Tue Oct 29th 2024

Week Eight Review

Week eight in the NFL was a blast!  Fantasy scores went through the roof with no bye weeks and every team playing. Much of the scoring was from tight ends, who scored 17 touchdowns on national tight end day. The games were awesome, too. The end of the first slate of games was a blast, with games coming down to the wire. The Red Zone channel bounced back and forth between them all, giving viewers a crazy ride during the last thirty minutes of the opening slate. We also got to witness a successful Hail Mary at the end of the afternoon slate of games. It was a great day to watch football!

 

After following all of the games this week, here are some of my dynasty takeaways.

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Dynasty Impact

 

Oh My!

• Dynasty managers greatly benefited from a team that got its starters back. On Thursday night, the Rams got Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back, and their offense exploded because of it. Kyren Williams got his obligatory touchdown, Kupp caught a touchdown, and Nacua had 106 yards receiving while only playing 50% of the snaps. Matt Stafford had his best fantasy week of the year with four touchdown passes. Everything is better with Kupp and Nacua back. Kupp showed a little more rust than Nacua, but he still found ways to get open. Nacua had plays designed for him, and he looked 100% back to his 2023 self. We expected Kupp back this week, but Nacua was a big late surprise.  Dynasty managers who had the courage to put him in their lineups even though they announced that his snaps would be limited were rewarded. I hedged my bets. I started Nacua in two of my leagues, where I was confident that he would outperform another wide receiver even with half the snaps. Sadly, I felt I had a solid enough roster in three leagues not to take the chance. I paid the price for that. Even so, I'm pleased to have my most-rostered play back in my starting lineups as I make a run toward the playoffs. He's one of my favorite players to watch, and I'm so pleased he's back.  

 

Oh No!

• The Chicago Bears' offense is officially on the struggle bus, and they brought down most of their players this week. Chicago could not move the ball against Washington. Caleb Williams looked awful, completing just 42% of his passes. His terrible play led to minimal production for D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Keenan Allen, and Cole Kmet. Moore did not have a catch until late in the second half and was visibly frustrated. The Bears were shut out until 43 seconds left in the third quarter, when they needed a 56-yard run by Swift to score.  They needed a big play because they could not string together first downs to score. Common wisdom said that after Williams's very productive games in weeks five and six, he figured things out, and by week seven, he would take the league by storm as Jayden Daniels did from game one.  He sure didn't this week. Daniels clearly won the top-two-picks quarterback battle on Sunday.

 

Ouch!

• The entire Jacksonville receiving corps spent time on the sideline in this game. They all got dinged up in different ways. While most of them will likely return to action next week, Christian Krik will not. He fractured his collarbone on Sunday and will miss the remainder of the season. His absence will lead to increased targets for Evan Engram while Brian Thomas and Gabe Davis keep their roles on the outside. It also opens the door for Parker Washington to get playing time in the slot. I don't think Kirk's absence will hurt the offense too much.
• Stefon Diggs left the game with an injury. While we don't know the severity at the time of this article, it looks pretty serious. For this week, a short week for Houston, Tank Dell will be the WR-1, and Xavier Hutchinson will fill in for Diggs. Hopefully, Nico Collins can return the week after that.  The Texans offense will be hurt with Diggs gone. They'll do best to run the offense through Joe Mixon until Collins gets back.
• We also do not know the severity of Jordan Love's injury, but we do know that the passing game is not nearly as productive when he is out. Malik Willis helped the Packers win two games when Love missed time earlier in the season, but he did not help dynasty managers with Packers pass catchers. Their offense will take a hit without Love, especially in the passing game.

 

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Stock Up

 

Chase Brown

• Brown is still splitting time with Zack Moss, but he's consistently scoring more fantasy points each week. He has five touchdowns this season, while Moss has two and has not scored since week three. The coaching staff's trust in Brown is growing, and he's earning a bigger role. His dynasty stock is on the rise as a result.

 

Cade Otton

• Otton is a huge part of the Buccaneers' offense and is on the same page with Baker Mayfield. He's the third most targeted tight end in the league this year and is fifth in tight end catches. Often, tight ends take years to become productive in fantasy. He's among the most productive this year and has become a reliable starter in dynasty lineups.

 

Darnell Mooney

• Mooney outperformed Drake London again this week, and he has a few times this year. Kirk Cousins trusts him, and his play on the field this season merits a big move up in dynasty rankings. I figured he'd play third fiddle in the passing game in Atlant behind London and Kyle Pitts, or maybe even fourth fiddle behind Bijan Robinson, but he's received a 22% target share this season. I never saw that coming, but it's true. His dynasty stock must adjust accordingly.

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Stock Down

 

Ja'Lynn Polk

• Polk missed this week with an injury, but he's played plenty of snaps with the starters this season and has yet to have even a decent game from a fantasy perspective. Kayshon Boutte has taken an unexpectedly dominant role on the team and has overtaken Polk on the depth chart and targets. When drafted early in the second round, dynasty managers assumed he'd quickly rise to the top of the Patriots' weak depth chart, but he has not. His dynasty stock is falling with each passing week as a result.  

 

Michael Pittman

• Pittman is more talented than his production on the field. He just has one of the most inaccurate quarterbacks I have ever seen. He was targeted six times on Sunday and only caught one ball. He's unreliable as a starter until the Colts move to Joe Flacco, and his dynasty stock will fall until then. I can't see it improving much if the Colts are committed to Anthony Richardson as their future.

 

Jordan Addison

• I hate to move Addison down my rankings, but I think it's time to do so. I expected him to be a true WR-2 in this offense behind Justin Jefferson but to receive as many targets as a lot on WR-1s on other teams, given that Minnesota passes the ball so much. This year, however, it's not happening. He's only had more than four targets once this season. T.J. Hockenson will return soon, if not this week, and will take even more of the Vikings' targets. Jordan is not a safe start in dynasty lineups anymore.

