NFL
Fantasy Football Stud Or Dud: Week 8
With Week 8 upon us, we have already seen some unexpected trade action, and they could be seen as potential stud or duds later. Trades are already happening as Amari Cooper was sent to Dallas, Carlos Hyde was sent to Jacksonville, and Josh Gordon was sent to the New England. These trades drastically change their fantasy value.
Hyde should be seen as more of a flex option since he will most likely split carries with T.J. Yeldon. Cooper has a shot at WR1 value for the rest of the season as he becomes part of the offense. Josh Gordon notched his first 100-yard game last week and is trending towards a rare number one receiver in the Patriots’ article.
More trades should come after this week as injuries pile up. Teams look to make a playoff push or tank for a draft pick. The season is now deep into the bye weeks, and fantasy owners will be looking for replacements. So without further ado, here are the Stud or Dud for this week.
Quarterback
Stud
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts: Luck has had a resurgent season and is a candidate for comeback player of the year. Luck comes into this week facing an Oakland defense who has struggled throughout the year.
The Raiders are also in tank mode and are not playing for wins at this point. The Colts are sitting at 2-5, and in a tightly contested division meaning, they are far from out of the playoff picture.
The Colts’ offense has shown how explosive they can be when they are on and will look to prove that this week. Luck should continue to return the player that he used to be this week. He will post QB1 numbers in this juicy matchup.
Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears: The former number two overall pick has shown flashes of being a franchise quarterback over the past two weeks. He is averaging 324.5 yards and 64 rushing yards over the past two weeks.
He has also thrown for five touchdowns and added another on the ground. The Bears will now turn their attention to the New York Jets who were blown out by the Minnesota Vikings last week. The Bears are coming off a game against the New England Patriots where they were one yard from going into overtime.
They should come out firing and be able to put up big numbers behind Trubisky. The emergence of pass-catching back Tarik Cohen has given Trubisky a substantial threat out of the backfield. He should put up mid-tier QB1 numbers in this matchup.
Dud
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: Wilson has had one of the worst starts to a season in his career. He is not running at the same rate he has in his career which has tanked his fantasy value. The Seahawks are also reverting to a ground and pound approach.
Wilson has averaged a mere 218 yards per game and has only rushed for 62 yards all year. This is not the week that Wilson will turn it around as he is facing a Lions defense that is seventh in the league in passing yards allowed.
He should be able to get the ball to Doug Baldwin (more on that later) for some easy yards, but his other receivers should be locked up downfield. Expect mid-tier QB2 numbers from the former Wisconsin product.
Running Back
Stud
Phillip Lindsay, Denver Broncos: Lindsay is primed for a breakout week as he is going into a perfect storm in Week 8. Usual starter Royce Freeman is banged up and has been ruled out. The Broncos are also facing a Chiefs defense that allows 118.9 yards rushing per game. Lindsay possesses rare speed and pass-catching ability.
He has very high upside going into such as favorable matchup. He should rack up 15-17 carries and if the Broncos are down early which most expect he should see heavy work in the pass-catching department. Lindsay is fourth on the team in catches this year and should continue production as high-end RB2 this week.
Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs: We’ll go full Broncos vs. Chiefs matchup as this will be a battle of weak defenses. Hunt has shown what he is capable of over the past few weeks. The Chiefs have finally committed to getting him the ball and showing off the immense talent he has. He has amassed four touchdowns over the past two weeks while averaging 163 all-purpose yards.
The Chiefs’ running back will face the Broncos’ running defense who have allowed 148.1 rushing yards per game, that’s the second worst in the NFL. This is not the team they will be able to turn it around against as they will be forced to respect Patrick Mahomes and the arm he has. Look for RB1 numbers from the Toledo product.
Dud
Corey Clement/Wendell Smallwood, Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles’ running backs have struggled to assert dominance since Jay Ajayi’s injury. Clement has been the better of the two regarding fantasy production, but that was helped by a touchdown two weeks ago.
In terms of snap counts, Clement only saw 37% of the snaps while Smallwood was on the field for 52%. Rookie Josh Adams was also on the field for 17% of the snaps meaning he is cutting into the time between them.
To compound this lack of clarity, the Eagles will be playing a Jaguars defense which has shown holes in recent weeks but should come out inspired against the defending champions. With this lack of clarity and this many unknowns, it is impossible to trust either back. Both should be kept on fantasy benches or waivers this week.
Wide Receiver
Stud
Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks: Baldwin is coming off an injury and has not fully returned to full form yet. This week’s matchup may not seem like the one where he will breakout but if we dig further in its actually a very intriguing matchup.
Talented corner Darius Slay will not shadow Baldwin as he tends to line up outside. Baldwin takes most of his snaps from in the slot and will avoid that matchup. Baldwin also gathered eight catches for almost 100 yards last week.
Russell Wilson should look to him early and often as the Lions cover well downfield. If Baldwin will return to pre-injury form, this is the week where he can do it. Expect WR2 numbers from Baldwin this week.
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Evans has had a resurgent year. He is currently tenth in the league in yards with 591 receiving yards. He also put up three touchdowns. Since Jameis Winston has returned to the field, he has thrown for an average of 380 yards.
The Buccaneers will travel to Cincinnati this week to face a defense that was just shredded for over 350 yards by Patrick Mahomes. While Winston is no Mahomes, he has taken advantageous matchups over the past few weeks.
Evans should be the focal point of the offense as running back Peyton Barber is banged up. Expect high WR1 numbers from Evans.
Dud
Alshon Jeffery, Philadelphia Eagles: Jeffery is coming off two big weeks. He has 162 yards and 15 catches over that two-week span. To add to that impressive stat line, he also has three touchdowns. With all that said, he should fall back to earth this week.
The Eagles are facing the number one defense in the Jaguars in what will most likely be a low-scoring affair in London. The Eagles will try to get him the ball as much as possible but being shadowed by Jalen Ramsey will make catches few and far between.
Zach Ertz will play an integral part in the offense if Jeffery is shut down by the physical corner. Expect low-end WR2 numbers at best.
Tight End
Stud
Trey Burton, Chicago Bears: Burton went off last week posting nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. He has caught a touchdown in three straight games and four of his last five. The Bears are facing the Jets as was mentioned earlier. The way that the Bears use Burton he gets many opportunities every week.
Mitch Trubisky has emerged in recent weeks which has increased Burton’s value even more. Allen Robinson is injured and may not be able to suit up this week. If he can’t go then, Burton should be first in line for those targets. He should post high-end TE1 numbers.
Dud
Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings’ tight end has been very disappointing this year. He only has two touchdowns and had only one catch in a blowout win last week. With the dominance of Adam Thielen and target share dominance of Stefon Diggs.
The Vikings will face the Saints this week who have been stingy against TEs this year. They are only allowing 8.4 fantasy points on average to TEs. With this touch matchup in mind and the absence of targets that he is suffering, he is no more than a low-end TE1 and barely on the starting radar.
Photo Credit
Featured Image courtesy of
Subscribe to get the latest news from TSJ at the TSJ 101 Sports TV YouTube channel!
Play And Win Weekly at ThriveFantasy!
