If you have a deep roster and/or are in a shallow league, you may find yourself with some tough decisions to make on a weekly basis. Last week I had a number of tough decisions to make in one league:
1. Justin Jackson versus James Robinson
2. Robert Tonyan versus Jared Cook
3. Matt Ryan versus Matthew Stafford
I talked a lot about the first one in my Week 7 intro, and in the end I ranked Robinson one spot higher so I plugged him into my second RB spot. That turned out to be the right call because Robinson continued to produce, and he's looking to be both matchup and game script proof. I also had Cook one spot higher than Tonyan, so I went with the Saint (also turned out to be the right call). In the case of Ryan versus Stafford, the right call might've actually been neither. I went with Ryan, but the difference was negligible. And if it weren't for the crazy ending that could only happen to the Falcons in 2020, Ryan would've been the right call.
But in reality, all of those calls could've been wrong because they were all very close leading up to kickoff (at least in my eyes). I could've easily gone the other way on all three, and I'm especially glad I went with Robinson. I'm also happy that my leaguemates didn't accept any of my trade offers earlier in the season that included Robinson. He's really been helping me out in that league. What a nice surprise in 2020!
As usual, I'm more than happy to answer your start/sit questions on Twitter, but most can be answered just by checking the rankings below. If you have any specific questions about waivers, trade offers, league issues, or breaking news as it happens...hit me up on Twitter @bartonwheeler.
Trust the process, start your studs, work the waiver wire, and sometimes just listen to your gut!
As a reminder, I'm also keeping my Rest of Season Rankings up to date. Check those out if you're curious about a guy's value for the second half of the season. For now, let's get into the Week 8 rankings!
2020 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ - Expert Consensus Rankings
QBs
One guy I liked last week as a top-10 play and the ECR didn't was Joe Burrow. With Mixon out, I thought Burrow would continue to air it out against a Cleveland team he lit up in Week 2. He did it one better in Week 7 and finished as a top-5 fantasy QB. He has a plus matchup against Tennessee this week, and I have both him and Justin Herbert as top-10 plays. With Tua making his first start against the Rams, it could be just a matter of time before all three rookie QBs are ranked in the top-12. Time will tell with Tua, but as for Burrow, I'm still going against the current ECR with him this week. I just think he's a top-10 fantasy QB in good matchups, especially if Mixon is out again (which I expect to be the case).
On the flipside, I'm actually a little down on Tom Brady here in Week 8. He was great against the Raiders last week, but he hasn't exactly been a consistent top-12 option this year (or most years in his career to be honest). Sure, he's the GOAT. But for fantasy, he's had some pretty inconsistent seasons. I still have him in my top-10 as of right now. I just don't have him in my top-5. I feel like there's a chance he doesn't need to throw the ball 35+ times this week against the Giants, and he's been pretty average in two of three games this year without Chris Godwin. You might be starting him regardless, but maybe not considering he could've easily been the second QB you drafted late.
RBs
I was high on Justin Jackson last week (+7 vs ECR), but he didn't do much in a cake matchup against the Jags. I'm very curious to see how the split between Jackson and Kelley is this week against a tougher Bronco defense. The Charger RB who emerges (if any) could be in line for some good production while Ekeler likely continues to miss time in Weeks 9 through 11: LV, @MIA, NYJ.
I was down on Damien Harris against the 49ers in Week 7, and my thought was James White is the only back to play in this Patriot backfield right now. Well, Harris had an OK game and White was an afterthought. It was strange considering the Patriots were playing from behind all day, but maybe there isn't much useful intel to get from this game. If anything, I will keep all Patriot RBs fairly low until this situation clears up. Just keep in mind that especially with Cam getting goal line work, it may stay cloudy all year.
This week, I'm pretty low on Zeke on Sunday Night Football. Like my Brady take, it might not be super useful because it's not like I'm ranking him outside of my top-25 RBs. The current ECR has him as a top-5 play, but I have him down at #12. With the Cowboys likely starting Ben DiNucci (a rookie out of JMU) against the Eagles, I'm not confident this offense will move the ball against the Eagles. Sure, Elliott will probably get his usual 20-25 touches. I'm just nervous that those touches won't produce enough for him to be a top fantasy running back this week.
WRs
I was down on Terry McLaurin for the second week in a row, and I thought he'd end up outside of the top-20 WRs again. He broke for a touchdown and nearly had another on his way to a top-12 finish. While I was way off with that one call, I actually ended up as the #4 WR ranker in Week 7, so maybe I shouldn't have called out McLaurin and focused on literally anyone else!
Speaking of the FantasyPros expert accuracy competition, I finished as the #2 ranker in Week 6, and I backed that up in Week 7 with the #13 finish. Not bad! I'm hoping to keep this momentum going here in Week 8, and that goes for my betting picks as well. I had been going back and forth between good and bad weeks, but I finally strung together a couple of good weeks. Some people don't believe in momentum when it comes to sports, and I wonder if those people extend that line of thinking to other things. But I'm not one of those people, so I don't know. I'm trying to keep this Big Mo rolling!
Cheers,
Bart
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