 

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Young Guns

 

Bo Nix

• Nix looked pretty terrible at the start of the season. I even traded him away in one of the three leagues where I have him. Now, I kind of want him back. I started him for the first time this week in a superflex league because I thought he would smash against the Carolina defense. He completed a season-high 75% of his passes, so he's improving on his accuracy issues. He had a season-high three touchdown passes, racking up fantasy points through the air this week instead of on the ground.  Coach Peyton's plans are working, Nix is developing, and the Broncos are 5-3 and in playoff contention. It's no longer just their defense that is keeping them in games. They've scored 33 and 38 points in the last two weeks. Nix is improving.  

 

Ladd McConkey

• McConkey has his best game of the season and is fast becoming Justin Herbert's favorite target. He caught all six of his targets and turned them into 111 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was an excellent catch and run for 60 yards. The second was an excellent red-zone catch over the top of a defensive back. McConkey has picked up the offense, and he and Herbert showed that they were on the same page on Sunday.  Herbert had his most productive week of the season and has scored more fantasy points than the previous week for three weeks in a row. They're opening up the offense and the passing game more now.

 

Cedric Tillman

• Tillman is a year-two breakout candidate. All he needed was an Amari Cooper trade and a quarterback change to get him started. In the last two weeks, he was targeted more than he had been in any game during his rookie year. He had twelve targets a week ago and nine this week. He scored 25 fantasy points on his seven catches and two touchdowns. He went from being the top guy on dynasty waiver wires last week to a considerable starter next week. He could become the best waiver wire addition of the season. What a find if you got him. I outbid managers for him in two of my leagues but got outbid in the other seven leagues. I now wish I had bid even more!

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Old-Man Strength

 

Jameis Winston

• Winston led the Browns to the biggest upset victory of the week, leading the Browns on a game-winning drive against the Ravens. In his first start in years, he threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns. He made a few mistakes, including an interception that was dropped the play before he threw the game-winning touchdown pass. In one game, he resurrected his dynasty value from the dead. Winston was one of the most fun quarterbacks to roster back when he played for the Buccaneers. He threw a lot of interceptions, but he always racked up fantasy points. I'd love to see this old man do it again this year.

 

D'Andre Swift

• Caleb Williams may have had a terrible game and brought down the Bears's offense with him, but Swift did everything he could to keep the Bears in the game. I was never high on Swift from a dynasty perspective, and I did not think his move to Chicago would help him, but I have to admit that I was wrong. He's played really well this season, and his dynasty stock is on the rise again. He had 18 carries for 138 yards on Sunday, including a tightrope run down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown. The Bears gave Roschon Johnson the goal-line carry for a touchdown, so Swift will miss those opportunities this season, but he's a big play waiting to happen on the rest of his touches. He's quietly scored 26, 19, 20, and 19 fantasy points in the last four games, with a touchdown in each.  He's showing old man strength on with his third NFL team.

 

George Kittle

• As a 31-year-old, Kittle is the top-scoring tight end this season, and he went nuts again on Sunday night. He scored 22 fantasy points after catching six passes for 138 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys. He'll continue to be a focus of the passing game since Brandon Aiyuk is lost for the season, making this old man a possible league winner this season.  He has received 20% of the 49ers' target share this season. I imagine he will get even more when the 49ers return from their bye week.

 

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Waiver Watch

 

Xavier Hutchinson

• Hutchinson will see his role increase significantly if Stefon Digg's injury is serious. He had a tremendous collegiate career. I watched him tear up my Longhorns several times. When Houston drafted him, I was hopeful that he could produce, but he never climbed the depth chart to see playtime and the depth chart got harder to ascend after the Texans added Diggs and Dell and Nico Collins broke out. Now is his best chance to see the field and prove he can earn a role in the future. I already added him to a few of my teams after Collins was placed on IR. I'd like to add him to my other rosters this week.

 

Lil' Jordan Humphrey

• Humphrey was second on the team in wide receiver snaps with 60% behind Courtland Sutton, who had 84%. He was also second on the team in targets with six. He did not do much with them, catching four passes for just 22 yards, but he was on the field more than Troy Franklin, Devaughn Vele, and Marvin Mims. The Broncos' wide receiver depth chart is wide open after Courtland Sutton and the Broncos are experimenting with roles and packages. Humphrey has as good a chance to secure the WR-2 roles as any of the younger receivers. He's a player I'd like to add to several rosters while I wait to see if he can hold off the younger guys.

 

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

• Westbrook-Ikhine led the Titans in wide receiver snaps with 92%. He and Calvin Ridley are the Titans' top two receivers now that DeAndre Hopkins was traded to Kansas City. He only received four targets on Sunday but turned them into two catches and a touchdown. Ikhine will not get near the number of targets as Ridley, but he'll become the WR-2 on a team playing catch-up in most of their games.  He's a player worth adding this week in deep leagues.  

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Dynasty Trades

 

Jared Goff, 2025 1st round pick, and 2026 2nd round pick <=======> Jordan Love and Deebo Samuel

• A second-place team was willing to give up two high picks and Goff for Love and Deebo. He thought the increased workload from Deebo after the Aiyuk injury would give him the boost he needed in his playoff run, and he must like Love far more than Goff.  It was a bold move, but I think he gave up too much for Deebo and a swap of quarterbacks. I have Love ranked 8th in my quarterback rankings and Goff 15th, but the gap between those two is closer than they look by their rankings. I'd rather have a first-round pick than Deebo, who is too inconsistent to confidently look for him to be a winning piece in a playoff run. The team that received Goff and the picks is in last place, so I like what he did to improve his team in the future.

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