Quarterback
Daniel Jones, NYG (vs Dallas) - Jones is starting to get his feet under him as an NFL passer now that he is surrounded by quality weapons. He’ll likely get another back this week now that Sterling Shepard has been cleared for contact. The Giants should come into this one loose, playing at home under the lights with a chance to be a stumbling block for a division rival trying to stay atop the standings. Sam Darnold and Eli Manning both threw for 300+ against the Cowboys this year.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, BUF (vs New York Jets) - Fitzpatrick has a very winnable game against the Jets this week, so expect max effort. The Jets defense is disintegrating, while Miami’s offense shows more signs of life every week. Fitzpatrick adds some value as a runner, and his group of passcatchers are as healthy as they’ve been all year.
Sam Darnold, NYJ (at Miami) - Darnold has seven interceptions over the last two weeks, but he hasn’t had the benefit of facing a Dolphins defense that just put their best cornerback (Xavien Howard) on injured reserve after suffering a minor knee injury out of caution. Darnold has an excellent trio of receivers and he might get Chris Herndon back this week to join the red hot Ryan Griffin.
Matt Moore, KC (vs Minnesota) - Moore showed he can still hang last week against the Packers. This week, he’ll draw a Vikings defense that looked great on paper going into the season, but gave up two 300+ yard games with multiple touchdowns (four to Matthew Stafford) in the two weeks before they faced Washington’s attempt at an NFL offense last week. Moore should be forced to pass a lot to make up for a very welcoming Chiefs defense.
Running Back
Devin Singletary, Frank Gore, BUF (vs Washington) - Teams routinely rack up 25 or even 30+ running back carries as they cruise to wins against Washington. Even the Dolphins backs racked up over 150 total yards and a touchdown. Singletary is the better play overall, and he carries more punch in PPR leagues, but Gore might be more likely to score a short rushing touchdown or two.
Mark Walton, MIA (vs New York Jets) - The Jets are now down five linebackers from their depth chart to open training camp and they just traded away one of their best run defenders on the defensive line (Leonard Williams). Walton is the clear starter now, and while he might cede goal line carries to Kalen Ballage, Walton should get all the work he can handle in a game that should be closer than a typical 2019 Dolphins contest.
Jaylen Samuels, PIT (vs Indianapolis) - James Conner hasn’t practiced yet as of Thursday, and even if he does practice on Friday or convince the team to let him play without practicing this week, Samuels is healthy after minor knee surgery and should be a big part of the offense no matter what. If Conner is out, Samuels rises to strong RB2 level, but even if Conner is in, there’s hidden upside to harvest if Conner leaves early (he has had four different injuries this year). Samuels had 83 total yards and a touchdown in the only game that he saw more than six touches this year.
Alexander Mattison, MIN (at Kansas City) - The Chiefs defense has trouble getting off of the field against good running games, and few have been better than the Vikings this year. Mark Ingram and Carlos Hyde had their best fantasy lines of the season against Kansas City. Marlon Mack and Kerryon Johnson both hit 125 yards rushing. Running backs have scored seven times against them in the last three weeks. Mattison has had at least 13 carries and 61 rushing yards in two of the past three games, so he has a high nonPPR floor this week for a backup running back.
Ty Johnson, DET (at Oakland) - Some of us will be digging deep at running back this week. The Lions running game is no treat, and Matt Patricia tricked us by starting Tra Carson over previous backup Ty Johnson. Carson showed up on the injury report with a hamstring issue on Thursday, so Johnson could get his shot this week. Carlos Hyde got 19 carries (for 83 yards) against Oakland last week and the Lions passing game could set Johnson up with a goal line opportunity or two.
Wide Receiver
Chris Conley, JAX (vs Houston - London) - Dede Westbrook’s status is important here, as Westbrook might take away opportunities if he’s active and can stay on the field for the whole game (he didn’t last week), but Conley has been getting over 70% snap participation whether Westbrook has been healthy or not. He and Gardner Minshew’s connection is heating up, with Conley going over 80 yards in each of the last two weeks. This week, they’ll get a Houston secondary that has allowed multiple wide receiver scores in each of the last four games.
Allen Lazard, GB (at Los Angeles Chargers) - Lazard could take a step back this week if Davante Adams returns, but it is still worth pointing out that he has led the Packers receivers in snaps in each of the last two weeks. That sets him up as the #2 receiver in the offense and poised to possibly benefit from Adams return if he draws Chargers top corner Casey Hayward. This could be a high scoring game based on the way Aaron Rodgers and the Packers defense has been playing lately, a game script that could lift Lazard to fantasy relevance for yet another week.
Robby Anderson, Demaryius Thomas, Jamison Crowder, NYJ (at Miami) - All three Jets receivers are worth more consideration this week because of the opponent, one that just put their best cornerback on injured reserve. Anderson is the most attractive play because of his big play prowess, but Crowder and Thomas deserve mentions because Miami has allowed receiving scores to more than one wideout in each of the last two weeks and they have allowed multiple wide receiver scores in five of seven games.
DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, MIA (vs New York Jets) - The other side of the Jets-Miami matchup is attractive too, as the Jets are down to scraps at multiple levels of the defense and they are coming off of a performance when they allowed three different Jaguars receivers to score. Parker had a score in three straight games before Allen Hurns and Albert Wilson scored last week, while Williams has four catches for at least 40 yards in five of the last six games.
Kenny Stills, HOU (vs Jacksonville - London) - Stills was a dud last week, but Keke Coutee ending up in the doghouse could be good for him, as the Texans are likely to be involved in another high scoring game against Gardner Minshew this week. Stills is the team’s best deep threat and this will be Deshaun Watson’s first game against the Jaguars defense without Jalen Ramsey, so he may find windows in the secondary that weren’t there before now that AJ Bouye will likely have to contend with DeAndre Hopkins and Stills could often draw Tre Herndon.
Tight End
Jason Witten, Blake Jarwin, DAL (at New York Giants) - Witten has scored in each of his last three games against the Giants, including one game that was his first NFL regular season action in almost two years. Jarwin has scored four times in the last two matchups with the Giants. The Giants haven’t allowed a score to a tight end since both Cowboys scored in Week 1, but the best tight end they faced was OJ Howard, and even he got 3-66 against them in a down year.
T.J. Hockenson, DET (at Oakland) - Hockenson has been quiet and barely missing touchdowns since his Week 1 outburst against the Cardinals, but that could be about to change this week. The Raiders have given up six tight end touchdowns this year, including two to Darren Fells last week, two to Colts tight ends, one to Jimmy Graham, and one to Travis Kelce (no shame in that). They have had two weeks without a 60-yard stat line or score by a tight end, one against the Bears, and one against the Broncos.
Jonnu Smith, TEN (at Carolina) - Delanie Walker hasn’t practiced yet this week and even if he can play this week, the team should see that Smith has more to offer the pass offense. Ryan Tannehill certainly did last week, as he made Smith the most targeted Titans on the day, while targeting tight ends twelve times overall. The strength of the Panthers secondary is at corner, so Tannehill would be smart to keep targeting his tight ends this week.
Cameron Brate, TB (at Seattle) - It looks like OJ Howard will be out again this week, so Brate should get another chance to start this week. Seattle has allowed scores to Austin Hooper, Ricky Seals-Jones, and two to Vance McDonald this year, while also allowing 183 yards to Rams tight ends in one game and 93 to Bengals tight ends. Brate drew six targets last week and scored in two of the three games previous to Week 8.
