Week 8 fantasy football action featured all 32 teams, and we saw a fair amount of the same old, same old in terms of utilization for the usual suspects, but a few notables stood out.
Running backs Breece Hall and Rachaad White have seen inflated PPR value the last two weeks with more stable receiving roles, whereas Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson each saw five targets in Week 8 but produced zero yards combined. Robinson didn’t even catch a pass. That can be chalked up as an anomaly, fortunately, but it stung nonetheless.
Barkley was utilized a ridiculous 41 times in Week 8, five familiar receivers all garnered 14 or more targets, and four tight ends each drew at least 10 looks. There were several moderate displays of fireworks statistically, but only CeeDee Lamb really went bonkers (41 PPR) with his massive utilization. Seven of the top 13 fantasy receivers in terms of points scored were utilized fewer than 10 times.
A few other interesting aerial tidbits include Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba‘s downfield target percentage nearly doubling, New England Patriots WR Demario Douglas garnering 13 total looks in the last two games, and the Dallas Cowboys‘ Brandin Cooks is finally doing something, anything, with his four targets — the exact target mark five times this year — with scores in consecutive games.
Let’s see if we can find any useful intel from player involvement among some of the less obvious situations.
8
TE Chigoziem Okonkwo, Tennessee Titans
Okonkwo’s seven targets tied for the 10th most among tight ends. He now has at least four targets in three straight appearances and six or more in two of those, including nine in Week 5. The move to Will Levis coming out of the break in relief of an injured Ryan Tannehill (ankle) went smashingly, and there’s no little reason to expect the veteran will get his job back. Okonkwo hasn’t caught a TD pass in 2023, and his season-high mark for yardage is 35 back in Week 2. His 4-23-0 line with Levis in Week 8 is nothing to write home about, though it’s interesting to see seven balls come his way in an passing offense that largely boils down to DeAndre Hopkins. Keep an eye on how this plays out in the short term, starting with Thursday night vs. Pittsburgh, a stout defense of the position.
7
MInnesota Vikings running backs
Minnesota returned to Alexander Mattison being the lead back once again after a blip in Week 7, so this situation remains quite fluid from game to game. Each back drew a single target; Mattison rushed 16 times to Cam Akers‘ nine. The loss of Kirk Cousins (Achilles) likely means there will be more reliance on the ground game as a whole, and that alone makes both backs viable starters with the correct matchup … Atlanta in Week 9 ain’t it. Regardless of the split, neither back has strong lineup appeal even with modest matchup ratings.
6
RB Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens
We’ve seen Edwards maintain a commanding edge on the utilization split for several weeks running, though he has finally started to live up to expectations with four TDs scored in the past two weeks. For as good as he has been, Edwards remains a risky fantasy play from week to week based on his dependency on scoring touchdowns and the potential Lamar Jackson can steal opportunities in the red zone. It is a wise time to sell high. In Week 9, Edwards faces a so-so matchup vs. Seattle, and he remains a viable RB2 or flex start.
5
TE Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
We chronicled McBride in this space following the loss of Zach Ertz, and the young tight end didn’t disappoint in his expanded role. He hauled in 10 of his 14 targets, which led all actual tight ends (more on that in a minute) by three looks. The Cardinals have yet to activate Kyler Murray (knee) from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, although he fully practiced leading up to Week 8 and is uncertain for the upcoming tilt with Cleveland — the toughest defense of the tight end position in fantasy. Consider McBride a strong TE1 candidate as long if Joshua Dobbs is under center, but be skeptical of such standing until he and Murray show some chemistry. Early Week 9 reports say Dobbs may be benched for rookie Clayton Tune, only to further complicate the situation.
4
"QB" Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Speaking of “actual tight ends” … New Orleans still lists Hill as a third-string quarterback but utilize him more as a running back/hybrid tight end than anything. Hill caught a 14-yard pass in Week 8 and rushed nine times for 63 yards and a pair of scores, which comes on the heels of 19 total utilizations the prior two games combined. His worth in fantasy is directly tied to your league settings for positional eligibility.
3
TE Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
With Dawson Knox (wrist) on IR, Kincaid snared five of seven targets for 65 yards and a touchdown, making it consecutive contests with at least 15.5 PPR returns. Buffalo has a clear need for a weekly No. 2 target behind Stefon Diggs from a possession perspective. Gabe Davis occasionally fills that void but is far more frequently a downfield asset than a consistent chain-mover. The ultra-talented rookie has a firm role in fantasy plans going forward, though banking on seven-plus looks in each outing is asking a bit much.
2
WR Jahan Dotson, Washington Commanders
Dotson had been awfully quiet entering Week 8, and it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. The Commanders have dialed his number at least four times in seven of eight contests, including 18 times in the past two weeks. The second-year wideout secured eight of 10 targets in Week 8 for 108 yards and his second score of the year. Dotson averaging nine targets over the most recent pair of games is the major takeaway here, and it’s encouraging to see given his sluggish start to 2023. Washington faces a fair statistical matchup vs. New England, and Dotson is a viable flex option with four teams going on bye. Over the following two games, the former Penn Stater should thrive, so don’t get down on him should the Pats hold him in check.
1
Carolina Panthers running backs
Fresh off the bye, Carolina chose to basically ignore Miles Sanders. He entered the Week 7 vacation after missing the prior game with a shoulder injury and Chuba Hubbard admirably filled in. The expectation was something closer to an even split in Week 8, at most, if not Sanders returning to his primary role. The extremely favorable Week 9 matchup vs. Indianapolis will be telling; Sanders is not an option if you have any remotely reasonable choices, though Hubbard is shaping up for an RB2 day if he sees anywhere close to his 17-20 utilizations from the last two outings.
