With half of the fantasy regular season behind us, the playoff picture in most leagues is beginning to take shape! Whether your team is competing for that top seed or doing work to just stay in the hunt, getting your lineups set to their optimal ahead of Week 8 is the biggest task at hand to keep things moving in the right direction. Before we start the back half of the fantasy regular season, I’ll look through a handful of matchups at each position to help make those crucial decisions that could turn that “must-win” matchup into a W!
As always, make sure to make the most of all of Andy, Mike, and Jason’s rankings for Week 8!
Quarterbacks
Sam Darnold (MIN) at L.A. Rams
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| QB6 | QB7 | QB8 |
QB4 |
After a blazing hot start to the season, Sam Darnold has come back down to fantasy earth. Darnold kicked off the year for fantasy managers finishing as a top-10 QB in three of his first four games and throwing 11 TDs. Surprisingly, this was the second three-game stretch of top-10 QB finishes in Darnold’s career, the first coming from Weeks 10-12 in 2019. Over his last two games though, Darnold has been outside the top-12 QBs and only thrown for one TD, so fantasy managers who were planning on streaming him over the course of the season have cause for concern. What should be encouraging for fantasy managers is that Darnold’s passing volume hasn’t drastically decreased during his two-game slump and the Vikings have continued to score 20+ points each week, so there should still be plenty of opportunity for him to bounce back inside what’s been a great Minnesota offense.
It’s always difficult to make a start in the Thursday night game, but a matchup with the L.A. Rams might leave an even harder decision for fantasy managers to make. While the Rams’ defense has had its struggles to start the year, against opposing QBs they’ve been solid, only allowing 20+ fantasy points twice on the season and not allowing a top-10 QB in their last three games. Opposing offenses have had enough success running on the Rams that the QB upside has been limited for fantasy purposes despite allowing 22 points per game. If Darnold is going to get back into the top-12 QBs this week, he’ll have to get back to throwing two or more TDs.
Kurt would prefer to play: Kyler Murray (ARI) at Miami
C.J. Stroud (HOU) vs. Indianapolis
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| QB5 | QB6 | QB3 |
QB6 |
For where fantasy managers had to draft C.J. Stroud heading into this season, he hasn’t quite returned the value many were hoping for. Stroud’s QB11 finish as a rookie had some fantasy managers hoping he could take a step forward into the elite status some pocket passers have, but the truth is that he’s more matchup-dependent than he is an every-week starter. In his first seven games this season, Stroud has either been a top-eight QB or finished as the QB14 or worse and has only scored over 20 fantasy points once. The downside is that Stroud hasn’t finished inside the top 12 in his last three games and is coming off his worst fantasy performance of the season with just 5.3 fantasy points scored.
If Stroud is going to get back on track for fantasy, he’s got a great matchup to do so this week against the Colts. Indianapolis’ defense is allowing the seventh-most passing yards in the league and is allowing a TD every 21.9 passing attempts, which is the 10th-highest rate in the league. For fantasy, the Colts have allowed a top-10 QB in four of their seven games this season, including the QB8 finish to Stroud to start the season. Fantasy managers should be viewing Stroud as a matchup-dependent fantasy QB until something changes, but should be able to depend on him this week.
Kurt would play Stroud over: Caleb Williams (CHI) at Washington
Running Backs
Tony Pollard (TEN) at Detroit
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| RB26 | RB26 | RB24 |
RB26 |
It’s been tough to watch the Tennessee offense this season, but the one consistent fantasy option has been Tony Pollard. Despite being part of an offense that has only scored more than 20 points once this season, Pollard has managed to finish as a top-24 RB in four of his six games thanks to a consistent workload where he’s averaged nearly 20 opportunities per game. Pollard’s usage in the passing game has been consistent to add some extra upside to his fantasy ceiling, and that usage could increase with the departure of DeAndre Hopkins being traded to Kansas City.
While Pollard has been the only consistent force for fantasy in Tennessee’s offense, a tough matchup against the Lions could have fantasy managers reconsidering him in their lineups this week. Detroit’s defense has allowed the third-fewest rushing yards in the league, though they are allowing 4.6 yards per carry. For fantasy though, the stats would suggest the Lions would be a hard stop for fantasy RBs but that isn’t really the case. In their six games this season, Detroit has allowed a top-24 RB in three of their six games. Despite the pieces around him being a bit questionable, Pollard could still provide a low-end flex option but fantasy managers should know the floor could be pretty low this week.
Kurt would prefer to play: Raheem Mostert (MIA) vs. Arizona
Nick Chubb (CLE) vs. Baltimore
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| RB35 | RB35 | RB34 |
RB37 |
The return for Nick Chubb has been amazing from yet another devastating knee injury. In Chubb’s first game back, he led the Browns in rushing and got into the end zone which has to be encouraging for fantasy managers. However, the pathway for Chubb to potentially return to the consistent top-12 RB that fantasy managers could rely on year after year is a muddy one, especially with Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury last week. Jameis Winston taking over under center for Cleveland should hopefully provide some stability for the offense, so there’s a chance that Chubb could continue to see the lead role in an offense that is limited in upside going forward.
Getting a matchup against the Ravens’ defense only adds to the complicated situation that’s ahead of Chubb for Week 8. Baltimore’s defense is giving up 25 points per game, but most of the fantasy-relevant work is coming through the air and not to opposing RBs. Prior to Week 7’s explosion from the Buccaneers’ RBs, the Ravens’ defense was only allowing 14.8 fantasy points to opposing teams’ RBs. On the season, Baltimore has only allowed four top-24 RB finishes, and two of them came last week mainly due to garbage time production and TDs. While it’s tempting to get Chubb back into fantasy rosters, until we really know what the Browns’ offense will be with Winston under center, fantasy managers may need to keep Chubb on the bench.
Kurt would prefer to play: Jaylen Warren (PIT) vs. NY Giants
Alexander Mattison (LV) vs. Kansas City
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| RB33 | RB34 | RB33 | RB34 |
While the entire offensive situation in Las Vegas has been terrible for fantasy, the RB production in particular has been quite terrible but Alexander Mattison has been the one useful piece of this backfield. Mattison entered the season solidly behind Zamir White, but White’s injury and poor play have allowed Mattison to take over the Raiders’ backfield. For fantasy, Mattison has been a surprisingly useful find for fantasy managers, finishing as a top-24 RB four times already this season, but never finishing higher than RB16 on the year. The ceiling for the Raiders’ offense is capped, but there’s nothing wrong with Mattison providing a decent RB2 option down the stretch of the season for fantasy managers.
Predicting when Mattison will be useful for fantasy is already tough enough, much less against a tough defense like Kansas City. The Chiefs have allowed the third-fewest rushing yards on the season and are allowing 1.6 fantasy points less than expected to opposing RBs on the year. For fantasy, the Chiefs have only allowed one top-24 RB on the season (Bijan Robinson in Week 3) so Mattison being productive for fantasy managers this week seems like a long shot. Unless a roster is really desperate for a flex play this week, Mattison should be avoided until a better matchup presents itself.
Kurt would prefer to play: Rico Dowdle (DAL) at San Francisco
Wide Receivers
Xavier Worthy (KC) at Las Vegas
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| WR29 | WR26 | WR25 |
WR30 |
After a red-hot start to his career, things have cooled down for Xavier Worthy. The Chiefs’ rookie has been on the field plenty through his first six games, playing 63% of snaps per game, but he’s only seen more than four targets in a game twice this season. It’s no coincidence that Worthy’s increase in targets came after Rashee Rice’s injury in Week 4, but Worthy just hasn’t been able to make the most of his new opportunities yet. Fantasy managers who have held onto Worthy have to be banking on the rookie getting more involved as the year progresses, similar to what Rice did down the stretch in 2023.
If there’s an opportunity for Worthy to step up in this Kansas City offense, a matchup against the Raiders’ struggling defense might be the spark he needs. Las Vegas’ defense has not lived up to expectations this season and has been middle of the pack in nearly every defensive category. For fantasy though, the Raiders have been solid against opposing WRs, only allowing three top-24 WR finishes on the season and not allowing one in their last four games. If Worthy is going to be a strong fantasy play this week, he’ll need to get loose for one of those classic Mahomes bombs, but the Raiders are the only team in the league that hasn’t allowed a pass completion over 40 yards on the year. Worthy should be seen as a flex play until we see him more involved in the offense.
Kurt would prefer to play: Tyler Lockett (SEA) vs. Buffalo
Romeo Doubs (GB) at Jacksonville
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| WR26 | WR28 | WR24 |
WR28 |
Despite missing a week due to suspension for not attending practice, Romeo Doubs walked right back into the Packers’ offense and has delivered back-to-back top-15 WR finishes. Doubs has been a consistent part of the Green Bay passing attack that has plenty of options for targets to be distributed to, seeing a 22% target share over his last two games. The tough part about getting a WR that isn’t Jayden Reed into fantasy rosters is not knowing which WR will be the second favorite option for Jordan Love that week, which can make depending on Doubs as anything more than a flex option risky business.
