Fantasy Football is a stock market (hence, our website name). Player values are constantly rising and falling, and only sheep plow forward every week without reflecting on the lessons each Sunday has taught us. Even for the busiest of wolves, we put together all the Risers, Fallers, Injuries, and early Waiver Wire pickups in our weekly Fantasy Football Stock Market recap.
Below, find out the headlines and key stats or injuries you MUST know about. Reminder: this is the bare-bones, need-to-know facts. Further analysis, such as Rest of Season Rankings and actions to take, is being written as you read this. This can all be found in our Stock Watch or in our brand-new app in the App Store. Also, The Wolf will be LIVE on Facebook every Monday @ 7pm breaking down the week’s action.
Note: Stat-lines pulled from RotoWorld’s “Player News”
Week 8 Fantasy Football Recap
1. Tevin Coleman Makes us Look Like Fantasy Geniuses, Explodes With 4 TD Game
Ian Hartitz joined The Wolf and Jimbo on the Week 8 DFS Millionaire Maker Playbook and the three could not be higher on the 49ers running back. Coleman responded with 105 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and added another score through the air.
2. Matt Nagy Finally Wakes up, Gives David Montgomery 31 Workhorse Touches
After getting a pathetic two carries in Week 7, Matt Nagy promised us more touches for his rookie back, and he did just that. Montgomery took full advantage by going for 135 and a score, while adding another four receptions.
3. Mike Evans Bullies Titans for a Vintage Evans Fantasy Explosion
One week it’s Chris Godwin, the next week it’s Mike Evans. The beastly wideout finished with 11 grabs, 198 yards and two scores on 12 targets and was Jameis Winston’s go-to guy on the perimeter.
4. Drew Brees Drops Bombs All Over Cardinals Secondary in Return to Action
Drew Brees looked like Drew Brees again after sitting out the past handful of weeks. The future HoF’er completed 34-of-43 pass attempts for 373 yards and three touchdowns.
5. Cooper Kupp Continues to be Rams’ Alpha WR1 Over the Pond
With British Blake Bortles watching from the Rams’ sideline, Cooper Kupp paid homage to the BOAT himself with a 7-220-1 pillage over the pathetic Bengals. Kupp has been and continues to be the man in LA.
6. Julio Jones Puts up Typical Julio Performance With a Million Grabs and No Scores
No Matt Ryan? No problem for Julio Jones. He put up a Julio-Esque 152 yards on 10 catches… but did not find the end zone, once again.
7. Kenny Golladay, not Marvin Jones, was the Apple of Matt Stafford’s Week 8 Eye
Matt Stafford continued his aerial assault on opposing defenses — this time hitting Kenny Golladay six times for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Stafford put up 342 yards and three scores on his own in another shootout.
8. Tyrell Williams Scores in 5th Straight Game in Week 8 Return
Darren Waller and Tyrell Williams continue to be the only two pass-catchers that Derek Carr cares about, with the speedy wideout going off for 91 yards and a score on only three grabs. Williams has scored in all five games played with the Raiders this year.
9. Danny Dimes Finally Wakes Up, Drops 4 Dimes in Shootout vs Lions
In his best outing since his NFL debut, Daniel Jones ripped up the Lions’ secondary to the tune of 322 yards and four touchdowns. It’s tough to trust Jones in any spot from here on out.
10. Miles Sanders has “Welcome to the NFL Game,” Goes for 118 Yards on 6 Touches
Hopefully you didn’t drop Miles Sanders… the rookie back rushed three times for 74 yards and a score, while adding another three grabs for 44 yards. He dinged up his shoulder, but “won’t miss time.”
11. Christian Kirk Gets Peppered With Targets in ‘Air Raid’ Return
Kirk returned from a three game absence by snagging 8-of-11 targets for 79 yards — and even led the pathetic Cardinals’ rushing attack with 19 on the ground. The yardage hasn’t really been consistent, but Kirk is a must-play in PPR formats with the amount of volume he receives.
12. Joe Mixon Finally Shows Fantasy Pulse in Week 8 Loss to Rams
The Roto Bust of the Year candidate rushed for 66 yards and caught a touchdown pass en-route to a respectable double-digit fantasy point outing. Mixon is still very tough to trust in this despicable offense that has all but given up.
