WEEK 8 START ‘EM, SIT ‘EM

Each week, 750 The Game fantasy expert Bryce Wells gives you his top options on who to start and sit in your lineups for the NFL weekend.  Check out Bryce’s opinions below, and remember, make wise choices.  Good luck!

Week 7 Top Performers:

 

QB:

• Aaron Rodgers – 25/31 attempts – 429 yards – 5 TD’s / 2 carries – 6 yards – 1 TD
• Matthew Stafford – 30/45 attempts – 364 yards – 4 TD’s – 1 INT
• Kirk Cousins – 24/34 attempts – 337 yards – 4 TD’s / 4 carriers – -3 yards
• Jacoby Brissett – 26/39 attempts – 326 yards – 4 TD’s / 5 carries – 6 yards
• Jared Goff – 22/37 attempts – 268 yards – 2 TD’s / 3 carriers – 3 yards – 1 TD

RB:

• Chase Edmonds – 27 carries – 126 yards – 3 TD’s / 2 receptions – 24 yards
• Latavius Murray – 27 carries – 119 yards – 2 TD’s / 5 rec – 31 yards
• Dalvin Cook – 25 carries – 142 yards – 2 TD’s / 1 reception – 7 yards
• Ezekiel Elliott – 22 carries – 111 yards – 1 TD / 6 receptions – 36 yards
• Austin Ekeler – 5 carries – 7 yards / 7 receptions – 118 yards – 1 TD

WR:

• Marvin Jones Jr. – 10 receptions – 93 yards – 4 TD’s
• Zach Pascal – 6 receptions – 106 yards – 2 TD’s
• DeAndre Hopkins – 9 receptions – 106 yards – 1 TD
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling – 2 receptions – 133 yards – 1 TD
• Allen Robinson – 10 receptions – 87 yards – 1 TD

TE:

• Darren Waller – 7 receptions – 126 yards – 2 TD’s
• Eric Ebron – 4 receptions – 70 yards – 1 TD
• Jimmy Graham – 4 receptions – 65 yards – 1 TD
• Kyle Rudolph – 5 receptions – 58 yards – 1 TD
• Gerald Everett – 4 receptions – 50 yards 1 TD

 

Criteria for the Start/Sit categories

Auto start players would be guys you don’t have to think twice about, guys that will be starters no matter the matchup. Starters are players that are most likely in your lineups unless you have auto start players that can be played in their spot instead. Sit players are players I’m not playing in lineups based on the matchup and other possible reasons.  I would not play these players in the sit category unless your options are limited. Don’t Sweat It players are players that are irrelevant at the moment, they should be nowhere near your starting lineups.

BRONCOS @ COLTS

 Auto Start: 

• NONE

Start:

• Royce Freeman
• Courtland Sutton
• Jacoby Brissett
• Marlon Mack
• Eric Ebron

Sit: 

• Joe Flacco
• Phillip Lindsay
• Daesean Hamilton
• Noah Fant
• TY Hilton
• Zach Pascal

Don’t Sweat It:

• Jordan Wilkins
• Nyheim Hines
• Chester Rogers

Conclusion:

The Broncos have turned me sour guys.  They’re like that song in my favorite playlist that I’m always skipping but too lazy to take out.  Emmanuel Sanders is gone and Daesean Hamilton is…..on my bench and that only leaves Sutton, Lindsay, and Freeman.  Sutton is my only confident play here but I’m also taking a gamble at Royce Freeman instead of Phillip Lindsay, a situation where I’m chasing last week’s points. For the Colts, the only surprising player listed above in any category is T.Y. Hilton. That’s because Chris Harris has kept all number one receivers below 100 yards in every game he’s played. Those players include Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, and Allen Robinson, all elite talent. Be careful with Hilton this week and don’t be disappointed when he disappoints.

REDSKINS @ VIKINGS

Auto Start:

• Dalvin Cook
• Stefon Diggs

Start:

• Terry McLaurin
• Kirk Cousins

Sit: 

• Case Keenum
• Adrian Peterson
• Adam Thielen (INJURED)
• Irv Smith Jr.

