Pat Fitzmaurice | Fri, Oct 25th 2024, 7:03am EDT

Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 8)

It’s wild how many moving parts fantasy managers have had to deal with this season.

Wide receivers are getting hurt at a ridiculously high rate. A number of RB situations are in flux. Tight ends are face-planting left and right.

Trying to stay on top of everything has been like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube.

By the way, I’m old enough to remember the Rubik’s Cube craze. One of the stranger things about it was that there were dozens of books about how to solve the Cube. I had a Rubik’s Cube but never bought any of the books. Of course I wanted to solve the darned thing, but what kind of satisfaction would I get by following an instruction manual to solve it? I wanted to do it on my own.

Of course, I never solved it. What can I say? I’m a slow-witted fellow.

Hopefully you enjoy the challenge of trying to solve this Rubik’s Cube of a season and want to tackle it on your own — as opposed to, say, asking a fantasy analyst to handle your weekly waiver run for you.

I certainly don’t mind answering people’s questions about suggested waiver bids or Player A vs. Player B. decisions. But I’ve had people ask me to make all of their weekly waiver decisions for them. That strikes me as being very similar to following the instructions in a book to solve the Rubik’s Cube.

This article probably won’t help you solve what promises to be a challenging fantasy week. But perhaps you’ll find some of these musings helpful.

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.

Fitz’s Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 8)

QUARTERBACKS

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Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 5

Tier 6

C.J. Stroud had a rough game against the Packers last Sunday, completing 10-of-21 passes for 86 yards and no touchdowns. Part of the problem was that Stroud was under constant duress. He was sacked four times and hurried repeatedly by the Green Bay pash rush. Stroud should have more time to throw this week against a Colts defense that has recorded 14 sacks in seven games and has allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to QBs. The Texans are still without injured WR Nico Collins, but this nevertheless looks like a nice bounce-back spot for Stroud.

Jared Goff has been flat-out dealing. He’s averaging 9.3 yards per pass attempt, leading the league in that category. Over his last four games, Goff has completed an astounding 83.5% of his passes. The only small quibble with Goff is that he’s averaging a modest 29 pass attempts per game. The Lions love to run the ball, they’ve very good at it, and they’ll lean on the running game heavily at times, especially against overmatched opponents. That could be the situation this Sunday with the Lions heavily favored at home against the Titans. But I don’t really care about that, nor do I care much about the two-game suspension for Lions WR Jameson Williams. I want the sizzling Goff in my lineup and have him ranked inside the top 10 at quarterback for the week.

Am I really ranking Broncos rookie Bo Nix as a QB1 this week? Why, yes I am. Nix is providing ample fantasy value with his legs. He has 255 rushing yards and three TD runs this season. In his last two games, Nix has had 61 and 75 rushing yards. He’s also thrown four touchdown passes in his last three games, and he’s up against the Carolina Panthers, whose pass defense ranks 31st in DVOA and has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to QBs.

The last time Kirk Cousins faced the Buccaneers, he threw for 509 yards and four touchdowns. But Cousins has been wildly erratic. His weekly fantasy finishes this season: QB28, QB8, QB23, QB26, QB1, QB23, QB22. I have Cousins ranked QB14 this week. Start the unpredictable quarterback at your own risk.

Jameis Winston has a wide range of potential outcomes in his first start of the 2024 season. I’m above consensus with a QB19 ranking, but I feel like a fraidy cat for not ranking him even higher. It’s possible that Winston pumps the same sort of life into the Browns’ passing game that Joe Flacco did last year when he replaced the injured Deshaun Watson. Winston and late-career Flacco are pretty similar quarterbacks, at least stylistically — fearless downfield throwers capable of putting up big passing numbers but also capable of throwing a boatload of interceptions. Winston will face a Ravens pass defense that has given up a league-high 2,159 passing yards and 14 TD passes. Baltimore’s secondary is banged up, with CB Marlon Humphrey questionable and several other cornerbacks dealing with minor injuries.

RUNNING BACKS

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Tier 5

Tier 6

Tier 7

J.K. Dobbins is poised for a rebound after a lackluster 14-40-0 rushing line against the Cardinals. He has a pillow-soft matchup against the Saints, who have given up 502 rushing yards in their last two games. Javonte Williams had been struggling for much of the season before rolling up 111 yards from scrimmage and scoring two touchdowns against New Orleans in Week 7. The Buccaneers’ Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker wrecked the Saints in Week 6, combining for 217 rushing yards and two TDs. Dobbins should fare well this week, and maybe his backup, Kimani Vidal, can get in on the fun.

