Week 8 NFL fantasy advice: Joe Burrow entering every-week starter status

If you’re reading this, that means you made it. Congratulations! You survived the bye-pocalypse (hopefully relatively unscathed) and now we look ahead to Week 8.

Only two teams are off this week — the Ravens and Raiders — so here’s hoping you have a few more options at your disposal for this week’s matchups. Unfortunately for owners of any Dallas Cowboys, it may not be smooth sailing: Be sure to monitor the situation with quarterback Dak Prescott, as there is a chance he does not play due to injury — and if he doesn’t, it’ll be a scary Halloween for anyone starting CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, or Dalton Schultz.

It’s not often we get to discuss a hot waiver pickup in this series, but with the trade that sent Mark Ingram back to his old haunts in New Orleans (cue Alvin Kamara owners screaming in terror), there’s suddenly one less mouth to feed in Houston. The conundrum of who to start between David Johnson, Phillip Lindsay, and Rex Burkhead is still a tough one, but for now things seem to point towards Johnson. If we see a game script that gives him more carries than any of his fellow running backs this week, then we might be able to start him with more confidence in Week 9 and beyond.

Our weekly picks have been made with 0.5 PPR leagues in mind, with standard rosters of one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, and one RB/WR/TE FLEX spot.

QUARTERBACKS

QB Start: Joe Burrow, Bengals (@ Jets)
This may be a no-brainer at this point, especially given the way Burrow & Co. eviscerated the Ravens last weekend. The former LSU Tiger is rapidly approaching “every-week start” status and while sure, the Jets can be a little stingy via the pass, Burrow has thrown for at least two touchdowns in every single game so far this year. Plus, New York just got blown out by rookie Mac Jones.

These are two teams headed in completely different directions – start Burrow with confidence.

QB Start: Teddy Bridgewater, Broncos (vs. Washington)
Bridgewater struggled to move the ball last week, but despite that still managed to keep his streak intact of throwing at least two touchdowns for the third straight game. He now gets dynamic talent Jerry Jeudy back in the lineup and faces a Washington defence that gives up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season.

Just make sure you double check on Sunday that he’s good to go – an oblique injury cropped up on Thursday, though he did practice in full. If he’s available, start him.

Another starter to consider: Kirk Cousins, Vikings (vs. Cowboys)

QB Sit: Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins (@ Bills)
I’m not sure if the rumours of him being supplanted as the Dolphins starter fired Tua up, or if he decided he was tired of being disrespected by anyone and everyone across the NFL (including me, I freely admit). But in the past two week, he’s put together two massive games — albeit, against two pretty abysmal defences in the Jaguars and Falcons.

Unfortunately, he now heads to what I’m sure be a raucous New Era Field in western New York to face a well-rested Bills defence that allows the fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Let’s just say it’ll be a scary Halloween indeed for the Dolphins this Sunday.

QB Sit: Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers (@ Bears)
In three starts for the 49ers this season, Garoppolo has averaged 1.33 touchdown passes per game to go with 201 passing yards — including a sub-10-point outing last week against the Colts on Monday night. Those are some pretty ugly numbers.

Unless you’re in dire straits (even in superflex leagues) I’d keep Garoppolo on the bench against a Bears defence that has kept opposing quarterbacks largely in check – just 211 yards or fewer allowed in each of their last three games.

WIDE RECEIVERS

WR Start: Jerry Jeudy/Courtland Sutton, Broncos (vs. Washington)
Jeudy was tabbed to be a breakout candidate all off-season only for him to suffer a high ankle sprain in the very first game of the year. Thankfully, he’s now back, and if you’ve stashed him all season so far he’s a prime candidate to return immediate value against a Washington defence that has given up the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers.

That doesn’t mean it’s going to be curtains for Sutton, though. We’ll have to wait and see how Sutton factors into the game plan from a target-share perspective, but there’s no chance he is phased out entirely and should still be treated as a WR2 this weekend. (You can probably drop Tim Patrick now, by the way.)

WR Start: Michael Pittman Jr., Colts (vs. Titans)
The only question I’ve seen surrounding Pittman these past few weeks has been, “How will T.Y. Hilton’s return affect his usage?” It’s a fair question. But Pittman has been phenomenal since Carson Wentz’s ankles have healed up, even drawing a defensive pass-interference both in the end zone and inside the five-yard line, to boot.

Yes, he may cede some target share to both Hilton (should he return) and Zach Pascal, but there’s no way you can sit him against a Titans defence that gives up the most fantasy points to wide receivers on the year.

Another starter to consider: Emmanuel Sanders, Bills (vs. Dolphins)

WR Sit: Tyler Lockett, Seahawks (vs. Jaguars)
This is a tough one, because Lockett truly is one of the more talented receivers in the NFL. He has incredible speed and is a route technician on the field. Unfortunately, he now has Geno Smith throwing him the ball.