Don’t Sweat It:

• Chris Thompson
• Trey Quinn
• Paul Richardson
• Alexander Mattison
• Kyle Rudolph

Conclusion:

Weird game in Washington last week with 0 points on the board, that helps absolutely no one.  Speaking of no one, I mean the Redskins, I guess you could start Terry McLaurin as Washington will most likely be playing from behind on the road but that’s about it.  The Vikings are without Adam Thielen so Stefon Diggs epic statistical comeback will be lined up as Kirk Cousins has pulled a 180.  That being said, it’s been the Dalvin Cook show and fortunately for fantasy owners, your favorite show has been scheduled for seven more seasons.

BENGALS @ RAMS

Auto Start:

• Todd Gurley
• Cooper Kupp
• Robert Woods

Start:

• Tyler Boyd
• Auden Tate
• Jared Goff
• Brandin Cooks
• Gerald Everett

Sit:

• Andy Dalton
• Joe Mixon
• Darrell Henderson Jr.

Don’t Sweat It:

• AJ Green (INJURED)
• Alex Erickson
• Tyler Eifert

Conclusion:

The 0-7 Bengals will continue their drought of winless despair in Week 8 against the Rams. For the first time this season I’ve officially decided to move away from Joe Mixon, a player that is easily a top 10 talent at his position.  I can’t keep telling people to play him because I believe he’s the best player on his team and after going 10 for 4 on the ground it’s time to swallow my pride.  Be hesitant about Tyler Boyd, Auden Tate, and Alex Erickson.  Andy Dalton is still the quarterback somehow and that kind of inconsistent play is showing in the Bengals wide receiver core. For the Rams, Todd Gurley is an easy play for me this week with how bad Cincinnati is against the run (28th).  Jared Goff is starting to heat up but he’s not boiling yet and it’s always going to be a challenge trying to figure out which wide receiver will go off whether it’s Cooper Kupp, Brandin Cooks, or Robert Woods. I’m leaning towards the two that have been more consistent week-to-week and that’s Kupp and Woods. Don’t be surprised if Gerald Everett finds the endzone either.

SEAHAWKS @ FALCONS

Auto Start:

• Russell Wilson
• Chris Carson
• Tyler Lockett
• Julio Jones
• Austin Hooper

Start:

• DK Metcalf
• Matt Ryan (START IF HEALTHY)
• Calvin Ridley

Sit:

• Rashaad Penny
• Jaron Brown
• Luke Willson
• Devonta Freeman

Don’t Sweat It:

• David Moore
• Ito Smith

Conclusion:

Seahawks on the road against a really bad Falcons team, fire up your Russell Wilson, Chris Carson, and Tyler Lockett shares.  I’m really liking Chris Carson this week despite Atlanta being ranked 4th against the run.  I think the assumption is Russell Wilson will go off with how bad Atlanta’s secondary is, however, Wilson should be the focus and that should open it up for a team who really, really, really wants to run the ball.  For the Falcons, it’s being reported that Matt Ryan will start and without Mohamed Sanu, players like Calvin Ridley, Austin Hooper, and of course Julio Jones will see the vacated targets Sanu is leaving behind. I’m out of Devonta Freeman, he’s not providing fantasy gamers with enough upside to be worthy of a play.

EAGLES @ BILLS

Auto Start:

• NONE

Start:

• Josh Allen
• John Brown

Sit:

• ALL EAGLES
• Frank Gore & Devin Singletary
• Cole Beasley

Don’t Sweat It:

• Dawson Knox

Conclusion:

I absolutely hate this matchup mainly because there aren’t more than two players I want to start this week.  Of those two players, neither of them are named Carson Wentz and in fact, there are zero Eagles starting this week on my rosters with how stout the Bills defense has looked.  Look I didn’t think I would say anything like this year because I had the Eagles as a powerhouse in the league this year. With Wentz only throwing for 300 plus yards once this year the offense is stale and without primary pass-catchers outside of Zach Ertz it’s hard for me to want to play anyone in this offense. Keep in mind with Ertz, the Bills allow the 2nd fewest receptions and 3rd fewest yards to tight ends this year just another reason to sit all Eagles. For the Bills, I love Josh Allen and John Brown this week against a depleted Eagles secondary.  Those are your only two starts for this matchup, don’t overthink it.

