Michael Florio’s Week 8 Fantasy Football Positional Rankings

You guys thought I was kidding when I said that I was a curse huh? Well the streak continued of a player I am higher on than most getting hurt. Last week I was one of the highest rankers on Keke Coutee and it looked great as he saw three targets on the opening drive. But then… he re-aggravated his hamstring and missed the rest of the game. He will also be out this week as well, so you will not see him mentioned again in my Week 8 Positional Rankings. However, someone I write about is likely to get hurt, so hopefully it is not anyone you start!

• The player I am definitely highest on is Anthony Miller. This is diving a little deep, but Miller saw 7 targets. He only caught two, which obviously we would like to see go up, but the volume is what we care about. Also, he ran the bulk of the routes from the slot, with only Allen Robinson, not even Taylor Gabriel, taking away from him. The Jets have struggled against receivers in general, but especially in the slot. The Bears will take advantage of this and Miller, a very talented rookie that many hyped up all summer, will have his breakout game. He comes in as a WR3 for me this week.

• So much news came out since I last wrote and I want to address it all. First, Carlos Hyde to Jacksonville. I expect we see him make his debut this week and he will be involved in the run game. T.J. Yeldon will still handle all passing downs and likely split carries. Once Leonard Fournette returns I expect he is still the workhorse, with Hyde and Yeldon being mixed in to control his workload and keep him fresh. So in a nutshell, not a great fantasy landing spot, but there always is the chance Fournette misses time.
• With Hyde out of town, Nick Chubb become a must-add wherever available. He can potentially be a league-winner and saw a lot of volume. The only thing to say on him is if you own him, start him.
• Amari Cooper was traded and I have to imagine it helps his value. The Cowboys traded a lot for him, and he’s easily their most talented WR, so I do think he will instantly become the focal point of the passing game. The only issue is the Cowboys only average 29.4 pass attempts per game, while the Raiders throw the ball 38.8 times each game. A larger percentage of targets is great, but we need it to translate to more than the 5.2 targets per game than he was in Oakland, especially considering he is averaging 3.8 yards of separation per targets (4th-highest mark in NFL).
• With Amari Cooper out of town someone has to step up right? I would expect an uptick in targets to Jared Cook, Jordy Nelson and Jalen Richard. But the player I am really intrigued about is Martavis Bryant, who even with Cooper in town led the team in air yards. Bryant is easily the team’s most explosive weapon, and if he gets an uptick in targets he could blossom into a valuable fantasy asset. I would add him anywhere he is available and see if Gruden can get him more involved.
• Marshawn Lynch has landed on the IR and (sadly) likely played his final game in the NFL. Many spent a lot of FAAB on Doug Martin and while Jon Gruden is talking him up as the workhorse back, he also said Cooper will be the focal point of the offense and then that he wouldn’t trade him. Gruden is desperate for his team to play well… or at least not get embarrassed. Maybe not immediately, but I expect Gruden goes with the most talented and explosive back left on the team, Jalen Richard. Richard is already heavily involved in the passing game, averaging 5.2 reception per game. He has played more snaps than Martin all year. Even if they split carries, Richard is the back you want to own. I like Richard over Martin this week as the Colts have allowed the second most receptions per game to RBs this season. Fire up Richard as the Raiders play from behind.
•  It may be too late to try and acquire Josh Gordon on the cheap, but he is about to explode. Last week he had 7 targets and caught four of them for 100 yards. More importantly he played 95 percent of the snaps and probably most importantly, Tom Brady spoke him up after the game. It’s been frustrating owning him in fantasy so far, but he’s going to pay off.
• I was wrong on thinking Marvin Jones could replicate his numbers from last season, but I do expect him to improve going forward. He’s tied for the league-lead with 11 end zone targets and only has three touchdowns. He should see some regression coming his way in that department.
• Go check your waiver wire to see if Elijah McGuire is out there. If so, you should pick him up. It won’t reflect in rankings this week, but with Bilal Powell out, McGuire could fill some of that void. Powell led the Jets in touches per game, so there is definitely a role for McGuire when he returns. For this week, Trenton Cannon should fill that void and is a flex option, especially in PPR formats.

Also check out our Week 8 Sleepers: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

Week 8 Positional Rankings

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