Welcome to Week 8 of the NFL season, or as I like to call it, uh . . the eighth week of the NFL season. Most leagues go to Week 17 and skip Week 18, so we are close to halfway through the fantasy season and over halfway through the fantasy regular season, which usually ends around Week 15 depending on your setup.
That doesn’t give us a whole bunch of time to make a move in our leagues if we are wallowing in the mud. But, many of us are still within striking distance, so let’s get after it!
Below here I’ll take you through some notes on offensive player usage from Week 7 and whatever else might help us decipher this National Football League.
How does Deshaun Watson’s season ending injury impact Browns fantasy players?
For reasons hard to decipher, the Browns had Dorian Thompson-Robinson was the backup to Watson instead of James Winston. Some speculate Winston was the emergency quarterback to keep fans from calling for him to replace a continuously failing Watson, but whatever the reason, Thompson-Robinson was next in line, replacing Watson, but then suffering a finger injury that pushed Winston onto the field. All of that is to say, we really need to know who will be the quarterback next week when the Browns take on the Ravens.
The cart is already coming out for Deshaun Watson and the whole Browns team is coming out to see Deshaun Watson on the cart pic.twitter.com/rBxkiHSgEg
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) October 20, 2024
Winston had been the backup until Week 7, so there is precedent for Winston as the preferred starter with Watson out, but the team can say they want the younger Thompson-Robinson in there to see what he can do compared to the old veteran Winston. They could also want to tank the season for draft picks, which would also be a reason to sit Winston, as he has shown that he is likely going to be more effective that the second-year Thompson-Robinson.
If Winston gets the nod, I expect fairly consistent play out of David Njoku and then some upside for Cedric Tillman, who appears to have passed Jerry Jeudy on the depth chart. Njoku can probably still be of use in fantasy with about anyone at quarterback, as he’s a large, fast target underneath. But for Tillman, Jeudy and Moore to have fantasy appeal, Winston needs to be the man.
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Tua Tagovailoa, you are our only hope
Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are on your team. Your quarterback throws the ball 22 times. Neither receiver catches more than one pass and they total 19 receiving yards. How is that possible? Injuries! Nope. Bad QB play? Sure, but still. Bad coaching? Yes.
The good news is that Tagovailoa appears close to returning in Week 8, as his I.R. stint will be over and news has been positive.
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel said the team is designating QB Tua Tagovailoa to return from injured reserve. Tagovailoa still needs to pass through concussion protocol, but he is tracking to play Sunday versus the Cardinals.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 21, 2024
As long as he can return to take on the Cardinals in Miami this week, Hill, Waddle, De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert all return to startable status in fantasy.
Just as a reminder, Chase Brown continues to lead Bengals backfield
I’ve written about this enough, but the trend continued in Week 7, as Chase Brown once again led the backfield, this time Brown had 17 touches for 53 yards and Zach Moss had nine touches for 40 yards.
Neither did much for fantasy, but Brown was once again set up for the best fantasy numbers.
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Brandon Aiyuk suffers ACL injury
The 49ers were hurting at wide receiver against the Chiefs on Sunday. Jauan Jennings was already out with a hip injury, and then Deebo Samuel missed most of the game with an illness, but the worst was Aiyuk, who left the game with a knee injury that could be a season ender, per Josina Anderson.
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk out for season with torn ACL, MCL. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/XqsO5IxKKn
— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
With Aiyuk done for the season, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are the top receivers left, but Jauan Jennings has shown enough to grab him again if he’s available.
Rookie Ricky Pearsall did return this week and will see work, but at this point he’ll likely need to beat out Jennings to get enough work to be consistent. He’s worth an add, but don’t expect a quick ascension if Jennings and Samuel are healthy enough to play next week
Tank Bigsby has big game with Travis Etienne out
In Week 6 we saw Tank Bigsby put up a dud despite Travis Etienne leaving the game early. The game script pushed D’Ernest Johnson into the forefront due to the Jaguars dislike of Bigsby in pass protection/receiving chops.
