Week 8 Roundup

A-Z FFB
Nov 3, 2020
14 min read

Updated: Dec 3, 2020

I'm gonna give it to ya straight... I usually get a good chunk of this article done throughout the day on Monday. It is 5:30 PM on Monday and I didn't even get a draft started. I have a date with my fiance tonight, so ya boy isn't going to get into the nitty gritty of this article until Tuesday, and if Tuesday is anything like Monday was... 1. This might be a rough read for you, it is what it is. 2. I'm probably going to be late posting the article. Such is life. Let's hop into it!

Injuries:

While the sheer number of injuries seems to be backing off a bit, there still seems to be a marquee name added to the injury list each and every week. I'm sure you can relate, I can't recall a more injury ridden fantasy football season when it comes to the true studs of your team. All of these injuries has made this one of the most challenging years of fantasy football that I can remember! Here are some of the most notable injuries from the week.

DNP Week 8:

- Aaron Jones - Calf

- Joe Mixon - Foot

- Chris Godwin - Finger

- Michael Thomas - Ankle / Hamstring

- Chris Carson - Foot

- Carlos Hyde - Shoulder

- Julian Edelman - Knee (IR)

Injured in Week 8:

- George Kittle - Foot *

- Jimmy Garoppolo - Ankle *

- Kenny Golladay - Hip

- Jonathan Taylor - Ankle *

- Gardner Minshew - Thumb *

George Kittle is the latest superstar to find himself missing significant time in 2020. Kittle has a broken bone in his foot. He is expected to miss 8 weeks minimum. Kittle's season is likely over. If you do not have an IR slot in your league, Kittle is drop-able in redraft formats.

Jimmy Garoppolo re-injured his ankle, the same ankle that he injured in week 2. The 49ers are 4-4 & last place in the NFC West. Garoppolo has been "ruled out indefinitely", so it is possible that we do not see Jimmy G play again this year. Rumors are we may have seen the last of Jimmy G as a 49er.

Jonathan Taylor really let me (and many of you) down this weekend. He was in a smash spot vs. the Lions, however AFTER the game, Phillip Rivers let it slip that JT was a little dinged up. Reports are that Taylor is dealing with an ankle injury. He was obviously healthy enough to suit up Sunday, but as we saw, the Colts did not hesitate to pivot to Hines & Wilkins to carry the workload out of the backfield.

Gardner Minshew has been dealing with a thumb injury for multiple weeks now, the team just found out about the injury during their week 8 bye. There were rumors that the team was looking to make some changes anyways, now we have some more clarity as to why. Minshew has already been ruled out for week 9, and the rest of his season is in jeopardy given the state of the Jags, they may be trying to position themselves for a nice draft pick in 2021. Sadly, we may be looking at the end of Minshew Mania, at least in Jacksonville.

Photo: jaguarswire.usetoday.com

What I Learned From Week 8:

- Midwest Winds... you'll see where I'm going with this.

Weather was a factor in many games in week 8. We saw many games played outdoors throughout the country, specifically the Midwest and Northeast regions. This led to lower offensive outputs (despite great fantasy matchups on paper). Some names that we expected to have huge days may have left you underwhelmed in your fantasy leagues, but it was certainly impressive to watch these players & teams navigate playing a game with 30-50 MPH wind gusts throughout the entirety of their game(s).

- PIT vs. BAL = Fireworks

This is widely regarded as one of the best rivalries in the NFL, and I tend to agree. Week 8 marked the 25th meeting between Mike Tomlin & John Harbaugh (shoutout to Chris Long for this research). This is insanely rare in the NFL, considering coaches are always on the move. The game lived up to the hype. Pittsburgh grabbed the win, 28-24, advancing to 7-0. Baltimore falls to 5-2. This game was hard fought on the scoreboard, and there were literally hands thrown at points during the game. These teams meet again in week 12, the game is currently scheduled TNF, prime time.

- Joe Burrow, Bengals, beat up on the Titans

Burrow led the Bengals to their second victory of the year vs. an impressive Titans team. Tennessee has now dropped two games in a row. Burrow is really leaning into Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd continues to produce as one of the most consistent WR's in fantasy football. Boyd, quietly, comes in as the WR 8 in 0.5 PPR scoring.

- Tua notches his first career win in his first career start

This was a call I was pretty pleased with, on the pod last week I predicted this upset where I stated that I thought the Dolphins would win, but not because of Tua, but rather the Miami D/ST capitalizing on Rams mistakes and opportunities. This is exactly what happened. Tua underwhelmed in his debut, throwing for just 93 yards and 1 TD, but the Miami D/ST unit was responsible for 2 TD's on their way to a 28-17 victory over the Rams.