13. Austin Hooper Cannot be Stopped, Locked in TE1 for Rest of Season
Matt “Stump The” Schaub used Hooper like the security blanket he is, targeting the tight end monster seven times. In response, Hooper grabbed six of those for 65 yards and a score.
14. Mike Thomas Dominates in Drew Brees’ Return, Bonafide Fantasy WR1
#Cantguardmike vacuumed up all 11 targets from his quarterback and even carried Patrick Peterson like a little child into the end zone. It’s tough to argue with anyone who says MT is the best receiver in the game right now.
15. Jamaal Williams Scores Twice, Trustworthy FLEX Stream Going Forward
The annoying handcuff to Aaron Jones scored once on the ground and once through the air, and has been a dominant force since returning from his scary concussion. The Packers’ RB2 has a touchdown or 100-plus yards in three straight weeks.
1. Creature Tra Carson (0% owned) Starts Over Waiver Wire Bust Ty Johnson, Disaster All Around
The fantasy community blew their FAAB load on Ty Johnson, leading to a bunch of sad fantasy owners on Sunday. Both runners sucked, but we do know Matt Patricia will make things difficult as we move forward. Carson was handed the ball 12 times compared to Johnson’s seven.
2. The Wolf Gets Fooled by Corey Davis Again, Makes Him Look Like an Idiot
There isn’t much to say here except Corey Davis bent over the poor Wolf once again. Davis EXPLODED for nine yards on two grabs!
3. Phillip Lindsay Gets Vultured by Royce Freeman Again, Both Stuck in Confusing Committee
The volume seems to be here for both running backs. However, Royce is starting to vulture Lindsay on the goal-line, which has turned the little scat-back into a between the 20s type of guy. The worst.
4. Larry Fitzgerald Trending Downwards in Annoying Arizona ‘Air Raid’
The old man caught a pathetic two passes and he has yet to score or eclipse 70 yards since Week 3. Puke.
5. Terry McLaurin’s Fantasy Value Takes Hit With Dwayne Haskins Under Center
In what looked like the most promising rookie wideout season, Terry McLaurin’s fantasy value will take a major hit with his college teammate Dwayne Haskins throwing him the rock. You might have to staple him to your bench until Case Keenum returns from a concussion.
1. Mark Walton (34%) to Take Over Dolphins’ Backfield With Kenyan Drake Shipped Out of Town
Kenyan Drake was traded to the Cardinals on Monday afternoon, leaving the disgusting Dolphins’ backfield to rookie Mark Walton — who just has to fend off the worst running back in the league, Kalen Ballage.
2. Alexander Mattison (24%) Remains Fantasy’s Sexiest Handcuffs With Benefits
The sledgehammer rookie running back ran for 61 yards on 13 carries against the Redskins and had a couple of nice runs called back. Mattison would be a borderline RB1 in Gary Kubiak’s zone blocking scheme if Dalvin Cook were to miss time. He’s a must-cuff.
3. Old Ass Darren Fells (19%) is a Boom-or-Bust Option For Fantasy’s Grossest Position
The 33 year old scored twice against the Raiders and is a boom-or-bust streamer for the toughest position in fantasy.
4. Gardner Minshew Makes Chris Conley Fantasy-Relevant in Back-to-Back Games
The Jags’ speedster scored on a 70-yard touchdown, but has racked up 186 yards over the last two outings. Could be a desperation sleeper against the Texans with Dede Westbrook banged up.
5. Cam Newton (41%) Faces Juicy Stretch-Run Schedule If/When he Returns
Starting in Week 11, the Panthers face the Falcons (1st), Saints (8th), Redskins (15th), Falcons again, Seahawks (13th), and Colts.
6. Jonnu Smith (19%) is Titans Target Hog With Delanie Walker Shelved
Our favorite tight end streamer of Week 8 led the team in targets (7), catches (6), and receiving yards (78) with Delanie Walker sidelined with an injury. Smith has 9-142-1 over the last two weeks.
7. Alex “Edelman” Erickson (7%) Proves to be a Reliable PPR Option
The white slot receiver added another 92 yards and five grabs and has recorded 13 catches for 229 yards over his last two games. AJ Green is looming after the bye week, though.
