Saturday, October 31, 2020

Fantasy Football Week 8 WR Start'em, Sit'em

The decision on which player to start, or sit, largely comes down to the options on your roster (and/or possibly the players available on your league's waiver wire).

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

Then again, Jefferson may be a "sit" for your team.

In other words, if you own both Tyreek Hill, Tyler Lockett and Jefferson and only start two receivers, you should start Hill and Lockett and, in turn, bench Jefferson.

For a more direct answer on whether we would start Player X over Player Y, check our Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings. Instead of making those direct comparisons, the goal here is to highlight players that we like, or dislike, for the week.

Week 8 Fantasy Football WR Start'em

Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers (at SEA)

While the 49ers are a run-first team that ranks in the bottom 10 of the league in pass attempts per game, things could be different this week if the team is forced to keep pace with Russell Wilson and the high-flying Seahawks offense. No team is averaging more points per game (33.8) than Seattle.

Aiyuk set career highs with six catches for 115 yards last week against the Patriots. The rookie now has either 100-plus scrimmage yards and/or a touchdown in four of five games. With Deebo Samuel out, Aiyuk could get a larger share of a larger pie.

No team has allowed more fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers than the Seahawks this season. While the 49ers are a small home underdogs, this week's game has the highest over/under (53.5).

Travis Fulgham, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. DAL)

Fulgham now has three consecutive games with double-digit targets. Over his four games this season, Fulgham has 23 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns on 37 targets. Even though first-round rookie Jalen Reagor and tight end Dallas Goedert will be active on Sunday night, Fulgham is still the best bet to lead the team in receiving in a soft matchup against the Cowboys. Dallas has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season.

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings (at GB)

Before the bye, Jefferson had a blowup game with nine catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons. The rookie wide receiver now has more than 100 yards in three of his past four games. In a game where the Vikings could trail big, there could be plenty of opportunities for both Adam Thielen and Jefferson in Week 8.

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. TEN)

It was another productive week for Higgins in Week 7. The rookie out of Clemson finished with five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown and added a seven-yard run. Since Week 3, Higgins has 24 catches for 375 yards and three touchdowns plus 22 rushing yards. The Titans have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season.

Week 8 Fantasy Football WR Sit'em

JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers (at BAL)

If you drafted Smith-Schuster, you drafted him to be a (high-end) WR2 and he's been anything but. His only top-24 (half-PPR scoring) performance this season was in Week 1 against the Giants. While JJS set season highs last week in targets (14), receptions (nine) and yards (85) against the Titans, he actually finished second on the team in targets (Diontae Johnson, 15) last week. With talented receivers like Johnson and rookie Chase Claypool competing for targets and a difficult matchup on tap, you can likely do better than Smith-Schuster if you only start two receivers.

T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts (at DET)

Through six games, here are Hilton's weekly finishes in half-PPR scoring: WR50, WR90, WR52, WR75, WR34 and WR86. Hilton has barely averaged three catches (3.33) and 40 scoreless yards (40.33) per game this season. Even in a favorable matchup (the Lions have surrendered the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers), it's difficult to have the confidence to put Hilton into your lineup.

Jerry Jeudy, Denver Broncos (vs. LAC)

With Courtland Sutton out for the season, Jeudy was expected to step up as the team's No. 1 receiver and he started the year with four consecutive outings of 55-plus yards. Over the past three games, however, Jeudy has exactly two receptions per game and a total of only 13 targets during that stretch. Meanwhile, teammate Tim Patrick has a total of 13 catches on 19 targets for 258 yards and a touchdown over the past three games. The Chargers are one of the 10 stingiest defenses when it comes to limiting fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, so Jeudy isn't any better than a WR4 in Week 8.

Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys (at PHI)

Gallup broke out in his sophomore campaign (66/1,107/6 in 2019). Through the first five games with Dak Prescott, Gallup had a minimum of 50 yards in four of those games and averaged nearly 70 yards (69.6) over that span. Since then, however, Gallup has 2/23 on six targets and a goose egg on two targets. With rookie Ben DiNucci expected to make his first start of the year, there's no reason to believe that things will get any better for Gallup. In fact, it's difficult to trust Amari Cooper or CeeDee Lamb either.

More positions:

Positional Fantasy Football Rankings:

Check out more of our content: