Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings: Updated Overview for All Positions: Ive always been of the belief that the more you learn, the less you know. Fantasy football is no different. For every trend your recognize, a statistical anomaly will cost you a matchup. For every logical decision you make, an illogical stroke of misfortune will strike at any given moment, leaving you exasperated. Football by its nature is an unpredictable beast—accepting that fact and trying to make the most educated decision rather than expecting yourself to always make the right one will save you a lot of grief. So thats why in my rankings, I grade players based on how smart it is to start them on a given week and how safe you can feel in their ability to earn you a solid number of points. The more I learn, the less I know. Notes: For a full explanation of the rankings, see here. Abridged version: Startability measures how smart it is to start a given player in a week rather than attempting to project how many points he will score. Ability measures a players overall talent, proficiency at his position and ability to produce fantasy numbers. Offense measures how much that teams offense improves his fantasy stock. The overall startability grade is weighted. All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard scoring leagues. Schedule Quarterbacks Tom Brady is trending up, folks. With 72 total fantasy points in his last three games, the legendary quarterback has to be considered a QB1 going forward, especially when he has matchups against teams like the Chicago Bears, giving up 16.7 fantasy points per week (21st in the NFL). At this point, he has to be considered a weekly QB1 each week unless he has a truly brutal matchup. Tony Romo is another player trending in the right direction, with 15 or more fantasy points in five straight weeks. On what has been the leagues most well-rounded offense this year, Romo has been playing great football. Hes another player who now has to be in the QB1 discussion every week, especially against shoddy pass defenses like the one Washington trots out every week. Some players are trending toward confusion, however. Matt Stafford has 15 or fewer fantasy points in three straight weeks, but thats been without Calvin Johnson. Cam Newton sandwiched a 33-point performance in Week 6 with 14-point performances before and after. Joe Flacco has rotated epic performances with mediocre ones. Staffords stock will rise with Megatron, though, whenever he returns. Newtons healthy again, so the rushing attempts should continue to rise, aiding his fantasy value. Flacco has never been reliable. That should help to clear up the confusion. And then there are those players trending down, namely that fellow in Atlanta. What exactly has happened to Matt Ryan? After a strong start for fantasy owners, hes scored 14 or fewer points in three straight weeks. Chalk that up to a beat-up offensive line that cant keep him on his feet. Ryan was sacked five times last week versus Baltimore, and now the ferocious Detroit defensive line comes to town. In other words, stay away from Ryan this week. Running Backs Just when you thought you were figuring out the running back position in fantasy football, Week 7 went ahead and threw a wrench in the entire operation. Tre Mason apparently seized the starting role in St. Louis, but who really knows what Benny Cunningham and Zac Stacys roles will be? C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson got hurt, seemingly opening the door for Bryce Brown, but he has been inactive for every game this year despite being hurt. Shane Vereen seems to be the guy in New England, but that backfield is always a muddled mess to decipher. And dont even get me started on the backfield in New Orleans. Because of the uncertainty in places like St. Louis and Buffalo, Mason and Brown wont be ranked terribly high here, though I think both players have big upside this week if they are in fact the clear starters. If nothing else, they should be rostered and at least considered for your flex. And then theres Denard Robinson, who was excellent in Week 7 but plays behind a poor offensive line and is likely to concede some, if not most, of his carries to Toby Gerhart this week, returning from an injury. I think Robinson is a flex consideration, but until his role is clearly defined, hes a risky option in your starting lineup. More than a few talented players have brutal matchups this week, helping to elevate players like Ben Tate and Jerick McKinnon way up the rankings. Tate faces an Oakland defense allowing 22.8 fantasy points to opposing running backs per week, 31st in the NFL. Things are even better for McKinnon against an Atlanta defense giving up 26 fantasy points per week, worst in the league. Start these two without hesitation. But your ultimate sleeper start this week is Darren McFadden. Yes, I said Darren McFadden. Very quietly, McFadden has seven or more fantasy points in four of his last five games and now faces a Cleveland defense giving up 21.3 points per week to opposing backs per game, 29th in the NFL. Hes still probably a flex starter for you, but if youve been holding onto him for depth, this is a great week to insert him into your lineup. Wide Receivers Yes, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb are atop the rankings this week. And why not? The former is averaging a little over 100 yards a game and is being targeted a little over 10 times a game. The latter already has eight receiving touchdowns. And with Aaron Rodgers red hot at the moment, theres no reason to think either player is about to slow down his production. This is the last week Ill advise rostering Larry Fitzgerald if he doesnt produce. Why? Because if he cant exploit a terrible—and I mean terrible—Philadelphia secondary giving up 24.5 fantasy points to opposing wideouts per week (26th in the NFL), he simply isnt going to produce at all this year. Few players could use a change of scenery more than Fitzgerald. What will a change of scenery mean for Percy Harvin? Who knows. Honestly, its a mystery. One would guess the New York Jets will try to utilize him in unique ways immediately, but its not as though hes going to a top offense, either. He should be better in New York than he was in Seattle, but he remains nothing more than a risky flex consideration. If A.J. Green starts, you play him. Given that hes been dealing with the same toe injury all season and produced earlier in the year with the ailment, its highly unlikely hell be a decoy if he plays this week. Start him with confidence. As for Megatron, well, its a wait-and-see approach. But if hes a game-time decision, your decision should probably be to go with a different option. Very quietly, Torrey Smith has begun to emerge as a viable fantasy starter again, with double-digit fantasy points in three of the last four weeks. Hes always been a streaky player, sure, but Joe Flacco continues to look his way, siphoning some of Steve Smith Sr.s fantasy value along the way. His streakiness makes him a risky start, but the reward is starting to make that risk worthwhile for many fantasy owners. Tight Ends Sometimes stats can be misleading. For example, the San Diego Chargers are giving up just 4.3 fantasy points to opposing tight ends per week, third in the NFL, perhaps leading some folks to fear for Julius Thomas this week. Stop. Just stop. The reason San Diego has appeared so ferocious against tight ends likely has something to do with the fact that they havent faced many good players at the position yet this year. In fact, the only player that appears on these rankings to have faced the Chargers is Travis Kelce. Yes, Kelce was held to just four receptions for 33 yards last week. No, Kansas Citys offense cannot, should not and will not be compared to the Denver Broncos offense. Orange Julius had an off week against San Francisco in Week 7, but the Chargers are unlikely to make it two in a row. I love Zach Ertz this week. The Arizona Cardinals have given up seven or more fantasy points to opposing tight ends in 16 of their last 22 games. In a contest where the Eagles are likely to have more success through the air than on the ground, Ertz seems destined to play a huge role. Defense/Special Teams Kickers Hit me up on Twitter—Ill answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. Its more fun than trying to keep a straight face while offering Percy Harvin for Julius Thomas in a trade. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #NFL #FantasyFootball #Opinion
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 15:20:53 +0000
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