- Dalvin Cook steamrolls Green Bay

My Packers really let me down here. Aaron Jones missed his second straight game nursing a calf injury, the thought was give him more time to rest up, they wouldn't need him to beat such a young, vulnerable defense, right? Not so fast. The Packers offense could never really get going (aside from another fantastic performance from Davante Adams). The Packers defense might as well have not showed up. Dalvin Cook was responsible for all 4 of the Vikings TD's. Cook recorded 226 yards from scrimmage along with his 4 TD's. He is the first Vikings player to score 4 TD's in a game since Ahmad Rashad did it back in 1975. Cook is also the first player in NFL history to record 200+ scrimmage yards and 4 TD's at Lambeau Field. Not a bad day at the office.

Photo: newsbreak.com

- D.K. Metcalf remains an anomaly

Last week Metcalf destroyed the internet with his ridiculous chase down, TD saving tackle vs. Arizona. This week he was back to destroying defenses as a WR rather than the scariest DB/LB hybrid the football gods could ever dream up. This is not the first time that Metcalf has 'wow'd' the football community, players & fans alike. Metcalf recorded 12 catches for 161 yards and 2 TD's in Seattle's victory over the 49ers.

- The Cowboys are nothing without Dak

The Dallas Cowboys are going to make Dak Prescott a very, very rich man. At least they should. Since losing Dak, the Cowboys offense has looked almost as bad as their defense. Zeke finally saw 15+ carries (just the 4th time this year), and Michael Gallup led the way in receiving with 7 receptions. Lamb had 4, Cooper was help to 1. The 2-6 Cowboys are in 3rd place the the NFC East, just one game ahead of the 1-7 Giants.

- Alvin Kamara 4 MVP

Alvin Kamara is the only thing making the Saints offense go at this point. Kamara is doing some really special things in 2020. Kamara ranks 2nd in the NFL in receptions (amongst all players, not just RB's) with 55 catches. He trails only DeAndre Hopkins (57). Kamara finds himself just shy of 1,000 yards from scrimmage through 8 weeks, and he is on pace for an absurd 125 receptions & 1,270 yards receiving. (sports.yahoo.com) Kamara has been my favorite player in the NFL ever since his rookie year, and he continues to show exactly why. I am all in for #AK41forMVP

Photo: jabnews.com

Report Card:

I'm not going to lie, my process on these games felt great. That being said, this was another 'meh' week for my starts & sits. I think the weather had a lot to do with some of the underwhelming performances. Others there were undisclosed injuries that factored into the mix. Nonetheless, let's take a look at last weeks calls.

Starts:

QB - Joe Burrow: This was a 'weather' game. Not to mention, Burrow was also playing without the majority if his starting OL (which is not that impressive to begin with). All that aside, Burrow still managed to put up a top 10 week at the QB position.

RB - Jonathan Taylor: So, the Lions are a beatable matchup for opposing RB's. They have allowed opposing RB's to score 20+ points 4 times now. The Colts RB's totaled 39 fantasy points vs. the Lions. 4.1 of them came from JT. After the game it was reviled that Taylor was dealing with an undisclosed ankle injury, but there were still moments in this game where we saw Taylor yet again missing HUGE running lanes. This has been a theme throughout the season. Due to the injury I am not ready to call JT a 'bust'... yet.

WR - Brandon Aiyuk: It took Aiyuk a while to get going, but he made good on his matchup vs. the 32nd ranked Seattle Seahawks defense. Aiyuk saw 11 targets that he turned into 8 receptions for 91 yards and a TD. With Deebo Samuel out, Kittle's newly sustained injury & the swarm of other injuries to the 49ers, Aiyuk should remain a weekly starter as a WR 2 with upside for more. Aiyuk finished as the WR 7 in week 8.

TE - Jimmy Graham: The targets were certainly there, but Graham did nothing with them. Graham saw 7 looks vs. his former team, but he only managed to catch 2 passes for 13 yards. I did predict the involvement would be there, but it is on Graham to turn those looks into yards for his team, and he failed to do that in week 8. Graham finished the week as the TE 32... yikes.

Sits:

QB - Drew Brees: If you listen to the podcast you will know that I have been extremely cautious with QB's playing the Bears defense. Brees has not been overly impressive this year. Factoring in that he was missing so many WR weapons (Thomas, Sanders & Calloway), I did not see a usable week coming from Brees. That being said, he managed to finish as the QB 8, scoring just shy of 20 fantasy points. Technically a 'miss' by me, but it is worth noting that there was an overtime period that allowed Brees to squeeze out a few more fantasy points in this matchup.

RB - Baltimore Ravens: Of course, the week I call out Gus Edwards & J.K. Dobbins is the week that they both pop off. It has never been a question of the talent in that backfield, this was purely a call based on perceived volume combined with a horrendous matchup vs. the 5th ranked defense vs. opposing RB's. Edwards & Dobbins both finished the week as top 20 RB's. When it rains, it pours.

