NFL Week 8 is here and with it comes a whole new era of excitement. We have officially passed the midpoint of the fantasy football regular season, positioning for the playoffs has begun and for those of you who have struggled through your leagues, you can pull out all the stops, swing for the fences and make that one last push.

 

 

 

Seven losses is probably the cut-off point for making your playoffs, so it’s do-or-die. As Dan Fouts said in The Waterboy, “Last game of the season; can’t hold anything back.” And if your dreams of a fantasy football championship have already been crushed, the NFL DFS and betting work are getting better and better as the season rolls on. 

Before we get to the juice, I want to make sure I thank you all for the support over the past week. In last week’s Mailbag article, I wrote about how my process was being negatively impacted by changes in my life, both personal and professional, and how I hoped to change it now that the issue had been recognized. The outreach and support from the Fantasy Alarm #FAmily was overwhelming and truly helped as the proper adjustments were made.

Pretty sure the results speak for themselves. Since that epiphany, I have gone 5-1 on my game bets, including Thursday Night’s pick of the Rams +3 and while I am 3-5 on the prop bets, two of those losses were due to player injuries. Again, not an excuse. A loss is a loss. But at least it showed the restored process is on the right path.

So, one more note of thanks from me to you all. You truly are an amazing group, and it makes me proud to say that this is my #FAmily.

Now, let’s get to the questions for NFL Week 8. 

NFL Week 8 Fantasy Football Advice: Start/Sit, Waivers & Trades

Chris P. Asks...

The return of Tua Tagovailoa has everyone in a frenzy with regard to Tyreek Hill and his expected return to absolute studliness. I totally understand the desire to add him to your team. Unfortunately, though, based on your current roster, I don’t know if this is a deal you need to make. 

Yes, the trio of Lamb, Brown and Hill is fantastic, but so is the trio of Lamb, Brown and Adams. Just as we are waiting for Hill’s return to greatness, so are we with regard to Adams. He was playing on a garbage Raiders team, missed two games with a hamstring issue and then played with the Jets right after the trade. 

Knowing the connection with him and Aaron Rodgers, you can expect a heavy target share both between the 20s and inside the red zone. I may not be the biggest fan of Rodgers, but him force-feeding looks Adams’ way is what we are looking at in the coming weeks and the difference between him and Hill, fantasy points-wise, isn’t going to be that far off.

So, then it comes down to the difference between Taylor and Pollard. Again, Taylor has been out so we haven’t seen him at his peak potential. But a full practice Thursday tells me he’s going to be back this week against Houston and that changes the dynamic of this Colts offense significantly. Taylor is an elite runner and the RPO work we’re going to see from this offense is going to give defensive coordinators fits.

Pollard has been fine thus far. Nothing outlandish, but respectable. Unfortunately, he’s playing for a losing team that is struggling with its quarterback situation and defenses are happy to stuff the run and force either Mason Rudolph or Will Levis to pass. Unless we see a dramatic turn in quarterback play, Tennessee’s offense is going to be stuck in the mud. He’s likely to be game-flowed out of the action more than he will be leaned on.

And in making this trade, once late-season bye weeks hit, you’re going to have to rely on Pollard and probably Ridley as well. Two Titans in your lineup as you jockey for playoff positioning? No thank you. I think you’ve got a strong roster with great depth right now. You’re starting two great running backs, three great wide receivers and have an elite RB to use in your flex as well. No need to weaken that RB depth for a minor improvement at receiver.

 

 

 

Liam N. Wants To Know...

Ideally, I would like to know if you have either Christian McCaffrey or Travis Etienne on your roster. I am a firm believer in handcuffing running backs and given the fact that both lead backs are injured, it’s important to know. If you don’t own either, then I would probably lean towards Bigsby who will have a share of the workload moving forward, no matter what. 

Mason will lead the 49ers backfield in Week 8 and, according to reports, will play behind McCaffrey come Week 10. Is there a chance McCaffrey isn’t ready for Week 10? Sure. But how long is Mason’s stay of execution? We know the 49ers want McCaffrey back and once he is ready, he’ll be there on the field.

Bigsby has already carved out enough of a role for himself in this Jaguars offense and Etienne is just not elite enough to fend him off. Bigsby is a better option between the tackles, and he has also shown a decent ability to catch passes and pass-block. Even when Etienne is back at full-health, you’ll still see Bigbsy on the field.  Maybe we see Mason too, but his opportunities will be significantly less than those of Bigsby in his offense.

Let me know the rest of your roster and we can give a more definite answer, but I will say that if you don’t own McCaffrey or Etienne, you need to trade these guys as handcuffs to their “rightful” owners. You could probably give yourself a nice boost at another spot. 

 

 

 

Gary H. Is Wondering…

Crazy is a relative term, Gary, but in this case, yes, it sounds a little crazy to bench Mahomes in favor of Nix simply because Denver is facing the league pushovers Carolina Panthers. I totally understand why you’re asking the question, but in truth, it’s more about your frustration with Mahomes’ overall performance in relation to where you drafted him. 

You were drafting a top-five quarterback probably somewhere in your first five picks and now you’re mad because he’s averaging just 231.5 passing yards per game and has only six touchdowns to eight interceptions. I get it. These are not the numbers you were expecting.

But while Mahomes’ numbers are disappointing, are Nix’s numbers much better? Nix is averaging 178 passing yards per game and has five touchdowns to five interceptions and that’s with one more game played. He’s certainly shown improvement over the past few games, but statistically, the numbers aren’t there for fantasy. Is it the three rushing touchdowns to just one for Mahomes? Is that pushing you over the top here?

And then, the question is, what are you expecting from Nix in this game against Carolina? In seven games, the Panthers have yielded just 300 passing yards once this season. Caleb Williams threw for 304 yards. The next highest in any game was Kirk Cousins throwing for 235 yards two weeks ago. 

We run on Carolina. We don’t throw. Unless you’re the Bears and have a lame-duck like D’Andre Swift leading your backfield. Do we think Nix is going to be like Williams or does it make more sense to believe the three-headed backfield monster led by Javonte Williams will be featured?

We can also look to Mahomes’ career numbers against the Raiders. Since his arrival in the NFL, Mahomes is 10-2 against the Raiders and is averaging 297.8 passing yards and 2.5 passing touchdowns per game. He’s got a 66.2-percent completion rate and a 109.6 passer rating as well. No, he’s not the same as he was five years ago, but there’s no way I’m benching him in favor of a rookie averaging fewer than 200 passing yards per game.

 

 

 

Fantasy Football Week 8 - NFL 2024

Once again, a note of thanks to you all and, please, keep these questions coming. NFL Week 8 will be gone before you know it and we’re going to need to stay vigilant and focused as we approach Week 9 and start prepping for the fantasy football playoffs. Your fantasy football waiver wire work needs to be on-point and your weekly lineup decisions will be tougher than ever. 

Remember, research and having all the necessary information to make those decisions is paramount to your success. Stay on top of all the latest injuries and practice reports. And don’t ever panic. If your team is banged-up, prepare your roster with alternatives for Sunday, but don’t make the final lineup decision until you absolutely have to.  

And, as always, please reach out at any point, whether it’s through the Fantasy Alarm Discord (just be sure to tag me or send a private DM) or in an email me at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com. 

Best of luck to you all this week and let’s keep crushing it.