This week the Jaguars got a lead and with Etienne out due to a hamstring, Bigsby accumulated 26 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
Wake up babe, Tank Bigsby Jagimorphs just dropped 📚#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/NyvgjolwZq
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 22, 2024
Bigsby had slightly taken over the lead back role and especially had taken over the goal line back role before Etienne’s hamstring injury. When Etienne returns, we should expect him to take on the Johnson, passing-down role, while Bigsby leads as the early-down and goal-line back.
Romeo Doubs leads receiver room following one-game suspension
We never got a clear explanation for why Romeo Doubs skipped out on practice and was eventually suspended for the Packers Week 5 matchup, but we do know he’s been getting plenty of work since.
Through two games, Doubs has 14 targets, catching 11 for 143 yards and two touchdowns. In the four games to start the season, he caught 12-of-20 targets for 169 yards and no touchdowns. He leads the team in targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns over the last two games.
Romeo Doubs put on a clinic against the Texans…
Slant after slant after slant, executed perfectly.
Unstoppable. pic.twitter.com/r2WIQpeq32
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) October 22, 2024
We knew Doubs was the receiver to get the most routes on the team, but Jayden Reed had been the top fantasy play to start the year. Doubs is now firmly back into the startle receiver crowd, but with four receivers and a good tight end, target aren’t guaranteed every week.
Zamir White returns, but Alexander Mattison takes control as lead back
White had missed the last couple games due to a groin injury, but his return to health did not come with a return to starter status. We had seen Mattison winning work before White’s injury, so this isn’t too surprising. What is surprising is that Mattison has held some fantasy use despite being on a bad Raiders team.
Quietly really strong usage again for Alexander Mattison in Week 7:
– 69% snap rate
– 23 of 26 RB rushes— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 21, 2024
Even without scoring, Mattison accumulated enough stats to finish as a Top 20 PPR running back in fantasy this week. He ran the ball 23 times for 92 yards and caught all three of his targets for 31 yards. On the season he is currently RB20, averaging 12.1 fantasy points per game, while White is averaging just 4.3 fantasy points per game. You can drop White in most leagues.
Tyrone Tracy leads backfield over Devin Singletary in loss
After two strong games with starter Devin Singletary out, rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. held onto the lead role with Singletary back in Week 7.
In the end, neither put up good numbers, and despite Tracy out snapping Singletary 39 to 12, Tracy had nine touches to Singletary’s six.
Tracy was the receiving back, running 27 routes to Singletary’s six, per PFF. With a lead, the snaps likely would have been closer, but the Giants can’t expect to be in many leads as it is, so I’m good with crowning Tracy the lead back at this point.
Will Noah Gray fix the Chiefs low fantasy numbers? No.
The fact that TE Noah Gray led the Chiefs in receiving yards in Week 7 against the 49ers is not going to help us find many fantasy points from the undefeated Chiefs offensive skill players.
With JuJu Smith-Schuster only playing a few snaps before aggravating his hamstring injury, the Chiefs were down to Justin Watson, Xavier Worthy, Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman, Travis Kelce, and Noah Gray as the main pass catchers.
Worthy led the team with eight targets, but caught just 3 for 19 yards. Kelce was second with five targets, which he caught 3 for 17 yards, while Gray caught all four of his targets for 66 yards.
Noah Gray is not being talked about enough for the performance he had against the 49ers! 😤🔥pic.twitter.com/FOE3oCaMi7
— Brad Henson Productions (@BradHensonPro) October 22, 2024
We can’t really expect Smith-Schuster to return quickly from a hamstring injury, and he’s the only wide receiver on the team that looked like he could be a consistent, reliable target for Patrick Mahomes after Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown went down to season-ending injuries.
Gray does have some appeal in fantasy, as tight ends remain gross. And if Smith-Schuster remains out, that would likely be the best road for Gray to see a good amount of routes alongside Kelce. But we do need to remain realistic, as Mahomes is going to spread the ball around and this offense has shown little big-play upside.
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