WR - Adam Thielen: Despite what he did in week 1 vs. GB (6 / 110 / 2), Thielen was virtually useless vs. the Packers this time around. He caught 3 passes for 27 yards. This ended up having more to do with the Vikings not needing to throw, because when Dalvin Cook is running like that, you just keep feeding him. Regardless, Thielen ended up as the WR 64 on the week, so hopefully you sat him.

TE - Mike Gesicki: It has been hard to give out meaningful 'Sits of the week' at the TE position all year. I hesitate calling this one of them, but Gesicki had sky high expectations heading into the season. Despite the Dolphins leading for the majority of this game, Gesicki still saw just 2 targets on the game. I also mentioned that the team extended TE, Adam Shaheen a couple weeks ago, an interesting move. Gesicki still dominated in snap % vs. Shaheen, but Shaheen has earned himself at least a red zone role this season.

My Score:

Like I mentioned at the top of the segment, I felt good about the process, but we live in a results based world. Jonathan Taylor is the call that stings the most here. Learning that he was dealing with an injury did help (I know that is twisted), but I am starting to grow concerned about the ole 'Wisconsin RB Curse' with JT. He is a rookie, this is a WEIRD season, but he looks nothing like the player that we saw at Wisconsin. That being said, he is an obvious 'trade for' candidate for me because he is still in a great situation, and he should only get better in the future. Speaking of RB's, the Baltimore RB's really shocked me this weekend... good for them. But once Ingram comes back we are all going to be confused again.

My Grade: B-

Popped Off | Dropped Off:

Popped Off:

- QB - Patrick Mahomes - QB 1 | 36.6 pts.

31/42 passing / 416 yds. / 5 TD

- QB - Matthew Stafford - QB 4 | 22.4 pts.

24/42 passing / 336 yds. / 3 TD / 1 INT | 1 rush att. / 10 yds.

- RB - Dalvin Cook - RB 1 | 47.6 pts.

Rushing - 30 att. / 163 yds. / 3 TD | Receiving - 2 rec. / 63 yds. / 1 TD

- RB - Giovani Bernard - RB 2 | 21.3 pts.

Rushing - 15 att. / 62 yds. / 1 TD | Receiving - 3 rec. / 16 yds. / 1 TD

- RB - DeeJay Dallas - RB 4 | 20.3 pts.

Rushing - 18 att. / 41 yds. / 1 TD | Receiving - 5 rec. / 5 yds. / 1 TD

- WR - D.K. Metcalf - WR 1 | 34.1 pts.

15 tgt. / 12 rec. / 161 yds. / 2 TD

- WR - Davante Adams - WR 2 | 26.8 pts.

12 tgt. / 7 rec. / 53 yds. / 3 TD

- WR - Corey Davis - WR 5 | 22.8 pts.

10 tgt. / 8 rec. / 128 yds. / 1 TD

- TE - Travis Kelce - TE 1 | 20.9 pts.

12 tgt. / 8 rec. / 109 yds. / 1 TD

- TE - Rob Grondowski - TE 4 | 12.1 pts.

4 tgt. / 4 rec. / 41 yds. / 1 TD

***

Dropped Off:

- QB - Lamar Jackson - QB 18 | 14.8 pts.

13/28 passing / 208 yds. / 2 TD / 2 INT | 16 rush att. / 65 yds.

- QB - Baker Mayfield - QB 26 |

12/25 passing / 122 yds. / 0 TD | 6 rush att. / 29 yds.

- RB - Kareen Hunt - RB 29 | 8.3 pts.

Rushing - 14 att. / 66 yds. / TD | Receiving - 2 rec. / 7 yds.

- RB - Ezekiel Elliot - RB 31 | 7.8 pts.

Rushing - 19 att. / 63 yds. / 0 TD | Receiving - 1 rec. / 10 yds.

- RB - Jonathan Taylor - RB 49 | 4.1 pts.

Rushing - 11 att. / 22 yds. / 0 TD | Receiving - 2 rec. / 9 yds.

- WR - DeVante Parker - WR 46 | 6.8 pts.

2 tgt. / 1 rec. / 3 yds. / 1 TD

- WR - Marquise Brown - WR 46 | 6.8 pts.

2 tgt. / 1 rec. / 3 yds. / 1 TD

- WR - D.J. Moore - WR 50 | 6.5 pts.

6 tgt. / 2 rec. / 55 yds. / 0 TD

- TE - Jonnu Smith - TE 25 | 3.9 pts.

2 tgt. / 2 rec. / 29 yds. / 0 TD

- TE - Jimmy Graham - TE 32 | 2.3 pts.

