With six teams on a bye in week 8, Fantasy matchups are about to look wildly different. Multiple teams in your league are likely going to be relying on bench players or waiver wire pickups. Our Week 8 Sneaky Starts should help provide some clarity and hopefully lead your team to the win column.
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Week 7 Recap
Our Week 7 picks didn’t quite live up to our expectations.
Jerry Jeudy and Jordan Whittington, our two receiver picks, COMBINED for 4 catches on the day. Jeudy should remain the top target on his team, but that doesn’t mean he’s valuable. We’ll need to see a major turnaround in Cleveland before he can be trusted to start.
Whittington, on the other hand, doesn’t even have the glimmer of upside moving forward. I thought he might be a quality fill-in with Puka Nacua sidelined, but the team replaced his production by spreading the ball to virtually everyone on the team. Ten different Rams caught at least one pass on Sunday, and none of Stafford’s five TDs went Whittington’s way. He’s completely droppable.
On the running back side of things, Jordan Mason did enough to get us a W. 57 yards and no receptions isn’t promising, but he did find the end zone to salvage his day for Fantasy. He’s still a valuable piece to hold, but Aaron Jones’ impending return will hurt his future value.
Cade Otton was our other winner for the week. With 7 catches for 65 yards, he did enough to fill in at TE for your squad. With Mike Evans out for the majority of the season and Chris Godwin still working his way back, Otton could be a big piece of the offense in the next few weeks.
Sneaky Start Season Tally: 14-12
Check out all of our Week 8 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings
Week 8 Sneaky Starts
Rashid Shaheed, New Orleans WR vs. Tampa Bay
While he hasn’t had many boom games (yet) Shaheed has been an extremely steady presence for the Saints this year. He’s getting 6.4 targets per game. His 9 targets in Week 7 tied his highest for the season. While this only amounted to 40 yards, Shaheed represents a potential bomb touchdown every game.
Tampa Bay is a bottom-third defense when it comes to passing yards allowed. They’ve also given up at least 19 points in every game so far, including 27 to the Jets, so don’t count out New Orleans. We know the Bucs offense is going to keep up the pressure all game, so the Saints are going to have to try and keep up. New Orleans is already one of the most pass-happy teams in the league; that’s not going to change this week.
Shaheed is a lottery ticket type player, but he has a safe enough floor that you don’t have to worry about a goose egg on the week. With so many fewer options this week, that one big play could be enough to win you your matchup.
Alec Pierce, Indianapolis WR vs. Tennessee
Pierce had a season-high 10 targets in Week 7, doubling his next highest output. While some of this can be attributed to Josh Downs’ absence, it is also extremely clear that his rapport with Daniel Jones is really blossoming. Even with Downs active, Pierce has out-snapped him in every game the two have played together.
Pierce operates similarly to Shaheed in that just one catch can be enough to carry them for a week, so long as it goes for a touchdown. Unlike the Saints, the Colts are scoring with ease. Through 7 games, the Colts have scored less than 29 points only once.
The Titans, on the other hand, haven’t held a single team to less than 20 points. This includes the inept Raiders in Week 6. They are also extremely susceptible to the deep ball.
Pierce still hasn’t scored yet this year, and while I hate to use this argument, he just seems due. He’s on the field too much, on a team that is scoring so much, for it not to happen soon. He’s getting one of the best opportunities to do so in Week 8.
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City RB vs. Washington
Don’t celebrate just yet, but we might finally have a lead back for the Chiefs. Pacheco got the bulk of carries in Week 7, en route to his season high of 15 and his first touchdown. He handled 12 carries in Week 6 compared to Kareem Hunt’s 6. Hunt only got 4 carries in Week 7.
While it’s important to note that rookie Brashard Smith got 14 carries in Week 7, most of this came in garbage time with the game well in hand. He got zero carries in Week 6. He did get 4 targets in the first half, though, so he might be primed to take on the passing back role.
The Kansas City offense has been humming along all season, despite what had been an anemic running game. They’ve scored 28 points or more in each of the past four games, and just got Rashee Rice back from suspension. If defenses continue to struggle against the passing game, that should, in turn, open up more holes for the running game.
Pacheco has been used as a workhorse for the team in the past, and he’s finally starting to look like his old self after last year’s injury. While he’s still putting up slightly inefficient numbers, he appears to be the best back on the team. If he gets the trust of the team behind him, he will be a very important piece moving forward.
The Commanders can be beaten on the ground. This will be a good opportunity for Pacheco to show the team that he’s the dude. I think they’ll give him that shot to prove himself this week. You should be willing to take that shot, too.
Theo Johnson, New York Giants TE @ Philadelphia
Oronde Gadsden is going to be the big TE pickup this week, and for good reason. If you can get Gadsden, do it, but if you miss out, Theo Johnson should be a sneaky good consolation prize.
Johnson has 4 touchdowns through Jaxson Dart’s 4 starts. He’s also gotten at least 4 targets in each of those games. Johnson’s a big-bodied, athletic receiving option, who seems to have the trust of the rookie quarterback, plus he’s pretty high in the pecking order for the team.
The Giants are without Malik Nabers for the remainder of the season. Darius Slayton, who would be the next man up, hasn’t practiced since Week 5 due to a hamstring injury. It’s still unclear when Slayton will get back.
Johnson does have to split time with Daniel Bellinger, who returned after a one-week absence, and actually surpassed Johnson in yardage in Week 7. Johnson is the more athletic player, though, and appears to have better YAC ability, which is why I prefer him between the two.
He gets a decent matchup with the Eagles this week, who are susceptible to TEs. They were also embarrassed by the Giants just a few weeks ago, and I think they are going to try to stop the run and force Dart to throw more in this one. Playing one of his preferred targets seems like a solid bet.
Make sure to check out all of our Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!
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