CHARGERS @ BEARS

Auto Start:

• Allen Robinson

Start:

• Austin Ekeler
• Keenan Allen

Sit:

• Phillip Rivers
• Melvin Gordon
• Mike Williams
• Hunter Henry
• Mitch Trubisky
• David Montgomery
• Tarik Cohen
• Anthony Miller

Don’t Sweat It:

• Taylor Gabriel
• Cordarrelle Patterson
• Trey Burton

Conclusion:

I really hate the Chargers guys.  I don’t think they’re good and I think Phillip Rivers is part of the problem.  Like I stated last week, I’ve watched this guy play against my Broncos for years and I’ve never thought of Rivers as a guy who could propel this team into the playoffs year after year.  Sure you could call them unlucky as it does seem like they take on plenty of injuries but at some point, something has to change and I’m not talking about the coach. Keenan Allen is one of the best wide receivers in this league and it’s time to get him the ball.  It’s like Rivers has forgotten about what he was able to do in the first three weeks. Moving forward, if you’re battling the Austin Ekeler-Melvin Gordon decision, I’m going with the hot hand and that’s Ekeler. For the Bears, Allen Robinson is a legitimate talent in the NFL and is dominating with one of the worst quarterbacks I’ve EVER seen, not sorry Bears fans.  We don’t need to dive into it because Robinson is the focal point of this offense and will be the rest of the season.

GIANTS @ LIONS

Auto Start:

• Saquon Barkley
• Matt Stafford
• Kenny Golladay

Start:

• Golden Tate
• Evan Engram
• Ty Johnson
• Marvin Jones Jr.

Sit:

• Daniel Jones
• Sterling Shepard (START IF HEALTHY)
• TJ Hockensen

Don’t Sweat It:

• Bennie Fowler
• Rhett Ellison
• Kerryon Johnson

Conclusion:

Can Golden Tate give us another big week? I think so, in fact, I think it’s very possible Tate becomes the number one option even when Sterling Shepard comes back which could be this week.  Saquon Barkley is another easy start and so is Evan Engram the only problem is many players of this offense are dealing with injuries.  I’m not shying away from them, as long as they’re playing I have confidence in starting them on my rosters.  For the Lions, Marvin Jones Jr. had 4 touchdowns last week making Kenny Golladay irrelevant but not this week, points will balance themselves out on this offense once again.  Kerryon Johnson is possibly out for the year opening up an opportunity for Ty Johnson, a player many experts believe could prove to be similar to Chase Edmonds who had a big week in replace of David Johnson against the Giants last week.

JETS @ JAGUARS

Auto Start:

• Le’Veon Bell
• Leonard Fournette

Start:

• Robby Anderson
• Gardner Minshew II
• D.J. Chark

Sit:

• Sam Darnold
• Demaryius Thomas
• Jamison Crowder
• Chris Herndon (START IF HEALTHY)
• Dede Westbrook
• Chris Conley

Don’t Sweat It:

• Ty Montgomery
• Keelan Cole

Conclusion:

Worst Matchup of the week is right here. However, there are a few players worth starting.  The Jets schedule finally lightens up and we may finally get to see an RB1 type of game from Le’Veon Bell.  I’m crossing my fingers at the moment because Sam Darnold could not have played any worse against the Patriots and Bell’s going to need all the support he can get.  For the Jaguars, Gardner Minshew will reconnect with D.J. Chark like the good ‘ole days, book it.  In addition, Leonard Fournette will be fine as usual as he’s easily the player I’m most confident in going into Week 8 based on his matchup.

