The fantasy gods were not kind in Week 7. They took Patrick Mahomes away from us for the foreseeable future. They pulled the ultimate bait and switch with David Johnson and sidelined Kerryon Johnson. All that and more is on display in my Week 8 PPR rankings below!
For help getting ready for NFL Week 8, check out our Waiver Wire Recommendations and our FAAB Guide.
Week 8 Notes:
- We will be without Patrick Mahomes for the foreseeable future. The first QB off the board was playing well, but TD regression had hit and it led to him being the QB4 after six weeks of the NFL season. He had also failed to score 20 fantasy points in Weeks 4-6. But, the question is what to do with him right now in fantasy. You would be trading him when his value is at its lowest right now, but if you have fewer than 3 wins, you got to do what you got to do. If you have him and feel you can withstand the next month (they have a Week 12 bye, don’t think we see him until then) hold him until he is nearing a return and flip. The hype will build as he gets close to returning. People will be excited and think they are pulling a fast one on you for their playoff push. Jokes on them. The Chiefs have the hardest remaining QB fantasy schedule, including facing the Patriots, Broncos, and Bears in the fantasy playoffs. All three are currently in the top seven in lowest fantasy PPG to QB. Bad schedule and coming off a knee injury? I’ll take the big haul you can get, instead.
- For those wondering what to expect with Matt Moore, we do have some data! Matt More’s passing trends over his career as a starter: 3 passes per game to RBs, 15.97 passes per game to WR and 3.9 passes per game to TE. Here are the Week 7 targets from Moore: Travis Kelce 5, Tyreek Hill 5, Demarcus Robinson 3, Damien Williams 2, Darrell Williams 1, Mecole Hardman 1, LeSean McCoy 1
- Kerryon Johnson suffered a knee injury and landed on IR. He can return in Week 16 in time for the fantasy championship… but yeah, his season is all but over as far as fantasy players are concerned. He can be dropped, while Ty Johnson is the top waiver wire add this week. In Week 7 Ty Johnson played 41 snaps on 1st and 2nd down and had 14 touches, while J.D. McKissic played 12 early-down snaps and had five touches. Johnson actually led with seven 3rd down snaps to McKissic’s five, but McKissic had the only two third-down touches.
- In Week 7, LeSean McCoy led the Chiefs backs with 43 percent of the snaps and 12 carries. He had two targets. Damien Williams played 29 percent of the snaps, had nine carries and three targets. What is odd is McCoy leads the backs in snaps on first and second down, but it was Darrel Williams who led them on third down. Damien Williams was second-most in snaps on each down. McCoy would be the one to use right now, but even he is more of a low-end RB2 or flex option. As silly as it may sound, I would give Damien Williams another week before cutting, just in case the volume increases.
- Josh Allen and John Brown are both in play this week against an Eagles secondary that has been very vulnerable this season. The Eagles have allowed 287.9 passing yards per game and 14 touchdowns to QBs. Additionally, Dak Prescott just ran for 30 yards against them and Aaron Rodgers previous ran for 46 against the Eagles. Allen is a QB1 this week. The Eagles have allowed a league-high 44.97 fantasy PPG to WRs. Start em both.
- Matthew Stafford has been a pleasant surprise this football season. He is currently the QB7 and gets the Giants’ weak defense this week. Additionally, with Kerryon Johnson out, we could see more pass attempts than normal. Fire him up this week.
- Duke Johnson is in play this week against the Raiders. Since Week 5, Oakland has allowed just 46 rushing yards per game to RBs, the fewest in the NFL in that span. But, in that same span, they’ve allowed 9.5 targets per game, 8.5 receptions per game, 76 receiving yards per game and two receiving touchdowns to RBs. This is a Duke Johnson game if I ever saw one.
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Week 8 PPR Rankings (Half-PPR and Standard Too!)
2019 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
For a look at how the rankings break down at each position, please check out Mick Ciallela’s Week 8 Rankings and Scott Engel’s Rest of Season Rankings.
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