While it may just take one long ball against the Jaguars’ defence for him to make this prediction look silly, the truth is that he has caught just four passes for 47 yards with Smith at QB. You may be forced to play him, but if you have the choice at all, I’d bench Lockett until Week 10 when the possibility of Russell Wilson’s return is much greater.

WR Sit: Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins (@ Bills)
There’s no denying that Waddle has a connection with Tua Tagovailoa, and it has so far produced pretty nice numbers for fantasy matchups — especially over the last few weeks. I like Waddle overall, but considering he’s going up against a Bills defence that gives up the second-fewest points to wide receivers and will likely share targets with DeVante Parker in his return from injury, it’s perhaps best to bench him this week until he has a more favourable matchup (which could come as soon as Week 9 vs. the Texans).

RUNNING BACKS

RB Start: Damien Harris, Patriots (@ Chargers)
Did you know that over the last three weeks, Harris has actually been the overall RB12 in all of fantasy football? That surprised even me. He’s racked up four touchdowns over that same time frame while running for at least 100 yards in back-to-back games. He now faces the Chargers’ defence — a unit that has given up the fifth-most points to running backs this season. Yes, L.A. is coming off their bye, and this game will be in Los Angeles… but even so, you can write up Harris as a mid- to high-end RB2 this Sunday.

RB Start: Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles (@ Lions)
With Miles Sanders now officially on the short-term injured reserve, Gainwell should be able to carve out a nice role against a Lions defence that is just terrible against the run (fourth-most fantasy points allowed to running backs). It’s true that virtually any running back’s value in Philadelphia is capped with Jalen Hurts scrambling around back there, but Gainwell does get some work in the passing game as well. He’s out-targeted Boston Scott in Sanders’ absence by a margin of 8-2. This is, admittedly, a risky play, but we take what we can get at this point of the season.

Another starter to consider: Khalil Herbert, Bears (vs. 49ers)

RB Sit: D’Ernest Johnson, Browns (vs. Steelers)
I know what you’re thinking: How can we bench a guy that just torched the Broncos last week? Fair enough, but the simple answer is that Nick Chubb is likely to be back this Sunday, and he is the lead dog for the Browns. Johnson should still be rostered in all leagues until Kareem Hunt returns from the short-term injured reserve list, but against a Steelers defence that is coming off a bye and also allows the seventh-fewest fantasy points to running backs, he’s best kept on the bench with Chubb in the starting lineup.

RB Sit: Mike Davis, Falcons (vs. Panthers)
I’m not ready to completely give up on Davis just yet, a la Allen Robinson or Brandon Aiyuk, but… we’re getting close. Fellow Falcon Cordarelle Patterson has seemingly usurped Davis’ role almost entirely coming out of the bye week last weekend. Patterson out-touched Davis on the day 16-4, which does not bode well going forward. It’s possible things can change, but against the Panthers Davis isn’t even a FLEX play candidate at this point.

TIGHT ENDS

TE Start: Hunter Henry, Patriots (@ Chargers)
This one is simple: Henry has gained a rapport with Mac Jones as the playbook has slowly opened up, catching a touchdown in each of the last four weeks. He doesn’t catch a ton of passes overall – four in the last two weeks – but the Chargers give up the second-most points to the tight end position, so expect Josh McDaniels to create some plays specifically for Henry against his former squad.

TE Start: Dallas Goedert, Eagles (@ Lions)
Goedert was in this space last week, and he came through for us with 70 receiving yards and a two-point conversion, to boot. That’s a season-high in yardage for him in his first game with the tight end spot all to himself now that Zach Ertz is in Arizona. Now, Goedert gets a date with the Lions’ pass defence — a unit that allows 263 yards per game through the air.

If Goedert comes through again, we might have to consider him an every-week start.

Another starter to consider: Mike Gesicki, Dolphins (@ Bills)

TE Sit: Jared Cook, Chargers (vs. Patriots)
It’s been an up-and-down season for Cook in 2021. Overall, he’s filled in admirably in the vacant tight end spot, but still cedes some snaps here and there to Donald Parham Jr.

Even in his age 34 season, there’s no real chance of Cook losing his value, but the Patriots’ defence does not present a particularly forgiving bounce-back – they allow the fewest receptions in the league to tight ends. There will be better matchups for Cook later this year.

TE Sit: C.J. Uzomah, Bengals (@ Jets)
If there ever was a week to start Uzomah, it was during the bye-pocalypse of Week 7 when most people probably picked him up as an emergency fill-in. With Burrow slinging the ball more and more, it certainly increases the chances that he becomes more fantasy-relevant, but he is still the fourth pass-catching option in Cincinnati behind Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Mixon).

He’s a touchdown-dependent fantasy option, which is not what you want. Stay away for now, though if he keeps getting more looks from Burrow, we might have to re-examine this in a few weeks.