It seems like every day is some sort of “holiday.”
October 2nd was National Smarties Day. October 5th was National Get Funky Day. October 15th was National Shawarma Day. The third Saturday of every October is something called National Whole Hog Barbeque Day. (Ummm … ok). You guys get the point, right?
Well, October 27th also has its own designation, and NFL offenses and their quarterbacks decided to celebrate it … much to the joy and excitement of fantasy football fans!
With that said, here’s my Fabs’ Five Storylines from Week 8 that stood out the most. For all of the latest news and fantasy advice, check out Fantasy Dirt five days a week!
Let’s celebrate National Tight Ends Day!
The tight end position has been a nightmare this season, but it looked good on its “holiday.” A total of 15 tight ends scored at least one touchdown and two, Cade Otton and Kyle Pitts, scored twice! We saw 17 tight ends score in double digits, with 10 scoring more than 14 points, six with more than 18 points, and five with more than 20 points.
Can we make it National Tight Ends Day every Sunday?
The most notable performances came from Otton and Pitts, who have been red-hot in recent weeks. Otton, who was targeted 10 times, could end up being a top-10 fantasy tight end until Mike Evans returns (and maybe beyond). As for Pitts, he’s scored 64.4 points in his last four games after scoring just 24.5 in his first four.
Jameis Winston goes off against Baltimore
Winston was one of my top waiver-wire adds of last week, and his performance against the Ravens proved that was a good call. The veteran threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns in a surprising win, which was good for 23.6 fantasy points.
That’s the most points he has scored in a game since Week 5 … of 2021!
Winston needs to be added in all leagues, and so does his teammate, Cedric Tillman, who was also in last week’s waiver column. He had another huge game, catching seven passes for 99 yards with two touchdowns and scoring a career-best 28.9 points. He has now scored 47 fantasy points in his last two games, and he looks like the Browns’ new No. 1 wide receiver after Amari Cooper was traded to Buffalo.
Patrick Mahomes hits pay dirt in Sin City
I’ve been criticizing Mahomes for his lack of fantasy value this season, and for good reason. Heck, he hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass in October heading into a matchup against the Raiders.
Well, Mahomes (listed as a start ‘em this week) finally looked like that old fantasy superstar with two touchdown passes and 18.2 points. It was the first time he’s scored more than 18 points since Week 12 of last season!
Looking ahead, Mahomes is in line to post another big line next week when the Chiefs host Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At that point, however, you might want to sell high on Mahomes before he has some tougher matchups against the Broncos, Bills, and Chargers down the stretch.
Jalen Hurts so good in fantasy leagues
After a slow start to the season, Hurts is finally looking like an elite fantasy quarterback. He entered this week with consecutive 21-plus point performances, and he bested those stats in a win over the Bengals. The veteran threw for a modest 236 yards with one touchdown, but he went bananas on the ground with 37 yards and three touchdowns. That was good for a season-best 35.1 points. Hurts should continue to dominate in Week 9, too, as he faces one of the most vulnerable defenses in the league against quarterbacks, the Jaguars.
Tua Tagovailoa returns to work, but…
It’s the day fantasy managers who have De’Von Achane, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have been waiting for … Tua is back! So, all of our problems are solved (right)? Well, that was the case for Achane, who had 97 rushing yards, six catches for 50 yards with a touchdown and 26.7 points. It was his best game since Tagovailoa went down. That’s the good news. The bad news? Hill and Waddle still weren’t great. The Cheetah was better, but he scored just 13.2 points in what was a plus matchup. Waddle might as well have been catching passes from Skylar Thompson because he scored just 8.5 points. Things should get better for Hill (I’d bet my last dollar on it), but I’m not sure Waddle is more than a matchup-based starter … at least until he can string together a few good games in a row … the rest of the year.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fabs Five: Tight Ends Have a "Day," Fantasy Managers Get Back "Good" Mahomes.