Speaking of Javonte Williams, he gets a second consecutive marshmallow matchup after trampling the Saints last week. Now he gets the Panthers, who have yielded a league-high 933 rushing yards and 13 touchdown runs to running backs. Washington’s RBs combined for 130 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Panthers last week. Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined for 200 rushing yards and three TD runs against Carolina in Week 6. Chicago’s D’Andre Swift had 120 scrimmage yards and a touchdown vs. the Panthers in Week 5. Javonte should stay hot.

In the first three weeks of the season, D’Andre Swift was RB42 in half-point PPR scoring. From Weeks 4 to 6, Swift was RB2 in half-point PPR scoring behind only Derrick Henry. I’m slightly below consensus on Swift because (1) I still don’t entirely trust the Bears’ offensive line, which was awful early in the season when Swift was struggling, and (2) during Swift’s three-game surge, the Bears went 3-0, and two of those wins were blowouts. One of those games was against the Panthers, who make every RB they play look like Walter Payton. Admittedly, the Commanders aren’t an especially tough matchup this week, especially not with their best defensive lineman, Jonathan Allen, injured. All I’m saying is that it isn’t a lock that Swift will deliver another bravura performance.

I’m certainly not telling you to bench Alvin Kamara, who’s averaging 20.7 touches a game and is one of the more talented running backs in the league. But it’s worth noting that with rookie Spencer Rattler at quarterback for the Saints the last two games, Kamara has averaged 2.5 yards per carry and 3.5 yards per catch. Kamara also has an unfavorable matchup against a Chargers defense that’s allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to RBs, and he revealed earlier this week that he’s been playing with a broken hand.

Tank Bigsby has smashed in two of his last three games. He had 101 rushing yards and two TDs against the Colts in Week 5, and 118 rushing yards and two TDs against the Patriots last week. But in between those two games, Bigsby had seven carries for 24 yards in a 35-16 loss to the Bears. That dud performance illustrates the inherent risk of having Bigsby in your lineup. He’s been showing us that he’s a very capable running back, but he’s also one-dimensional. Bigsby has just one catch this season. His lack of involvement in the passing game means there’s always a chance that he can get waylaid by a negative game script, and since the Jaguars are a below-average team, there are bound to be negative game scripts. It’s possible Bigsby gets a bad game script this week against the Packers. Green Bay has one of the best passing attacks in the league. Jacksonville has one of the worst pass defenses in the league. If you’re a Bigsby investor, you’re praying the Jaguars don’t fall behind by multiple scores.

Tyrone Tracy out-snapped Devin Singletary 39-12 last week. It’s possible the Giants were limiting Singletary’s work in his first game back from a groin injury, but it seems safe to conclude that Tracy has leapfrogged Singletary to become the team’s lead back. Neither of the Giants’ RBs was able to do much against the Eagles last week. Tracy had 32 yards from scrimmage; Singletary had 21. The Giants’ offense was completely dysfunctional last week without injured left tackle Andrew Thomas, and now the G-Men have a difficult Week 8 matchup against a Steelers run defense that ranks third in DVOA. I’m ranking Tracy as a low-end RB3.

WIDE RECEIVERS

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Tier 7

Tier 8

Tier 9

We need a flow chart on how to handle the 49ers’ WRs this week. Brandon Aiyuk is out for the season. Deebo Samuel (pneumonia) and Jauan Jennings are questionable — and it’s worth noting that the 49ers have a bye next week, which could incentivize the team to play it safe with one or both of the ailing receivers. I’m tentatively not ranking Deebo, but he would be WR17 in my rankings if he played. I have Jennings ranked WR28 and will drop him about four spots if Deebo plays. Ricky Pearsall is a tough case. If Deebo and Jennings play, I wouldn’t be interested in starting Pearsall in fantasy, because the 49ers’ frequent use of a fullback means fewer snaps for the No. 3 receiver in San Francisco than the No. 3 receiver in most other offenses. But if Deebo and/or Jennings are out, Pearsall will move into the top 30 in the WR rankings and become a viable (if not attractive) fantasy option for Week 8.