CARDINALS @ SAINTS

Auto Start:

• Kyler Murray
• Chase Edmonds
• Michael Thomas

Start:

• Larry Fitzgerald
• Latavius Murray

Sit:

• David Johnson (INJURED)
• Christian Kirk (START IF HEALTHY)
• Alvin Kamara (START IF HEALTHY)
• Teddy Bridgewater
• Tedd Ginn Jr.

Don’t Sweat It:

• Jared Cook

Conclusion:

This may not be pretty statistically but at the very least I think this game will be fun to watch.  The only players with a fantasy impact for the Cardinals are Kyler Murray, Chase Edmonds, and maybe Larry Fitzgerald.  It’s been disappointing since week 2 for Fitzgerald as each week looks to be the week he gets back on track. Chase Edmonds stepped up in place of David Johnson and bear with me here, he looks like a better fit for what the Cardinals want to do.  Wild I know but Johnson’s injuries may be worse than we thought thus explaining his somewhat poor play. For the Saints, it’s only Michael Thomas and he’s proven to be the most consistent wide receiver in fantasy week-to-week. I would like to include Latavius Murray in the conversation if Alvin Kamara is out especially after roasting a stout Chicago defense.

BUCCANEERS @ TITANS

Auto Start:

• Chris Godwin
• Mike Evans
• Derrick Henry

Start: 

• Ryan Tannehill
• Corey Davis
• A.J. Brown

Sit:

• Jameis Winston
• Ronald Jones II & Peyton Barber
• OJ Howard
• Dion Lewis
• Adam Humphries
• Jonnu Smith

Don’t Sweat It: 

• Scott Miller
• Cameron Brate

Conclusion:

This should be an easy one. For the Bucs, I really only love Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.  I’m still skittish on Jameis Winston after his debacle of a game against the Panthers at home.  However, I wouldn’t blame you if you started Winston as Tennessee is ranked 23rd against the pass.  Plenty is on the line for Winston as he may be giving the Bucs a reason to look elsewhere at quarterback after the 2019 season. For the Titans, it’s official, Marcus Mariota is no more and it’s Ryan Tannehill time and from what I saw last week Tannehill may just have the tools to provide the offense with the fuel it’s been looking for.  That being said, I’ve decided Corey Davis & A.J. Brown deserve to be in the conversation for starting spots on fantasy rosters.  As for the run game, Derrick Henry is still the old reliable despite playing against the #1 ranked defense against the run…..somehow.

PANTHERS @ 49ERS

Auto Start:

• Christian McCaffery
• George Kittle

Start:

• Tevin Coleman

Sit:

• Kyle Allen
• Curtis Samuel
• DJ Moore
• Greg Olsen
• Tevin Coleman
• Jimmy Garoppolo
• Emmanuel Sanders
• Dante Pettis 
• Deebo Samuel

Don’t Sweat It:

• Jarius Wright
• Marquise Goodwin
• Kendrick Bourne

Conclusion:

It felt weird not getting our weekly dose of Christian McCaffery but he’s back and the Panthers are going to need a big night from him against a defense that looks to be 2nd best in the league.  That’s really it for the Panthers as I don’t trust anyone else. The expectation is that Kyle Allen will struggle, however, if the Panthers can pull out a win on the road it should force Ron Rivera’s hand on whether or not Allen has earned the start at QB the rest of season. For the 49ers, they recently acquired Emmanuel Sanders but I don’t feel comfortable rolling him out his first week on the team against a solid Panthers defense.  Give him a week or two and he should be back to normal if not better. I like Tevin Coleman this week over Matt Breida, he’s looking to be the 1A to Breida’s 1B in an offense that is first in team run plays per game.

