchdowns.
NFL fantasy analyst Matt MacKay shares his latest analysis on Week 8 studs and duds with half-PPR scoring to assess the fallout from a busy weekend across the league. Let’s find out which players to prioritize in lineups and which ones are unsustainable and lack consistency moving ahead into the second half of the 2023 fantasy football season.
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Studs
Dak Prescott (QB – Cowboys)
Dak Prescott was on fire in Week 8 against what had previously been a good Los Angeles pass defense. Prescott completed 80 percent of his pass attempts for over 300 yards and four touchdowns, logging 28.06 fantasy points. The Cowboys’ QB1 is heating up ahead of a highly anticipated Week 9 matchup against the Eagles, who just let Sam Howell (QB – Commanders) throw the ball for 397 yards and four touchdowns in Week 8. Prescott got off to a slow start but he’s quickly becoming a must-start in one quarterback leagues.
Gus Edwards (RB – Ravens)
It’s evident that the Ravens don’t require a stud running back in the trade market, as Gus Edwards turned 19 carries into 80 yards and three rushing touchdowns against Arizona on Sunday. Edwards was the go-to goal-line option for Baltimore, keeping Lamar Jackson (QB – Ravens) protected en route to a 31-24 win on the road against a scrappy Cardinals defense. Baltimore has scored over 30 points in back-to-back games and Edwards should continue to earn double-digit touches against Seattle in Week 9, who are 16th against fantasy running backs, so Edwards is a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside moving forward.
Alvin Kamara (RB – Saints)
Alvin Kamara is also heating up recently, scoring two total touchdowns in a favorable matchup against the Colts in Week 8. Kamara caught four of five targets to add 51 receiving yards and a touchdown, while remaining first in carries (17) despite Taysom Hill scoring two rushing touchdowns on nine carries. His usage as a receiver out of the backfield keeps Kamara’s floor in mid-range RB2 territory, while he is capable of an RB1 finish if he finds his way into the end zone.
CeeDee Lamb (WR – Cowboys)
The key to Dallas’ offense is feeding CeeDee Lamb. When Prescott has targeted his alpha wideout over 10 times, Lamb has returned immense value for the Cowboys’ offense, as well as fantasy managers who have Lamb in their lineups. The inconsistency has hurt Lamb’s first or second-round draft capital, but he popped off early against the Rams, winding up with 12 receptions on 14 targets for 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Lamb has fallen under 12.8 fantasy points once since Week 3, so he remains a must-start with a WR2 floor and overall WR1 ceiling.
DeAndre Hopkins (WR – Titans)
The debut of Will Levis (QB – Titans) treated DeAndre Hopkins to a career day, as the veteran wideout caught four of six targets for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Yes, three of his four receptions were touchdowns, as Levis peppered Hopkins with deep pass attempts, averaging 21.3 yards per target. It won’t be like this every week, but the Titans get the Steelers’ porous secondary in Week 9, which ranks as the sixth-best matchup for fantasy wideouts, so Hopkins should remain a high-end WR2 with WR1 upside on the road in Pittsburgh on Thursday Night Football.
Trey McBride (TE – Cardinals)
The TE1 in Week 8 turned out to be second-year tight end, Trey McBride, who caught 10 of 14 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens. McBride benefitted from Zach Ertz’s (TE – Cardinals) absence, but he saw over twice the number of targets he finished with in previous weeks. McBride is a former second-round draft pick that should get even better with Kyler Murray (QB – Cardinals) rumored to be a week or two away from returning under center as the Cardinals’ QB1. McBride is a mid-range TE1 who just showcased his ceiling in a top-heavy Arizona offense.
Duds
Patrick Mahomes (QB – Chiefs)
For the first time in ages, we’re seeing Patrick Mahomes show up under the duds list for fantasy football players in Week 8. Mahomes finished QB31 with 5.6 fantasy points, going 24-of-38 for 241 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. If it wasn’t for three carries that netted 20 rushing yards, Mahomes would’ve fallen even further. It’s most likely an anomaly, but there’s definitely some underlying issues with the Chiefs’ offense in 2023. Mahomes should remain a locked and loaded QB1 against the Miami Dolphins overseas in Germany for Week 9.
Tony Pollard (RB – Cowboys)
Fantasy managers who used second round draft capital to acquire Tony Pollard have to feel frustrated at this point. Pollard was RB34 in Week 8 despite getting a cake matchup against the Rams’ porous run defense, falling victim to Prescott airing it out to his wide receiving corps. Pollard only saw one target and turned it into two yards, while handling 12 carries for 53 rushing yards. He’s RB15 in fantasy points per game (12.2) and hasn’t scored a touchdown since recording two of them in Week 1. Pollard is a low-end RB2 who has yet to consistently deliver an RB1 ceiling since that opening game against the lowly Giants.
D.K. Metcalf (WR – Seahawks)
The WR27 in fantasy points per game (11), D.K. Metcalf has been underwhelming overall. Tyler Lockett (WR – Seahawks) has been quiet but he popped in Week 8, his second time going over 18 fantasy points this season, while rookie wideouts Jake Bobo (WR – Seahawks) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – Seahawks) scored touchdowns early and late. Metcalf finished with a team-high 14 targets, but only caught five of them for 67 yards. These included end zone targets, but Geno Smith (QB – Seahawks) was not effective in delivering the ball to Metcalf on those high-value throws. Metcalf is a WR2 going on the road against Baltimore in Week 9, who rank as the sixth-toughest wide receiver matchup this season.
Dalton Schultz (TE – Texans)
After a three week stretch of 11-16 fantasy points per game, Dalton Schultz has cooled off, winding up with two receptions for five yards on five targets against Carolina in Week 8. It was a defensive battle without much scoring, so part of this was due to game script, but the Texans should continue to be more pass-centric in upcoming matchups against the Buccaneers and Bengals. Schultz is third on the Texans in terms of target share this season (17.6%) but he relies on touchdowns to return value as a TE1. He can be rostered but there are better streaming options available in most leagues, so Schultz is a risky fringe TE1 until further notice.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.