Saturday, October 27, 2018

Week 8 Fantasy Football: Wide Receivers Start'em, Sit'em

Ultimately, the decision of which player to start is largely determined by the composition of your roster (as well as your league's settings).

As an example, Tyler Boyd is listed below as a "start" for Week 8. And I'd feel comfortable going into Week 8 with him as one of my starting wide receivers.

That said, he may be a sit for your team.

In other words, if you start two wide receivers and owned Adam Thielen, A.J. Green and Boyd, you should start Thielen and Green -- and in turn, bench Boyd.

So while you won't find absolute start-sit recommendations below (use my Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings for that instead), the goal here is to highlight some players that I like (and would feel comfortable starting) as well as some players that I dislike for this week (and would prefer to keep on my bench).

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Week 8 Fantasy Football WR Start'em

 

WR - JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. CLE)

Smith-Schuster had a 100-yard game against the Bengals last week and now has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in four of seven games this season. Not only did he have a 100-yard game against the Browns in Week 1, but he ended his rookie season with a 143-yard performance against them in the final game of 2017.

Over his past 16 games, the second-year receiver has a 92/1,376/7 line with 100 yards and/or a touchdown in 11 of his past 14 games. Looking to extend his 100-yard streak against the Browns to three games, Smith-Schuster is a top-10 option for me this week.

WR - Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams (vs. GB)

The high-powered Rams offense is projected to score a week-high 33.0 points based on their implied total from Vegas odds. Of course, Todd Gurley is always a threat to account for multiple touchdowns, but the absence of Cooper Kupp (MCL) provides a boost to Brandin Cooks and Woods.

If there's a concern, it's that Jared Goff has just 52 pass attempts over the past two weeks and the Rams are nearly double-digit favorites once again. That said, Aaron Rodgers always has the chance to keep the game closer than the spread suggests.

Woods has three 100-yard games this season, but he's been a model of consistency for the Rams. Since Week 2, Woods has at least five catches and more than 75 yards in every game. During that six-game span, he's averaging 6.3 catches for 94.2 yards with three touchdowns. Like Smith-Schuster above, Woods is a top-10 fantasy receiver this week.

WR - Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. TB)

Coming off his worst performance (3/27) since Week 1 (3/26), Boyd will look to bounce back in another plus matchup. The Buccaneers have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season and the Bengals have a top-three implied total this week. Boyd has either 100 yards and/or a touchdown in four of his past six games and he has scored the 17th-most fantasy points this season.

Week 8 Fantasy Football WR Sit'em

 

WR - Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears (vs. NYJ)

Likely to play in Week 8 at less than 100 percent, it's been a disappointing season for A-Rob. As great as Mitchell Trubisky has been playing over the past month, Robinson has just eight catches for 91 yards over his past three games and Trubisky has thrown for 1,003 yards over that span. Robinson has two touchdowns over that stretch, but it's difficult to trust that he'll bounce back this week.

WR - Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals (vs. SF)

Fitzgerald scored his first touchdown of the season in Week 7, which means he had his best fantasy performance (weekly WR22) of the year. If you have a glass-half-full outlook, Fitzgerald had his highest yardage total since Week 1. If you're glass is half-empty, however, that six-week high was 40 yards. Fitz has averaged just 3.17 catches for 29.83 yards over the past six weeks. Once again, I would prefer rookie Christian Kirk over Fitzgerald this week if I were forced to start a Cardinals receiver.

WR - Marquise Goodwin, San Francisco 49ers (at ARI)

Aside from a monster performance (4/126/2) against the Packers in Week 6, Goodwin has had a relatively quiet season when on the field. That big week against Green Bay was his only game this season with more than 30 receiving yards. In addition, he has yet to see more than five targets. With a matchup against Patrick Peterson, it's likely that Goodwin has another quiet performance.

- More Fantasy Football Start'em, Sit'em for Week 8

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