Fantasy Football: The Phinest Starts for Week 8

Fantasy Starts For Week 8

I hope your fantasy teams are doing well as we get ready for the Sunday slate of Week 8 games. As for me, I have a few fantasy teams that are over 500 and doing pretty well. But there are some of my fantasy teams I need to turn around to make that push for the playoffs. Among all my fantasy teams, I have just one squad that’s 0-7, and that had more to do with nearly losing all of my starting lineup to injuries (Dak Prescott, Alvin Kamara, Chris Godwin, Cam Akers, etc). If you’re close to getting back out in the positive, you must get on the ball with your lineup selections for Week 8.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers are on byes this week so you’ll be without guys like Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler, and others. If you have any of those guys, you’ll have to be a bit savvier with your moves this week. There are some nice matchups this week so here are some players you should be looking at based on their matchups.

Starts

Quarterback

Daniel Jones vs. Seattle Seahawks

Did you think you would see Daniel Jones in the Phinest start article this season? Probably not but with fantasy managers missing Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert this week, a potential streamer would be nice, right? To the surprise of many, Jones heads into Week 8 as the QB9 of the season averaging 17 fantasy points per game. Jones isn’t doing too much with his passing as he ranks 23rd in passing yards but he is doing damage as a runner, averaging 49 yards per game and just over eight carries a game. Jones gets a Seahawks defense that is allowing 4.9 y/a on the ground.

Andy Dalton vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Dalton had a solid game in Week 7 against the Arizona Cardinals if you don’t count the three interceptions. Dalton would finish as the QB4 that week with 26.5 fantasy points. If he can throttle down the picks, Dalton might be able to have another solid week. With Winston playing backup again this week, Dalton gets the start against a Raiders defense that is allowing 262 yards per game through the air, seventh most among NFL defenses. The Raiders are also allowing the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season too so that might help things along as well.

Kirk Cousins vs. Arizona Cardinals

We just talked about how Andy Dalton had a solid game against the Cardinals in Week 7, right? Now it looks like Kirk Cousins is up next. The Cardinals are giving up 19.6 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks heading into Week 8. Cousins is averaging 16.3 fantasy points per game and ranks as the 13th overall quarterback this season. The Cardinals are also giving up the eighth most passing yards per game at 258.6.

Running backs

Tony Pollard vs. Chicago Bears

With Ezekiel Elliott to miss Week 8 with knee and thigh injuries, Tony Pollard will take over as the lead back for the Dallas Cowboys. That means the snaps will be in his favor as he gets a solid matchup against a leaky Bears defense. The Bears are giving up 25 fantasy points per game, ranking eighth most among fantasy defenses. The Bears are giving up nearly 150 yards per game on the ground to running backs this season too.

Raheem Mostert vs. Detriot Lions

Mostert seems to be separating himself from Chase Edmonds, especially after his performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mostert finished with 79 yards on 16 carries and 30 yards receiving and a touchdown on five targets. The Lions are one of the worst run defenses in the league when it comes to fantasy, giving up the third-most fantasy points per game to running backs (29.7) and giving up 5.3 y/a.

Tyler Allgeier vs. Carolina Panthers

Since Cordarrelle Patterson has been placed on IR, Tyler Allgeier has taken over as the primary back for the Atlanta Falcons and with the offense catering to the run, Allgeier will continue to see the bulk of the workload on the ground out of that backfield. Allgeier played 61.7% of the snaps in Week 7 and should continue to see that size of a workload at least until Patterson returns from IR. Since Week 4, Allgeier is averaging about 14 carries a game, sharing time with fellow Falcons running back Caleb Huntley. Allgeier gets a matchup against the division-rival Carolina Panthers, who are allowing 22.7 fantasy points per game to running backs heading into Week 8.

Wide Receiver

Devonta Smith vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Eagles’ number two wide receiver seems to be having himself quite the season so far. While the major buzz is around the Eagles’ leading man A.J. Green, Smith is quietly averaging 14.1 fantasy points per game. The Eagles get a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that is vulnerable to the pass with receivers being able to have good games against them. The Steelers currently rank third in fantasy points allowed to enemy receivers so far this season.

Chris Olave vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Another week of Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry being ruled out because of injuries means another week of Chris Olave in your lineups. Olave led the Saints receivers with 13 targets in Week 7 against the Arizona Cardinals and should look to get a similar volume share again this week against the Raiders. The Raiders head into Week 8 giving up the 11th most fantasy points to the wide receiver position at nearly 36 FPPG.

Brandin Cooks vs. Tennessee Titans

No Nico Collins, no excuses. Davis Mills will need to get to Brandin Cooks early and often in this game with the lack of pass-catching options available to him. Cooks did start the season averaging 9 targets per game over the first four weeks of the season, but as rookie running back Dameon Pierce began to establish himself as the lead back for the Texans, Cooks’s targets went down, averaging just 5.5 targets over the last two weeks. Cooks gets a matchup against a Titans defense that is giving up the third-most yards to wide receivers at just over 200 yards per game.

DJ Moore vs. Atlanta Falcons

Moore looked great last week with PJ Walker taking over as the starting quarterback against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Moore was targeted 10 times for 69 yards and a touchdown. With Walker penciled in as the starter, Moore should continue to see a boost in targets. The Falcons aren’t exactly juggernauts when it comes to defending wide receivers. The Falcons are giving up 207 yards per game to wide receivers, the second-most in the NFL. The Falcons are also giving up the most fantasy points to wide receivers.

Tight Ends

T.J. Hockenson vs. Miami Dolphins

Hockenson has had a couple of down games two out of the last three weeks. Hockenson didn’t score over 10 fantasy points in either of his last two games but has an opportunity this week to bounce back against the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are giving up nearly 15 fantasy points per game to the tight end position heading into Week 8.

Hayden Hurst vs. Cleveland Browns

The Bengals’ tight end should be in line for an even bigger increase in work with stud Ja’Marr Chase OUT for the next few weeks. With Chase’s nearly 28% target share up for grabs, Hurst should be one of the beneficiaries of it. Hurst has already seen a bump in targets as of late, garnering 5+ targets in two of his last three games. The Browns are tough on tight ends, allowing nearly nine fantasy points to the position, the seventh-fewest among fantasy defenses but the Bengals are riding hot offensively and that might be enough to get them through this division game.