Don’t spite-bench DeVonta Smith, who had a single catch for minus-2 yards against the Giants last week. The Eagles won 28-3, and Jalen Hurts only needed to throw 14 passes. Smith has produced at least 64 receiving yards in the other four games he’s played this season, and he had seven receptions in each of his first three games. Don’t fade one of the best route-runners in the league. Smith was the victim of a rock-fight game script last week. Eagles-Bengals matchup profiles as a shootout.

With D.K. Metcalf out with a sprained MCL, Seattle WRs Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR23) and Tyler Lockett (WR27) both look like solid plays this week vs. the Bills. The Seahawks have thrown on a league-high 66.5% of their offensive plays, and QB Geno Smith leads the NFL with 1,985 passing yards.

I’m certainly not giving up on Marvin Harrison Jr. despite a disappointing start, and it’s worth noting that MHJ has a very favorable schedule from Week 12 to Week 17. That said, Harrison should not be considered an auto-start in Week 8. He’s averaging 6.1 targets a game — a curiously low number for a player picked fourth overall in the NFL Draft by a team that desperately needed an alpha receiver. Harrison might run quite a few of his routes this Sunday into the coverage of Miami’s Jalen Ramsey, who’s still one of the better cornerbacks in the league. I’m ranking Harrison as a midrange WR3.

Even if Chris Olave returns from a concussion, he’s not an auto-start this week. Although he figures to have a generous target share now that Rashid Shaheed is out for the season, Olave’s targets will be coming from fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler, and Olave has a tricky matchup against a Chargers defense that’s allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to WRs.

Two weeks after serving a one-game suspension for going AWOL from the Packers, Romeo Doubs now seems content with his role. In the two games since the suspension, Doubs has had 11 catches, 143 yards and two touchdowns on 14 targets. He led the Green Bay receivers in snaps in each of those games. This week, Doubs faces a Jacksonville defense that’s giving up 33.5 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, fourth-most in the league. Doubs looks like a solid fantasy play.

We’re getting a sturdy floor from Chargers rookie Ladd McConkey but not much of a ceiling. McConkey has drawn at least six targets in all but one game and at least four catches in all but two games. But McConkey has only had one game with more than 50 receiving yards. Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman loves to run the ball, and the Chargers have a Week 8 date with the Saints, who have one of the worst run defenses in the league. On the bright side, McConkey will run a lot of his routes into the extremely loose coverage of Saints CB Alonte Taylor, who has allowed an 81% completion rate on throws into his coverage. Taylor is also giving up 1.51 yards per route run into his coverage, per PFF. I’m slotting in McConkey at WR34.

Khalil Shakir is a fade for me this week. I like the player, but now that the Bills have Amari Cooper, I don’t know if we can count on a steady diet of targets for Shakir every week. The Bills run the ball at the eighth-highest rate in the league, so it’s not as if there are a ton of targets to go around. Shakir also has a tough individual matchup this week. He lines up in the slot about 70% of the time, according to PlayerProfiler.com, which means he’ll be running a lot of his routes against Seattle’s excellent slot corner, Devon Witherspoon.

TIGHT ENDS

Tier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 4

Tier 5

Since Week 3, Cade Otton has averaged 7.4 targets and 5.2 catches a game. One would imagine he’ll remain heavily involved now that WR Chris Godwin is out for the season and WR Mike Evans is probably going to miss about a month. Otton is close to a must-start this week vs. the Falcons.

Guys, I think this might be a Taysom Hill week. Hill is expected back after missing three games with injured ribs. The Saints are starting fifth-round rookie Spencer Rattler, and RB Alvin Kamara is playing with a broken hand. Would it be surprising to see Hill get 8-10 carries Sunday against the Chargers? I’m ranking Hill just outside TE1 range.

The last time we saw Cole Kmet, he was churning out 70 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Jaguars. Kmet is currently tied for second in fantasy points per game (half-point PPR) with 7.8. But there has only been one Bears game this season in which Kmet had more than five targets. He’s being buoyed by unsustainable efficiency, averaging 10.0 yards per target. I’m well below consensus on Kmet this week, ranking him TE16.

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Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 8)

Fitz’s Fantasy Football Rankings, Tiers & Start/Sit Advice (Week 8)

QUARTERBACKS

RUNNING BACKS

WIDE RECEIVERS

TIGHT ENDS

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