NFL Fantasy Football Advice for Week 8 (2017)

Week 8 in the NFL, which began on Thursday night with the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Miami Dolphins, includes six teams with byes. So GMs–if you’re struggling to set a winning NFL Fantasy Football lineup for Week 8, we’re offering our advice to help dominate your league. But be careful, instead of recommending who will “Get it In,” we debut F&TS’s ‘Hero to Zero’ column. These are the NFL players to avoid if you care about winning. We will compare our advised picks against SI.com. The good news is the New York Giants will definitely not lose this week. Big Blue finally has its bye week.

Fantasy Football Advice for Quarterbacks

Deshaun Watson (Houston Texans) at the Seattle Seahawks

Watson is making the Houston Texans’ front office looks like geniuses. The rookie signal-caller from Clemson has a league-high 15 touchdowns. Plus, Watson has thrown at least three TDs per game over the last for the last three weeks. Sports Illustrated notes, “Watson…the four units against which he has looked like a star—the Patriots, Titans, Chiefs, and Browns—rank 30th, 23rd, 22nd, and 31st, respectively in quarterback aFPA.”

But, the Seattle Seahawks are a top ten defense overall, 11th in passing, and second in Adjust Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA). FTS saw the Legion of Boom first-hand against the Giants in Week 7. We expect the rookie QB to struggle against the Seahawks’ aggressive defensive schemes.

Our Pick:

Alex Smith (Kansas City Chiefs) versus the Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are the number rated defense in the league for good reason.

Fantasy Football Advice for Running Backs

Latavius Murray (Minnesota Vikings) at the Cleveland Browns (London)

You might be thinking, ‘F&TS, what the hell are you smoking, it’s the Cleveland Browns.’ But, while the team hasn’t figured out its QB situation again, Cleveland does have a stout run defense. The most yardage the defense has given up in a week is 66 yards rushing. Plus they’ve only allowed two rushing touchdowns.

Our Pick:

Jordan Howard (Chicago Bears) at the New Orleans Saints

Don’t laugh, the New Orleans Saints have slowly improved on defense. Brees and crew have a distinct home-field advantage in the Superdome thanks to the crowd noise. We expect rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to struggle and the Chicago Bears to fall behind. This should limit Howard’s carries and his ability to get into the end zone.

Fantasy Football Advice for Wide Receivers

Mohamed Sanu (Atlanta Falcons) at the New York Jets

SI notes, “Sanu’s 10 targets in a game where the Falcons scored seven points and were nearly held scoreless, against what had been one of the worst defenses in the league (Week 7 loss to the Patriots) is an indictment of the receiver, not an endorsement.” While Sanu may get 7-10 targets on a normal week, he is simply not scoring enough points in PPR leagues and certainly not in standard-scoring leagues.

Our Pick:

Michael Crabtree (Oakland Raiders) at the Buffalo Bills

F&TS expects the Raiders to struggle on the road, but if the passing game does compile any points, quarterback Derek Carr will connect with wide receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper is coming off a 210-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Chiefs in Week 6. The Raiders offensive scheme seems intent on re-establishing Cooper as their number one receiving threat.

In conclusion, our Hero to Zero picks is Alex Smith vs. the Broncos, Jordan Howard at the Saints, and Michael Crabtree at the Buffalo Bills. We’ll be back next week for more NFL Fantasy Football advice for Week 9.