7 tgt. / 2 rec. / 13 yds. / 0 TD

The Waiver Wire:

Quarterback:

Drew Lock - 10% Rostered

Say what you want about Drew Lock, his comeback victory over the Chargers in week 8 was impressive. Lock overcame 5 INT's on his way to a 4 TD game. Ideally you have a better starting QB on your roster, but we are in #byeweekszn, so Lock is a name that could get you by if you need. Oh yeah, Lock faces the Atlanta Falcons next week. Can't ask for a better matchup than that.

Kyle Allen - 4% Rostered

Similar to Lock, Allen is more of a name to monitor if you are in need of a streamer. He is widely available and he also has a great week 9 matchup vs. the Giants. The Washington Football team is coming off of a bye, the extra time to prepare could bode well for Allen.

Running Back:

Justin Jackson - 57% Rostered

Justin Jackson has established himself as the 'starter' in the absence of Austin Ekeler. In week 8 Jackson saw 17 carries compared to Joshua Kelley's 7. Jackson also saw 5 targets. Jackson is rostered in the majority of leagues, but he is a legit plug and play FLEX option if you are in need of a RB.

Zack Moss - 55% Rostered

Zack Moss stole the show on Sunday vs. the Patriots. Moss found the end zone twice, resulting in a RB 5 finish on the week. Moss appears to be healthy, and the red zone work is clearly his. Devin Singletary had a nice game as well, so this is still very much a time share, but Moss's TD upside is very real week in and week out while he is healthy.

Gus Edwards - 30% Rostered

Gus Edwards saw just 1 more carry that rookie, J.K. Dobbins, but Edwards did manage to find the end zone. Dobbins remains rostered in 69% of leagues, but at just 30% rostership, Edwards is criminally underrostered for the usage that he is currently seeing, and will continue to see in the absence of Mark Ingram.

DeeJay Dallas - 25% Rostered

DeeJay Dallas was my favorite waiver wire add of the week last week (I didn't make that explicitly clear in the article, so my bad!). If you were monitoring the Seattle backfield last week, you noticed that both Chris Carson & Carlos Hyde were at risk of missing week 8 (this was known all throughout the week). Dallas is a guy who has all of the tools to be a great RB in the NFL, Sunday he got the chance to put those skills on display. 21 total touches, 78 total yards, 2 TD's, one on the ground, one through the air. I would continue to monitor Carson and Hyde's health, because if they miss additional time DeeJay Dallas remains in a prime spot.

Photo: fieldgulls.com

Wide Receiver:

Laviska Shenault - 28% Rostered

We have yet to see the best of Laviska Shenault this year... I know it. I know that it has been a bumpy season starting Viska, I have been right there with you, but the talent is THERE. Now that we are seeing a mid-season shift at QB, I actually like Viska's involvement to increase. This is a guy that you can get involved in the screen game and let him do all of the hard work. While his yardage totals have not been impressive, Viska is an absolute force with the ball in his hands. If you have the bench space I would continue stashing Viska. His time is coming.

Darnell Mooney - 6% Rostered

Over the past few weeks, Mooney and Foles have not been able to connect on the deep ball. Since Nick Foles took the helm in week 4 as the full time starter, Mooney has seen 32 targets. For context, Allen Robinson has seen 46 targets in that same span. In week 8 Mooney and Foles finally connected on a deep ball, and Mooney also caught a TD pass later in the game. The rookie has earned a role, and he is more than just speed, his route running has been on display multiple times this season against good DB's.

Kendrick Bourne - 8% Rostered

Kendrick Bourne should see an uptick in volume due to the George Kittle injury. I am not overly interested in this offense, but someone has to catch passes there, and Bourne has done it before. Bourne has nearly matched his 2019 production already in 2020.

Bryan Edwards - 2% Rostered

I'm still here in the Bryan Edwards hive. Edwards returned to practice last week but did not play in week 8. His return to practice indicates that he should be active for week 9. Edwards was the team's starting X receiver for the first few weeks of the season. He was grossly under-utilized while healthy. We can only hope that Derek Carr actually starts looking down the field for this talented rookie WR. Edwards has all the physical tools of a star WR, he just needs to opportunity.

Photo: raiders.com

Tight End:

Trey Burton - 22% Rostered

Burton is best TE on the Colts. Phillip Rivers likes his TE's. That is all.

Jordan Reed - 3% Rostered

Jordan Reed has been designated to return from the IR following George Kittle's broken foot. Reed has had success in this offense before, it is just a matter of him staying healthy. Over the past 4+ seasons, that has been a HUGE hurdle for him, but while he is healthy you can certainly start Reed.

So, following up that hellacious Monday my fiance and I went out to dinner and had a huge margarita while we confided in each other about how crazy our days were (we work at the same company where we actually do the same job). I wrote this whole article today, so hopefully it reads well. If you enjoyed this article, give me a follow on Twitter @ZackFFB & @AtoZffb. Also check out all of our work, info is in this here Linktree.