It’s so difficult to let go of preconceived notions in fantasy football. I struggle with it myself at times. We don’t want to give up too early on guys we THOUGHT were going to be good. And it’s hard to accept that some of these breakouts that we didn’t expect are here to stay. That’s just human nature.
One thing makes that a lot easier. Data. The more information we have, the easier it is to “believe” what is happening. This article is an important one each week before it forces me to reckon with some of these tough decisions on the fringe of lineups. I’m the one who does the Weekly Fantasy Football Rankings on the site and answers a million start/sit questions on Sunday after all. So I comb through the data and highlight some of the guys on the fringe that we either like or don’t like. As always, double-check the rankings before making your final call, as those are constantly updated. But here are my early thoughts for Week 8 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em.
Who Should You Start in Fantasy Football This Week?
One thing that will always remain true with this article or any of our content is that it is more satisfying when you go with your heart or your gut or whatever body part wills you to make the most fun decisions. Fantasy football is SUPPOSED to be fun. And it’s more fun when YOU make the decisions. That said, I’ve been using my pesky brain over here to come up with some reasons why you should or shouldn’t start some of the guys sitting on the fringe of lineups. So here is my fantasy football lineup advice for those guys.
Week 8 Quarterback Start 'Em, Sit 'Em
Start: Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals
Look, I’m not going to drop guys like Caleb Williams (facing Seahawks) or Jared Goff (facing Vikings) in order to start Jacoby Brissett. But if I had the luxury of having both on my roster, I would actually start Jacoby Brissett over those guys for THIS week. We know that Brissett can come out of the woodwork with big games when the game script is right. And a 54.5 over/under game against the Cowboys is that exact situation. We really don’t love the matchups for Williams or Goff, but in leagues where you only have one QB, you just start them.
Sit: Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
We already mentioned Caleb Williams and Jared Goff, but Bryce Young also has a matchup we don’t really love with the Packers allowing just over 200 yards passing per game this year. Young was pretty hot going into last week but absolutely faceplanted against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Division games can be weird, so we think Young will bounce back, but there are just too many good options this week for Young to have a spot in our top 12.
Week 8 Running Back Start 'Em, Sit 'Em
Start: Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
Is Jordan Mason some kind of incredible talent? Not necessarily. Are the Vikings a great offense? No, not really. They are more undefeated due to their defense. But the injury to Aaron Jones really puts Jordan Mason at the forefront here. As we’ve seen with Ollie Gordon (who has already been a “start” in this article most weeks), the team doesn’t really need to be great if you are cornering the market on touches. There are a lot of teams where the splits are brutal, so Mason is a guy you are probably starting.
Start: Rachaad White, Washington Commanders
This is another one where we are more focused on the opportunity at hand than we are on the player. Of course, it’s nice that Rachaad White is a well-documented pass-catcher and can rip off chunk plays. But what’s most important to us is that Jacory Croskey-Merrit is on IR. They already released Kaytron Allen, leaving them thin. If you don’t think Rachaad White is capable of a big workload, the other backs are a 31-year-old Austin Ekeler and a 30-year-old Jeremy McNichols who are even less capable of taking on major touches.
Sit: Jonah Coleman, Denver Broncos
I’ve been telling folks to stash Jonah Coleman for a couple of weeks here. And he was our top waiver add this week. So people are probably excited to get him in there. But I have just been burned by Sean Payton’s change of heart too many times. Coleman got a bunch of the work last week, but Dobbins and Harvey both scored the touchdowns. If Coleman runs with the job, then great, we will start him everywhere. But I really can’t rank this uncertain situation super high against a tough Chiefs run defense; none of the Broncos running backs are in my top 24.
Sit: Emanuel Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Now, Wilson is not a 100% sit just yet. But the danger is coming from three different angles here. Zach Charbonnet has been teetering on a return for weeks now and could be back this week. He’s already been practicing but has not been activated. Jadarian Price is also eligible to return, and he’s set to practice this week. The third piece of danger isn’t up in the air, and that’s a matchup with the Chicago Bears, who allow the third-fewest rushing yards per game on average. I would try to make plans that don’t include Emanuel Wilson if you can.
Week 8 Wide Receiver Start 'Em, Sit 'Em
Start: Michael Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
I know folks are frustrated with Michael Wilson lately. They expected that, with Marvin Harrison gone, he would be going off. But he actually has not surpassed four receptions in a game since MHJ was moved. That said, this is not the week to bench Wilson. The Cowboys are ranked as a bottom-five defense in DVOA against the pass this year and are allowing around ~230 yards a game despite not facing particularly difficult matchups. Not only is Marv gone, but Jalon Brooks just suffered a season-ending wrist injury, so the Cardinals don’t really have anywhere else to look.
Start: DJ Moore, Buffalo Bills
The DJ Moore experience has been quite the rollercoaster. When healthy, he has looked like a star and the focal point for Josh Allen. But the problem is that he’s left a couple of games with injury, leaving fantasy managers with brutal results in their lineup. In one game, he caught 1 pass and, in another, he left with negative points after a failed rushing attempt. Last we heard from Moore is that he got a limited practice in on Friday before being ultimately ruled out, but that was two weeks ago before the Bills had their bye. If he’s playing, we are starting him in this potential shootout with the Ravens.
Sit: Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions
I know he just had a solid game this week. But this is not a good matchup for what Jameson Williams does. The Packers have been one of the best teams against outside wide receivers this year, which is where Jameson Williams lives. Also, if you take every safety who has played at least two games this year, Evan Williams grades as #1 per Pro Football Focus and Javon Bullard grades out as #7. With Jameson Williams being a high aDot field stretcher, that doesn’t bode well for him.
Sit: Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
Courtland Sutton has been a pretty rough start as is, but it gets even rougher this week. The Chiefs have been great against outside wide receivers, forcing everything over the middle of the field. Per DVOA over at FTN Fantasy, they actually grade out as the number 2 defense vs. WR1s and as the number 1 defense vs. WR2s (they are 17th against WR3s out of the slot). So it’s just not a good spot for Courtland Sutton this week, even as a flex option.
Week 8 Tight End Start 'Em, Sit 'Em
Start: Harold Fannin, Cleveland Browns
We’re actually pretty quick to bail on a player if the production isn’t there and the usage is also bad. In fact, we were bailing on Juwan Johnson way before everyone else because of the usage. With Harold Fannin, the usage has always quietly been fine. He’s TE6 in snap share and TE7 in route participation. He’s a top 12 tight end in target share too. He just had a couple of bad games in down game scripts. I know this isn’t the best matchup in the world, but we are still starting Fannin over a lot of the streaming options. And if someone dropped him, we are picking him right up.
Start: Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders
This is a player we already liked. I’ve felt he was misused in Tennessee for years, and he said as much himself after signing a large contract with Washington. This guy has 96th percentile speed for the position and is likely a better slot receiver than many of them around the league (and is easily a better blocker than virtually all the slot receivers). With Terry McLaurin now done for the year, Okonkwo is poised to play a bigger role in the offense and finally break out - and that starts this week.
Sit: Mason Taylor, New York Jets
I know some folks will be chasing this one on the waiver wire. He’s gotten six targets in back-to-back games. And he did score two touchdowns last week. But he did it against the Miami Dolphins, who have been absolutely terrible against tight ends. He also did it on only a 60% route participation because he rotates with Kenyon Sadiq, Jeremy Ruckert, and Jelani Woods. They have Garrett Wilson, Omar Cooper Jr. is emerging, and Adonai Mitchell is back, so it’s just hard to predict Taylor to go out and have a big game again. If we want to chase touchdowns, we would start Mike Gesicki, but we really have no interest in starting him either.
Sit: Greg Dulcich, Miami Dolphins
Now, I know I said I’m stashing Greg Dulcich in deeper leagues. Because I am, and I think you should too. But this really isn’t the best matchup for him. In Bobby Slowik’s scheme, Dulcich does play a lot of inline tight end, and the Patriots have been pretty rough on inline tight ends all year (Brock Bowers did well, but he basically just plays wide receiver). Kevin Byard is a tough assignment, so I’m keeping Dulcich stashed where I can.
Week 8 D/ST Start 'Em, Sit 'Em
Start: Washington Commanders DST
The Commanders weren’t really an incredible defense already, and then they had their bye week, which put them on a lot of waiver wires, which is good for us, as they should be sitting out there in a lot of leagues and are in a pretty useful spot this week. The Eagles started falling apart weeks ago, and it’s clear that Tanner McKee is not the answer. There is a real chance he gets benched mid-game for even less experienced guys like Cole Payton or Joe Milton. The Commanders get the Rams next week, so it’s really only a one-week spot start, but you can absolutely start them this week.
Sit: Baltimore Ravens DST
The Ravens are currently a top 10 most rostered defense in fantasy football over on Yahoo. And the question I have to ask is - why? They are currently DST 25 out of 32 in fantasy points per game scored. They have arguably the worst possible matchup in the league with the Buffalo Bills this week and another back one next week against the Jaguars. They haven’t had their bye week yet, so you’ll either need to drop them then or add another defense. It’s very clear to me that some people just draft a defense that they think will be good and then never swap them out all year. Don’t do that.
How To Handle The Toughest Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Decisions?
This is actually simpler than you’d think. Because Fantasy Alarm has three different ways for you to handle your tough start/sit decisions:
- Weekly Rankings - I do these rankings personally every week and keep them updated based on the news and rumors
- League Sync - Sync up your actual league to our systems so you can receive custom advice for your own settings.
- Start/Sit Tool - Plug in the two players and see what our projections and matchup analysis have to say.