The League Winners staff is back for Week 8 start or sit. We all survived the fantasy football byepocalpyse that was Week 7, and now are moving full steam ahead to Week 8. Who deserves consideration for your fantasy football lineup this week? Who should take the week off and sit on the bench? Our staff is here to help guide you with any last-minute decisions you are facing.
Start
Hunter Henry, TE – New England Patriots (Joe O’Leary)
I’m going to ride the Hunter Henry train one more time while it’s running on all cylinders. Henry has scored in four straight games and gets a revenge matchup this week against his former team, the Chargers. The Chargers are allowing the fourth-most PPR points to tight ends. Henry doesn’t see a ton of volume which can be a cause for concern, but the script may be in his favor to see some more targets this week with the Patriots underdogs on the road with a respectable over-under. Mac Jones trusts Hunter Henry in the red zone. Henry keeps the touchdown streak alive in week eight. He’s a plug-and-play TE1 option this week in fantasy football.
Dan Arnold, TE – Jacksonville Jaguars (Jeremy Shulman)
The Seattle Seahawks defense is bad, and the Jaguars are coming off a London win and a much-needed bye to sort out their internal issues. One of those issues is the week four acquisition of Dan Arnold; integrating him as soon as possible into the offensive game plan. Excluding his two target Week 4 (as he joined the team just days earlier), Arnold has 13 targets, tied for second on the team with Laviska Shenault and Jamal Agnew.
I’m not expecting the Jags to win this game, though it is possible given the Seahawks poor defense and Russell Wilson’s injury. I am expecting Marvin Jones and Shenault to have very good games. Still, I’m all over Arnold this week. I’m starting him with confidence – especially now that the Jags staff has had nearly two weeks to further integrate him into the system.
Zack Moss, RB – Buffalo Bills (Keith James)
Miami’s defense has been atrocious this year. The Dolphins are 31st in points given up this season. The team is dead last in yards given up as well. This appears to be a smash spot for the Buffalo Bills offense. I believe Zack Moss gets a lot of usage and hits paydirt this week.
Kenneth Gainwell, RB – Philadelphia Eagles (Matthew Morris)
Whether you’ve been holding Kenneth Gainwell or just picked him up off of waivers, Week 8 brings the perfect storm to start him. After Miles Sanders sustained an ankle injury in Week 7, Gainwell is due to see his workload increase. After Sanders exited the game, Gainwell only saw five carries for 20 yards. However, that was largely due to the Eagles trailing most of the game. A more promising stat is that Gainwell saw eight targets for a 4/41/1 line, and in his limited usage thus far, he has looked really good. Facing a Detroit Lions defense that is 31st in the NFL against running backs in fantasy football, fire up Gainwell with full confidence this week.
Kalif Raymond, WR – Detroit Lions (Thomas Christopher)
Don’t look now but Kalif Raymond is a top-40 WR in fantasy football. He’s quickly become Jared Goff’s favorite wide receiver to target, and has stepped up in a big way after injuries to Tyrell Williams and Quintez Cephus. Goff just recently gave praise to Raymond, claiming his work ethic matched that of Cooper Kupp. I think that chemistry continues to grow against a struggling Eagles unit.
Sit
Tua Tagovailoa, QB – Miami Dolphins (Joe O’Leary)
Tua Tagovailoa has been good the last two weeks in his return from injury. This week at Buffalo, you may want to look elsewhere. The Bills have given up a league-low five total touchdown passes on the year. They’ve only allowed two top-20 fantasy football quarterback performances or better in six games. Tua shouldn’t be considered in one quarterback formats and is a dicey option in SuperFlex as well.
Mike Evans, WR – Tampba Bay Buccaneers (Jeremy Shulman)
Mike Evans is the PPR WR7 on the season. He just put up a top-3 wide receiver performance in week seven with a three-touchdown effort. Tom Brady has been playing some of the best football of his career and is currently the #1 player in all of fantasy football. Antonio Brown now has a potentially long-term foot ailment while Rob Gronkowski (who looks like he may return) has missed the last month and probably isn’t yet 100%.
Still, you’ve got to sit Mike Evans if you can. Marshon Latimore has owned Evans ever since he’s entered the league, allowing the stud wideout just ten total catches in eight matchups overall. Over their last four showdowns, Evans has just one catch for three yards when matched up with Lattimore, including last year’s playoff game. Find a better option, if possible.
Robert Woods, WR – Los Angeles Rams (Keith James)
The truth is this offense now runs through Cooper Kupp. In years past, the passing game spread the ball to both Kupp and Woods; not anymore. In a game against the Texans, I expect Kupp and Tyler Higbee to be the focus. Houston is dead last against tight ends and Kupp is a dominant force. I’m fading Bobby Trees in what should be a laugher; where most of the Rams playmakers produce and Robert Woods‘ managers are once again left with what could have been.
Laviska Shenault, WR – Jacksonville Jaguars (Matthew Morris)
Through six games, Laviska Shenault’s fantasy football season has been pretty disappointing. Currently the WR56, the opportunity just hasn’t been what many expected. There seems to be room for optimism heading into Week 8 for Laviska.
The Jaguars are coming off of a bye, facing a Seattle Seahawks secondary that is middle of the pack against wide receivers, and Shenault saw his largest target share of the season in Week 6 with 10. Nonetheless, after DJ Chark went down to injury, Shenault’s usage simply did not vault the way fantasy managers wanted it to, largely due to Jamal Agnew getting more involved. Shenault is difficult to trust on a weekly basis in the Jaguars offense, and despite a solid matchup, he will be on my bench this week.
Tyler Boyd, WR – Cincinnati Bengals (Thomas Christopher)
Tyler Boyd has been a disappointment in fantasy football circles this year; though it was somewhat expected when the Bengals drafted Joe Burrow’s college teammate, Ja’Marr Chase. Boyd has been third fiddle, and only able to produce when one of the other two is not available. That won’t be the case on Sunday, and, despite facing a horrible Jets team, their cornerbacks have done great against wide receivers this year. I’m expecting a big Joe Mixon game, and Boyd to be faded into obscurity.