BROWNS @ PATRIOTS

Auto Start:

• Julian Edelman

Start:

• Nick Chubb
• Tom Brady
• Sony Michel
• James White
• Mohamed Sanu

Sit:

• Baker Mayfield
• Odell Beckham Jr.
• Jarvis Landry
• Ricky Seals-Jones

Don’t Sweat It:

• Antonio Callaway
• Branden Bolden
• Josh Gordon
• Phillip Dorsett II

Conclusion:

Is anybody ready for round 2? I’d be willing to bet Baker Mayfield has a very similar night as Sam Darnold did last week against the Patriots.  I’m legitimately worried about the Browns offense at this point, it really doesn’t make any sense.  Where is Odell Beckham Jr.? Hello Jarvis Landry, anybody home?  Let’s make this simple, Nick Chubb is your only play in Week 8.  For the Pats, I’m sure Sony Michel will find himself at the one-yard line in which he will run in a touchdown to save his fantasy day.  Meanwhile James White will catch 20 balls for 50 yards and no scores. The story of the Patriots is as mentioned above and with how well the defense is playing it’s the only strategy necessary.  

RAIDERS @ TEXANS

Auto Start:

• Josh Jacobs
• Darren Waller
• Deshaun Watson
• DeAndre Hopkins

Start:

• Kenny Stills

Sit:

• Derek Carr
• Keelan Doss
• Marcell Ateman
• Carlos Hyde
• Duke Johnson
• Keke Coutee
• Darren Fells

Don’t Sweat It:

• Foster Moreau
• Will Fuller V (INJURED)

Conclusion:

This is a matchup I’m looking forward to because I believe the Raiders are frauds and the Texans are battling to be relevant in a surprisingly tougher division than expected. Josh Jacobs is playing great and going forward should be an auto-start every week now especially when averaging 18.8 carries per game. Darren Waller should’ve had 4 touchdowns last week but you’re not disappointed, he’s TE2 on the year and averaging 13.9 ppg. For the Texans, without Will Fuller V, Kenny Stills is up and proved to be every bit of a complementary player to DeAndre Hopkins after posting 105 yards last week against the Colts.  I’m avoiding Houston running backs this week against the Raiders who are ranked 11th against the run. Expect plenty of points from both teams this week with Houston coming out on top.

PACKERS @ CHIEFS

Auto Start:

• Aaron Rodgers
• Davante Adams (START IF HEALTHY)
• Patrick Mahomes (START IF HEALTHY)
• Tyreek Hill
• Travis Kelce

Start:

• Aaron Jones
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling
• LeSean McCoy

Sit:

• Jamaal Williams
• Geronimo Allison
• Allen Lazard
• Jimmy Graham
• Matt Moore (IF STARTING QB)
• Damien Williams

Don’t Sweat It:

• Jake Kumerow
• Demarcus Robinson
• Mecole Hardman

Conclusion:

Had Mahomes not dislocated his knee this would have been the matchup of the week.  That being said, the Packers have found their groove on offense and are currently 6-1 on the year.  If Davante Adams starts, the Packers become deadly and might just steamroll the Chiefs but that could be the recency bias talking. Either way, it doesn’t take much for Packers to score, guys like Marquez Valdes-Scantling put up 133 yards and one TD on just two receptions.  Be ready for lots of points and despite me having plenty of players sitting, the top dogs will show out in what should be a shoot-out.

DOLPHINS @ STEELERS

Auto Start:

• James Conner
• JuJu Smith-Schuster

Start:

• Mason Rudolph

Sit:

• All DOLPHINS
• Vance McDonald

Don’t Sweat It:

• Benny Snell Jr.
• Diontae Johnson
• Donte Moncrief

Conclusion:

For 7 more weeks, I’m going to tell you to SIT ALL DOLPHINS and unless there’s going to be a major overhaul nothing’s going to change.  The Steelers, on the other hand, might be able to bring JuJu Smith-Schuster back to life.  Of course, the only man that can change the course of his destiny would be Mason Rudolph.  Let’s just hope his brain wasn’t blasted into oblivion and he had the appropriate amount of time to recover. James Conner is also another player that’s holding on to dear life with his body.  After numerous injuries, Conner becomes riskier and riskier to play every week but until his body gives up on him, he deserves the start.  

 

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