If there’s a defense that managers should be targeting on a weekly basis, it’s the Jaguars. Jacksonville’s defense has allowed the most passing TDs and the second-most passing yards in the league this season. For fantasy, that’s turned into an average of 34.7 fantasy points per game to opposing teams’ fantasy WRs. With the highest expected point total of any matchup this week, fantasy managers should want pieces of this game and Doubs is as good a dart throw to finish in the top 15 again as most fantasy managers have on their rosters.
Kurt would play Doubs over: Terry McLaurin (WASH) vs. Chicago
Keenan Allen (CHI) at Washington
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| WR34 | WR34 | WR35 |
WR34 |
It’s been a rough start to the season for Keenan Allen’s move to Chicago. In Week 7, before Chicago’s bye, Allen posted his first weekly finish higher than WR56 against the Jaguars. While Jacksonville’s defense has been allowing big WR finishes like it’s candy on Halloween, it’s encouraging to see that there’s still opportunity enough for Allen to have classic weeks like fantasy managers have become accustomed to in years past. The biggest question mark for Allen’s fantasy success down the stretch of the season will hinge on his ability to stay on the field because, in the four games he’s played, he’s seen a 24% target share in the Bears’ offense, so as rookie QB Caleb Williams grows into the starting QB role, those targets should only become more valuable for Allen.
Getting a matchup against the Commanders’ defense has been a hot and cold affair for opposing fantasy WRs. In three games, Washington has allowed an average of 13.4 fantasy points to opposing teams’ WRs, but in their other four games, they’ve allowed 43.3. Some of that could be purely matchup-dependent, but the Commanders are giving up big weeks to WRs on a consistent basis. As long as the Bears’ offense can keep the momentum they established prior to their bye, Allen should at the minimum be a strong flex play for Week 8.
Kurt would play Allen over: Ladd McConkey vs. New Orleans
Tight Ends
Hunter Henry (NE) vs. NY Jets
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| TE15 | TE16 | TE15 |
TE14 |
The change at QB in New England has been a rebirth to fantasy relevance for Hunter Henry. Over the last two weeks, Henry has seen 14 targets which he turned into 11 receptions for 133 yards and a TD while finishing as the TE7 and TE6 on the week. That yardage total is just 47 yards less than Henry had totaled in his first five games combined. It seems that Henry provides a safe option in the passing game for rookie QB Drake Maye that could continue throughout the rest of the season for fantasy managers.
While the Jets’ defense hasn’t been a great matchup for opposing TEs this season, since their change at head coach, they’ve been a better matchup for fantasy. Over their last two games, the Jets have allowed a combined 27.5 fantasy points to opposing teams’ TEs, while in their first five, they’d allowed a combined 20.3. Until a WR in the Patriots’ offense steps up into a leading role, fantasy managers can get a safe floor with top-six upside from Henry.
Kurt would play Henry over: Sam LaPorta (DET) vs. Tennessee
Noah Fant (SEA) vs. Buffalo
| Consensus | Andy | Jason | Mike |
| TE18 | TE18 | TE19 |
TE18 |
It may not be the sexiest name, but Noah Fant may be emerging as a streaming TE play for fantasy managers. Over the last two weeks, Fant has seen a combined 10 receptions turn into 128 receiving yards. Fant hasn’t found his way into the end zone since Week 16 of the 2022 season, so he’s due for a TD as well which could only boost his chances of providing some TE relevance on a fantasy roster. With an injury to DK Metcalf potentially sidelining him for Week 8, there’s a hole in the Seahawks’ passing attack that Fant could help fill until he returns.
It’s tough to find a great matchup for TEs since the production at the position has been so unpredictable this year, but the Bills might be becoming one to target. On the season, Buffalo is allowing 3.2 points above expectation to opposing TEs and is fresh off of giving up 11 receptions for 109 receiving yards to the Titans’ TEs just last week. While Fant may not be at the top of the list for a streaming TE candidate, any increase in the opportunity we’ve seen him get over the last few games could be worth chasing again this week.
Kurt would play Fant over: Dalton Schultz (HOU) vs. Indianapolis
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/4EqpHGN
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